Where were you TEXAS, & D4 racers???

[GarysZ24]

I'm asking this because of the shockingly poor turnout that this race had from you guys...especially since Scooter Peaco told me yesterday that Texas has the second largest IHRA membership (second only to North Carolina). I don't get it given I, Matt & Chuck Hawk, as well as Steve Mikus, and Joe Harper, traveled through other states to get here to participate in this race that you guys begged IHRA to offer you?

Well guess what, your poor showing here, just insured that this race won't be back here ever again (per Scooter Peaco, vp of racing operations)! You had the biggest paying race in your categories that any HRA could/would provide, and you didn't show up....I'm waiting to read a collection of reasons why people stayed home, and failed to support this so-called wanted event!!! I read the other website about this thread, and in it I noticed only two racers (so far), had good reasons to not attend...what about the rest of you???

Guess what, North Carolina, you'll be getting this race next year, and given that your state loves IHRA drag racing so much, that you have your own division, Texas's loss will be your gain!!!! I hope you're happy with yourselves Texans, I know the North Carolinans will be!!!

[THE LEGEND]

NC has the highest membership and we:
Have to drive 600 miles to the nearest Nitro Jam race.
Have to drive 300 miles to the nearest Sportsman Spectacular.
Have to drive 600 miles to the season ending TOC Championship race.
COME ON IHRA. We feel like we have been left out in the cold.
Chip Johnson

[HR9121]

Originally Posted by THE LEGEND

NC has the highest membership and we:
Have to drive 600 miles to the nearest Nitro Jam race.
Have to drive 300 miles to the nearest Sportsman Spectacular.
Have to drive 600 miles to the season ending TOC Championship race.
COME ON IHRA. We feel like we have been left out in the cold.
Chip Johnson

Chip atleast you don't live down here on the coast, you can add 2 hours to all your tows but the fishing sure is better out here! If they don't get more in line with the membership or atleast me I'll be using my super street # some next year.

[THE LEGEND]

They have surely opened the doors for the N crowd to swoop in.
Zmax- 2 hours
Bristol- 5hrs
Atlanta- 5 hrs
VMP 3.5hrs
Thats 7 races total right there.
Chip

[RJ Sledge]

They had a race in San Antonio?????

Most people know that I have been working on getting my car back together after a wreck at Dallas last year. Been slow and the guy doing the work is not too talented. If I had my car together I would have been there. I sold Kirk's car back to Bennie Latham the week after he won the Sunday event at the Nitro Jam. We are also building a new car for next year, so most of our time, energy and money are spoken for.

I was surprised at the lack of entry's, but some things to consider. It has been 95 to 100 degrees for the last two weeks, San Antonio is not the best hooking track around and IHRA does not spend the time or money to make it a decent hooking facility. Did I mention the temperatures during the last two weeks?? If you have a mid to high Class car good luck with getting the car to hook with any consistency.

Hows that for an excuse??

RJ

[Jason]

When the heat is 100 degrees in Texas, are there any other tracks in the state that have a good starting line?

[GarysZ24]

Originally Posted by R J Sledge

They had a race in San Antonio?????

Most people know that I have been working on getting my car back together after a wreck at Dallas last year. Been slow and the guy doing the work is not too talented. If I had my car together I would have been there. I sold Kirk's car back to Bennie Latham the week after he won the Sunday event at the Nitro Jam. We are also building a new car for next year, so most of our time, energy and money are spoken for.

I was surprised at the lack of entry's, but some things to consider. It has been 95 to 100 degrees for the last two weeks, San Antonio is not the best hooking track around and IHRA does not spend the time or money to make it a decent hooking facility. Did I mention the temperatures during the last two weeks?? If you have a mid to high Class car good luck with getting the car to hook with any consistency.

Hows that for an excuse??

RJ

RJ, I'll accept the excuse of your car being in the building stages, and the other one not working, but given that I had to race a wheel-standing "Jammin" Jerry Emmons in the first round, he surely didn't appear to have any problems hooking up to the track. Neither did Matt Hawk who doubled up with his 11-12 second Mustang. Oh and there was a '65 Dodge Coronet there that was either a 9sec car, or a 10 sec car, and even he didn't have traction issues, so I'm not so sure about the track prep not being up to par...

What I don't get is why there was 21 Stockers there in March, and only 7 (maybe less) of those racers were here for this one? NHRA doesn't pay a non-contingency purse that's even half of what IHRA posted for this event, and for only $200 bucks!!! I've been in this sport for 37yrs, and racing Stock Eliminator for the last 17 of them, and I've never seen anything like this....I'm sorry but I wasn't about to be silent here because that was the best damn tasting water that any HRA has offered to all sportsman classes (including the newest pair, Top Dragster, and Top Sportsman), without contingency money falling into play. Why don't you Texans go ask Pete Peery why he's glad he showed up for that race? Thanks to his win, he not only went home with well over the posted $5,000 bucks, but now he (if he's an IHRA member), qualified for the upcoming Tournament of Champions race, where he'll have the chance to be a world champion in Super Stock W/O having to traverse much of the country to earn a bunch of points to out-point Peter Biondo, Dan Fletcher, Jody Lang, et.al....I hope he is, because it'll come down to who's game is best on World Finals Day (like it used to be long before I got into this category) !!!

I just don't get it....well I know one thing for sure, you all who could've showed up (and didn't), just proved one thing to be not completely true...everything is bigger in Texas. That may have been true and many things, but with this field size (especially in Stock and Super Stock), it definitely WAS NOT BIGGER IN TEXAS, & THAT'S TEXAS SIZE SAD!!!!

Oh, and one more thing, this website even carried the thread about the race at the top of the list of threads, so that everyone who browses this website would've seen the advertisement for the race, and they did this way back in March (if not earlier), so it's not as though no notice was given about the race...plus that when IHRA posted their 2012 schedule, it was in their first Drag Review Magazine, and I believe the notice was made about this race as far back as December, so that's one excuse I won't accept from any of you who had better/faster cars and more money to spend to go racing than I do (it would be harder to find those who have less than I do than more, but I still came)!!!

[Harry 6674]

Originally Posted by GarysZ24

I'm asking this because of the shockingly poor turnout that this race had from you guys...especially since Scooter Peaco told me yesterday that Texas has the second largest IHRA membership (second only to North Carolina). I don't get it given I, Matt & Chuck Hawk, as well as Steve Mikus, and Joe Harper, traveled through other states to get here to participate in this race that you guys begged IHRA to offer you?

Well guess what, your poor showing here, just insured that this race won't be back here ever again (per Scooter Peaco, vp of racing operations)! You had the biggest paying race in your categories that any HRA could/would provide, and you didn't show up....I'm waiting to read a collection of reasons why people stayed home, and failed to support this so-called wanted event!!! I read the other website about this thread, and in it I noticed only two racers (so far), had good reasons to not attend...what about the rest of you???

Guess what, North Carolina, you'll be getting this race next year, and given that your state loves IHRA drag racing so much, that you have your own division, Texas's loss will be your gain!!!! I hope you're happy with yourselves Texans, I know the North Carolinans will be!!!

Gary for a guy that whines and crys about the high cost of NHRA races you seem to be able to absorb the high cost of traveling.Just sayin.

[Emmett Mikolajczyk]

Hey--it is sad that there was not a turn out because it cost a lot of money to put on a race, but just because somebody scheduels a race does not mean everyone will come-I live right here and have a BARN FULL of stockers and super stockers and did not attend !! I hope no one holds that against me--I have gone to 2 races in 2 years--unlike some places we have a terriable economy and I hope that the owners of the local race track take this to Heart--I dont think IHRA is to blame but I will agree with R J , the local track cant treat racers like they are cattle and expect them to come back--stock and super stock has had pleanty of reasons not to show up!!--I dont look for it to get any better any time soon and rightfully another track should be rewarded--I think that that was a good venue and should be at a track that draws alot of stockers and super stockers (there are grand total of 7 stock and super stockers that live in our area--for it to be a successful you have to depend on the out of town cars) please dont beat up the Texas racers--It is what it is--Emmett

[Jacob Pitt]

San Antonio Raceway which is a track I like but it does not have a good reputation for being a good hooking track and for good reason. It is the only track that the Volare has ever spun at each time it has ever been there. I ran the car heavy at the Spectacular so I had a better chance of staying hooked during the race. That worked but the starting line was still lacking teeth as in the final of Stock the front tires scooted in the beams with the brake pedal to the floor at 2800rpm. I tried to compensate my light but still missed it with a -.018 red. Not making excuses for my lose just stating facts as to an insight as a possiblity to the low turn out. Brimer was the fastest stocker left in competition in the semi's and he spun against Hawk and then broke his transmission. My no box car was also spinning all weekend with extra weight in the trunk. I dialed it soft all day and then decided to trust the track in the finals and spun more in the final than I had the last three rounds and couldn't catch Hawk. Again not an excuse. Hawk whooped my tail twice and that's that! One last example of the track condition. My uncle was still in competition from the Baton Rouge Pro Am rain out that they finished friday night. He had no issues getting down the track in boggy and hot Baton Rouge but the first hit friday he shook the tires so hard he decided to change tires before eliminations started. I do wish there would have been more cars but I know of more than a few racers that didn't go because they didn't think the track would be good.