Another reason Pacific Raceways is a joke

[Jim Wahl]

Question: Why do you guys keep going back if that's the way they are going to treat you? You get the Trick and the owner get the Treat! Sounds to me as if you need something like the SSSSA up there! Jim

[John Kelley]

Originally Posted by Jim Wahl

Question: Why do you guys keep going back if that's the way they are going to treat you? You get the Trick and the owner get the Treat! Sounds to me as if you need something like the SSSSA up there! Jim

Very few tracks in that neighborhood.........:-)

[Jim Wahl]

Ahhhhh......... That's too bad. Jim

[Geerhead55]

You guys remember that when next season comes around. I only live 20 minutes from Pacific,,, but I'd rather drive a longer distance to race at Bremerton Raceways where I feel racers are treated better, and you don't drive away with a "basket" especially if you go 8 rounds.Check the National Dragsters "Be A Winner" page. Bremerton makes sure those winners are in there and I've seen plenty of checks cut for the winners also. The track prep is very good,, and on Friday nights when you're exploding waiting for a turn to run at Pacific the guy at Bremerton has probably got 6 or more runs in by then. Don't take my word for it,,just point your rig across the bridge and check it out for yourself. See ya there in the lanes.
Danny Durham

[S Kelly]

Wow, what potential and what a waste. It would have been one thing to advertise a "fun only" race and let everyone know that there wouldn't be payout, just trophies and "baskets", but instead they decided deception was the better approach.There is no way to gain racers trust when they do that kind of stuff, and they just seem to do it over and over.

This facility has seemed cursed for the last dozen to 15 years, no matter who is running it. I committed to never attending another bracket race there again after a horribly ran event in 1997, which involved a fist fight in the pits to kick off the morning, continued with a drug-raged lunatic doing "Rockford Files" reverse donuts at the head of the staging lanes, and ended 3 rounds shy of finishing eliminations as curfew hit at 11:00PM for which we had to split the overall purse 6 ways (something all of you local racers have NEVER experienced, right?)! I also said I wouild only come back for Divisionals and if I was fortunate enough to race the National, which I have 2 times. And I kept my word, until this year.

A group of 3 really respected drag racers got together a plan to promote a big buck bracket race called the Sportsnationals, held this year in August at Pacific Raceways. I will leave their names out of it unless one of them choose to post a reply because they may wish to remain anonymous, though all of us in the NW know who they are. They worked tirelessly to organize the event and put up their own money for a guaranteed purse. They advertised and promoted the event to the point a large group of racers (both divisional and bracket racers) ended up showing up for the event, primarily because everyone believed that Pacific Raceways turned over the reins to this group and we all knew we could trust them, even if we didn't have trust in the track.

If it wasn't for the success of a fair bit of the racers in our race group, getting to hang out with a lot of friends and well respected racers that we don't often get to see, and getting to meet some of the local Pacific Raceways racers who I've since become good friends with, the weekend could have been considered a mess; much like the last time I attended in 1997. I don't know a lot of specific details, but the week started out with Pacific Raceways telling the trio of racers/promoters who organized the event that they had to relinquish control of the event and turn it over to the track. This was after they had received enough pre-race entries to realize that the race would be a financial success, by the way. These guys reluctantly agreed and still managed to act like professionals; I think primarily so that all of the rest of us racers would have an opportunity to participate in a big money bracket race (thanks Gentlemen). There was also a couple of pretty ugly cheating accusations that came very close to physical confrontations, mostly because of the track lacking a technical inspector who could emphatically state whether the issues on the vehicles in question (one a friend's and one mine) were legal or not. Of course they were legal but it took way too long to ascertain that and tempers flaired in the process. In fairness, there were also parts failures and attrition and an eye injury (mine) that had nothing whatsoever to do with the track, so it may feel like it was worse than it was.

I personally enjoyed tremendous success at this event having both of my entries in my one car make it to the final round on Friday night where I raced myself. It was a special moment that I was glad to just be a part of, much less having been the one in the final. It's hard to believe after the success I had at that event that I am back to my committment of 1997, to not attend an event there unless it is a divisional or national. I think I would consider it if we had some kind of assurance that the same group could put together the same event and not have the rug pulled out from under them like was done this year. I hope that is a possibility.

Steve Kelly
6267

[Rory McNeil]

I hate to dump on the only National event track in Div.6, but I`ve had a few bad experiances there myself. I attended a couple of their "All Ford Drags", one year I won quicker bracket, and when I went to the tower for my money and trophy, I had to wait about 15 minutes while they "found" my trophy. They eventually handed me a non descript trophy that had obviously just had the plaque removed, as the sticky backing was still on the base. They took my adress, and promised to send me the proper plaque in the mail. It`s been about 13 years and I`m still waitin`. The next year, I took my 13 second street car, and entered the slow bracket. There was 8 rounds, I was the sole semi finalist, & when I went to the tower, I was informed there was nothing for semis (7 rounds!) Turns out the winner "won" $100.00, R/U a whopping $50.00! 150-160 cars @ $40.00 each in that class, and a total payout of $150.00? Other than the National event, and occasionally the LODRS race, I just stay away. Like Danny said, Bremerton is a much more racer friendly track, less than 1 hour further away. And of course I love my home track of Mission Raceway. I had actually thought of going to Pacifics "Halloween" race, for a last shot test session, glad the iffy weather forecast kept me home. Pacific (S.I.R.) was great in the 70`s and most of the 80`s, I don`t know what caused the downturn. It IS the only track in the division capable (barely) of holding a NHRA Nat`l event, it would sure be nice if Div.6 could get a Jegs style NHRA Sportsnationals at say, Mission or Woodburn.

[Harry 6674]

The skuttle but I'm hearing is that next year the Divisional and National events will be the only drag racing at Pacific. The road course will take up the slack? Must be a different bunch running that part of the track. Also I hear that Buckey Austin and Jay Livingston are going to take over operations of Spokane Raceway Park. Hope they can get that up and running again to give us another track in Div. 6. I have faith in Jay to be racer friendly.