Now that I have the data from the Cajun SportsNationals, I have proposed to NHRA that we hold a different format for next year's Cajun's, and I would like some input from the stock & super stock racers.
My proposal is this:
Thursday - Test-N-Tune only
Friday - Time trials, then Run Class Eliminations (SS/AH class on Saturday)
Saturday - Non-Class winners get 1 time trial ... Run no-breakout index race for class winners in front of 5,000 fans. Randomly pair stock vs. stock and S/Stock vs. S/Stock until 16 or less total remaining drivers in both categories. Use minus 1.00-second CIC. Combined pairings made on a sportsman ladder based upon reaction time in round prior to ladder, with higher qualified driver having lane choice. The winner will be paired against the S-Street, S-Gas, & S-Comp Saturday winners for a 2-round race with a $5,000 winner purse. This will be a "sponsor paid purse", and there would be no additional entry fee required.
By using this format, we can make the Cajun's the only game in town where a racer gets a free shot at 5-grand before the Sunday program. The only reason that I had to host it on Thursday this year was because I needed to get a feel for the race before I could put it on the Saturday program. The CompuLink CIC system is "hard-coded" at .50 in the computer program. However, I was able to enter all of the drivers into a new category, enter their index as their dial-in for 1st round, print out a round winner sheet, and manually compute the next round dial-in for those who ran faster than 1.00 under their index (dial-in).
It took a little extra work for me to find those guys in the lanes, but overall, it was a breeze. The CARD system was as random a pairing as it could get. I will be looking for 20 sponsors to post $500 for the free Saturday races which would allow me to pay the following:
Index Race $1,000 win - $500 r/u
Super Street $1,000 win - $500 r/u
Super Gas $1,000 win - $500 r/u
Super Comp $1,000 win - $500 r/u
Shoot-out winner $4,000 extra, making his/her payout total $5,000
I realize that a footbrake guy may feel a little intimidated by the "box-boys", but I can tell you this much; In the past 5 years, our King of the Track at NPR has been a "footbrake" racer, beating the "box" racers for 5 straight years! Besides, if I won the stock/super stock race and already had a grand in my pocket, I would love to take on one of the "box boys" for a 2-round race to pick up an extra 4-grand.
Interested sponsors can e-mail me at
patjoffrion@hotmail.com or reach me on my cell at (985) 665-7145. Let me hear your thoughts.
Pat