Any updates from Bowling Green?

[TurboTnZ06]

What about, have Wed be the only time trials. Then have 1 round of qualifying each morning, elims each afternoon, Thu, Fri and Sat. Then everyone gets to race each day. Div the prizes by 3, so if win three days, win what you would have won if it was just one day of racing. If Fri and Sat get rained out, you got to race one day Thu at least. Move the car show to the grass only, or get rid of it. It's all GS or GN's, seen one, seen em all.

 

[The Radius Kid]

Remember all the rain we had during the May dates.

Do you mean like the rain last weekend?
Maybe the cold night time temps we had a couple of years ago?
The attendance numbers always seemed to look good in May.
The problem with September is most guys are vacationed out - usually do to family outings in the summer months.
Then there's the other Buick race events happening around the same time.
Since this is Kentucky,you're going to get rain.
That's pretty much a given.

 

[Nick Micale]

What about, have Wed be the only time trials. Then have 1 round of qualifying each morning, elims each afternoon, Thu, Fri and Sat........................

Thanks for your input as this is very close to the race schedule we used 10-11 years ago!

Also, back then we ran the race program on Friday from 1:00 PM after the car show, until about 9:00 PM including qualifying runs.

In that era we had refined the elements needed for a successful event, but after that event many of us were considered "surplus" and things changed?

My feelings and opinion are that given the opportunity, we can do it right next year, and build it even further from then!

As was stated before, the event date for next year is set which is about the same as this past year, not debatable here.

 

[steve hughes]

It would be great to see you in charge of the event Nick. It was a great event back in the day when you were running things.








n

 

[TurboTGuy]

I hauled a car 1700 miles, one way, to be at this event.

My observations:

1. What a great bunch of people, everyone of you!

2. TAI pretty much ROCKS!

3. I met some legends, some well-known's, and some regular guys, just like myself. Everybody was
cool.

4. I learned SO much about my car and how I drive it, knowledge I never would have been able gain
anywhere else.

5. I proved to myself and others that I'm still a drunkard.

Suggestions/Opinions:

1. Track prep should be a part of the everyday running of the event. If I need to pay an extra $10 a
day to ensure that this happens, so be it.

2. If the event is going to have a car show, and it should, open the track during the car show to let
those that want to test and tune do so. If a class wants to qualify during the same time as the car
show is being held, let them do so. It's not really fair to make the guys who came to the event to
RUN THEIR CARS stand around for five plus hours with nothing productive to do, especially in
the middle of the event.

3. I agree that paying vendors shouldn't have to compete with guys who bring a pick-up truck load of
brand new parts to sell in the swap meet area. Used parts, now that's another story.

OK, so that's my view on the event.

To wrap things up, I just can't tell all of you enough what a pleasure it was to meet and interact with
so many nice, knowledgeable and outright friendly people. And all in one place!

If there is anything I can do from out here in Phoenix to help with the effort to make the event happen
or be better, call me up, I'll be glad to help out!

Oh, and I had a BLAST, rain be DAMNED.

 

[SPOOLFOOL2]

Guy,
It's like I told you. TAI isn't a class. It's a party.
Thanks for driving out and representing the South Western section. You also did a fine job of making sure our mechanic didn't slack off.

 

[jasjamz]

Some of the cars people race are in the car show as well. Not fair to make them have to pick one or the other.

Nick has the right idea but make it so if one can only show up two or three days they can still run a class.

And the track prep should be up to par. We make some serious torque ya know...

 

[TurboTGuy]

Some of the cars people race are in the car show as well. Not fair to make them have to pick one or the other.

Nick has the right idea but make it so if one can only show up two or three days they can still run a class.

And the track prep should be up to par. We make some serious torque ya know...

I understand your point, but is the event based around a car show with some racing, or a race event that includes a car show?

My vote is for the latter of the two choices.

The fact is, and in any context, stopping the entire freeking process in the very middle of the event to let a very few race AND show'n'shine guys do their stuff, particularly for some 5 hours plus is unfair, unnecessary, and counterproductive to the event as a whole.

Is it too much to ask that the guys that came to actually run their cars get to do just that, while the shiny car guys get to show their stuff off?

I never said it needed to be either/or in my posts, I only asked that it be equal for racers and the car show guys.

In my view, and looking at it from 1000 feet up, picking one event or the other is a choice you make on your own (car show or run your car).

YOU need to make that choice, and YOUR choice to do as you please should never have a direct affect upon the entire group.

This is only my opinion, and I could be wrong. However, throwing a monkey wrench into the very middle of a RACE, so that the shiny car guys can have a pissing contest about how pretty their Buick is, well, I feel that's just kind of stupid. And my car is one of the pretty ones, too.

 

[gnxtc2]

Like in the years past, the car show is held on Friday. Once the show finished, racing would commence and we would race into the night. By having the show earlier in the day, us racers would get our cars ready for racing. We would have a qualifying pass late in the afternoon and one under the lights.

I don't know true it is, but the rumor that started going around is that Dallas wanted extra $$$$ to turn the lights on.

You really can't have multiple race days for the same class. The pay outs would be divided into three/four days. Guys that can't make it during the week, it wouldn't be worth their time to come as the payouts would be small.

Billy T.
gnxtc2@aol.com

 

[TurboTGuy]

Like in the years past, the car show is held on Friday. Once the show finished, racing would commence and we would race into the night. By having the show earlier in the day, us racers would get our cars ready for racing. We would have a qualifying pass late in the afternoon and one under the lights.

I don't know true it is, but the rumor that started going around is that Dallas wanted extra $$$$ to turn the lights on.

You really can't have multiple race days for the same class. The pay outs would be divided into three/four days. Guys that can't make it during the week, it wouldn't be worth their time to come as the payouts would be small.

Billy T.
gnxtc2@aol.com

I would think if running at night was the norm on Friday, the race director would have already taken that issue into account when paying for the track rental, the same consideration should have been taken regarding track prep when negotiating the deal.

The fact that the rain came well before sundown makes the lights issue a moot point, anyway.

 

[gnX405]

It was a pleasure meeting you Guy! I was pitted a couple of trailers down from you with the new BorgWarner turbos inside.

Props to you for the long haul and it was a treat to see Lou again. It had been over a decade since I last saw him.

I agree that the track should remain active during the car show hours, but I think some collector car insurance policies do not provide coverage at a car show while racing is taking place at the same venue. That may explain why the track activities are put on hold during the car show hours.

Looking forward to next year!

 

[TurboTGuy]

It was a pleasure meeting you Guy! I was pitted a couple of trailers down from you with the new BorgWarner turbos inside.

Props to you for the long haul and it was a treat to see Lou again. It had been over a decade since I last saw him.

I agree that the track should remain active during the car show hours, but I think some collector car insurance policies do not provide coverage at a car show while racing is taking place at the same venue. That may explain why the track activities are put on hold during the car show hours.

Looking forward to next year!

You sure had some pretty dang cool stuff in that trailer!

 

[gnX405]

You sure had some pretty dang cool stuff in that trailer!

Thanks! Those 3-Bolt EFR turbos should be a nice option for lots of folks.
Your car was impressively clean and quick.

 

[scot w.]

A track rental is actually controlled and operated by the leasing party and all the admission, racing, and vendor fees go to the event planners, not the track..

It was 10-12 years ago when I was involved as the race director there and we had no issues like now. The track prep, scheduling and other race situations, like track prep, was also the responsibility of the race director

Myself, and a few other "veterans" with BG experience in the golden years spent lots of time together last week there to formulate a plan to bring this event back to the Buick glory years in BG!

Please just stand by for a few weeks to determine if the responsible parties can come together with a cohesive plan to make this work again for next year and beyond.

Like Nick mentioned, If this takes place the GS Nationals WILL still be the largest, best event to attend...