A real bad deal at Fallon (TAD final) in my opinion

Just finished up an editorial on the Fallon Divisional TAD final that real went sour in my opinion.
Here is the link
http://www.speedzonemagazine.com/editorial.htm

What is your take or thoughts

Dean

 

bad deal[bad blood]?

Not very sportsman like. Been in the same situation many of times on the waiting end 2 hours at a national event and 2 hours at a div.Schedules should be kept if extra time is needed it should be asked for and agreed upon not one sided.I was never asked and was told when we were to run even though there was a scheduled time. Depends on what side your on.The old saying been there and done that.Time to move on.

 

Sounds like a crappy deal - as you said, Dean, I'd like to hear Steve's side of the story.

That being said, only four cars showing up at a divisional is a bigger problem than the feud between Cowie and Federlin.

 

Sportsmanship

It is all about sportsmanship. In Div 1 all of us TA guys respect each other as racing is hard enough but we usually give each other extra time if needed. The last time I recall being in the situation, we were on the receiving end. We were in the final round with Mike Kosky at Atco late at night and he gave us an extra 30 minutes to finish. He was rewarded with us red lighting, but we appreciated him waiting and would do the same for him in the future.
Len Cottrell
Chicken Chokers

 

is that fair

One time at pueblo co div race track was shut down at end of day track lites turned off we put tad back in box and had a beer 1/2 hour later track lites came back on to let 1 tad make a run to get into show how is that nhra we got bumped to from 8 to 9th

 

Hmmm.

At Mission in 1999 we lost a blower belt in the semi's against Bucky and it sucked itself into the front seal on our engine. This was back in the day when we were galling crank hubs. Long story short we were short handed that weekend, and we were supposed to run Pat in the final. When they gave the call for the final Walt Austin towed their TA/FC up through the pits and parked right behind our trailer. The "officials" told Pat and Walt to get it moving to the staging lanes. Walt told them they weren't moving until we were ready to go.

"We came to race," he said.

.

 

Dean- that was good reporting--I always felt Steve and Patty were fair competitors- very disturbing to read that account--Understandable to see the Cowie team react with anger and dismay--Mike Rice has always been the fairest Division director on the planet--this all adds up to a real bad situation and one can only hope it does not affect the Cowie teams shot at a national title as the year progresses.
Bob Meek

 

Well after reading the article and Mike's reply it looks like Steve Federlin basically was just a very poor sport about the situation.

We've all been there, in the lanes ready for a race, and your opponent isnt there. Ya of course it'd be "nice" to get a single and in the back of your mind you may be saying "please dont show please dont show" but when asked by a NHRA official if you'll wait a few minutes for your opponent to get there you say YES. You might WANT to say no but you realize the shoe may be on the other foot and what an a-hole and bad sport youre gonna look like if you say no. Had they asked him to wait until tomorrow or something that'd be one thing but with the setup + schedule the way it was at this race there is really no excuse not to wait other than :
1) Youre just an a-hole, bad sport, thinks the world revolves around you and dont care about anyone else's problems even though it may be you one day
2) You HATE the other guy, which seems to be the case here but still
3) Youre scared youre gonna get beat and are trying to weasel out a free win cuz your car underperforms

Honestly, even if I hated the guy I was racing Id wait, just because I know what an a-hole Im gonna look like for not waiting. Its kind of a crappy situation but the shoe could easily be on the other foot someday and probably will.

Also, the response by Mike was nice but it also showed how poorly run the race was. Division event so alky cars are the "show" so to speak. Get a friggen radio!!!!!!!!! So because you dont have a radio and noone will make a bike or moped trip to Cowie's pit he just has to forfeit a race????? Mike keeps saying "lets move on" and "hope theres no additional problems in the future." Well yeah, if Id butchered a call and cost a team a race id want to "move on" as quickly as possible too!!!!

Basically 50% of the issue here was no communication between the lanes and pits and the other 50% is Federlin being a poorsport and selfish about it.

A few are saying "no biggie" and "time to move on" but I couldnt disagree more. The only people who would say that obviously arent affected by the situation so "who cares" right??

Absolutely incompetent and awful job by the Mike Rice and complete unsportsmanship by Steve Federlin. Id like to hear Steves response but Mike has already said Steve said he wouldnt wait so really who cares what Steve has to say, he'll probably only make himself look like a bigger jackass

 

I've see Steve do this kind of thing before. He can be a great guy, but he can also be explosive if he thinks he is right or has something to gain.
When I worked for Hank Coolidge, we waited for Bucky, for 30 mins in Mission to run the final one year. Bucky had the performance advantage, but we went there to race.

 

names

I know I have harped on this issue over and over but I feel it needs to be tossed out here again. If anybody feels strongly enough to speak negatively about another racer or user of this site they should use their own names. I know there are problems with changing screennames and I keep hoping Will is going to fix that sometime. Those of you who know me know that I won't hide behind my keyboard. All of us should have the testicular fortitude (balls) to sign their posts. I know nobody is perfect and some guys are simply jerks but nevertheless- if you think a guy is an as&%$#@ don't be afraid to say so but be gutsy enough to give your name. That way we know whether your opinion means jack or not. Dave Germain

 

If a guy wont wait 5 minutes he's a jackass in my opinion. If theres more to it than that then Im out of line but there doesnt seem to be.



Chance Payne

 

..............

Chance Payne ROCKS!

and his Old man is a pretty bad dude also!

 

Chance You are the man ! glad u called me and said to look at this
Chad Pilkington

 

well im definitely not trying to be "the man" and I shouldnt have called anyone names but the whole deal just seems real crappy. I shoulda just called someone and talked about it instead of writing my feelings on a messageboard but if the story went down the way it seems thats how I feel. Thx for the support tho guys

 

I Can't believe that someone would be that petty to get a win. I have been around racing my whole life and have been racing myself for 7 years and would never want to get a trophy because of "Impatience"
Shane Pearmain TAD 508/ TD 512E

 

there are rules and regulations. then there is tradition. I have learned alot by watching others race. it can be cutthroat at times and secrative. but I learned long ago to wait for your opponent. let the STARTER be the bad guy forcing a single run. sponsors may want the win and there is real money involved; but a win like that is tainted. I only matchrace, so no big money here. If I dislike somebody that much; I want my car to beat him. Last point, as a "spectator" I would have alot more respect for the guy that waited, even if he lost doing it. that would include telling his sponsors what a jerk he was for not waiting. mark6052 aguiar

 

At 1981 Sportsnationals (BG) we had trouble with a bellhousing cover in the staging lanes (TAFC semi-final). Our opponent (Don Gerardot) pretended to have an issue with his car; giving us time to get ready. We rewarded his kindness with a red light start.

 

Ok; I've sat silent for over a week because I did not want to get into this beef but it all seems to be one way. Steve, Mike Austin and Mike Rice are all getting killed in this thread. They may all have messed up a bit, I don't know, I was not there but the Cowie team is not as pure as the driven snow either.
Bill Moore is a friend; he crewed on my blown hemi roadster and my Alcohol Funny Cars for quite a number of years. He phoned me last Monday evening and told me about this beef. I told him basically two things; (1)suck it up and move on and (2) that this was exactly the same thing that (he) the Cowie team had done to us at the national event in Dallas in '09.
We ran low ET (5.386/264.91) of round 1 in TAD against Brandon Lewis, quicker than Cowie,Thacker and Whiteley, the other 4 blown cars there; our incrimentals in round two were better than that to half track where the odd side plug wires got cut off in the blower belt and then it dropped a valve in the shut down area. We won the round over Courtney Force with a 5.686/214.18 running on 4 cyl from 600 feet.
We were pitted right beside the Cowie pit. We replaced the cap and wires; took off the manifold/blower, replaced the sleeve, piston, rod, head, and replaced it all along with clutch service. They did not come next door to help after their car was ready and went directly to the lanes to run when called. I had exactly 3 valves left to lash, put the cover on, plugs and wires on that side and tow to the lanes. Perhaps 3 to 5 minutes to be beside their car at the starting line at most.
After, Marty Thacker came over and said that had he known we were thrashing he would have held up a bit and we would have easily had time to race.
Now as I said earlier, we are friends. If it were our car in Steve and Mike's place at Fallon, well Dallas would have made that a tough call for me. We go to race. Once in a while though there is some history. I have avoided talking about this because I take my own advice.....suck it up and move on. After a week though I feel like Steve, Mike and Mike might deserve some slack in the rope they are being hung from.
Jeff Johnsen

 

Sorry Jeff the two incidents are quite different for a number of reasons.
1. Yours was at a national event where time constraints are more likely to happen.
2. The was talk among the DD and the Cowie team at Fallon prior to eliminations as to what the protocal would be with only 4 cars in TAD. The agreement was pretty much straight forward. If a car had an issue then they could run later.
3. If it was a full 8 car field then you should be ready.
Federlin ran a 2:00pm
the final was set for 2:00pm in there was no issue (remember the earlier agreement). There was not even a minute of leeway in this case according to Ron's watch.
4. Steve knew they had an issue and still ran his car despite Mike asking him to wait a bit longer.

In your case.
1. did NHRA ask Cowie's to wait a bit (i bet not)
2. Did Cowies actually know you had an issue or did you ask them for their help.
I bet if you asked them they would have helped you.
(if they would not help you then I apologise in advance for that assumption).

Apples and Oranges Jeff

And you know your team owner is one of my best friends in the sport so I would not put this reply in if I did not think it was accurate.

Dean

 

Dean
Read what I wrote. They were the trailer beside us and could not help knowing what the guys they were going up to race were doing. NHRA had an official with a radio at the back of our trailer almost from when we got back to our pit.
My post was intended to give some balance to whatever happened in Fallon, I was not there and neither were you. Again, reread what I wrote.
Jeff Johnsen