Class Nationals event planning

[Dan Bennett]

Originally Posted by Michael Beard

This thread was way back on page 3. Too little interest?

I meant to comment when the thread started but somehow it slipped off my radar.

I've been to a bunch of tracks across the country, and there are a very few where you instantly feel the difference between the operations of simply a promoter and someone who loves racing.

Earlville is the most racer friendly track in the country as far as I'm concerned. No Problem is right there but I haven't been to the track since the management change, plus it's not nearly as central.

In my experience promoting events many years ago, I'm acutely aware the entire thing involves juggling a bunch of pros and cons. Earlville might be more distant for a lot of racers than Columbus and without entrants there's no reason for the race.

But then I think of the downhill staging, all-concrete track, racer barbecues, tree-lined pits, RV park. and the staff in the tower enjoying the action as much as the racers - and I keep coming back to Earlville.

You can't get much more central than Gateway, but I can't see the event there for a lot of reasons. Yes, you could physically do it, but I'd bet a whole lot more racers would have smiles on their faces Sunday night if you held the event in Iowa. So even if you're juggling variables I think it's a mistake to base the decision because of an over emphasis on one of them.

Whatever you decide to do, good luck. I think it's a tremendous idea.

[treessavoy]

Originally Posted by Michael Beard

I will do some research and take it into consideration. I looked at 5 years of weather data and it generally looks pretty good there. Another track I'd looked at and talked to a couple of years ago was Cordova. I'd worked with Scott, Laura, and Taz at a number of bracket finals, and I noticed they have a strong base with S/SS cars at their LODRS.



That was my thought. I would use the IHRA indexes (aka old NHRA indexes)... y'all can go stupid far under and enjoy it without getting horsepower. ;-)



Most crate motor cars run the 9" radial to begin with. That's an issue we could discuss and get input from both sides, but that's getting into details before we even fully develop the big picture.



I'll do the east coast if you do the west. ;-)



That would make it better for some, and make it impossible for others. There's always a trade off, and we just have to weigh those. Scheduling is very difficult, as there are a TON of races going on when you consider Nat'l and Div'l in both sanctioning bodies. Inevitably, you're going to be on top of *something*, and no one date and location is going to be perfect for everyone. I'm looking at first weekend in May in the "eastern mid-west". I realize that in 2013 that would be on top of the Atlanta national, but 1) we don't know the 2014 schedule, and 2) the 2012 Atlanta national was not well attended -- and those that were there were primarily "locals" to the region. This race would have to draw from the most populated areas/divisions, then hope to draw some percentage of support of surrounding regions.



Unfortunately, that is a mathematical impossibility. In order to cover track rental and all of the misc expenses (advertising, trophies, extra staff, hotels, etc) and pay first round winners, you'd either be running for peanuts to win, or pay an astronomical entry fee.



Small money races and test n' tunes will not cover a day's track rental unless you have a substantial turnout and participation. Plus, if you schedule on-track activities on Friday, everyone will bump up their planned arrival by yet another day, incurring more costs in hotels, staffing, time off work, etc -- for both the racer and the staff. It's always possible that the track would choose to do a test n' tune on Friday night themselves. Now, if we could be assured that we would have a very strong turnout in both Stock and Super Stock (100+ cars in each class), then I'm all for it, and would be willing to make it an all-S/SS event like the original Class Nationals, instead of having any bracket cars to cover expenses. If we're looking at 50 cars per class (which would be an impressive turnout these days), then it can't stand on its own. Perhaps the bigger it "can" be, the bigger it "will" be. It would have to be done on a pre-entry basis, not only to confirm the viability of the event, but also to get a ballpark on Class trophies to order. That's just one more reason why we're planning a year and a half in advance and not trying to rush something to market for next year. If we're going to do this, I want to do it *right*.

Hey Nitro Joe -- Are you up for making a ladder bigger than 128 again?

Michael,

The tracks you mentioned are a little far away for Southern and probably some East Coast racers, can you look at someplace a little farther South and East...KY,TN,VA,WV, etc. Heck, I'd even travel to Atco just to see the place where it all started for me.

JimR

[Michael Beard]

I'm not a Farmer's Almanac subscriber, but when we were discussing different locations in the early stages of this event, we talked about weather history. While 'past results are no guarantee of future weather', historically, the first weekend in May has been a rainy one in Bowling Green, Edgewater, and points west, and that held true again this year. We are now just shy of one year away from the Northern Class Nationals. While it may mean absolutely nothing, it's encouraging to note that the weather followed its historical trend this past weekend in Hebron, OH, and it would've been three perfect days of racing weather! We'll happily take more of the same next year!

[Jack McCarthy]

that should jinx us !

jack

[Michael Beard]

You've got a 'boat', you'll be fine. ;-)

The other plus is with having just three classes on the grounds, everyone will have a better selection of pit area.

[Jeremy1374]

Now you're starting to sound like a lawyer-caster lol

[Michael Beard]

The feedback I've been receiving on the Northern Class Nationals has been absolutely huge. Based on this feedback, the car count potential, and studying the amount of time required to run various types of races on a given day, we have decided to make the event a Stock & Super Stock only event. You have always been the showcase, and we feel that we need to concentrate on giving S/SS racers the best experience possible. That means having the pits dedicated to you, and time schedules that give you ample track time and racing opportunities without running you late into the night. With a strong turnout of S, SS, *and* No-Box, we could quickly get into a time crunch.

The No-Box E.T. Bracket races will be replaced with one day featuring two Qualifying runs, an optional $3,000 S/SS Combo, and Racer Appreciation Party, and one day dedicated to performance, with two Qualifying runs, Class Eliminations (Q2 will be first round of Class), and then after the completion of Class, roll into the Quick 32 CIC shootouts. This will also alleviate the extra work of having to keep swapping back and forth between 'bracket mode' and 'go fast' setups. Keeping the Sunday schedule of going straight into eliminations of the $5K main events will enable us to complete the event in a timely fashion, allow folks a decent amount of time to travel home, and give us some time to fall back on should we need it for any reason.

My initial thought is to do the "Performance Day" (Qualifying, Class, & Quick 32 CIC races) on Friday, and then the remainder of Qualifying, the S/SS Combo, and Racer Appreciation Party on Saturday -- that way your last setup is 'bracket mode', and you don't have to dial off of Friday's runs on Sunday. But, if you'd rather do the Combo on Friday, Class & Q32's Saturday, I'm open to your feedback.

I have contacted Mark Walter at DragStory.com and MotorManiaTV.com and reserved our date to have the entire weekend broadcast live online. If you haven't seen their work before, Walter and crew provide a 4-camera, fully produced live video feed -- exactly what the S/SS community has been begging for! Here's a sample of the kind of work they do:



For sponsors, they have the ability to cut in TV commercials as well as display banner ads.




I have been working on a preliminary flyer, and have started talking with potential sponsors. We have everything available from individuals putting up cash or prizes for awards or specific Class shootouts, gift certificates or products, support for the Quick 32 CIC purses, and contingency postings, up to presenting and title sponsor positions. There are no administration fees. For example, Jack McCarthy & Terry Bell have started pooling money for a U/SA Shootout. Any individual Class funds or prizes/awards you want to organize, we will be happy to publish on the event flyer, and it all goes right to the racers.

[boostedf22c]

Very cool. Keep up the good work!

[ALMACK]

Just curious because I haven't seen any reference to it yet in this thread, but will IHRA cars be allowed ?

[Andrew Hill]

I don't think there could be a better place than Bowling Green. I am, of course, biased because it's close to me, but if a place can get 60+ cars for a combo race on a regular basis, a Class Nationals type race would likely have full fields.

I saw quite a few people have suggested Earlville. We went there for the first time this year, it's a very nice place, and fast!