we definatly need another texas race early in the year during prime weather

 

A race in early January or Febuary would be killer!

 

We are tentatively planning another TX race in Feb next year. No more March races though, after getting rained on the last two events.

But seriously, if some of you 'racers' don't show up and support these events no matter where they are held, there won't be any more events and everyone can get back to timeslip bench racing. Then all the Ford boys will continue to have the fun and the GM guys will get back to bitching and moaning about not having any race series to run in.

 

They are all SCARED Tony. Its easier to talk **** than back it up beside someone in the other lane.

 

I'm coming to Bg and Thunder-only b/c I want to support the series-I don't agree with the rules revisions for '05. You basically have two classes S/S and S\M that are the same-aside from a few inches. At least last year in F/S the hyd. cars got a break and no DFI was allowed. You have alienated half of the cars on this site with the rules-JMO. No one wants to tow for hours and spend hundreds of dollars on fuel to bracket race. The index class is a good idea though.

The reason the Ford series' have been such a success is b/c they didn't forget about the little guys in the beginning or now-Factory Stock and Pure Street are some of the most competetive classes in the series. Real Street has also exploded on the scene. I was around for the first couple years of Pure Street-unlike our Factory Stock the rules stayed pretty much the same until it became necessary to change them (broken parts, cheating, etc.). Leave the rules alone for a year and you may have something

 

Very good points Stu.

 

i agree that there are faults in the rules that keep alot of potential racers out but only time and experience will cause people to see the things that need to be changed. our intro heads up class haveing 9sec cars wont cut it tho, there will have to be something with more restrictions to slow down the cars for another class. no aftermarket cpu's, no solid rollers, no aftermarket trannys, true 10.5 tire max, weight penalty for more cubes than say 348. vettes get a break for there pos rear but they need a penalty for extra stock cubic inches. maby a tad more minimum weight. we are a young series with alot of work to do but if we dont enjoy/support what we have until changes are made there wont be anything to change in a year or so

 

Stu, we don't plan on changing the rules next season either. There are quite a few guys out there building class racers to fit the rules right now, that do not have their cars completed yet. Changing them again will only **** more people off.

We would like to add a few more classes however, but we need the participation to be there first. Can't have the cart before the horse

 

I totally understand about the attendance-that's another thing that the Ford guys have going for them: everyone with a Taurus/Truck goes to the events and spectates. It didn't start out that way though-there is definitely some potential here if some people will step up and participate/attend.

Have you been networking with the local boards in the areas that the races are being held? I'd love to see a race in Stl-I'm sure the track rental would be ridiculous.

I wish you guys would have decided to leave the rules alone after last year-I built my car to Thunder Quick Stock specs-started the build in Aug. of last year. I should have been done w/ it along time ago-I have been waiting for my heads/cam and kind of lost interest after the rules were changed.

 

we had this discussion before. No matter what rules were decided, we couldn't make everyone happy. There would always be someone left out. Keep in mind that we had about 30 committee members form the current rules, about 20 of them are site sponsors and knew what they wanted to see. Its not like John and I just drafted the rules and said "here ya go!".

The main reason the Ford boys have all the fun is because their vendors and Ford themselves are pumping 100s of thousands of dollars into the events, giving away Mustangs, trucks, etc... While GM doesn't seem to care if their enthusiasts race or not.

 

There is only 1 thing holding me back. A broke engine. BG is the closest of the 4 races to me - only a 12 hour drive. If things go right, I'll be there for Thunder . Good luck to the one that are able to make it.

David

 

In the current structure of classes, if a 'slow' car wants to run heads up, there is not class so you can not have participation.

I thought (and it could very well be wrong) the bracket sessions at events (Ford for example) was to fill the lanes with basically the locals and some real hard core bracketers that might follow the series but didnt know that is where the other classes would be formed from!?!?

And I agree that keeping the rules the same for more than a year is going to be helpful, then once the classes get 'big' or too fast or participation is better then changes can be made.

I really hope there is more than 19 cars at the next race, the ATL event sucked, glad the F.A.S.T. cars were there, those are sweet rides!

 

Everybody had a class at Thunder last year. Other than they appeared to maybe not really understand weight breaks. The way they had the weights in Modified Stock last year, a 408" car would be run at 7.84 lb/cubic inch, which would have run two classes higher than a stock displacement LS1 which ran @ 9.24 lbs/cubic inch if under NHRA, IHRA, or the now defunct AHRA weight break systems. That system has proven over many years to even things between different engine sizes very well. Minor problem compared to this series.

The minimum weight in Super Stock with these rules is low enough you would have to destroy a car to get there. That and the 370" engine limit. Guys with 383" & 396" street cars would have to run the full-tilt race cars of Joe O. & Judson. Very few days go by that I don't do at least one 383" or 396" PCM, either LS1 or LT1. Those guys can't run this series, at least not without looking like a fool running a low nine second race car. Who's going to drive any distance for that? How many want to bracket race bad enough to drive across country to do it? You can do that at home every weekend.

In the Modified Stock class, where a 383" or 396" street car would have to run, the min weight is 2900 lbs for a 350". Too low for a non-butchered car like these. That is 8.28 lbs per cubic inch for the 350". You only have to add 3 lbs for every cubic inch over 350. Should be 8.28 lbs per added cubic inch to keep things even. You would have to be brain dead to not build the biggest engine you could if you wanted to run there. (The bigger the engine, the lighter weight break you would be running at.) I can't imagine why they are not having to stack race cars two deep in the pits with rules like these. There won't be enough participation until there are classes for cars like most guys actually have. Not enough guys can afford to build a dedicated race car for a series like this. Too small payouts to justify building one, and wrong demographic. You will see a few built, but in the end not enough to support the series.

Ed

 

I agree with Ed. I just can't justify spending the money to build a car dedicated to the ls1tech series rules for 4-5 events per year with low pay-outs. I'd much rather spend my money on a setup for true 10.5 or FSTA. In this area you can build a relatively modest car and be fairly competitive... and there's a race with a class you can fit into almost every weekend.

 

I was getting my car ready for this event in x/m but of course the car won't be ready. I'd have to go against the high hp TT cars.

We should try to get our sponsors and GM High Tech to help us out with a series with more classes so more people can run and the cars are a little more evenly matched up.

my .02

 

Ed's reply was rock solid, but the problem also lies in that reasoning. We have guys with fast daily-drivers, and we have guys with all-out drag cars. We all know who the ones are that make the long hauls to every single event, and its not the daily-driver guys, even when the rules were different.

Then we would get complaints from the racecar guys that they were being "slowed down" to run against grocery getters.

So, here we go again, you can't make everyone happy. We have considered creating an 11.50 index, but we would also need to see some participation in that class as well.

Lets face it, with all of the huge variety of combos out there, its nearly impossible to create a set of heads-up classes that make things fair for everyone.

 

I agree with Ed also........ and with Tony...... For the Events that are near me i go for the love of the cars and the people to have fun and just enjoy myself....... I would love to see more events all over the states... but we need people to attend the ones we have now before we can have more..... (just like Tony said already )
Kyle

 

How bout something in Orlando or Bradenton next year?

 

OMG, if they had it at orlando or bradenton, that'd be so awesome!!!! Even if the car wasn't running, i'd be there just to watch!!!

 

I'm pretty sure we can organize our own event in Florida, if ls1tech wants to sponsor that's cool. It will be just a bragging rights kind of thing no money payout, just to run your car and see if you can beat the guy next to you that is sort of equally modded.