Ideas for a new way to handle grade points

How would that affect our new team,
My brother as an owner has raced with Frank Shuster.
for at least 5 years, dose that qualify us if I'm driveing the car.
Gene Terenzio Sr.

 

Ashley Sanford is trying to enter the Seattle National event but, at the moment, NHRA is not letting her run it until she runs a regional. Her mom and dad have a scheduled trip the weekend of Woodburn so she isn't able to run the only regional before Seattle. Her dad just bought Larry Meirch's operation, has sponsorship to race, and she ran Las Vegas under Larry's owner points when Larry still owned the car. She lost round one when her car shook against Chris Demke. She had an .025 light.

Point is, here's a new team, has funding, has few regional opportunities before Seattle and this is the way it goes. Welcome to NHRA drag racing, now go home. I could see them pulling this on someone who has a history of blowing off regional events, but there needs to be a policy in place that allows new teams or teams returning after a few years off to be able to compete.

Ashley ran a super comp style car and then her dad's top alcohol dragster in the sand running as fast in the sand to 300' as most of you run on the asphalt, so she's more than capable of driving and has already proven herself during the license process and Vegas. They should let her run.

 

Maybe her parents could reschedule their "trip" instead of expecting everyone to change for them. Not trying to sound cold but its like, "Yeah they could go to a race the week before and do everything they need to do but theyre on vacation that weekend so god damn NHRA what a bunch of assholes!!!!"

 

It would be a non-issue if there was a class at EVERY divisional that TADs and TAFCs fit into where people could race/practice and earn grade points...

But what format class offers that?...

Flash

 

Divisionals

I am new to owning and driving a alcohol car but have been involved in the class for years crewing and I believe that the formation of the regions was not a positive move for the class and I do not believe that the tracks or NHRA are not all at fault as everyone keeps pointing fingers at. I am not going to the races for the pay out I am going to the races to race and try to be the one at the end with the trophy and if they throw me a bone for it then cool and if not hey I had a place to race and get away from reality for the weekend. The tracks are business's with lots of overhead just like anyone of the company's like lots of us racers own and they expect to make a profit for there work just like you and I. As far as advertising goes in most places you will not draw in a big crowd to watch alcohol racers and if anyone of you ever checked into what any kind of advertising spots cost you will know that it would take a lot of spectators to cover just the cost of that advertising. There is not a possible way a track is going to be able to pay back our costs or even close to our costs at a divisional but they can all give us a place to race our junk and enjoy a weekend. I would love to see the old format come back and make it easier for the lower funded teams to do more racing and have a chance at the divisional championship but this will never happen unless the racers give a little.

Nick Januik

 

Nice of you to throw the regional only tracks under the bus Will. Top Alcohol is very important to tracks that can't host a national. At least to the ones the NHRA allows to host them. Look at Woodburn for example. They not only have a divisional with alcohol, NHRA allowed them to host a second regional not on a divisional weekend but a regular race weekend. One other track up here would like a regional but they were told no because oh wow we have four already. It's bull shit! Hey Randy have your friends come up to Mission it is only 120 miles north of Seattle. (June 14-16 and at a better track than Seattle). Yes they need passports to cross into Canada like we need when we cross into the US of A.

Nick I love your attitude, wish more were like that

Dean

 

You're absolutely right Will. The Regional format has made it difficult to travel to the Regional events, not only because of the travel costs but because of the time off required to attend one. I still own a business and it was difficult in 2012 to take 5-8 days off to travel to the southern events. Those being Phoenix, Vegas and Sonoma, so now earning Regional points is not a real priority anymore. When we had Divisions to race in, it was much easier to attend 4-5 weekend races, earn points and possibly a Silver or Bronze card, which also made entering National events much easier. I've held either a Silver or Bronze card from 2003 up until this year. Now with only 2 grade points I can't even register (early) for a National event I won last year, never mind Vegas or Pomona. I've been competing in the same class at National events for 15 years and now I'm not qualified to enter one until the last minute, if the quota hasn't been met. I do believe I still know what to do and how to respect the National event run schedules. I'm not sure that NHRA thought about the fact that a lot of us are still working people and to attend 4-5 Regional races that stretch from Mission to Phoenix requires a lot of time off from our jobs that also feed us. But we have to be able to do that just to attend 3 or 4 National events as well. I suppose it really is condusive now to someone who is retired.