D4 monitoring Hurricane Ike

Just got off the phone with Craig Hutchinson at Div. 4, right now they are monitoring Hurricane Ike, but the plan is to go forward as scheduled for this weekend's Div. 4 event in Shreveport.

Right now the storm is forecasted to hit between the middle Texas Gulf Coast to the Western Louisiana Coast. The storm is still over Cuba at the moment, so where it actually goes is anyone's guess.

Some have called for the race to be rescheduled already, but if it were me in the director's seat, I would do like Craig is doing and see where this thing actually ends up in the Gulf in a day or so. At that point they should have a much clearer picture where it's going.

However, if the storm is going to be anywhere as close as strong or close to the forecasted area, I would be inclined to postpone the event at that point. First off, traffic will be a nightmare for racers on the Gulf and in the areas affected. Secondly, many racers will be forced to handle personal business at home to prepare for the storm. Third, the track at Shreveport got 6" of rain from Gustav last week, and they are already waiting until Thursday to park any rigs to let the facility drain/air out. If that storm reaches the Shreveport area by Sunday, needless to say it would be a mess.

Please note this is MY OPINION. According to our conversation, Craig doesn't plan to make a decision until Thursday.

Bottom line it's too far out to make any calls at the moment, but trust me, they are watching it. If they do decide to run it with a storm in the Gulf, nobody will win. The track will suffer from low count, the racers that can't attend will have to travel to make up the event.

I'll keep you posted as I get info.

I did go buy some plywood last night...

 

update

just talked to craig h. and he says he'll make a call tommorow at 9 am depending on the track of the storm.

check here for more updates or the d4 website.

as of right now the race is a go, but a hit in the houston area would significantly hurt car counts. I already know of several alky teams that probably won't go bc of the storm.

 

hold off

With many of the models shifting northward, nobody on the Texas Gulf Coast can consider themselves 'safe' from the storm at this point.

One of the comp racers posted on the comp site that he talked to Ken Hall the owner of the track, and he's in favor of rescheduling after Memphis National, which would be two weeks after Dallas...

Right now, the WORLD WIDE headquarters of ITA, ICR and IFB are in Deer Park, Tx, about 3 miles as the crow flies from the Houston Ship Channel. We're about 30 miles inland of Galveston, but not that far from Galveston Bay. It would take a Cat 4 hitting Galveston for the surge to really effect the house, but wind damage and flash flooding are concerns.

Like Ron White sez....it's not that the wind is blowing...it's WHAT the wind is blowing...

Plywood is cut and ready to go on, should be loaded by tonight....if it's heading this way...we'll be on the road tomorrow. My parents are already evacuating as they are in the far edge of the coastal surge zone in Brazoria County.

As of right now, Steve Burck, Lee Callaway, David Brounkowski, Karl Brounkowski, and possibly Darvin Martinets have all stated they are probably not going to go due to the storm...