Attn all alky racers, more trouble:

coming or going...

Did everyone have to pay entry or was entry free with a bronze, silver or gold card? Any free crew passes?

Kind of like Division 4's deal $700 first round money after you spend about $300 in entry and crew passes.

"The tracks said cut pay or cut alky"... next up "Cut pay by cutting alky"

where are the "Gee Will, aren't you over reacting about this divisional deal" folks now?

Alcohol racers better get off their ass and get a plan together to salvage what's left of the divisional deal or accept the fate of an all national series.

It's been a broke system for years, I'm surprised it has lasted this long with the alcohol cars a part of it. The overwhelming majority of the tracks have shifted to the back-gate model. Agree with it or not, that's the decision most tracks have made. Now the alcohol cars are a big hit to the event's bottom line.

The economy is putting the strain on the track from all directions. Weekly programs are down as well as divisional car counts. The money isn't what it used to be for the tracks, so they can't look past the money they lose on the alcohol cars like they used to. For a long time I think most of the track owners/operators knew how much a part of the divisional tradition the alcohol cars were as the premier category. They didn't want to fire the first shots of the battle that will eventually lead to the removal of alcohol cars from divisionals. Well there have been enough shots fired by track operators that now most track operators are standing together that something has to happen with the alcohol cars.

Cuts in payout and increases in entry will continue until the alcohol payout is subsidized by entry fees/crew passes. That means payouts shrink or entries go up. Or both.

What we are seeing now is the result of policy decisions made years ago by the divisions and tracks, and to some degree the series sponsor. The sponsor has little concern if there is spectators at their events, so NHRA has placed little pressure on the tracks to have spectators, and the easiest way for the track to make money (lowest risk to make return) is to have a back gate event. This has slowly been coming to a head. Now tracks are asking NHRA why they are being forced to pay for a 'headlining' class to draw a crowd for an event they aren't looking to draw a crowd for.

I promise you a boycott would only make the track operators tickled like a pig in you know what. You think Bradenton was upset only 3 FC's showed? They nearly cut their payout in half.

It's a broke system and it's been a broke system. I'm not defending the tracks by any means.

The series has sucked for the racers for a while too. Some of the tracks leave a lot to be desired either on the racing surface, safety, pits, etc. The payout compared to the expense is terrible. Just like the tracks can say they are 'forced' to have the alcohol cars against their will, many alcohol racers are 'forced' to go to these events and on some occasions sub-standard tracks for points and just to be able to enter national events.

The problem you have with trying to find a solution is there are too many different agendas with as many alcohol cars as there are out there. There's a group of racers that would just as soon just run the national series. Then there's a group of racers that just can't travel. They either don't have the means to travel far or they have the means but their business/jobs just don't allow the time it takes to travel. I think for fear of alienating the latter group, no significant changes have been made in regards to the alcohol cars at divisionals.

What the racers need to do is to speak up either on this website, a racer's pit at the next event, or somewhere and we all need to work together to put a proposal together on how to make it work. I'm sorry, but the "Sportsman Council" deal has been little more than diversion for you to send your complaints since Len Imbrogno left a few years back. I don't think we need to leave the fate of this to the SRAC.

Bottom line is we have to put something together, work with the series sponsor, NHRA and the tracks and make a package that all parties feel is an equitable deal again.

Maybe they should let us in for free and race for trophies at the divisionals so it's less of an insult.

 

Lucas

I don't know what Lucas' position is on this. I think they have been the series sponsor since 2002.

I've been told that Lucas doesn't care about spectators at the divisionals because the participants are a great market for them alone. It's pretty evident there is little to no pressure from Lucas to the NHRA to improve spectator counts.

I was also told that Lucas was discouraged that more alcohol racers don't run their oil if they don't give it to them.

The current series sponsorship runs through 2012.

On a side note, Jay Hullinger told me all of the Division 3 events plan to use the Bader model to pull a big crowd.

 

Lucas

I would be willing to bet Lucas funds most of the Championship purses and the Lucas series sponsorship probably helps pay for the ESPN2 coverage.

 

Div 2

It's going to be hard to get a car count when there is no Funny Cars that live in the geographic Division 2 other than Mark Billington and Steve Harker.

Harker's car has been for sale for a while. I think he is scaling his race schedule back this year if his car doesn't sell.

I don't know what Billington's plans are.

In TAD 3 cars claimed Div. 2 last year. At Bradenton, only 2 of the 8 cars live in the geographic Division 2. Artie Allen and Don Fiorelli.