Fred_B

iTrader: (1)

I'm done. After getting the time off from work and getting new stuff built for Cleveland (including a new sedan) I'm done.

Pissed doesn't even begin to describe how I feel about the classes and race format. Not running the SAME STOCK RULES as the other big races is a complete JOKE. Add to that this lame idea of running one round of practice and I'm out.

Guess what? I for one need to have more practice laps to get the track down and hang on to a mod 12th car. We're not all factory drivers! So, one practice rules out mod. My next class would be stock. Guess what? You don't offer the same stock class that all of the other big races run.

I'm out on this one again. Not because of the time or the expense but because of the RACE!

Time to look at vacation time for Snowbirds. It's going to be warmer there anyway.

Pissed...

Tread1

iTrader: (18)

You do realize that there is still the same number of rounds,just now more are called quals instead of practice.Damn the drama llama is out in full force in this thread.

Fred_B

iTrader: (1)

Didn't mention anything about the number of runs did I? Posts like yours are one more reason to ignore this thread and not go this year. Used to go EVERY year.

Drama starts with a poorly planned and poorly run race.

I'm not going to go back and forth on this. Said what I wanted to say and I'm done.

walterhenderson

well said Fred!

cookie1

I am with you Fred as well....well said!!!!

cookie1

after going to the Halloween race and watching larry f. lap the field in 13.5 boost i realize the only races that were fun to watch were the Blinky classes. Heck for that matter 1/12th Mod was so fast that the field was so far apart in Mod that maybe its time to have blinky in Mod 1/12th.. Where is Bob Stormer when I need him! But to go to Blinky in all classes would require a bold move..we can't even get blinky in 17.5 or 13.5,,what am I thinking!

Bob-Stormer

iTrader: (8)

I'm just gonna put this out there, the drama llama is funny.

I've learned one thing over the years, and it's a similar scenario. I learned it from my wife. Bitch to much about the cooking, and you'll find yourself doing the cooking.

knapster

iTrader: (2)

Isn't that the truth.
I challenge the complainers to stop complaining about the things that you can not change for at least a week.

walterhenderson

sorry Fred I am a good cook!

knapster

iTrader: (2)

I bet you are Walter.
My point is, the rules have been in place for some time now and they are what they are. Lets see how it shacks out and see what happens next year.
Turn out will be a factor for those decisions I'm sure.

L.Fairtrace

iTrader: (24)

I'm not sure that is an insult or a compliment.

kingbee9

iTrader: (31)

I for one will wait until Blinky comes to the Champs. My club runs blinky and I just don't have a time when I can test timing and boost settings.

I respect the right of the Ruggles to put on the race as they see fit even if it doesn't suit me personally.

Bob-Stormer

iTrader: (8)

I think it should start at 45. and keep raising it until the winner is 2 laps off the regular class winners pace.

Age is a lousy indicator of skill level.

Looks to me like the rules are posted. Don't like it, don't go. If the event turns out big, you were wrong and missed out on some great fun. If it turns out poorly attended, whoever put the classes together missed the mark.

I'd be for a class where I didn't have to work as hard, but still got the track time. Something like Leave your car in cardboard box in the track room, and pull it out and toss it on the track for your heat. Toss it back in the box. If you break, you're done, you sit in the bar the rest of the weekend and talk about how fast we all used to be.

I will say this. ALWAYS, when I help setup what I call "different" classes, it's based around fun. And they are always well participated in. If nobody's having fun, that's the killer. And I keep things slow. There's no need for a 7 lap gap in a main event. Figure out how to write the rules so it's 2 laps or less and you'll have 10 drivers having fun and battling, not 2. better racing, closer action. All of us here have great storys about that ONE particular race, the one epic battle where it makes the hair on your arms stand up just to think about it because the racing was so close that it was epic! Even though were racing for 5th and 6th in the C, makes no difference. Where you get off the drivers stand high fiving each other and laughing, shaking hands, and slapping each other on the back. Sometimes, it's somebody you don't even know. All anybody wants is the "perception" of a fair shot, and to have a good time.

It would seem that the majority of racers we race with perceive "blinky" to be more fair. I do too. BUT, I must confess that it might also be because I don't have the time to put in to find THEE settings that work for me. It's not a Lazy thing, we're all busy, I'm just short on time like the rest of us. rarely do I have the right settings. and MAN, do I hate that. I feel like I've missed out on some secret meeting.

Really, all we did is change the magic of tuning brushed motors to tuning speedos. But at least with a motor dyno, you could enjoy the hobby at home, tune your junk and have it ready. Can't tune a speedo in your basement and test it. For most people you have to waste qualifiers doing it.

Since the advent of the brushless motors that were supposed to be the greatest equalizers EVER, we have never had a larger disparity in speed. And more confused people standing around scratching their heads.

If I could get to the track and just learn the layout, rather than learn what I don't know about tuning a speedo, I'd be happier more of the time.

Hence, the popularity of Blinky. Throwing a race without blinky is a ballsy move.

I'm here to tell ya, you want to see a pile of guys having a PILE of fun? Silver can 1/12th, 15 minute qualifiers. Motors are like 35 watts and perfect. I spent a few months one winter perfecting it as a class. NOT for the A-main guys who will declare it "stupid and slow", but for everybody else that wants to actually RACE! There is no speed number associated with the word RACE.

You can make faster classes, or you can have closer races, you can't have both.

Cleveland is kind of it's own Institution, like the Whip was. You go to be a part of the spectacle. And to get out of having to sit with your drunken Aunt Nancy, that smells mysteriously of urine, at the Thanksgiving table.

cookie1

oh larry believe me its much more...your car is great & your driving is awesome. you certainly have figured out boost especially in 13.5..vegas also confirms this as well..I like how honest you are when talking about racing..congrats...

CypressMidWest

iTrader: (1)

Fred, thanks for the constructive criticism. We vary from the Vegas class line-up in one detail. 17.5 12th is open speedo, other than that just about everything else is the same.

The sedan you've built is perfectly equipped for our 17.5 spec (blinky) sedan class. And as a MOD 12th driver, one might expect that an individual with your level of experience might understand that 1 practice and six quals is pretty much exactly the same as 3 practice 4 quals, as Keven Hebert has stated.

I appreciate your opinion, and have fun at the 'birds

Ian Ruggles