3rd Annual World Finals 2012

Wherever finals are, I will be there. Just hope it is a solid track with Great prep.
 
Tulsa is back on the list!
Tulsa Raceway Park Gets New Lease On Life - NewsOn6.com - Tulsa, OK - News, Weather, Video and Sports - KOTV.com |
TULSA, Oklahoma -

Race fans can breathe a sigh of relief Friday thanks to a new public-private partnership that will take over operations at Tulsa Raceway Park.

Two local businessmen, Todd Martin and Keith Haney, have teamed up with the City of Owasso in a multi-year lease deal with the current owners.

Martin and Haney said they will be bringing in many different types of entertainment that will attract more people and benefit the local economy.

"[We] are committed to breaking boundaries when it comes to the entertainment headed to this facility," Martin said. "You can count on Tulsa Raceway Park having a new and exciting feel."

The announcement comes just a month after the former owner said it would close at the end of October amid rumors that a nearby quarry was looking to take over the land.

The track was called Tulsa International Raceway when it opened in the 1960s on the east side of Highway 169, a couple miles north of I-244.

10/05/2011 Related Story: Tulsa Drag Racing Track To Close

Several different events are already scheduled for 2012. They include carnivals, mud races, monster trucks, jet cars, concerts and the legendary ThrowDown in T-Town which will remain a free ticket event for spectators.
 
Yeah i'm really excited about it now, can't wait to get out there and make some passes again!
 
I race at Noble regularly. There are a couple downsides to it, main one being a short shutdown area. For the really fast trucks this could be a serious problem as at the end of shutdown area is a very short sand pit and net followed by a BIG railroad embankment:doh:

To give you an idea, the really fast gassers (5-6 sec) usually get out of it at the 1/8th..
 
JoshH said:
Maybe I'm missing something, but since when is the NHRDA a sled pulling organization? Why would they even consider having sled pulling at their world finals?
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Yeah you are missing something... its called a crowd. Without spectators, the events will die. Im a fan of both, obviously as ive done both... I really dont think location is the problem for having a low spectator turnout. Sled pulling will help, but its not just that.

Maybe instead of some of you guys (not you Josh) worrying more about getting the finals closer to your door step, you should worry bout making the best event to attend. Location is not going to determine the crowd. Pick a good centralized event and advertise it. I live an hour away from Topeka and never once did i hear, or see any advertisements for the race. Racing is very big in this area with 2 major tracks, and 1 just getting shut down due to the neighborhoods that moved in after the track was there complaining about noise. When i tell people about the event they are all very interested and want to come. Without advertisement, nobody local to the race will know anything about it.... I would say 98% of people that were at topeka read about it on the forums.

Hell are county fair sled pull probably had 10x or more the spectators than Topeka had in an area half as big, they advertise all summer long.
 
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While I agree advertising is a key point location is even more so when talking about spectators. There is a reason big companies and organizations look at market viability for regions. There is a reason pulling is not as popular in the southern states and why it is more prominent in other regions. I think the big thing here is going to be finding a happy medium of a region that is viably marketable and centrally located for the competitors while not breaking the bank for NHRDA's pockets leaving them more funds for things like advertisement.
 
Runninlean said:
While I agree advertising is a key point location is even more so when talking about spectators. There is a reason big companies and organizations look at market viability for regions. There is a reason pulling is not as popular in the southern states and why it is more prominent in other regions. I think the big thing here is going to be finding a happy medium of a region that is viably marketable and centrally located for the competitors while not breaking the bank for NHRDA's pockets leaving them more funds for things like advertisement.
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I agree with location to an extent, but this is not sdx, or ts. You can have it in Indiana/kentucky/ohio probably the biggest "diesel racing/pulling" states in the country, but without advertisement of some sort, you still will not have a big turnout of spectators.
 
We have been to both finals in Topeka and both years traction was an issue, you would think for a world finals the track would step it up especially on the second year if they wanted us to keep coming back. It is a real nice facility, but maybe they just not to concerned about us being there.

Vegas would be awesome there is no doubt, but for the east coast guys is getting to be far. We ran at Brainerd this year, very nice facility, track prep was sweet and in reality pretty central to all...I would def go back to Brainerd....but if it is back in Topeka we will go there too wouldn't be real happy about it but we would make the trip!
 
If you want a crowd, Joliet Route 66 is a good spot. While I have never raced there, my uncles funny car team tests there.

For a good hooking track, seems like Byron (2hrs west of Chi town) would do it... I have seen some unsuspecting drag cars pulling wheelies.

While its local to me, when there has been an oil down or someones headgasket blew, they seemed to be right on top of it. They just started a diesel drag day and have had 100+ trucks show the last 2 years. Facilities are minimal but the announcer is big into diesels (owns Autoland Outlet in south Beloit...) and its a small track.

I also vote for Cordova.
 
Not reading through all the pages. But has NHRDA said where its going to be? I know but can't spill the beans if they haven't yet...
 
they did, having never been there tell us what you think of the facility 2tone.
do you know any good spots to eat or addresses of hotels we might like to stay at?
 
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Is it safe to assume it will be at Ennis?

If so, I always stay at the Quality Inn - 107 Chamber of Commerce Dr., Ennis, TX, US, 75119. It is within walking distance of several restaurants, including a certain infamous Chili's.

The track itself is great, it was the first all-concrete 1/4-mile facility, and they continue to prep it well. Some of the best passes in DirtyMax were at that track despite warm temperatures. There is plenty of paved pit area, and the track is laid out well for racers and spectators.
 
Damn, Ennis doens't seem fair to the Canadian crowd. They are one of the biggest groups of attendee's. Doesn't seem like a good way to reward their great efforts. I don't want to speak for them, but seems azz backwards and hope we don't lose any of the competitors for the north as they are a great bunch.
 
I heard Randy talked to all of the Canadians who came to Topeka when he was trying to decide whether to make it farther. Ennis isn't THAT much farther for most of them, and the improved chances for good weather and good traction seem to outweigh the extra couple hundred miles.
 
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