I like this guy…I like his car…I like his home track…all heroic..
http://www.draglist.com/artman2/publish/race_results/RACE_OF_CHAMPIONS_WINNERS_CROWNED_AT_NORTHWEST_DIVISION_S_SUMMIT_SERIES_FINALS.shtml
Settling Down, Southern Style…
Noted Indy Nationals rained-out qualifying nixed doorslammer attempts over the weekend. Pro Stock made fewer passes..equaling fewer opportunities to test and maintain a combo; sad for them. Mad, on the other hand, might be the ‘tude of the maligned PM ‘exhibition’ cars bumped..not just for weather…but for “live television” scheduling. Unless the Greek, himself, was at the front of the lanes, this is just another bad marketing decision by the post-Parks Glendora house of cards.
Fortunately, good doorslammer action was going on all over the country. A veteran heads-up venue hosted a race won Saturday by a veteran heads-up pilot. And no bothersome gerbils were in evidence…
http://fastdoorslammers.com/forums/showthread.php?s=e046e104861f8ae5750ab25790fbd6cd&t=4778
Blasting Back At Burk
Jeff just published my rebuttal to his ‘resignation’ he gave over the weekend. DRO readers like me, who value Burk for seeing the forest and balancing his sponsor feeding with the last regular stream of integrity left in monthly indie drag strip journalism, are speaking at Burkster. The Right Wingnuts, just as in the healthcare debate, are egging his frustration on. These people ARE the ones who watch races waiting for crashes. As much as I see our sport based on personal responsibility…as bullheaded as I can get about tradition…we need a Jeff Burk to bring principle to mainstream commercial media.
Jus’ Curious….
…how an internet rag publisher, with whom I share the certainty that we must live in the present, can throw paint around the ‘ack’ towers he stomps around in. My reading of our usual online indie high profile guy leads me to believe he’s drinking the trendy Kool Aid, currently. AAFC and ADRA viability seems to go nowhere in the midrust hq building collecting advertisements from mighty important organizations, lately. Not only can one not escape commentary on what happened last week, but what’s happening this week, what’s about to happen during the 2nd warm up run of whoever the Gerbil wants to profile this week…etc…yawn..(…and notice Hernandez is getting nearly no coverage; punishment, I assume, for a recent DNQ..and this guy wears the livery from the major…soon to be ex-sponsor). Yeah, man. DOD can’t justify their champion’s car…and series…perpetually..and pizza won’t pay for it. Bread and Circuses don’t count as legit. “sanctioning body” promotions. I’m cheap…but expect to buy a ticket…or write a column. Something.
So, it seems the lack of respect many of us give givaway national events equals dissing progress, entirely… ’scuse me…”change”. Notice progress wasn’t actually the topic…No one in drag racing grew to love the sport by refusing to allow progress in….but to simply rewrite the entire sport, based on fad, fear and fallout from sponsors is unjustifiable. Slowly, so we can all breathe in the words: if baseball eliminated basepath rules, set up arbitration at each road trip, gave away tickets to all fans, ordered peanuts out of the park…in short, paid no RESPECT to the game-Americans would revolt. Those who would do likewise to the sport of drag racing don’t carry the juice to command the direction of things from a catbird seat in St. Louis…
A Class For Every Car
…may be returning very shortly. Jim Tice Jr., a Moe family spawn and others emotionally invested in our sport have signed on to the previously theorized revival of AHRA. At a point where a respectful organization dedicated to the propagation of a lineage-based sport is nearly non-existent, we’re heartened. The fastest way to screw this up is to only cater to 50-plus year olds–which I am, as well. Colonial Beach appears ready to pounce on the new American Hot Rod Association; a move which would bring in the DC area. Bill Pratt, the Durham family and lil’ Sox should have an interesting play pen, there…
…good air coming in…
…tonight. Thunderstorms threatening; n’ that’s all the metaphor you’ll get out of me today. Noting responses to the clearly expected drop-off in unlimited slammer participation in the top ranks. Even before the barnumnational bunch found fewer slammers than fuelers in the pits, a dialogue by those tied as much by passion as profit to the sport began. The single definative rite of sustainability this year has to be Bret Kepner’s leadership moving the St. Louis scene back along a top elim. format with no more than 40..Four Zero cash entry for whatever one would want to spew out of one’s trailer. My quick math comes up with a scenerio of no more than 250 cash for the winner at the top of this loose series. Test, tune and running free for the sake of it are the only motivators. This…and the recently clarified www.prooutlawdoorslammers.com situation based out of Virginia seem to be ready to weather transitions. The POD runs purses internally, in order to minimize track promoter crisis-mamangement. Well run circutry can draw crowds and participants, alike. Apparently 2gs to win and 200 a round can be anticipated..a far cry from my pet trial balloon of having regional names of killer status promoted guarenteed for ..er..750 a round? Me, a left coastie who rarely pays 20 bucks at the gate. Glad sustainability stays in the hands of the experienced…an uberfan doesn’t get left holding the bag at the end of a weekend.
Barona Bash Brings Fresh Vibes
(5-6-2009) LAKESIDE, CA – The West Coast Outlaw Pro Mod Association completed its second event of the 2009 season this past weekend at Barona Drag Strip in Lakeside, CA.
Barona Drag Strip is an 1/8-mile track and is the only 1/8-mile event on our 2009 schedule and the first 1/8-mile event in the history of the new association. Myers was one of four racers that showed up for this event, the other racers included Shawn Jones, Jay Diedrich and Rod Burbage.
After the first qualifying session Burbage had captured the top spot with a 4.467 and was followed by Jones, Diedrich then Myers. The 4.467 by Burbage was good enough to keep the number one spot after the second session as well but Diedrich improved which put him in the second spot then Jones and Myers rounded out the field in the three and four spots.
In the first round of eliminations Burbage had some electrical problems which affected his 6-shooter not dumping timing out at the hit so he instantly blew the tires off and Myers cruised down the track for the first round win. In the other pair, Diedrich defeated Jones in the battle of the 1957 Chevy’s.
The final round would pair up Myers against Diedrich and Myers had lane choice.
Diedrich was looking for his first event win after losing against Lee Smith the weekend before at the WCOPMA Funny Car Fever event and he had it hopped up a little too much for the cold track and started dancing around at mid track and wisely lifted. Dan Myers was once again thundering down the 660’ while clocking the second quickest et of the event and taking the event win as well in front of his home town crowd!
Congratulations to Dan Myers on his second West Coast Outlaw Pro Mod Association event win!
Story and phots by Steven Bunker – www.quartermiledesigns.com
The True Test Of Civilization…
…it is said, is how it treats it’s seniors and most vulnerable. The true test of a senior is focusing upon abilites, rather than disabilites. The late Chet Herbert served up a great example to me earlier in my life..something that helped lead me along my career pathway.
Our fave octogenigonewild around here made it to the first round of Top over the weekend. A red light in the 1st round could be ’splained away by anything from giddy excitement to viagrian side-effects. Greek is god…
Too much drama over the past week in LA is pulling attention away from another action over at LA City Hall…this one in cyberspace…asking why..4 years later…no Brotherhood Raceway is yet forthcoming. The track can be rationalized as a historic plaything to keep car culture a living history in So.Cal.-and at a small outlay. The players who would get this show on the road are getting over a touchiness hangover, at this writing.
Focus up, Brothers.
Chris Karamesines, Chris Karamesines, Chris Karamesines!
Any excuse to add to the Chris Karamesines google bank is a reason to post. A tad bit under 196mph on Friday at Gainsville keeps the man’s 1000′ muscles limbered up. When you’re 81 years old, you’ll need plenty stretching, as well.
Keeping a good man down, whoever it is, seems to be the new rep of Glendora corporate culture. This past week, it was announced that round by round sportsman racing isn’t worth coverage…and, no-this isn’t their worst PR botch job of the month. Threatening the Gerbil’s circuit of slammers over the full load o’ nitro injected cars issue by yet another threatened sanction yanking of participating tracks is tiring-and a possible noose to hang the Cali contingent by in court. Between yawner press releases and boring driver interviews, their ‘product’ is looking rather morbidly less agile than octogenarian Chris Karamesines, these days.
Silly Season Summary Pt. 1
…most of my daily musings last month surrounded the deteriorata in cash-strapped connivance structured for a real estate pyramid scam that promised endless advance money. I toldya, I toldya, I toldya. I toldya all last year…on blogspot…on here. Links fell away from folks who simply didn’t want to hear it. Cabash; and every closed door finds another open.
I wrote about Hot Rod Fullers’ falling away…and am pleased to see he may have a fall back plan. The single most annoying occurance this past month was the de facto ban on match racing by contemporary fuelers. The ludicrous market conditions for such possible exhibitions notwithstanding, the option for the next Force…or the ever current octogenarian Chris Karamesines needed to be in place. The four event rule placed everyone on the Glendora Gormet circuit off the menu. The Internationalists, on the other hand…well, a Fuller vs. Karamesines series of final rounds could still happen if the Ohio offices survive the chill of insurance liability brought about by two seperate ‘monster’ motordeaths. Really, tho…circus riders have replaced circuit riders in the top ranks.
My silly season-specific side project…always done…um…TODAY!…did speculate around how we could restructure to make the business closer to the original sport that the likes of Tice, Moe, Carrier, Badar and our late, lamented and sorely needed at this time….Wally Parks envisioned. No matter how commercial or organized into predictible eliminators you’d want to participate or peer out at through affordable grandstand viewing, we can all agree the sprints are losing so much of their history to be rapidly unrecognizable to those of us lucky enough to have hob nob’d with the founders. I would, again, throw baseball out as an example of a pro sport which could culturally support amateur grassroots participation while keeping the whole deal digestible and identifiable.
