More IHRA reports (1 Viewer)

[funnycarguy]

Hi everyone,
Had such a great time at Edmonton this year. My first time at an IHRA race. Worked on Tim's fuel coupe! Loved the Nitro Jam. Automan has a great program started too. How about some event updates from some of you guys as the tour goes to new venues.
thanks
Dale

 

[Treeshaker]

I was just hired to help a team in Michigan in two weeks and that will be my first Nitro Jam experience in person. I will be sure to file a complete report.

 

[funnycarguy]

Thank you Virgil! Had such a great time. I really see they are working on the fan relationship. Had the pleasure of meeting and working with Mike Sipple who tunes the Lucas TF dragster. You might meet him or already know him.

Look forward to your report.
thanks again
Dale

 

[Larry]

I just bought a former super series winner and hope to make a race or two next year !
I used to go to the world finals at Shreveport when they had a great Pro Mod show and the Nitro Harley's and it was a great show.
The racers really had respect for the IHRA and Loyalty !
I'm too much of an Addict to be choosy !

 

[Treeshaker]

A lot of people seem to be attending these events but no one seems to want to admit that they enjoyed themselves. They weren't shy about predicting doom many months ago before they began. Even DRO seems to have changed their opinion of these "non-racing" events.

 

[Joker]

I just bought a former super series winner and hope to make a race or two next year !
I used to go to the world finals at Shreveport when they had a great Pro Mod show and the Nitro Harley's and it was a great show.
The racers really had respect for the IHRA and Loyalty !
I'm too much of an Addict to be choosy !

Larry, what did you buy buddy?

 

[Junior]

Hi Dale,
Just wanted to let you know that the whole Lucas team all pitches in with ideas. But Mike Wolfarth is the tuner. Just wanted to give him his due as he is doing an awesome job for doing it on his own for the first time.
Look foward to seeing everyone at US 131. The place is awesome, and it shoulb be an awesome event!!!!!
Bobby Lagana Jr.

 

[kegs]

I've got no problem saying I had a great time racing the WAR EAGLE Funny Car at Salt Lake. The officials were all fantastic and the show was as on schedule as humanly possible. I have raced there plenty of times and knew the crowds were great but this year it was unreal. And the format was cool with the opportunity to win twice. It's nice when an association goes out of their way to make you feel like they want you there.

 

[Treeshaker]

I attended the Martin event this past weekend and had a very good experience. From the IHRA crew, to the many energized fans to the family of competitors, most everyone seemed to be enjoying the weekend even though it was hotter than hades.

I had the pleasure of working with Bob and Cathy Floch on their John Lawson driven Bullet Bob Prostalgia funny car. We were able to win 3 out of 4 rounds and seemed to eliminate all the mechanical problems they were having at previous events. I had to apologize to Bob and Cathy, as I did "fuzz" one plug, chunked one tire and used up 4 of their thin clutch discs over the weekend. We ended up with a best of 6.06 at 239+.

The program is a booked in show, but there is a lot of competition from the very first run because everyone wants the prestige of winning and the extra money that comes along with winning. Your first shot is for a win and one of the two quickest winning ets to get into the finals for that night. We were able to have the 3rd quickest winning ets in first round on both days, and got into one final with Peter's breakage. Which brings up another point, the quick turn around times to keep the show moving. That puts pressure on the teams to not only run quick, but to do it in a clean fashion as there isn't enough time to do a complete service on the car. My hat's off to these guys, as I think they have done a very good job for IHRA this year.

Some are saying that IHRA is calling people for replacements, and I want to say that that is not true at all. Several have called IHRA trying to get the gig, but their proposals have landed on deaf ears as there is loyalty and a good working relationship with the groups that are there. Remember how many bad mouthed the IHRA plan when it was announced and now they are the ones that want in on the fun. The groups there supported the plan, pledged their loyalty, and each side is fulfilling their commitments. It needs some tweeking, but the people in place can get it done.

Next, I feel it necessary to explain the program as some cannot read or understand the schedule. There are two events each day and these events are ran two days in a row. The gates open early in the morning and a complete sportsman event is ran during the day. At around 5:30 it is over and the winners get their rewards and pictures taken in the winner's circle. At 6:00 pm all the nitro teams fire their cars in the pits at one time for the fans and then sign autographs for the next hour. It is planned that no cars are on the track for this time period to give the track personnel a break (they have been working all day) and to allow all the fans to get their autographs without missing part of the show. Pre race and the show begins at 7:00 pm and is over around 10:00 pm.

That is my promised report and I highly recommend attending one of these events if they are ever in your area.

 

[mick]

anyone.......

- mitch king runs (2) tf'rs in IHRA nitro jam series?

- his drivers this year are del cox and i thought spencer massey?

- noticed mitch drove in martin?

- noticed spencer assisting scott palmer @ BIR?

 

[Treeshaker]

anyone.......

- mitch king runs (2) tf'rs in IHRA nitro jam series? - Mitch's cars finished 1st and 4th in the points last year with Del and Mitch driving. IHRA just went down the points list from last year to pick the cars and the first 4 cars accepted.

- his drivers this year are del cox and i thought spencer massey? - Spencer was brought in to drive for Mitch, and as a past champion, IHRA accepted him.

- noticed mitch drove in martin? Spencer had other things to do. Maybe the lack of effort by Mitch's team to make the cars competitive has something to do with his decision.

- noticed spencer assisting scott palmer @ BIR? - Spencer and Scott have been friends and racing together for a long time.

 

[funnycarguy]

My apologies Bobby! Thanks for pointing this out. Just reviewing the posts. No disrespect to Mike and Mike. My mis-understanding. I have been following the race results since you guys were in the west. Great job.

I see Virgil has posted a comprehensive report. Describes Edmonton's schedule to a tee. Lots of fun.

Thanks Virgil.

 

[Treeshaker]

I am off to Maryland for my second Nitro Jam experience. Hopefully it is as pleasant as my experience was in Michigan.

 

[MM]

Get Bob and Cathie and Iron Man Virgil.....Nobody deserves one more than they do

 

[Treeshaker]

Get Bob and Cathie and Iron Man Virgil.....Nobody deserves one more than they do

Mission accomplished Mike.

When Bob asked for some guidance to get back on track, he stated his goal as to have a consistant 6.20 tune up without hurting parts. We accomplished that in Michigan and first round at MIR. When we made the final round and it was against Peter, Bob asked if there was something we could do to win. My answer was a 5.91 with Richard shutting off early. There is no computer on the car and I still didn't want to hurt parts so the shut off was a safety thing. I softened it up for 1st round Sunday and we ran 5.92 but caught 3 piston rings (Bob had 2 ring pistons in the car) at the lights. No time to repair so I tried to baby it for the final but one piston skirt gave up the fight at the top end. On basically 5 cylinders we still ran 6.20, but I kick myself for hurting it on the run before because it would have pleased our team to no end to beat Peter again as there have been words between the teams earlier in the year.

It was my first time actually meeting Peter when he introduced himself to me in the staging lanes Saturday night. He stated that he was a "dick" and just wanted it known out front and then he proved it by playing his staging games that he had done to a lot of others throughout the year on this run. I reminded him in our conversation that I had been around the block a few times and what "goes around comes around" and we could play them also. Then I noticed that the "legal" 6.06 tuneup from Friday, got a little more "legal" Sunday to where if he hadn't deepstaged it would have been a 5.85 in the final. His car was well within the IHRA rules and I am not saying he was cheating, I am just mentioning this so that when it is said that our "previously tested parts car" was beaten by an "NHRA legal" car it can be taken with a grain of salt. People close to the situation will know what I am saying and others will just get their tail feathers ruffled.

This was my last race with Bob and Cathy and I really enjoyed the experience. I accomplished what they asked me to do, and then I showed them that they have the parts to be able to run quicker without hurting stuff also. The Nitro Jam program is a winner for the fans in my book. Even though the cars are booked in, there is a lot of competition among the teams, and it has opened a lot of other doors for the cars that are competing. I wish them all the best in the future and highly recommend the show whenever it is in your area.

 

[Guppy]

We ran the full tour in 2008 and had a great time, IHRA treated us very well and the fans were awesome, Just couldnt do it again due to the travel issues.