What would it take for you to attend a Sportsman Race

[B Parker]

I'm asking this because I'm really sorry to see Ken give up on his Race. I understand why but I would like to see at least one more. And I'm willing to put my money were my mouth is. This year more so than any other with the new AFHS and the low car counts allowed at Nationals we could use one.
With the NHRA Schedule the last couple of years especially in our Division it has made it tough to Schedule and Run a race and have enough to support it for it to be successful. Plus we also have a couple of very good Associations in the mix. I'd like to find out what the reasons were that we didn't support his race or others that were put on like this one. And are there changes that could be made to make you go to another one.

For me it's not necessary about the money. It's a time factor. I love to race as much as most but it's hard for me to get away from home almost every weekend.

Tylers race was just to far for me at that time to make. I was a sponsor if it went off last year.

Bo and companies race was not long after Gainesville and I had just gone to those races along with a weeks vacations with my wife. For me if it was later in the year I would have made the effort to make it.

I didn't make it to Ken's race last year because I had planned on so many others. It worked out great the year before being two weekend of races in a row. I rented a car and went home in between the two. The ride to Numedia with the roads so bad really sucks by Motor Home. I love racing Top Stock and was a little disappointed he didn't have it last year. I understand it didn't have the support the first year but hoped more would show up last year.
Hind- Sight is always 20/20 but if I knew Kens race was not going to be well attended last year and he would not do another this year I would have changed my racing plans to make it.
I'd like to hear from others what would need to change for you to make it to another Sportsman Race in D1 like Ken's race. Thanks Barry

[GUMP]

Class eliminations would motivate me.

We would have run the first of Ken's races if the 2015 Camaro was allowed in Top Stock.

[Ronnie1858]

I, too, am disappointed that there will not be a CRN this year. I finally have a car that runs below the index without breaking every run, and I am consistent enough that I won't totally embarrass myself. I would run a sportsman race anywhere within 1000 miles of home, if I know about it in enough time to work it out. Am seriously thinking about going to the SportsNationals again this year. I think having class eliminations at a race like this is a great idea. I am perfectly content to run the divisionals, the ASRA races and the NED brackets, I will run the Epping National race next year, if I get enough grade points this year, but it is not that big of a deal to me if I don't make it. I am racing to have fun and hang out with the folks. If I am lucky enough to win a Wally/trophy someday, that would be cool, but I am just as happy to win a few rounds here and there and swap war stories with the folks parked next to me.

[Joe Santangelo]

A race or races with higher payouts than Lucas Oil and National Event races are great.

[Larry Hill]

The first Class Nationals had Class, Top Stock, and to win the eliminator it took eight rounds.

For us working on new car and distance were big factors for missing Ken's race.

The Sports Nationals Open in the end of May is a very good race. I think it has class for Stk/SS, plus a separate eliminator for each. It has The Clay Jones race $5000 to win and a BIG CHECK. The Clay Jones race is a combo race with Stock vs Stock and Super Stock vs Super Stock until the late rounds. In case its a heads up round its just like Indy. The year we got to the finals, that was the only time we had to race a S/S car.

Beach Bend is the best family track in the USA. An amusement park, with a wooden roll a coaster, a great family pool, a camp ground with full hook ups, almost forgot a great 1320'.

Access is good a few easy miles off of I65, close to I69, little south of I64, and a little north of I 40.

Make plans to be there! Come early and stay late and skip the Holliday traffic.

I don't know this but Top Stock might be an option.

[Ron Ortiz]

SFG Promotions seem to be working pretty good with bottom heavy payouts scheduled for this year.
Maybe we can get Kyle Riley, Pat Joffrion, Bo Butner, Jason Line, Dave Connolly, Ken Miele, Michael Beard, and others that promote drag racing to somehow come together in a zoom meeting or phone calls, come up with a series for Stk/SS in different geographical areas.
50 car quota at a race, really. Only a $2,000 purse with a high entry fee. Four days to complete a single race. This is what we get with a national event, and people can't even get in due to low grade points.
I know a big $$$ races would work for Stk/SS, a lot of cars out there. We have to try again, because if we don't, we won't be racing at all.
It killed me not to be able to attend the Sportsman race because the car wasn't even close to being ready. Can't understand why racers wouldn't attend.

[Stephen & Horace Johnson]

Originally Posted by Larry Hill

The first Class Nationals had Class, Top Stock, and to win the eliminator it took eight rounds.

For us working on new car and distance were big factors for missing Ken's race.

The Sports Nationals Open in the end of May is a very good race. I think it has class for Stk/SS, plus a separate eliminator for each. It has The Clay Jones race $5000 to win and a BIG CHECK. The Clay Jones race is a combo race with Stock vs Stock and Super Stock vs Super Stock until the late rounds. In case its a heads up round its just like Indy. The year we got to the finals, that was the only time we had to race a S/S car.

Beach Bend is the best family track in the USA. An amusement park, with a wooden roll a coaster, a great family pool, a camp ground with full hook ups, almost forgot a great 1320'.

Access is good a few easy miles off of I65, close to I69, little south of I64, and a little north of I 40.

Make plans to be there! Come early and stay late and skip the Holliday traffic.

I don't know this but Top Stock might be an option.

I’ve always wondered why no class runoffs at this race?

[4543]

Barry, Good Question. I think the only way I would be able to attend a race like this in Division 1 or any of the really distant divisions would be in conjunction with another race or two in the same geographic area. It’s a LONG way to anywhere from south Florida. I attended Bo’s race after Gainesville and really enjoyed it. I was hoping it would be held again. Perhaps if the individual groups promoting these race got together and put a four or five race series together with a championship more people would attend. Scheduling is critical to the success of these events. 100+ temps don’t excite anyone. I applaud the people that have tried to promote these races and hope there are more of them. I have wondered how a challenge race between the Carolina Class Racers and the Southern Stock Super Stock Association at South Georgia or Reynolds for bragging rights would turn out. I think it would be fun. I also think with the recent changes to the AHFS class eliminations would be a benefit. It seems to me the key to successfully promoting these races is controlling cost. I haven’t tried to promote on so I don’t know for sure but my guess is the track expense and purses are the two biggest expenses. Is it possible to piggy back or partner with another series to reduce the expenses. I know sponsorship dollars are hard to come by but I think they are essential. These are just my random thoughts in no particular order. I hope we get lots of replies to this thread and lots of good ideas. Perhaps some of the people who have tried to promote these events could provide their thoughts on how to make one successful. Mike McMahan 2543 H/SA

[ss125h]

Yo Ken, wanting to run this years event, as i could not attend the last two, moving, covid, etc. I hope you might re-think this, as i would love to make it in 23'. Thanks, & happy new year Glen H

[Alan Roehrich]

Great post, Barry.


And it is great to see honest answers.


Sitting here reading, and contemplating breakfast, I think maybe it came to me why there are successful big money independent bracket races, but rarely are there successful independent Stock and Super Stock races.


The big bracket races don't have NHRA LODRS and National Event races to compete with.



I can understand that. If you have a Stock and/or Super Stock car, you obviously almost certainly built it to compete on the NHRA circuit. Let's be honest, that's where the races for these cars are. There are small independent races and series that are places to race. Our home track, Bowling Green, has a great Combo series, with regular one day and two day weekends of racing. But everyone built or bought their car to run NHRA races. And I'm not saying there's anything at all wrong with that. I'm not saying that anyone is wrong to choose to support NHRA over everything else. It's your money, your time, and your car. You should be doing what you enjoy most with it. And I'd be a fool and a liar to say that I wouldn't love to get that Wally we can within about 0.004 seconds of. I'd be a liar to say that I want "revenge" on Indy for that bad year we had there. I get it. I'm not at all opposed to running some NHRA events, even though I know we can't chase it like we once could, and we're not going to go broke trying.



Honestly, competing with NHRA is really our biggest barrier. So almost everyone is going to try to run their Division LODRS races, the National events in their Division, plus "prestige races" like the Gators, and Indy. NHRA is the biggest obstacle, bigger than time, money, weather, or the calendar.



So what we have is an extreme scheduling/time/logistics problem. Given how many races NHRA runs, and how their schedule is pretty much late February to late October, I'm not sure that it is possible to successfully overcome that one big issue.


Someone suggested a series. That's a great idea, in that it might, just might, be possible to schedule a series that runs its races when a given region isn't having NHRA events. So when NHRA is in Divisions 1,2 and 3, there could be a race in Division 6 or 7, etc.



Here's the problem. What needs to be done is to gather some guys who are Stock and Super Stock racers, who also have successfully promoted races, and see what, if anything, is possible.


So who you need though, is a "dream team". You need Peter Biondo, who has successfully (with Kyle's help, RIP brother) run the Spring Fling Series in several regions. You need Bo Butner, Dave Connolly, and our own board owner, Ken Meile. And ideally, you need Michael Beard. I'm sure that I have missed someone. I know a few of those guys, I've never talked to them about this. Other than we've had a few "in passing" conversations about how this is nearly impossible to pull off.



The next question is, do all of those guys want to take on a project like this, and do they have time? Of course, they have to ask themselves, is it worth the effort? It's a massive undertaking, and a huge risk. Especially given the most common result. For sure, not a single one of us can blame any of them if they shook their heads, laughed hysterically, and walked away.


Also, when you realize that NHRA is currently not even releasing a full 2023 schedule, you have to ask, "how do you schedule even one big race for class racers?" If NHRA were to decide to schedule even an LODRS race on "your weekend", within even 1,000 miles of you, you're pretty much done. You and the track are going to lose a ton of money. Honestly, NHRA has absolutely zero reason or incentive to cooperate with any of this. You pretty much have a large, and mostly hostile competitor, who has the resources to wreck you if they decide to.



What the racers absolutely must understand, is that it's never going to be perfect. The brutal facts are, not every race will have great weather. Not every race will be in your back yard. Not every race will be completely free of conflicts. But the reality is, every race will have to be well supported.


One other thought. It's too late for 2023, really. The fact is, this is something that you need to work on scheduling and setting up for at least a year. We're asking someone to spend a ton of time in 2023 trying to work with, say 3-5 tracks, to schedule 4-6 races to cover the regions. And then they need to spend 3 solid days next December at PRI walking the show with a package to try to sell to potential sponsors, and let's be really honest, this is probably not the best economy to do this in.




I'll agree with Larry Hill, the Bowling Green SportsNational Open is a great race to pattern an independent race after. It does prominently feature Stock and Super Stock. Having class eliminations is a huge bonus. Running Top Stock and Top Super Stock races is a great idea. And a bonus race is also a great idea, it gives those who can't win class and those who get eliminated from the main race something else to race for. If you're running only Stock and Super Stock, there's time for all of that in a three day race. And it allows you to offer something for most every competitor. The only problem with an only Stock and Super Stock event is down time, which the fans do not like.





This post is probably pretty negative to most people. But what we're talking about has been going on for a pretty good while, and the results haven't changed much. If anyone has evidence to the contrary about what I'm saying, I'm all ears. I'm not trying to argue or berate anyone. I'd like to see independent Stock and Super Stock racing succeed, and on a large scale. It would be great for all of us. I'm sure that NHRA would not like to see it. Real competition would be a problem for them.