TS2015 from a drag racers perspective.

Krazeeun

Krazeeun

Hardway Performance
Joined
Feb 4, 2008
Messages
2,369
I'd like to start off with the fact that I had an awesome weekend, couldn't ask for better company and was honored to be finally sitting in the staging lanes with the PS field at TS! Also a congrats is in order for Sam Smith on his win in the PS class, its been a long time coming and well deserved my friend!

That being said, I love the TS event and already can't wait for it to happen again this time next year, but I feel that some things could be changed to keep TS the premier outlaw race of the year. I think I can speak for a handful if not the majority of all the racers I had the chance to hang out with after the event when I say that;

Thursday Racing - The drag races on a Thursday I felt killed our attendance from both a spectator and competitor standpoint. With it being the weekend after a holiday weekend where most had a 3 or 4 day weekend already, your average Joe that wants to come race or watch the races can't swing another 4 day weekend back to back. I think there was a lot of fluff and time where nothing is happening on the sled pull days that easily could have been consolidated into one day and left our racing on a Friday. Or, What about putting the entire event on Memorial day weekend and having it a 3 day event still, two birds one stone?

Track Prep - Or lack there of. It seems to be a common trend with our "Diesel Races" that the locations we go to don't quite take us seriously until we show up, then they end up scrambling trying to "Fix" something that should have been on time to begin with. I'm not asking to get scientific with it but, a fresh scrape before the event and a broom every now & then shouldn't be too much to ask for.

Tech Inspection - Or lack there of. It's a pain in the ass to go through tech and get scrutinized every single time you go to the track, but it gives you as the racer the level of comfort that the guy next to you went through the same level of scrutiny that you did prior to lining up next to you. A certain event that happened in the staging lanes would have been altogether avoided if the lack of a mandated neutral safety switch would have been caught in the tech lane. We need to police our own, these safety rules are more often than not written in blood.

Drivers meeting - Was there one? Just nice to bring us altogether and make sure everyone's on the same page. If there was one and I missed it, my bad.

Can't wait to see all you guys in Indy next month!! :tree:
 
I saw a guy slip down in oil on the starting line right as I was pulling up to the burn out box I kid you not. Track guys didn't do nothing about it. I lost all hope at that point. When you look out across the starting line and it's covered in black dust it's bad. I worked hard on the chassis all day and kept telling myself it's the same track for everyone. It was definitely a chassis man's track.
 
Having it the same weekend the NHRDA is running an event certainly does not help things.
 
Track was terrible and got worse after the puddles of diesel kept being driven through till it evaporated.

I feel the track has gotten worse since the incident of the mud bog down the track. Almost like the owners are like, give me your money and f u on track prep.

The down time between races was terrible and only got worse as the event went on. Thank god for the two trucks allowed to grudge race waiting on the finals.

I also wish more would be advertised for the dyno. I just hope every year there is one and have to wait till I get there to find out
 
proctors garage said:
I saw a guy slip down in oil on the starting line right as I was pulling up to the burn out box I kid you not. Track guys didn't do nothing about it. I lost all hope at that point. When you look out across the starting line and it's covered in black dust it's bad. I worked hard on the chassis all day and kept telling myself it's the same track for everyone. It was definitely a chassis man's track.
Click to expand...

I can't remember witch truck it was, but it lost the tip off of it's stack down past the eighth mile mark. They let two more trucks run before anyone went and picked it up. I didn't see any track guys any were along the track other than at the starting line the whole day.
 
Attendance was way down at the drag race but I don't think NHRDA had anything to do with it. Holiday weekend before TS and a Thursday was the culprit I think.


Sent from Holderdown Performance iPhone Command Center
 
stumpy said:
I can't remember witch truck it was, but it lost the tip off of it's stack down past the eighth mile mark. They let two more trucks run before anyone went and picked it up. I didn't see any track guys any were along the track other than at the starting line the whole day.
Click to expand...
Silver 4 door dodge
 
I agree with pretty much all of this. At least do what Rudys fall event did last year. Test N Tune and whatever else the first day, and then a second day of racing. Wouldnt be too bad to overlap a day of racing and pulling. And honestly the show and shine can be limited to one day. I think there was wayyy too much downtime at the sled pulls. It was a booze fest all day. And as the day went on there were more drunks bombing through the show and shine area piled on golf carts and people driving their trucks like idiots. Last thing I want is for someone to hit or wreck my stuff in the lot or trying to drive out of the event. Sure I have a few beers at these events, but I show up for the event, not to party 14 hours from home.
 
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Well, that explains what happened to Sam's truck. Guys get all worked up when their stuff doesn't pass tech. Let them go once and they expect to never have to pass. Then someone fires their rig and smashes into the guy in front of them. Sh!!ty.....

Yes, improvements are in order. I know the whole program could be run off in a few hours, but the vendors want their time with the crowd as well, and I enjoy walking around and shake hands and meet people. I, being self employed, can do the 5 days required to make the whole event, but I worked a good share of Memorial Day weekend to do so. Maybe it could be moved a couple weeks earlier or later?? Tough to take people away from their families and do it on the holiday.

Opening the gates at 8am and starting the pulls at 7pm is a LOT of time for the crowd to get good and loaded. I noticed that both days, "the hill" at the pulls was almost empty. Last year it was packed, tough to walk through. Maybe weather related, maybe everyone was out in the parking lot parties. The parking areas seemed plenty full to me.
 
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