It happens every year so I don't know why I'm always surprised when it comes on. The "it" I'm referring to is the post-racing season blahs. I stop short of saying depression because that would be a little dramatic and I'm not one for a lot of emotional drama. Just sayin'
Mid-November. The weather has changed (even in California), and it's cold. We've just turned the clocks forward so it gets dark before 6:00 pm...ugh; and no more nitro until the Spring. This year was especially cruel because up until Thursday night, we thought we were racing in January. I was already in count down mode (56 days) and then found out that the track in Arizona postponed the race until.....next November. Reason? The concrete they poured won't be cured in time. Really? Who was the project manager assigned to this enterprise? Might want to include concrete curing time in the next SOW. Just sayin'
So instead of 56 days, we have......It's too early to do the math. Oh, well! There's still plenty of winter maintenance to perform before March in Bakersfield....
Saturday, November 16, 2013
Sunday, November 10, 2013
We're Sunk if We Think the Current NHRA Leadership is Leading
Earlier last month, the NHRA conducted a sample survey of about 1,000
of its members. Apparently all the complaining about dwindling
attendance at races began to reach the upper echelons of the majestic
NHRA board. Obviously, they don't get it because the only question
asked had to do with running the 1320 v 1000 feet. Really? 320 feet is
causing a decline in the greatest motorsport of them all? I think not.
They missed the point by not asking an open-ended question. What they should have asked is, "Why do you enjoy coming to the races?" I'm sure more than a few would have answered, "jet cars", but an equal number would have answered, "Because it's only $20 to get in and the kids are free"; "The prices are reasonable at the concession stand"; "There were 20 nitro funny cars!"; "Free posters that all the drivers will sign and the crew members talk to you between rounds"; best of all..."My dad took me as a kid and I want my kids to experience the excitement of drag racing like I did as a child". Of course this would have only happened if they were asking fans attending one of the NHRA Heritage Series races this past season.
In 2013, the price of a general admission ticket (that's a non-reserved seat) for the final day of QUALIFYING at a NHRA Mello Yellow national event was $55....That's right; Fifty-five bucks and this isn't even RACE DAY! Granted, at many events kids 12 and under get in free, but that cost is quickly unrealized what with $8.00 hot dogs, $10.00 parking, $12.00 beers and $30.00 t-shirts. A day at the races for a family of four can easily add up to close to $175 - $200; and this isn't even with good seats. Throw in a couple of lengthy oil downs and the droning of the all-day, GEICO ass-clowns and I don't blame them for not coming back; the value just isn't there.
In the quest to grow the fan base of the NHRA; the most important element of doing so was left out - entertainment value. Gone are the brash personalities of drivers - spouting off whatever comes to mind; even John Force is PR scrubbed clean these days. Gone are the long smokey burnouts and warm-up throttle blips. They've been eliminated because of equipment costs and alternative car set ups. Dry hops? Dead for decades. Nothing for kids to do; unless they intend to be recruited by the Army or want to buy a $300 RC car. Drop a couple of bounce houses in the midway - hell, make one an adult-only and clothing optional!
Here's one that baffles the heck out me...night qualifying that doesn't begin later at night. I understand when you're qualifying at a track that has a curfew - don't like it, but I understand it. But why for the love of God, do you finish Friday night qualifying in Las Vegas at 7:00 pm? Are you kidding me? We don't run our first qualifying lap at any of the Saturday Night Nitro shows until well after 8:00 pm. Three words - flames from headers......
So there's no showmanship, shows end too early, costs too much to take a family....I dunno NHRA; maybe it really has something to do with that missing 320 feet, but I doubt it. Since this is my blog and no one will read it anyway; here is my plan to bring the NHRA national events back from the brink:
- Slow down the nitro cars. The costs are too high to run them and the average fan doesn't know the difference between 260 and 300 mph anyway. Lower costs allow smaller-budget teams the opportunity to compete with the DSR, JFR juggernaut teams.
- Bring back the 1320. The quarter mile is drag racing; anything else is something else and we'll get used to it; just like we got used to running the 1000 ft.
-Move the nitro pits to the other side of the track and line up the top teams along the track so that fans don't necessarily have to leave the stands to see the crews at work between rounds. Set up crew competitions, similar to NASCAR based on total turn around times and have time clocks visible to the stands. Should an oil down happen; you have another show going on right in front of them. Really emphasize the team work involved; you'd be surprised how many additional sponsorship opportunities can come of this.
- Nicknames for drivers. Snake and Mongoose...... God, the drivers today are these sanitized, corporate, PR robots. Bring back the personalities like Scelzi and "Flaming" Frank Pedregon. I know for a fact that there are some personalities there, but everyone is so afraid of saying the wrong thing that interviews have become boring little sound-bites to keep sponsors and team/car owners happy. Sunshine and rainbows...bullshit! Why not go off on a rant about the snakey bastard you're facing in the first round? Talk shit about his crew chief or mama....choose a side racing fans!
- Night qualifying - mandatory. Almost every race we ran this season had a Friday night under the lights qualifier. It wasn't until we ran the CHRR (NHRA Museum operated) event that we finished the day before 7:00pm. Fans come out to see the header flames and experience the horsepower; plus, what a great first-time date night!
- Put a Bowser, a New, and a Bader on the NHRA board. These SHOWS need to be SHOWS again and these families that own/operate their respective tracks know how to do it and do it WELL!
- Revise the sportsman classes at national events - quit screwing the base of the membership by shuffling their run times around based on the pro car schedules; these folks work at other jobs for a living and to pay for their hobby/passion. Roll back the price of their entry fees, too. They're sportmen, not sponsors!
- Stop and I mean stop - Parading the stupid season championship trophies around with police escorts at the last races of the season. It's ridiculous. While we're on the topic; why are we giving the trophies to the winners in the shut down area where no fans are? Awarding them again in the winner's circle after they've been broadcast to the fans via monstervision in the stands is beyond anti-climatic; there's no excitement and it's yet another round of sponsor-babble. (Only exception - Rickie Jones - do his twice; or three times as needed. Love that kid!!!)
- Do the live round coverage again. Personally, I loved watching the crews turning the car around during that change to the format in Houston. I thought it was something that was going to be continued and haven't heard anything about it since.
- Replace the bikes with fuel altered cars. More nitro! Besides, why does a bike need 10 people on the starting line? (counted that many in Vegas) 4 wheels - mandatory.
-Kids area in the midway. As mentioned in an earlier blog; unless your kid is going to be recruited by the Army or is planning on purchasing a $300+ RC car, there is nothing for them to do except sit in the stands or vie for driver autographs. Parents need a little break, so throw a couple of bounce houses and climbing structures on the midway - free to use. Have them sponsored if need be and then parents waiting outside of these play areas can be solicited by the bounce house sponsor reps.
-Long, smokey burnouts - bring 'em back! Along with these; bring back the warm-up blip, and dry hops.
-Hold the TRAXXAS shoot out, or whatever it's being called now, at another race besides Indy. Yes, I know that Indy gets the most TV coverage and that's why sponsors want to be a part of it, but if you only have one race that anyone is willing to view, you've screwed yourself on that one NHRA. Change it up so that it becomes a race within a race season and spread it out among more venues. Better yet; make one a crew challenge.
-Shitcan ESPN2. I want a gig where I can charge a sanctioning body millions of dollars a year to broadcast their events - at my discretion with the ability to disregard published schedules in favor of NCAA division III girls college softball consolation loser rounds - in Spanish. This wasn't the worst of it though - we endured a pre-emption of a late season national event broadcast with championship implications, so our "partners" over at ESPN could bring a 10+ hour, rain delayed NASCAR race to it's mighty minions. I get it, more people who watch translates to more advertising dollars to ESPN, who pays NASCAR for the privilege of airing their races. Yep, this all makes sense to me; do I at least get kissed first?
-Hire Chad, Brian and the fellas from BangShift to do the broadcasts. Yes, I realize that they only appeal to drag racing fans......and your point is?
-Do something, anything, to make Pro Stock more fan friendly. Maybe start with opening up the pit areas; when did their pits become these overly tented, secret societies? You can't see anything when you go over to their pits; everything is covered up - including the cars. Nevermind, ProStock doesn't matter anyway....
-Cut back on the boring, sponsor-driveled interviews on the broadcasts. Perfect example of how it killed some great racing was today's finals at Pomona. One of the talking heads was interviewing Morgan Lucas on his move out of the seat. No disrespect to Morgan, but while this was going on, Gary Densham won his second round of racing in nitro funny car; which we got to see on the other side of the screen while Morgan went on about what a great opportunity it's been to drive, etc. I was totally pissed watching it - primarily because it was a great, lower-budget, old-school racer winning a SECOND round and it was missed in favor of an interview. Again, no disrespect to the kid because if it weren't for his family's involvement, lots of racing wouldn't be happening and enjoyed. Props to the Lucas family! You get my point, right?
-Unload Kernan and Howe - No offense, but they aren't racers - they're entertainment reporters and come across as such. If I wanted celebrity gossip, I'd log on to Yahoo OMG! Instead, upload a former crew member with some personality to do pieces with current crew members on pit work or tales from the road if you must interject with entertainment. The "tech talk" pieces that were sprinkled throughout the season were great, but too few. One more saga of this PSM team hates that PSM team and I'm done watching......
-Run 2 pair of Nostalgia Funny Car at every National event. Every. Single. One. - The history of the sport is essential to the growth. An organization or sport that fails to observe and revere its past is doomed to fade away.
- Pro teams - mandatory back up girls. None of the slutty-dressed ho's either. Look no further than Leeza Diehl or Alice Bode for great examples. Guys love a pretty gal; bouncing along, backing up a car and no other motorsports has the unique ability to integrate them into the actual competition.
-Post race concerts/party bands. Hell, if you're going to finish racing for the day at 7:00 pm, at least do something to create more opportunities to sell more nachos and beer. If racing starts later, live music ahead of time - get the excitement going!
-Concession costs - Either bring down the costs or let people bring food in. Holding people hostage to non-competitive rapes at the chow hall isn't very American and decreases attendance because of costs. $5.00 for a bottle of tap water borders on ridiculous, too.
-Ticket prices - As I complained earlier, it's senseless for an organization to expect to grow the attendance when the prices for a non-reserved seat on a qualifying day exceeds $50. The Bowers charge $100 - for a FOUR day ticket at the March Meet. You can't get a seat at Famoso in the grandstands on a Friday afternoon when they run the nitro cars....whereas you can shoot a cannon through the grandstands on Sunday at a national meet during Pro-Stock and not hit a soul.
Enough out of me - back to your regularly scheduled porn.....
They missed the point by not asking an open-ended question. What they should have asked is, "Why do you enjoy coming to the races?" I'm sure more than a few would have answered, "jet cars", but an equal number would have answered, "Because it's only $20 to get in and the kids are free"; "The prices are reasonable at the concession stand"; "There were 20 nitro funny cars!"; "Free posters that all the drivers will sign and the crew members talk to you between rounds"; best of all..."My dad took me as a kid and I want my kids to experience the excitement of drag racing like I did as a child". Of course this would have only happened if they were asking fans attending one of the NHRA Heritage Series races this past season.
In 2013, the price of a general admission ticket (that's a non-reserved seat) for the final day of QUALIFYING at a NHRA Mello Yellow national event was $55....That's right; Fifty-five bucks and this isn't even RACE DAY! Granted, at many events kids 12 and under get in free, but that cost is quickly unrealized what with $8.00 hot dogs, $10.00 parking, $12.00 beers and $30.00 t-shirts. A day at the races for a family of four can easily add up to close to $175 - $200; and this isn't even with good seats. Throw in a couple of lengthy oil downs and the droning of the all-day, GEICO ass-clowns and I don't blame them for not coming back; the value just isn't there.
In the quest to grow the fan base of the NHRA; the most important element of doing so was left out - entertainment value. Gone are the brash personalities of drivers - spouting off whatever comes to mind; even John Force is PR scrubbed clean these days. Gone are the long smokey burnouts and warm-up throttle blips. They've been eliminated because of equipment costs and alternative car set ups. Dry hops? Dead for decades. Nothing for kids to do; unless they intend to be recruited by the Army or want to buy a $300 RC car. Drop a couple of bounce houses in the midway - hell, make one an adult-only and clothing optional!
Here's one that baffles the heck out me...night qualifying that doesn't begin later at night. I understand when you're qualifying at a track that has a curfew - don't like it, but I understand it. But why for the love of God, do you finish Friday night qualifying in Las Vegas at 7:00 pm? Are you kidding me? We don't run our first qualifying lap at any of the Saturday Night Nitro shows until well after 8:00 pm. Three words - flames from headers......
So there's no showmanship, shows end too early, costs too much to take a family....I dunno NHRA; maybe it really has something to do with that missing 320 feet, but I doubt it. Since this is my blog and no one will read it anyway; here is my plan to bring the NHRA national events back from the brink:
- Slow down the nitro cars. The costs are too high to run them and the average fan doesn't know the difference between 260 and 300 mph anyway. Lower costs allow smaller-budget teams the opportunity to compete with the DSR, JFR juggernaut teams.
- Bring back the 1320. The quarter mile is drag racing; anything else is something else and we'll get used to it; just like we got used to running the 1000 ft.
-Move the nitro pits to the other side of the track and line up the top teams along the track so that fans don't necessarily have to leave the stands to see the crews at work between rounds. Set up crew competitions, similar to NASCAR based on total turn around times and have time clocks visible to the stands. Should an oil down happen; you have another show going on right in front of them. Really emphasize the team work involved; you'd be surprised how many additional sponsorship opportunities can come of this.
- Nicknames for drivers. Snake and Mongoose...... God, the drivers today are these sanitized, corporate, PR robots. Bring back the personalities like Scelzi and "Flaming" Frank Pedregon. I know for a fact that there are some personalities there, but everyone is so afraid of saying the wrong thing that interviews have become boring little sound-bites to keep sponsors and team/car owners happy. Sunshine and rainbows...bullshit! Why not go off on a rant about the snakey bastard you're facing in the first round? Talk shit about his crew chief or mama....choose a side racing fans!
- Night qualifying - mandatory. Almost every race we ran this season had a Friday night under the lights qualifier. It wasn't until we ran the CHRR (NHRA Museum operated) event that we finished the day before 7:00pm. Fans come out to see the header flames and experience the horsepower; plus, what a great first-time date night!
- Put a Bowser, a New, and a Bader on the NHRA board. These SHOWS need to be SHOWS again and these families that own/operate their respective tracks know how to do it and do it WELL!
- Revise the sportsman classes at national events - quit screwing the base of the membership by shuffling their run times around based on the pro car schedules; these folks work at other jobs for a living and to pay for their hobby/passion. Roll back the price of their entry fees, too. They're sportmen, not sponsors!
- Stop and I mean stop - Parading the stupid season championship trophies around with police escorts at the last races of the season. It's ridiculous. While we're on the topic; why are we giving the trophies to the winners in the shut down area where no fans are? Awarding them again in the winner's circle after they've been broadcast to the fans via monstervision in the stands is beyond anti-climatic; there's no excitement and it's yet another round of sponsor-babble. (Only exception - Rickie Jones - do his twice; or three times as needed. Love that kid!!!)
- Do the live round coverage again. Personally, I loved watching the crews turning the car around during that change to the format in Houston. I thought it was something that was going to be continued and haven't heard anything about it since.
- Replace the bikes with fuel altered cars. More nitro! Besides, why does a bike need 10 people on the starting line? (counted that many in Vegas) 4 wheels - mandatory.
-Kids area in the midway. As mentioned in an earlier blog; unless your kid is going to be recruited by the Army or is planning on purchasing a $300+ RC car, there is nothing for them to do except sit in the stands or vie for driver autographs. Parents need a little break, so throw a couple of bounce houses and climbing structures on the midway - free to use. Have them sponsored if need be and then parents waiting outside of these play areas can be solicited by the bounce house sponsor reps.
-Long, smokey burnouts - bring 'em back! Along with these; bring back the warm-up blip, and dry hops.
-Hold the TRAXXAS shoot out, or whatever it's being called now, at another race besides Indy. Yes, I know that Indy gets the most TV coverage and that's why sponsors want to be a part of it, but if you only have one race that anyone is willing to view, you've screwed yourself on that one NHRA. Change it up so that it becomes a race within a race season and spread it out among more venues. Better yet; make one a crew challenge.
-Shitcan ESPN2. I want a gig where I can charge a sanctioning body millions of dollars a year to broadcast their events - at my discretion with the ability to disregard published schedules in favor of NCAA division III girls college softball consolation loser rounds - in Spanish. This wasn't the worst of it though - we endured a pre-emption of a late season national event broadcast with championship implications, so our "partners" over at ESPN could bring a 10+ hour, rain delayed NASCAR race to it's mighty minions. I get it, more people who watch translates to more advertising dollars to ESPN, who pays NASCAR for the privilege of airing their races. Yep, this all makes sense to me; do I at least get kissed first?
-Hire Chad, Brian and the fellas from BangShift to do the broadcasts. Yes, I realize that they only appeal to drag racing fans......and your point is?
-Do something, anything, to make Pro Stock more fan friendly. Maybe start with opening up the pit areas; when did their pits become these overly tented, secret societies? You can't see anything when you go over to their pits; everything is covered up - including the cars. Nevermind, ProStock doesn't matter anyway....
-Cut back on the boring, sponsor-driveled interviews on the broadcasts. Perfect example of how it killed some great racing was today's finals at Pomona. One of the talking heads was interviewing Morgan Lucas on his move out of the seat. No disrespect to Morgan, but while this was going on, Gary Densham won his second round of racing in nitro funny car; which we got to see on the other side of the screen while Morgan went on about what a great opportunity it's been to drive, etc. I was totally pissed watching it - primarily because it was a great, lower-budget, old-school racer winning a SECOND round and it was missed in favor of an interview. Again, no disrespect to the kid because if it weren't for his family's involvement, lots of racing wouldn't be happening and enjoyed. Props to the Lucas family! You get my point, right?
-Unload Kernan and Howe - No offense, but they aren't racers - they're entertainment reporters and come across as such. If I wanted celebrity gossip, I'd log on to Yahoo OMG! Instead, upload a former crew member with some personality to do pieces with current crew members on pit work or tales from the road if you must interject with entertainment. The "tech talk" pieces that were sprinkled throughout the season were great, but too few. One more saga of this PSM team hates that PSM team and I'm done watching......
-Run 2 pair of Nostalgia Funny Car at every National event. Every. Single. One. - The history of the sport is essential to the growth. An organization or sport that fails to observe and revere its past is doomed to fade away.
- Pro teams - mandatory back up girls. None of the slutty-dressed ho's either. Look no further than Leeza Diehl or Alice Bode for great examples. Guys love a pretty gal; bouncing along, backing up a car and no other motorsports has the unique ability to integrate them into the actual competition.
-Post race concerts/party bands. Hell, if you're going to finish racing for the day at 7:00 pm, at least do something to create more opportunities to sell more nachos and beer. If racing starts later, live music ahead of time - get the excitement going!
-Concession costs - Either bring down the costs or let people bring food in. Holding people hostage to non-competitive rapes at the chow hall isn't very American and decreases attendance because of costs. $5.00 for a bottle of tap water borders on ridiculous, too.
-Ticket prices - As I complained earlier, it's senseless for an organization to expect to grow the attendance when the prices for a non-reserved seat on a qualifying day exceeds $50. The Bowers charge $100 - for a FOUR day ticket at the March Meet. You can't get a seat at Famoso in the grandstands on a Friday afternoon when they run the nitro cars....whereas you can shoot a cannon through the grandstands on Sunday at a national meet during Pro-Stock and not hit a soul.
Enough out of me - back to your regularly scheduled porn.....
Why the Weiny Roasters are Odd, but Important
Weiny roasters; rocket cars; B1rd's; the nicknames are endless for what we know as jet cars. As a kid in the pits in the 1960's - they scared the crap out of me. Puff, BANG, puff, puff, puff, BANG, BANG...that was the sound I recall them making as they came up to stage at the tree. Then off with a swoosh they would zoom down the track like a jet; well, because they are a jet. They just don't have wings.
While I'm not sure why he had so much contempt for these cars; my dad was a very vocal opponent of these cars at the track. I suspect it had something to do with the condition of the starting line following a lap made by these cylindrical tubes o' jet fuel. Regardless of what it was, I picked up the same attitude toward them because they weren't racing. I think I may have secretly felt that anyone outside of the sport would view us as "rednecks" or "stupid" for running such ridiculous show cars.
To most racers in the pits they were an odd-ball machine not a "real" race car; because they aren't. They really don't race and have no champion to crown at the end of the season. They are booked in by the track promotors/owners and paid to run...because they put butts in seats. More than most types of motorsports, drag racing relies on the entertainment factor to bring in fans. Entertainment is king and the empty seat doesn't buy a hot dog. (Thank you Raconteur, for this great tag line)
Up through this past year I refused to watch them, unlike my teammates that always hustled to the chain link at the first "puff, puff, BOOM" following the last round. I'm not sure when it was, but I began to understand what appeals to the casual race fan is a complete polar opposite to what I think makes a good race. Joe race fan wants flames and noise; he really doesn't care what's making it. He loves the nitro cars and enjoys the side-by-side racing they perform, but he also loves those jet cars. It's all entertainment to him and the more the better.
While I'm not sure why he had so much contempt for these cars; my dad was a very vocal opponent of these cars at the track. I suspect it had something to do with the condition of the starting line following a lap made by these cylindrical tubes o' jet fuel. Regardless of what it was, I picked up the same attitude toward them because they weren't racing. I think I may have secretly felt that anyone outside of the sport would view us as "rednecks" or "stupid" for running such ridiculous show cars.
To most racers in the pits they were an odd-ball machine not a "real" race car; because they aren't. They really don't race and have no champion to crown at the end of the season. They are booked in by the track promotors/owners and paid to run...because they put butts in seats. More than most types of motorsports, drag racing relies on the entertainment factor to bring in fans. Entertainment is king and the empty seat doesn't buy a hot dog. (Thank you Raconteur, for this great tag line)
Up through this past year I refused to watch them, unlike my teammates that always hustled to the chain link at the first "puff, puff, BOOM" following the last round. I'm not sure when it was, but I began to understand what appeals to the casual race fan is a complete polar opposite to what I think makes a good race. Joe race fan wants flames and noise; he really doesn't care what's making it. He loves the nitro cars and enjoys the side-by-side racing they perform, but he also loves those jet cars. It's all entertainment to him and the more the better.
Sunday, November 3, 2013
My Gawd...It's Odd Again
A play on words - it's odd again; it's on again. Can you tell I'm running out of ways to use "odd" in every blog entry? Well, since it's not affecting my paycheck I can pretty much write what I want whenever I want, too. Since I don't know when I'll have another chance to do another entry, I thought I'd post our upcoming schedule. Mind you, this too is subject to change:
January 10 - 12, Wildhorse Pass (former Firebird Int'l Raceway) Phoenix
March 6 - 9, March Meet Bakersfield
April 25 - 27, Napa Ignitors, Boise
June 6 -7, Summer Send Off, Salt Lake City
July 18 - 20, Canadian National Open, Mission BC
August 7 - 10, Nightfire Nationals, Boise
October 17 - 19, California Hot Rod Reunion
This doesn't include any of the Saturday Night Nitro races that will likely be over a Fri/Sat in June, July and September. The official schedule for these isn't out yet, but always works around the NHRA Heritage points races.
I wish we had a couple of races outside of our Heritage schedule; there's a couple of awesome shows where the opportunity to win some good money could be had. One in particular is the Norwalk Night of Fire. It typically is over the same weekend as the Boise Nightfires, but is only 2 days.
The Nightfires are a tough weekend. It's usually pretty warm and we run Friday, Saturday and all day/night Sunday. The crowds are insane for this meet too. The place is absolutely packed each day and the fans are enthusiastic and appreciative. Looks like I'm getting sidetracked again.....
So, as far as I know - this is our schedule. I mentioned the Norwalk show, but didn't mention the IHRA races that were announced for 2014. They are offering big money and are showcasing nitro funny cars in an invitation-only format where 10 cars are selected for the series. They are running most of the meets east of Colorado and Texas, so the additional costs for transportation would be probably be prohibitive.
I get a little crazy behind all of this because all I want to do is race. I think about racing all the time and have tried not liking it many times. Like an alcoholic to his bottle though....I'm driven back to it time and time again. Sometimes against my will - always against fiscal responsibility. There's nothing I can do about it except hopefully plan ahead for it. I estimated my costs for the 2014 season to be about $6,500 for the 10 races we have. It's bedtime for me now...................goodnight
January 10 - 12, Wildhorse Pass (former Firebird Int'l Raceway) Phoenix
March 6 - 9, March Meet Bakersfield
April 25 - 27, Napa Ignitors, Boise
June 6 -7, Summer Send Off, Salt Lake City
July 18 - 20, Canadian National Open, Mission BC
August 7 - 10, Nightfire Nationals, Boise
October 17 - 19, California Hot Rod Reunion
This doesn't include any of the Saturday Night Nitro races that will likely be over a Fri/Sat in June, July and September. The official schedule for these isn't out yet, but always works around the NHRA Heritage points races.
I wish we had a couple of races outside of our Heritage schedule; there's a couple of awesome shows where the opportunity to win some good money could be had. One in particular is the Norwalk Night of Fire. It typically is over the same weekend as the Boise Nightfires, but is only 2 days.
The Nightfires are a tough weekend. It's usually pretty warm and we run Friday, Saturday and all day/night Sunday. The crowds are insane for this meet too. The place is absolutely packed each day and the fans are enthusiastic and appreciative. Looks like I'm getting sidetracked again.....
So, as far as I know - this is our schedule. I mentioned the Norwalk show, but didn't mention the IHRA races that were announced for 2014. They are offering big money and are showcasing nitro funny cars in an invitation-only format where 10 cars are selected for the series. They are running most of the meets east of Colorado and Texas, so the additional costs for transportation would be probably be prohibitive.
I get a little crazy behind all of this because all I want to do is race. I think about racing all the time and have tried not liking it many times. Like an alcoholic to his bottle though....I'm driven back to it time and time again. Sometimes against my will - always against fiscal responsibility. There's nothing I can do about it except hopefully plan ahead for it. I estimated my costs for the 2014 season to be about $6,500 for the 10 races we have. It's bedtime for me now...................goodnight
Against the Odds
It's been a couple of weeks since the race took place. I've had plenty of time to post in this blog, but have avoided it for some unconscious, deep seated reason. Yeah, we lost. It wasn't as bad to lose as I thought it might be; it was an epic battle and I'm blessed to have been a part of it.
The Rupert team claimed victory; not by their hand, but by the blocker out of Texas...Hale. It came down to the last race of the last day of the championship for the championship - and we were in it. Going to the Final and hearing the cheers from the other lane was deflating, but I'll never forget it. That is what is going to drive me to do better next season.
I mentioned epic weekend - I'm not kidding; it was absolutely amazing. The car performed perfectly; Ronnie was in a great space and was surrounded by tons of his old racing friends; our driver, Dan, was on the ball and hit his lights and drove the shit out of that machine; as a team, we hit our marks and flowed effortlessly. We gave our crew chief and driver an amazing car to tune and drive and the numbers proved it. Our laps:
Q1 - 5.776 ET 254.09 MPH
Q2 - 5.774 ET 254.09 MPH
R1 - 5.772 ET 245.40 MPH
R2 - 5.768 ET 255.24 MPH
SF - 5.713 ET 257.24 MPH
F - 5.744 ET 256.65 MPH
So, we didn't win the championship, we didn't win the meet, but this is what we did as a team. None of us had anything to be ashamed of - there wasn't another car on the property that ran 5.70's all weekend like we did - Huggy referred to the car as, "That 70's car".... Hale and company had to throw everything they had at their heap to beat us and it took a 5.68 to do it too. My hat's off to them - they did what they needed to do to beat us; but they didn't put out the fire. I think they poured a little nitro on it instead.... :)
The Rupert team claimed victory; not by their hand, but by the blocker out of Texas...Hale. It came down to the last race of the last day of the championship for the championship - and we were in it. Going to the Final and hearing the cheers from the other lane was deflating, but I'll never forget it. That is what is going to drive me to do better next season.
I mentioned epic weekend - I'm not kidding; it was absolutely amazing. The car performed perfectly; Ronnie was in a great space and was surrounded by tons of his old racing friends; our driver, Dan, was on the ball and hit his lights and drove the shit out of that machine; as a team, we hit our marks and flowed effortlessly. We gave our crew chief and driver an amazing car to tune and drive and the numbers proved it. Our laps:
Q1 - 5.776 ET 254.09 MPH
Q2 - 5.774 ET 254.09 MPH
R1 - 5.772 ET 245.40 MPH
R2 - 5.768 ET 255.24 MPH
SF - 5.713 ET 257.24 MPH
F - 5.744 ET 256.65 MPH
So, we didn't win the championship, we didn't win the meet, but this is what we did as a team. None of us had anything to be ashamed of - there wasn't another car on the property that ran 5.70's all weekend like we did - Huggy referred to the car as, "That 70's car".... Hale and company had to throw everything they had at their heap to beat us and it took a 5.68 to do it too. My hat's off to them - they did what they needed to do to beat us; but they didn't put out the fire. I think they poured a little nitro on it instead.... :)
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