Atco FYI

[danielct301]

I don't believe in jinx's so here goes.
I know its not raining yet but forecast has it raining all day saturday and into sunday morning so as Angelo has stated we will be there till monday(if you choose to stay).
I know we can't control the weather but this year has sucked beyond belief.

[SC1317]

I still believe there is a way to solve anymore discussion about saving pit spots...If you want to park together, pay the entry fees for the saved spots.

[JD Smith]

If you want to park together, then show up together, problem solved.

[SC1317]

Originally Posted by JD Smith

If you want to park together, then show up together, problem solved.

There ya go...2 good answers, show up together or pay for the spots...works for me

[Ed Fernandez]

Here's one for ya.My friend called me this morning from Atco.He's entered into the makeup race.Has to wait till Fri. morning to go to ATM to get entry $$ for 2nd race.Someone was holding a spot for him on asphalt.They told him he couldn't take spot because they didn't want to chase him to get 2nd race entry.
So they parked him in the back in the field that was cleared a few years ago.He's the only trailer in there as of this morning at 8:30AM.This was Atco personnel.He spoke to Bob Lang.Fell on deaf ears.He is considering leaving his membership card at the NHRA trailer after the 1st race and never coming back.
Next year he is considering going IHRA only.
Is this anyway to treat your customers,and we are customers.

[SC1317]

This story just keeps getting better! Why does he have to pay for the 2nd race now? Maybe not going to stay, or maybe don't want to shell out another $170 for for 2nd race when there's a possibility of a rain out. He already paid the $170 for 1st race, should be able to park where ever he wants! So that's what asphalt parking is going for now...$340!

[BKSG1198]

I went last year to Atco as a spectator to help my dad out, as I entered the gate I was ONLY staying Thursday Night, Friday and Leaving Saturday Morning due to work at 12. Now I got there late on Thursday night (Racing was done for the day) so she knew I was staying the night. Told the women that I was staying these days please sell me a ticket for Thurs and Friday. I wasn't trying to screw the system by was not paying Saturday since I was leaving at 8am. The woman told me that I needed to pay for all 4 days at 75 bucks or whatever it was. I was like I'm only staying for 2 days and she said well you need to get a ticket for all 4 days. So I said Ok, I'll pay for it but on Saturday morning at 8am when I'm leaving for the weekend I'll be back to get my money for Sat and Sun since I'm leaving and not coming back. She tells me oh we don't do refunds and "It is what it is". So I got to pay for 2 days of racing that I never got to see a car go down the track

[Mike Meier]

Ed's story was about me, and given the fact that I am typing this means that I hitched up my trailer and went home.

It may not seem like a big enough issue to start a war over, but the way I was treated makes me never want to go back to Atco Raceway or the NHRA again. No side wanted to take responsibility for this very unfair and embarrassing action.

First I take Wednesday off from work so I could take my time to pack the truck and get to the track at a decent time; which I did, at 7:30 pm. So when I get to the gate, the "queen witch" (known for her attitude, but surprisingly this was the first time I ever had a problem with her) informs me that if I don't pay the entry for the second race then they would stick me in the back lot so they can make sure I leave once the first race is over. But I tell her that I will be staying for the second race, I just won't be able to go grab $170 until Friday morning when I get my paycheck direct deposited from work. So why does it matter if I pay now or pay later if I am still going to be there on Saturday/Sunday and will still need to purchase a tech card to enter?

Basically she tells me tough nuggets, this is what the NHRA told them to do so I gotta park in the back lot or don't park at all. This despite there being a spot saved for me on the asphalt (go figure, this is the first time someone ever did this for me and I was never able to take advantage) and the sandy pit area being wide open. Other than the trailer that was to my left, the nearest row of trailers was literally 600-800 feet away at that point. When I pay up, I can move to a regular spot she said.

Oh and before I go on further, since I slept in the back seat of my Suburban, I'd like to thank the looky-loo's who woke my *** up at 7 am or earlier because they just had to check out the truck and trailers sitting in the back field for some reason.

So back to the story; at 8 am or so I see our division direct Bob Lang sitting in his truck, so I calmly approach him and tell him that I have an issue. I explain the situation and state my problem with being extorted for a better parking spot despite the fact that I paid for race #1 about 3 months ago so I should be entitled to a reasonable parking spot like everyone else and that I will gladly go get my entry money for the 2nd race on Friday morning. As Ed said, my reasoning fell on deaf ears and he even went as far as telling me that it was out of his hands. But he is the division director.... If I were a division director I would think I would have the power to say "You know what, there's only 2 trailers in the back lot. Just park in the regular lot and we'll deal with it later." I also asked for a refund when he would not change his mind, but that was not in the cards either.

Now I've come to expect being "treated like a red-headed step child" as a sportsman racer. Things like having a qualifying session taken away, Stock being taken out of the rotation, or being nickled & dimed on membership fees. But to be put in a separate field as if to say "these guys are too cheap to pay for a second race" or "put them here so these deadbeats can't sneak into the second race", that is just insulting. And it was the straw that broke this camels back. I decided at that point I definitely would not be participating in the 2nd race, I would just do race #1 and go home afterward. But the story does not end there.

Since Thursday was a test & tune day and I was not participating, I left the track to go watch the Philadelphia Flyers practice in Voorhees. Between that and lunch I did not get back until after 3:30 pm. I get back; a different lady at the gate gives me a small hassle about getting back in, this of course because no one gave me a wrist band in the first place. So I get back in, hang out with a few different people, then leave for dinner at 6:30 with another racer. But not before one of the track workers sees me riding on the back of someone's golf cart and flags us down to make sure I didn't move my trailer.

We get back around 10 pm and the "queen witch" is working the gate again. She tells me I owe them $15 because I hung out at the track all day. I told her she's out of luck because obviously it's not Friday so I still have no actual cash on me and besides, I am there on a rain check. I did not get 3 days of racing due to rain so my time is on them. She even tried to get money out of my passenger but he rightfully said that his money was now the restaurant's money. So after a few minutes of antagonizing from her, she let us go under the threat that at 7 am she is gonna find me and knock on my window to pay up that too.

At this point I decided to leave the track entirely. The three friends I was hanging with were telling me to stay, but I was very irritated and knew I was either going to say or do something regrettable, and I did not want to spend time in jail over racing. So I went back to the trailer, hitched up, and left. And yes, on my way out they stopped me wanting to know where I was going (not that being pointed at the exit wasn't a good enough clue).

I didn't get to hand over my membership card and competition number to the division director personally, but that's only because it was 11 pm and I wanted out of there without incident. I refuse to patronize a track that treated me like some sort of scam artist or criminal, despite never having any prior incidents at either a bracket race or divisional race. I also refuse to be a member of an organization that claims to be non-profit yet has no accountability to their members / customers (this had been an annoyance in my mind for sometime, but I was just happy to race so it was not a big issue to me until now when I felt personally wronged). A little bit of understanding and accommodation from the start would have prevented the problem, but my only guess is that management (the NHRA and track) is out of touch with the customer.

It's a shame because I really enjoyed racing there and it was one of only two tracks that my girlfriend will come to. I was also looking forward to attending more national and divisional races in the future. I actually took pride in the fact that I was racing in an organization with such history and prestige, but no more. Now I'll admit that I am the kind of person that gets glassy eyed when I get in a major argument, but today I didn't shed a single tear. I'll never get my $170 back, but they'll never my $170 times however many division races there are in a year, times the rest of my life.

Going forward I plan on patronizing the IHRA because the people that I know whom have raced there said that they were treated well and they have a great time there. Only reason why I haven't myself is because of "saving up to go to (fill in the blank) NHRA divisional race".

This is not to say that all of the people at the track or the NHRA are bad, because 99% of them have been great to me. I hate to be cliche' but the bad apples ruined the bunch and I would not consider going back until certain individuals are no longer employed by the above named parties: a certain overzealous gatekeeper, a certain division director, and a certain board of directors on the west coast who I believe are responsible for the current downfall of the organization.

To all the nice folks I have met along the way, I hope to run into you either at local bracket races (I don't need a membership to run Pro / Heavy because I run 13's) or at IHRA races. If you are someone that exclusively does NHRA divisional races, then I wish you the best of luck.

[danielct301]

This whole double race idea was doomed from the start.
There is going to be a lot of bad blood on both sides becacause of it.
I personally don't have an answer as to how it should have been handled.
Lets just hope it doesn't happen again and move forward.
Dan

[Paul Neal]

Mike,
I can relate to your story. A couple of years back I arrived a day early to park and test, and had an issue parking (and it wasn't the first time!). The guy parking said if I didn't like it...leave! To make a long story short, I turned around and demanded a refund. After about 15-20 minutes our mutual "friend" at the gate called Joe Sway down, and he made enough of an effort to settle the situation that I stayed (but I was really ready to tow the 6 hours back home after just driving the six to get there). However, I have not been back, and probably won't ever. And since there are two points races there, and I'll miss those, I've stopped going to other divisionals (why bother chasing points missing two races to begin with). So now the other tracks have indirectly lost my patronage also. This year I stayed home and raced our local Top Dragster and SuperComp/Quick Rod series...two, sometimes 3 races a weekend. What a difference from the four day/one race marathon that is an NHRA divisional!