[Michael Beard]

The reason I posed the question back is that upon closer inspection when trying to develop real solutions, reality sets in, and you can never get the perfect location, scheduling, and payouts never work out nearly as well as you would like them to. It is impossible to pay back anything substantive to first round winners and pay enough on top that will make people want to attend the race. It's a balancing act, and payouts starting with 3rd round loser are typically best case scenario (for the racer).

In a perfect world, I'd do 3 events, 1 at Norwalk, 1 at No Problem or Montgomery, and 1 somewheres on the west coast, but doing multiple events in itself generates more problems -- while it solves the problem of travel for many people, it also divides EVERYthing else, from potential sponsorships to scheduling opportunities, as well as takes away from the uniqueness of the event. I would say that the original formula of the US Class Nationals as a single stand-alone event is necessary for those very reasons, and its success was self-evident. I think with a single event, people can plan and save for it.

Facility: As mentioned earlier, this is a catch 22 in itself. You need a facility nice enough that people are going to want to come, but the truly top-tier places like Norwalk and Bristol are realistically out of reach financially in order for the event to pay for itself. Bowling Green typically comes up in these discussions, and for good reason. I'd have to do my own research on it, but I've heard 3rd hand that the track rental even at Bowling Green is pretty substantial.

Just thinking out loud, I would take a look at Cordova Dragway Park, in Cordova, IL. Former IHRA national event facility, current NHRA LODRS track. I've worked with both Scott and Laura Gardner when we used to do the Bracket Finals circuit, and these people are flat outstanding. Cordova is less than 1,000 miles from Atco, Rockingham, Atlanta, Baton Rouge, Dallas, and Bandimere.


Schedule: Even if we find what *we* think the perfect date is, you still have to be able to work within a track's schedule and existing events. Summer, "It's too hot!" Um, yeah? It's going to be hot in the summer regardless of whether you're out racing or not. People still go to Indy and everywhere else in the summer. It was bad luck that it was 107 degrees at Byron for the US Class Nationals -- and it *was* nasty, but we look back on it darn near as a badge of honor. LOL It was worth it, for that event.

Event Content: Must-haves: 1) Class Eliminations and 2) The Eliminator (your normal mostly-bracket type deal) I don't think you're getting enough cars out of the woodwork without running Class, and it was undeniably one of the coolest parts about the US Class Nationals. What did you guys think of the Quick 32? Personally, I felt that was the secondary to everything else. Some CIC-style racing is interesting, though. What about running off all the Class Eliminations winners CIC-style for some kind of Grand Champion?

Now, for Class Runoffs: What are you looking for here: Nice trophy, contingency? With so many classes, I don't think you could afford any cash payout on top of it. Could probably get sponsor or event cash to do something Win/RU/Semi for a CIC Grand Champion though. The biggest hurdle is having a single entry fee covering track rental, eliminator payouts, class eliminations awards, among everything else.

Event Schedule: 2 days minimum, 3 days possible. I'd see Friday as a move-in date with tech, and a separate test n' tune available in the evening. Saturday TT & Class, Sunday regular Eliminations.

More later... jump in y'all, throw your ideas in the ring.