2nd Annual Combo in the Hills???

[Byron Worner]

Any word if there will be a second annual $10,000 s/ss combo at Numidia in 2012?

[BKSG1198]

Byron,

Not sure what Lee & Brian's plans are for 2012. I've pitched the idea to put the Combo in the Hills & .90 Nationals all together for 1 weekend of big sportsman racing. I'm not going to be racing so I'd be all about helping Brian and Lee out so they could race this year. Hopefully they will be able to put it together and have the race. I'm currently working on a date for the .90 Race so if they want to jump on board...Let's Rock & Roll!

Rob Keister

[Brian VP]

To all concerned
I would like to begin by thanking all of the racers who attended the race last year. It was a great time. The feedback that we received from all of the racers that attended was incredible. Lee and myself had such a great time doing it, it was great getting out of a car and running a race, it was something that neither of us will never forget. We also need to thank the many other people who helped us do this. To our wives for putting up with everything along the way and their tireless effort at the race. To Dave and Gloria, Bob and Curt for taking care of tech. That was a huge help. And of course to the DiMino family and the staff at Numidia dragway. They gave us an outstanding facility and let us do whatever we wanted. They are great people to work with and expressed to us a great "thanks" for bringing such great class racing to the track.

Now that brings us to the question. Lee and I have briefly talked about maybe doing another race. At this time I would have to say that the chances aren't real good. If we did it would be formatted quite differently. When we designed the race, we tried to center it around the racer and making sure that they understand that this was for them and how appreciated they were. We took a big risk and to be honest, we lost. We had 88 cars show up. It was on a weekend when nothing else was going on in an area that within 6-8 hours probably has 400-500 cars and we had 88 cars? When Numidia used to have a divisional race they used to draw quite a few division 3 cars, and for our race, we got a grand total of 0. Part of the reason that we put the race there was because we new that many of them had attended the NHRA race and we thought that they would come. People travel a lot further for a lot less if it has NHRA attatched to it. Once again, we are so appreciative of the racers that did show up. Lee and I worked pretty much non stop on this for 3 months, while also working our full time jobs, and trying to live our lives. It was a lot of work. On the phone with sponsors, racers, creating websites, etc. and it was great that we reached these racers and we are so happy that they enjoyed it and felt respected, as they should.

We are still open to doing something but I could tell you that it would be on a smaller level, for less money. We would be happy to hear from everyone on their ideas on what it would take for them to come to a race like this. If you would like to use this thread as a place to sound off your ideas, that would be great.

Brian Van Poppel

[Bobby Fazio]

Hey Bryan and Lee, I had a great time at the race last year and my first time at an awesome run Numidia track. Combo races are always tough because it is like trying to teach an old dog new tricks. I know for me I had to beg my dad to let me put extra runs on his car for a non-NHRA race with a huge payout. Why? Neither one of us had any idea. Just because. There is something about that NHRA that we all love (and hate) and I'm sure that's the way it is with a lot of racers. With that said, we both ended up having a great time and I know we would definitely be back next year if it happened again.

I created a survey that hopefully I won't get in trouble for sharing but maybe this could answer alot of questions pertaining to combo races. Please go to the link and take the time to fill it out, it is only 6 questions. It is anonymous so no one will see your name so please let it all hang out!

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/...ZBS2c6MQ#gid=0

[Brian VP]

Bobby,
Thanks for the interest and thank you for the survey. We don't mind at all. We are hoping to get as much input as we can. If everyone would please take a minute to fill out this survey that Bobby took the time to create it would help in possibly delivering a race that is best for everyone.
Brian

[Terry Knott]

"We had 88 cars show up. It was on a weekend when nothing else was going on in an area that within 6-8 hours probably has 400-500 cars and we had 88 cars? "

One observation from the race is that was a nice contingent of IHRA regulars in attendance. Myron Piatek even made the trip up from Florida!!! Despite the weather it was still a well run race and we had a great time.

[Mike Bassin]

I sure hope we will see a 2nd Annual Combo in the Hills race in 2012 at Numidia. Lee and Brian did an excellent job putting this event together. The payout was huge for entry fee charged and the sponsors added even more to make this a great event for the racers that participated. Bob Dimino and family gave everyone a great track. The Dimino family gets it, they love all forms of drag racing and are really big on sportsman class racing. Friday nights gamblers race for the early arrivals was fun. It seemed the racers really liked the two hours, 4 - 6 pm where track was all theirs only. Some racers made five or six passes, that's never gonna happen anywhere else other than maybe a private track rental. Friday nights street car group also loved watching the big wheel standing cars run while they were doing their usual friday night deal.

Now to the lower than expected car count. As the race approached my guess would be about 125 cars or so would show on race day. At my home track, Quarter Aces Drag-O-Way, Boiling Springs, Pa. any time a long range weather forecast shows any sign of rain on the weekend, even as little as 30% chance of rain on race day we can count on a big drop in car count and race fans no matter what type of race we have scheduled. Give us a good, clear race day forecast and we have a solid car count and lots of race fans. Most of our racers are within an hour drive or tow to the track, those who make longer trips are going to think twice before coming if the weather forecast shaky. Secondly, every time we run a "Wally" race, which is twice a year, we get much bigger car counts. Seems everyone wants a "Wally". When I announced at Maple Grove at our 2004 awards banquet the five track champions received a fabulous trophy that anyone would proudly display, it was a Autometer 5" tach mounted a solid wood base and a brass engraved plate with the class, year and racers name. This thing would make anyone proud to own and display. Is it possible that money matters a lot to the racers but also when it has been spent a great award lasts for years. I still cherish the trophies and awards won and received in this sport and think everyone else feels the same about their "hardware" that they aquirred over the years.

These are just two thoughts that may have played into the car count. I sure hope we have another Combo in the Hills II in 2012. I had a great time announcing it and would love to do it again! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all on this site!

Mike Bassin

[Brian VP]

Originally Posted by Terry Knott

"We had 88 cars show up. It was on a weekend when nothing else was going on in an area that within 6-8 hours probably has 400-500 cars and we had 88 cars? "

One observation from the race is that was a nice contingent of IHRA regulars in attendance. Myron Piatek even made the trip up from Florida!!! Despite the weather it was still a well run race and we had a great time.

You are right Terry. Lee and I have said many times how it was so great that the IHRA racers supported it so well. From the pre-entries to the entries at the gate the "I" guys were awesome. They came and they loved it and all commented on how much they enjoyed the race, it was so great having you all there.

[Michael Beard]

Weather forecast and the (relatively) short notice about the race, and Mother's Day weekend probably all helped dilute the car count. Kudos to the racers that showed up and supported the event. It was well-run from top to bottom, and my hat's off to Lee and Brian for sticking their necks out. As we recently completed a big money footbrake race here in NC that I was co-promoter of (Race coverage at www.staginglight.com/footbrake/), I know first hand just how much work goes on behind the scenes! (and even though I've been involved in a lot of events in different capacities before, I'll admit there was even more to it than what I expected!) We had a great, successful event, though, kicking off the weekend with 191 entries. We started handing out flyers two weeks before Thanksgiving LAST year. I'm hoping to have the 2012 event flyer out in January, and already feel like I'm way behind, even though the race is 12 months away.

I would love to see a 2nd Annual Combo in the Hills, and will help out any way I can. We need a good date, a good forecast, and promotion waaay out in front. I think NHRA racers in particular plan their schedule way far in advance. I don't even have the IHRA schedule yet, and it already looks like the first week or two in May is about the only hole on the schedule, so you're in the same boat as last year.

Glad somebody did a poll. It can't be about the money, because you have these racer-run events, and IHRA's Sportsman Spectacular (90 S/SS cars combined at MIR, 109 at VMP) none of which drew the numbers necessary to make one of these deals live on its own. What were the car counts at your deal, Rob?

I looked at trying to pull off a US Class Nationals revival in 2012, and did a lot of ground work on doing an event, but I let it go. Some races go gangbusters, and some are a bust. If the S/SS community really wants these kind of races, they need to actually support them when they come around.

$.02,

[Michael Kilduff]

I'm just throwing this out there as something to chew on as a way to generate revenue to help these events be successful all the way around.

What would it take to set up a 'live timing' video kind of thing and stream it via the internet? The promoters could set it up as 'pay per view' and I would think racers from all over the country would buy into it, the combo races might do okay with it but something like another 'class nationals' would likely hit a home run with it.

Sometimes local colleges have film, theater, photography, production programs and camera operators can be had pretty cheap. Some would even volunteer I bet.

The guy that lives across the street from my brother is an instructor of photography/video/producing at a local college...last friday he had a gaggle of students and people at his place and they did a motorcycle stunt in the street (bike crashes into car, really they did this- yes these guys are kinda crazy ) as a very low cost production deal.

Such a production might not be as intimidating as it seems upon initial inspection.