Going Rounds in Stock at Winternationals

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GTX JOHN

FABO Gold Member
FABO Gold Member
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Location
Boulder City NV.
First round I drew former Division Champion
Ryan Mangus.

I was holding .035 on the tree and went down
and took a .004 strip on his hard closing Nova with
the 318 Aspen Wagon.

Second round I had the misfortune to draw the former
to Champion and current Division Champion Jody Lang.

I put up a .011 light to his .030 light and despite a couple hundred
of wheel spin (Marginal Track Prep.) managed a .008 Stripe.

Tomorrow, I face the current World Champion Kyle Rizzoli in his
low 10 second Camaro. But as a top qualifier he is in line for the bye
into the final rounds on Sunday and I hope to win and steal that from him.

Due to the way the Ladder put my son and I to race each other in Superstock
and I decide to not show and forfeited to my boy.

I had decided that last year was the final year for my racing due to Health Issues.

I am currently legally Blind in one eye and struggling with Cataracts in the other eye (not uncommon for a person coming up on 76). Plus I have lost my entire Depth Perception making the finish way harder to judge.

However, as long as I can turn on Win Lights occasionally = I think I will stick around at the Track a little while longer!
 
Talk about getting treed, way to cut those lights. Keep tearing it up while you can and have fun putting them on the trailer. NEXT, lol.
 
Saw you running down at Vegas last weekend. Unfortunately didn't get to stop by and meet you. But, it was great watching you run at the track!

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Keep after it John, I wish you God's speed for the win! Great to hear your still banging gears! 65'
 
Well done John! We’ll stop by and say hi tomorrow.
 
Well almost 4 PM and still wet!
I do not know if we will race today
or not.

As in the earlier rounds = No one expects me
to win. The elderly man in the Aspen 318 Wagon
is never the favorite in the race against the other cars
that have often 10 or 20 times the investment in them.

But the race is decided at the stripe and
not by peoples votes.
 
Kyle Rizzoli…… heard he had some brake issues on one of his rides this weekend.

Personally if my dad was racing with me at a national event….. their would be a race. An opportunity for a very fond memory was lost.
 
A body said:
Kyle Rizzoli…… heard he had some brake issues on one of his rides this weekend.

Personally if my dad was racing with me at a national event….. their would be a race. An opportunity for a very fond memory was lost.
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Ya there would be no give me’s in our family either. My Dad didn’t race but we made each other earn their wins in anything we did. Lol
 
Kyle absolutely destroyed his beautiful fast
Camaro.
He lost his brakes when he shut down after
the pass.
I saw him before the race and he had his beautiful
6 month old baby in his arms.
He walked away from the scary wreck pretty
much unscathed.
I had a wreck in 2008 at much less speed and was
pretty banged up at this race back then(Broken ribs and
back).

God is so Good to us all the Time!!
 
As I recall we pay $100.00 for medical insurance
at every race.
When I had an accident at Winternationals they attended
to me When they were ready to put me in the Ambulance,
they asked for a major credit card to run.
I told them that I had insurance from NHRA = They said that ONLY
covered services AT THE TRACK!
I declined the ride and waited till I drove home.
 
Well I was able to win the race against Kyle
when he went -.003. The round before he
put up a .009 and I put up a .011. My dial
was 12.48 and his was 10.26 when meant he
had to sit and wait a long time which can be tough.

I now inherit the bye that was going to be his and that
gives me a free time trial and moves me into the final 4
in Stock Eliminator!


However, then it Thunder stormed and hailed really hard (One Inch)
and NHRA cancelled the race for the day.

Normally the procedure is to postpone the race to the next day or two
until the weather clears. Inexplicably this time NHRA vacated the track
and did not tell us how they are going to finish the race if they are intending
to do so. Not staying the extra day undoubtably saves them money but
really causes a problem for the racers many of which traveled a thousand
miles or more to race and if there is a make up they may not be able to
come back.

NHRA has regularly increase the entry fees but not the purses. Contingency
Awards have decreased about 75% and it is a battle to get most of them
to pay at all.
 
GTX JOHN said:
Well I was able to win the race against Kyle
when he went -.003. The round before he
put up a .009 and I put up a .011. My dial
was 12.48 and his was 10.26 when meant he
had to sit and wait a long time which can be tough.

I now inherit the bye that was going to be his and that
gives me a free time trial and moves me into the final 4
in Stock Eliminator!


However, then it Thunder stormed and hailed really hard (One Inch)
and NHRA cancelled the race for the day.

Normally the procedure is to postpone the race to the next day or two
until the weather clears. Inexplicably this time NHRA vacated the track
and did not tell us how they are going to finish the race if they are intending
to do so. Not staying the extra day undoubtably saves them money but
really causes a problem for the racers many of which traveled a thousand
miles or more to race and if there is a make up they may not be able to
come back.

NHRA has regularly increase the entry fees but not the purses. Contingency
Awards have decreased about 75% and it is a battle to get most of them
to pay at all.
Click to expand...

Class racers have be-itched and moaned for as long as I remember but keep kissing NHRA’s azz. It’s laughable at what you guys put up with to run for peanuts and pay high entry and insurance fees. Those that have wized up and chased big money events have done pretty good. You guys are fill-ins and they will run you exactly when they need to so the show goes on. You probably won’t admit it but it’s the truth.
 
pittsburghracer said:
Class racers have be-itched and moaned for as long as I remember but keep kissing NHRA’s azz. It’s laughable at what you guys put up with to run for peanuts and pay high entry and insurance fees. Those that have wized up and chased big money events have done pretty good. You guys are fill-ins and they will run you exactly when they need to so the show goes on. You probably won’t admit it but it’s the truth.
Click to expand...
They have absolutely NO other play ground out here in the west and pretty much all cower to the mighty N! On a couple occasions I’ve seen people try to get a S/SS combo race going and very few show up. Back in my homeland the Midwest Class Racers have their own summer schedule and great car counts and payouts. Sure a few still hit divisionals and an occasional national, but their main schedule often revolves around their own little tour.
 
pittsburghracer said:
=Class racers have be-itched and moaned for as long as I remember but keep kissing NHRA’s azz. It’s laughable at what you guys put up with to run for peanuts and pay high entry and insurance fees. Those that have wized up and chased big money events have done pretty good. You guys are fill-ins and they will run you exactly when they need to so the show goes on. You probably won’t admit it but it’s the truth.
Click to expand...
I am not bitching at all = Just explaining to those that do not follow it.
I race class because that is what our family has done for a long time and
even myself for 60 years.

It is where nearly all my friends in the world are participating in and I
would never see them otherwise as they are from all over the country.
I live in a quiet small desert town in a different state that I was raised in
and have a very solitary life playing with my Grandkids.

It would not matter to me if there was no purse at all or even a trophy
(Even though I am proud of our 50+ Wallys on the shelf) to win. My Grandson
who races Juniors is the fourth generation of our family to go down the 1/4
mile. It is our family's legacy and my connection the my father and brother who
have passed away years ago.

For a number of years (Back when I was a very good racer and raced much more)
I gave every penny that we won (I raced much more then and won way more)
to Racers for Christ Organization. Now we do not win enough to make any difference.

One year I told my friends that we made $30,000.00 = But it cost us $100,000.00++
to do so.

I just thought the information would be of interest to those that might have still thought that you could make a living racing. Those day are surely long gone for the vast majority who will never make a living racing or even come near breaking close to even.
 
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@GTX JOHN

I know I promised you that I wouldn't say anything but when we raced each other in January, you smoked me like a salmon! You sir absolutely still have a lot of race left in you and it was a pleasure getting beat by someone of your caliber and experience.

:thumbsup:
 
I like your math that's why I live in CA. lol. Sometimes it's the smiles when doing what you like and sharing with family & friends that keep us wanting or what's next.
 
GTX JOHN said:
I am not bitching at all = Just explaining to those that do not follow it.
I race class because that is what our family has done for a long time and
even myself for 60 years.

It is where nearly all my friends in the world are participating in and I
would never see them otherwise as they are from all over the country.
I live in a quiet small desert town in a different state that I was raised in
and have a very solitary life playing with my Grandkids.

It would not matter to me if there was no purse at all or even a trophy
(Even though I am proud of our 50+ Wallys on the shelf) to win. My Grandson
who races Juniors is the fourth generation of our family to go down the 1/4
mile. It is our family's legacy and my connection the my father and brother who
have passed away years ago.

For a number of years (Back when I was a very good racer and raced much more)
I gave every penny that we won (I raced much more then and won way more)
to Racers for Christ Organization. Now we do not win enough to make any difference.

One year I told my friends that we made $30,000.00 = But it cost us $100,000.00++
to do so.

I just thought the information would be of interest to those that might have still thought that you could make a living racing. Those day are surely long gone for the vast majority who will never make a living racing or even come near breaking close to even.
Click to expand...

Well said. About 95% of us race because we enjoy the competition and having fun seeing our buddies.
Last thing on my mind is the purse. I have won a few times over the years, but having fun and seeing people is my overriding reason to race.
I know of one guy who probably makes money at it( local guy at our track who won the million race last year and has been our points winner last two years in his green Vega). Otherwise, it isn’t a sport that is kind to your wallet.
 
Most of the bracket racing we do does not pay anything
to talk about either.

Example : last week at MATS both Jon and I got all the way
to the finals in our respective class = Total return $300.00
Jon had the best losing package with a .007 light and a couple
thousand margin of loss in StockSS $10,000 race = Paid $5O0.00

Our entry fees at MATS were $1,500 so our loss for Weekend was
$700.00 not counting expenses. This was a track rental and not
a NHRA deal.

Fortunately, last year Jon got to the finals in $10,000 Stock/SS race
at the same venue ad was wise enough to do a split and made a some
decent money. But 60 plus of the best Stock/SS racers went home
with Zip for a $325.00 investment. We build trailers and put up $1000.00
to help sponsor the race out of our pocket last year.

The mutual respect and sportsmanship is great at StockSS races. Not
always my experience in bracket racing. I raced 9 Second Demons in
the Quarter Finals and Semi finals that were friends of each other
in Modern Muscle at MATS. In the Quarter finals I put up a .04 light
(My C8 Covette is an awful bracket car) and the gentleman in the Demon
was - .05 red. He chased me to the time slip both and wanted to Scream and
Fist Fight (He was probably 1/3 to 1/2 my age). Then in the Semi Finals his partner
but up a -.247 light to my first leaving .010 light (I was pissed by them). They
then proceeded to our pits looking for me but I was up helping Jon in his Finals.

Even coming up to 76 Years, I am fairly confident I could handle them both (Years of
Law enforcement and over 300 Fugitive Felony Arrests)! However, the Painter family
(The promoters of this race) are my friends and I had no desire to disrupt their event.
Plus it is not the message that I want to convey to my Grandkids and their buddies
who attended the event. Not to mention that at my age I might get my elder butt
kicked (Would not be the first time)! I doubt that we will ever race at MATS again
after the problems, although we probably will attend one day to see and visit with our friends.

At a NHRA National Race you would get at least a year suspension or more for that
sort of conduct and there is a lot of security and police present.
 
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I like big money races not so much because I do well but because of how well the races are ran. We are the show so it’s get up in the morning and race. One time trial Friday morning if you didn’t run the test n tune on Thursday and for 495.00 you race three races paying 20,000.00. They even feed us twice and Trainwreck band plays Thursday night. Round money of 150.00 starts with third round win.
 
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