Racing fairness versus Circus attendance

[FED 387]

My ideas for this are
1) geographically located----something that would make it easier for the average guy to be able to get to---for example do not put it in Miami too difficult for midwest northern NE racers to get to---No Problem same dilemma ---Great Bend/Topeka are too far for the Southern/ New york Penn racers to come to--- no matter where ya put it somebody is only gonna hafta drive 15 miles to get there and another whole bunch is gonna hafta go 900!!!!

2) I personally do not think having to choose between say T'giving and racing is the proper thing to do. Others may disagree with me. Same with Mothers Day/Easter!!!

3) As far as payouts go I do not have any specific answer but perhaps a portion of the entry refunded or something similiar could be an idea----just do not make it 70-80% to the winner and the rest split up among the rest of the racers


THESE ARE JUST IDEAS OR THOUGHTS THAT COME TO MIND NOT WHAT I'M SAYING SHOULD BE DONE. Since this is in the prelinminary discussion phase and you are gathering ideas, many thoughts are going to be presented by other racers as well---Comp 387

[Mark Lewis]

Bowling Green would be a good central location and maybe run in the spring like the old Sportsnationals. Bill Bader or Pat Geofrion would be able to pull it off at their NHRA tracks and pack it with spectators.

[FED 387]

My main thought here is WHO ARE YOU TRYING TO APPEAL TO??? Ya can't please everybody ya gonna make it a regional thing like say the Midwest states or the area East of the Miss River or whatever??? Where you are gonna hold it is going to predicate most likely what geographical you are gonna try and appeal to the most!!!! Of course ANYBODY would be welcome to enter but what is gonna be your target area??? Once ya determine that then you work on entry requirements/fees etc. Where are ya gonna get Sponsors??? Who are ya gonna get to sponsor it??? Ya gonna need a whole lotta little sponsors or some really big ones to pay the expenses as well as provide "winnings monies".---Lotsa things to consider here before ya say let's have a race--------Comp

[X-TECH MAN]

Originally Posted by FED 387

My main thought here is WHO ARE YOU TRYING TO APPEAL TO??? Ya can't please everybody ya gonna make it a regional thing like say the Midwest states or the area East of the Miss River or whatever??? Where you are gonna hold it is going to predicate most likely what geographical you are gonna try and appeal to the most!!!! Of course ANYBODY would be welcome to enter but what is gonna be your target area??? Once ya determine that then you work on entry requirements/fees etc. Where are ya gonna get Sponsors??? Who are ya gonna get to sponsor it??? Ya gonna need a whole lotta little sponsors or some really big ones to pay the expenses as well as provide "winnings monies".---Lotsa things to consider here before ya say let's have a race--------Comp

Jegs? Summit? Just thinking out loud. We had a load of cars because the USCN was held the weekend before Indy. Could something like that draw if it was held at another time of the year?

[Michael Beard]

Originally Posted by X-TECH MAN

Jegs? Summit? Just thinking out loud. We had a load of cars because the USCN was held the weekend before Indy. Could something like that draw if it was held at another time of the year?

It was before Indy, but not the weekend before. It was the same weekend as the Mile-Highs.... Here's the original press release: http://www.ihra.com/news/2001/july/17uscn.html (sorry for the broken images... some stuff was lost on the IHRA server over the years)

[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.