Is Bob Lang

[David Barton]

I believe Bob Lang is the guy. At least that's what Danny Gracia told me when I had some words with him after losing to Connelly in the Showdown. I commented to him how I thought the track conditions were a joke. JC Beattie spun, Jack Matyas spun so bad I saw a cloud of smoke, then I went right behind them and did the same thing.

I know NHRA didn't do everything they could have because I was standing right there as the ***** happened. They kept misting the track with their spray without dragging it with the tractor. Before the 2nd round of the Showdown they sprayed and passed the tractor once in each lane. They both went up the right lane and came back in the left and parked. Without surprise both lanes still had bald spots.

Numerous people made comments to the starting line crew but they simply ignored most. The one time I heard a reaction they said they needed to hurry up and stick to the schedule. I'd rather lose a time shot if it meant the track prep would be better.

To make my experience even worse, I had to race Biondo heads up in the 2nd round of the Eliminator and probably would have won if I didn't spin. I'm usually not a sore loser but when it's due to the lack of track prep I fealt I was ripped off. Half of the reason I spun is because I removed all of the ballast from the car to run and support the Factory Showdown. I added my regular weight for the bracket race but needed to remove it again to race Sal.

Anyway, I have a lot to say about it but its not getting us anywhere. What do we need to do to make a difference? Many people were pissed with good reason this past weekend and something should be done about it. We can't keep sweeping it under the rug.

After I lost to Sal I honestly felt like I never wanted to come back ever again which isn't fair to me, my business, my car owners, sponsors, fans, and many more. NHRA is really pushing it if you ask me.

[1320racer]

Originally Posted by David Barton

I know NHRA didn't do everything they could have because I was standing right there as the ***** happened. They kept misting the track with their spray without dragging it with the tractor. Before the 2nd round of the Showdown they sprayed and passed the tractor once in each lane. They both went up the right lane and came back in the left and parked. Without surprise both lanes still had bald spots.

Numerous people made comments to the starting line crew but they simply ignored most. The one time I heard a reaction they said they needed to hurry up and stick to the schedule. I'd rather lose a time shot if it meant the track prep would be better.

I'm usually not a sore loser but when it's due to the lack of track prep I fealt I was ripped off.

Anyway, I have a lot to say about it but its not getting us anywhere. What do we need to do to make a difference? Many people were pissed with good reason this past weekend and something should be done about it. We can't keep sweeping it under the rug.

After I lost to Sal I honestly felt like I never wanted to come back ever again which isn't fair to me, my business, my car owners, sponsors, fans, and many more. NHRA is really pushing it if you ask me.

NOTHING will happen to remedy this situation as long as you guys continue to show up to race on whatever junk lang decides is good enough.

What does it take for you guys to stick together and say enough is enough and BOYCOTT the next event?

Only when they lose $ will you get their attention.

When the track is junk from the get go, it's only because it wasn't prepped properly period!

I was in the stands on Friday and watched class car after car after car blow the tires off and not once was the program haulted to attempt to fix the starting line nor did I see lang anywhere near the starting line.

Only after several Pro stock and FC smoked the tires did I see lang walk the left lane to 330 feet.

I have been racing for 22 years and every comment I have ever heard about lang from division 1 racers whether running brackets or class is always the same.

[Larry Hill]

If Bob Lang is responsible for track prep, what is the job description of the starter? Does the track crew have to get permission from the tower to fix the track, or does the schedule trump everything including track safety?

So, if John Force spins @ Indy he needs to find Jay to express his disappointment in track prep?

[Bruce Noland]

Jim,
Thank you for your considered posts. You should consider creating a network of advertisers and event sponsors.The nhra executives have insulated themselves from the racers and fans to push their greed driven business model. They have developed a take it or leave it program for racers and fans alike. No one should forget that this corporation is still sucking off our tax dollars, at least for the time being. You can get the attention of this outfit only with the combined force that a network has to offer and possibly make a positive impact on our beloved sport.

[Steve Calabro]

Jim, I agree with you 100%. The schedule did not work. There was a wait after Super Gas ran for the Stockers to get back. They could have run another class in between and not lost any time. Also your post about the small tire big HP cars was right on. There was NO track prep between or during the sessions.

[Pistol Pete]

Jim

I did not comment on the Factory Class Cars.....

I just commented on the run schedule.

If i was down to the semi finals i wouldn't complain that they called me up.
That's a totally different scenario.

[Steve Williams]

I believe that all National event track prep is handled by the NHRA and not the division or track personnel. This scenario played itself out a few years ago at Atlanta, where the track personnel told NHRA that VHT was their compound weekly and at the division race and that VP didn't agree with their surface. Even offered to use their own supply for them to prep the track with. Tough luck, VP it was and I remember that it was so bad that a golf cart could blow the tire off. Anybody remember stockers spinning the tire past half track. If you were there you would remember it in eliminations. Qualifiers were not much better.

[David Barton]

Track temp isn't the problem. I've raced on many hot tracks and I've never seen such a pitiful starting line. I remember a couple years ago at Indy the air temp was over 100 degrees and there were no traction problems like this. So how can you blame it on track temp?

I understand the officials may not have complete control of the situation but they just stand there acting like we're crazy for even looking at it. Some people were booted off the line because they were simply looking at the lanes before their cars arrived. If the track was any good you wouldn't have to get a preview.

Where do we go from here? Who's making the decisions? Can we all stand up and make a difference? Would enough people stand up to make a difference? I don't need to support NHRA, especially if they are not supporting me. It kills me to think I would have to go somewhere else but I can't keep wasting time racing on ***** tracks. Unlike most, I do depend on this sport to make money.

[Bill Hawk]

Originally Posted by David Barton

To make my experience even worse, I had to race Biondo heads up in the 2nd round of the Eliminator and probably would have won if I didn't spin. I'm usually not a sore loser but when it's due to the lack of track prep I fealt I was ripped off. Half of the reason I spun is because I removed all of the ballast from the car to run and support the Factory Showdown. I added my regular weight for the bracket race but needed to remove it again to race Sal.

David, with all due respect your comment about probably beating Sal is a little premature. The starting line was terrible, but our car has only spun once since is was built. It spun against Gary Richard in the final of the Shootout, we tried to step it up and the track could not handle it.

The track was bad like I said, but against you we added weight and adjusted for the poor traction. Something maybe you should have thought of. There was no way we were going to give it all we had in those conditions. You have a legitimate gripe, but my issue with you is thinking you could out run Sal and blame the track for the loss. Blaming the track for spinning is legitimate, the loss is a stretch.

You showed no performance advantage all week. You may have been saving it for when you needed it, but given the track conditions we were not setup to let it all hang out at this race.

[John DiBartolomeo]

I think I have to agree with Jack... Bob Lang would have to be crazy (no comments here) to come on here and answer questions. But I can guarantee he's listening. The week before the Maple Grove divisional, members of the super category SRAC had a meeting to discuss some issues, most notably track prep. Bob Lang was invited and gladly attended to rationally (key word here) discuss our concerns. He was more than willing to listen and accept some of our "suggestions." At the 'Grove, if anyone was paying attention, you would have noticed a marked difference in how the track was prepped, both before racing began and in between sessions. With Lang in charge of track prep at the nat events, that same scenario took place at E-Town. I'm not going to defend the poor starting line there, nor the crazy schedule but expecting to run two classes back to back with those cars shocking the tires in roughly the same place on a track that had temps well above 100-degrees, was probably a mistake. Something I think they (whoever "they" is at NHRA) would agree.

VP vs. VHT (which is really now PJ1)? Nat events use PJ1 (VHT). I don't know what they use on a weekly basis at E-Town or at a lot of other tracks, but the bottom line that both work well in most cases. My thoughts have always been that we spray too much and don't drag enough. Cars have to stick to rubber and the spray is only there to facilitate the rubber sticking to it.

Here's my point: If you think they're not listening, you're drastically mistaken. In regards to the track prep, trying to prep the track for different types of cars can drive anyone to drink. Trying to find that happy medium would probably have most of us popping open the Jim Beam a lot quicker than NHRA would.