T J Zizzo (1 Viewer)

[jgrigz]

I don't see where T J Zizzo is entered at the Chicago race. He usually runs this event since it's in his hometown and close to home. I haven't seen fellow Chicagoan Dave Hirata out in quite some time either. Have these guys thrown in the towel?

 

[Scoe]

Entry list won't be final until the Monday before the event I think. And I saw photos of them testing at Indy a week or two ago.

 

[r2]

@Tony Smith

Not known for standing around. lol
Must be busy getting stuff done. GSD

 

[T.Smith]

We're alive and kickin'. We had a good test at Indy last week and we'll be at Joliet.

We have a new car and new combination. It shows a lot of promise, but I'm sure there will be some growing pains.

 

[TD5023]

If your class isn't affected by a quota and you're not entering races early in bulk, there's not much need to submit the entry until closer to the date. It's only a cause for concern if we get to a couple days before the deadline and names still aren't on the list.

 

[mick]

team zizzo is a perfect example of a team that should be in contact with nhra to fill 16 car fields.
if you want to run indy great, but other races that may be a car or two short should work hand in hand with nhra to establish schedules
for the betterment of the sunday shows (live and tv)....... tony, i hope you guys find a good combination in Q. always enjoy seeing you run well.

 

[qualified17th]

team zizzo is a perfect example of a team that should be in contact with nhra to fill 16 car fields.
if you want to run indy great, but other races that may be a car or two short should work hand in hand with nhra to establish schedules
for the betterment of the sunday shows (live and tv)....... tony, i hope you guys find a good combination in Q. always enjoy seeing you run well.

I don't think it's NHRA's place to tell which races a part time team should or should not go to. Hypothetically speaking, if a team had a sponsor based in Minnesota, but the NHRA's telling them "you need to go to Topeka instead of Brainerd because Topeka only has 14 cars entered", that might end up costing that team a sponsor.

Just accept the fact that the occasional short field always has and always will be part of drag racing. Some races will have 13 cars, others will have 23, that's just how it is. I can show you videos from as far back as the early 80's where they were talking about "the XYZ Nationals only had 12 Top Fuel cars! Nitro racing is on its deathbed! The sky is falling!" Yet here we are 40 years later still moaning on and on about the same old doomsday topics, while in reality the drag racing world is still chugging along just fine.

 

[Pete]

I don't think it's NHRA's place to tell which races a part time team should or should not go to. Hypothetically speaking, if a team had a sponsor based in Minnesota, but the NHRA's telling them "you need to go to Topeka instead of Brainerd because Topeka only has 14 cars entered", that might end up costing that team a sponsor.

Just accept the fact that the occasional short field always has and always will be part of drag racing. Some races will have 13 cars, others will have 23, that's just how it is. I can show you videos from as far back as the early 80's where they were talking about "the XYZ Nationals only had 12 Top Fuel cars! Nitro racing is on its deathbed! The sky is falling!" Yet here we are 40 years later still moaning on and on about the same old doomsday topics, while in reality the drag racing world is still chugging along just fine.

In the past, NHRA would guarantee a payout to smaller teams to get them to show up...so this is not a new idea

 

[mick]

spence, i respectfully disagree with you. i think an automotive racing series puts it's best foot forward with consistency.
yes, you are correct, we've been in the same position for decades with short and full fields.
i just think 16 cars in the 2 nitro categories on sunday is the best presentation possible. there's no more major beer brands
knocking at the nhra door asking if there is a car available to sponsor.
i'll take my chances with sponsors and their wants......zizzo was in BIR a few years ago at request of rustoleum, and not indy.
who'd of thought that? ...... talk to each other, i'm sure sponsors that want certain markets can figure it out.

 

[none]

Mike,

You own a team that runs part time. You have the budget to run three times a year, you plan to run Gainesville Charlotte and Bristol. You have family and customers in that part of the country and what to run where they can come out and see you.

NHRA says, we want you to skip Gainesville and run Epping instead. What do you do?

Alan

 

[mick]

Mike,

You own a team that runs part time. You have the budget to run three times a year, you plan to run Gainesville Charlotte and Bristol. You have family and customers in that part of the country and what to run where they can come out and see you.

NHRA says, we want you to skip Gainesville and run Epping instead. What do you do?

Alan

as a once very good actor said in the movie, HEAT ........ 'that's the discipline' ...... yes, you go and run epping. you are a part timer. you don't get to pick.
or you get to pick 2, but the 3rd you do it for the team. you make an effort. and then maybe when you pull into gainesville, or indy, you get a decent pit parking spot,
because your efforts were recognized ........ just my .02. seems like everyone needs to contribute a little.

 

[.]

I don't think the NHRA will "TELL" a team where they can race... but they can certainly "ASK" a team to run certain events in an effort to fill the fields.

I remember several years ago the NHRA president was in a certain nitro funny car team pit area in Brainerd "ASKING" the team owner to attend the US Nationals a few weeks later. I wasn't there for the conversation but the team owner/driver is a friend of mine and he told me the story directly. The team did NOT attend the US Nationals that year because the owner/driver already had other Labor Day weekend plans.

 

[none]

as a once very good actor said in the movie, HEAT ........ 'that's the discipline' ...... yes, you go and run epping. you are a part timer. you don't get to pick.
or you get to pick 2, but the 3rd you do it for the team. you make an effort. and then maybe when you pull into gainesville, or indy, you get a decent pit parking spot,
because your efforts were recognized ........ just my .02. seems like everyone needs to contribute a little.

Not arguing, just talking. What happens when your sponsor says he's not paying for Epping, because he wants to bring customers/guests to Gainesville. So he calls Justin Ashley and makes a deal to be an associate for that event to take care of his people. If it goes well, he will be probably be back with Justin in Charlotte and Bristol as well.

Alan

 

[mick]

everyone communicate between thanksgiving and the holidays. it doesn't have to be concrete, but a few commitments mite be nice.
nobody is going to jail if a race comes up short, but 16 car fields at as many races as possible only reflects well to anyone who's paying attention.
g. cromwell talks about someday having an entirely better TV package? no bye runs on sunday mite be a key factor in selling your product
to future sponsors and tv and streaming services

 

[mick]

Not arguing, just talking. What happens when your sponsor says he's not paying for Epping, because he wants to bring customers/guests to Gainesville. So he calls Justin Ashley and makes a deal to be an associate for that event to take care of his people. If it goes well, he will be probably be back with Justin in Charlotte and Bristol as well.

Alan

justin ashley has made the committment to be a full time racer with the nhra. with that sometimes come the spoils.
if my sponsor wants gainesville, then i'll do everything i can to appease them, but would make them aware that other races may have to be at
certain locations due to my part time nature.

other leagues and series have full teams/fields.......if nhra wants to look part time, go ahead, knock yourself out.
that gainesville sponsor mite just say, why am participating in a league with incomplete fields? i'll just hang my shingle on that indy car for a few races.

nobody misses 2-4 cars fighting for that last spot on saturday Q.
when you turn your tv on sunday, and see an empty lane, or the online article prints the results with bye rounds.
i just think it reflects poorly on nhra. maybe it doesn't. JMHO

 

[Matt Lewis]

as a once very good actor said in the movie, HEAT ........ 'that's the discipline' ...... yes, you go and run epping. you are a part timer. you don't get to pick.
or you get to pick 2, but the 3rd you do it for the team. you make an effort. and then maybe when you pull into gainesville, or indy, you get a decent pit parking spot,
because your efforts were recognized ........ just my .02. seems like everyone needs to contribute a little.

If you’re an independent team whose primary job is running a Mon-Fri business, running three races a year is contributing a lot. The question is how to get more small teams doing just that (maybe regionally). Over time, some of those will probably grow into full-time operations.

 

[qualified17th]

other leagues and series have full teams/fields.......if nhra wants to look part time, go ahead, knock yourself out.
that gainesville sponsor mite just say, why am participating in a league with incomplete fields? i'll just hang my shingle on that indy car for a few races.

You sure about that? Short fields is far from a NHRA-only issue. NASCAR hasn't been able to get 40 cars for a race outside of the Daytona 500 for years now. And before that, they reduced the size of a "full field" from 43 to 40 because they couldn't get to 43 very often.

Same with Formula 1. A full field as defined by their rulebook is 26 or 28 I believe. But they've hovered right around the 20 or 22 car mark for the last couple decades.

And don't even get me started on IndyCar. When was the last time they had more than 33 cars for a race other than the Indianapolis 500? 1990?

 

[none]

justin ashley has made the committment to be a full time racer with the nhra. with that sometimes come the spoils.
if my sponsor wants gainesville, then i'll do everything i can to appease them, but would make them aware that other races may have to be at
certain locations due to my part time nature.

other leagues and series have full teams/fields.......if nhra wants to look part time, go ahead, knock yourself out.
that gainesville sponsor mite just say, why am participating in a league with incomplete fields? i'll just hang my shingle on that indy car for a few races.

nobody misses 2-4 cars fighting for that last spot on saturday Q.
when you turn your tv on sunday, and see an empty lane, or the online article prints the results with bye rounds.
i just think it reflects poorly on nhra. maybe it doesn't. JMHO

My next question would be: Can I afford to make the trip and run Epping without the sponsor dollars?

My local sponsor doesn't care what happens in Epping, he wants to have a presence in Gainesville where he does business and can capitalize on having his business featured in the local event.

If I'm NHRA I absolutely want 20 cars at every event fighting for the qualifying spots Friday and Saturday. Or 16 at minimum so as you said there are no Sunday bye runs.

But if I am a part time team owner, I am in essence an independent contractor and I need to do what is best to keep me in business. And if my Sponsor says I need to be in Gainesville and will pay me to be there, that's where I am going.

For the record, I Love Epping, just picking random tracks that are geographically separated.

Alan

 

[z28]

If I have x dollars to race and I can go 200 miles or 1200 miles where would I go? Part timers for the most part run closer to home base and where they can get help from sponsors.

 

[mick]

ok we do agree......the racers are independent contractors.......other sports are not. they are franchises or similar that guarantee their sport
or entertainment a certain look, or level of participation at all events. different business models. go with what works best