NHRA rolls into region 4 next weekend

[HRTV]

For all you NHRA fans the big names of the NHRA will be at the Virginia Motor Sports Park in Richmond, VA next weekend! John Force etc.. I can tell you from experience it will blow your mind if you have never been to a full blown NHRA race.

http://www.nhra.com/content/preview....=&navsource=22

[Skoontz]

Dan:

Pomona is an hour from here. The tour starts and ends there. Several of us used to go, and, you're right, nothing like nitro in the AM before breakfast.

I don't know by you, but here is why we all stopped going. Ticket cost, pit side, general seating, $95 with tax. Parking, $23.00, which we split. Beer at site, $12.00 for Budweiser....YECK!!!!! $10.00 for a brat. Any T-shirts you want to buy, $30.00 and up. I got our girls two Race Girl wife beater T's and it was over $60.00.

OK, I'll live with the money for nitro and alky and pro stock rides.... Don Prudhome lives about a mile from us, and we've done work at his house off and on, and his shop is just up in Vista. He always gives us great hospitality, has public open houses at the shop in Spring, and many of the old timers, a few of the old Stone Woods and Cooke team are also local. In Fallbrooke, we have the old Dragmaster chassis factory, and they do nostalgia shows in fall. Back home, we were blessed to have Chris Karamasenes near us.

Back to NHRA out here.....The Pomona track authority sees fit every year to inject half the day's program with those beyond stupid computerized bracket cars...Not the ones where it's all driver skill, these things have 9 second capability, they dial in a number, and the computer in the car calculates from the launch pad at about 100 feet out if the car is going to break out...Then, shuts the throttle down. A green light goes on inside, which is the drivers signal to step on it again and race. So, they come out screaming, wheelies, smoke, engine noise, everything you would expect...Then the idle and almost stop just after the launch pad. Then back on.

It is that reason we quit paying the money, we came to watch real racing, and this class of car takes up half the day of the finals.

I can only hope on the east coast, NHRA gives you guys a better show, and you're absolutely right, for the first time, if you have never seen the show, it is fabulous!! Enjoy

[Racerkyle20]

NHRA nationals is in Seattle every year! Pretty cool stuff to watch from what i hear!

[Rex Hall]

We have NHRA here every year at Topeka, and the reason they run the bracket cars, is they need to fill up the time between runs for the top fuel cars to teardown and rebuild engines between runs. It is the same for the Unlimited races that have a fill in class to put on a show while the Unlimited boats get ready for another heat.

[3rd Chance]

Englishtown isn't far from me and I make it a point to go at least to qualifying on Fridays. There's nothing like seeing those nitro cars shooting flames out doing 300mph!!! I'm sorry to hear its that much out in Cali...........$35 for Friday, $40 for Sat, and $48 for Sunday.

[Skoontz]

Rex:

I understand why they inject the bracket cars into the event. I love bracket racing and grew up near the Oswego Drag raceway and Byron raceway, where much of the weekend events are/were filled with bracket cars..

What is a major disappointment, and this is not only me, but many of the folks we sit near from year to year, is, on board computer assisted bracket cars. It would seem to me that if your car runs 9's, then you would spot the car next to you the time on his side of the tree and run full out rather than come out screaming, then take the foot out of it, then back on.

For a few years, the nitro.alky.pro stocks more than made up for the dead time in the field, but then from the perspective of $150 for Pomona, half being those type of cars, we just stepped back a bit.

Get rid of the computer cars, and you got a completely great event requiring driver/car against driver/car skill. Anyway, this event is always good in any state, just not $150 per days worth of good at Pomona.

[Skoontz]

sidetracking a tad here

Englishtown isn't far from me and I make it a point to go at least to qualifying on Fridays. There's nothing like seeing those nitro cars shooting flames out doing 300mph!!! I'm sorry to hear its that much out in Cali...........$35 for Friday, $40 for Sat, and $48 for Sunday.

Unfortunately, cost of everything in California is prohibitive. For example, in region 12, has we decided to race A hydro at Bakersfield this weekend, 4 heats of racing would cost us $170.00. 4 heats at the sectionals cost us $320.00

Lots of this is driven by the absurd amounts of lawsuites, permits, land costs, etc etc.

It is what it is, and we would rather save that $150 for boats at this time.

Now, not to sound too negative here, for that admission, you get to see the Peterson Museum, free of charge, with virtually every car from Mickey Thompson's Challenger ll, to Stone Wood's and Cooks Willy's gasser. That is where we went when the computer cars took the track klast time we went.

Awesome museum...

[Wild Bill 96D]

I did the clutch on this nitro car for 8 years, Hottttt job but had fun. Glad to be back in boats were you can take a swim.

[HRTV]

Dan:

Pomona is an hour from here. The tour starts and ends there. Several of us used to go, and, you're right, nothing like nitro in the AM before breakfast.

I don't know by you, but here is why we all stopped going. Ticket cost, pit side, general seating, $95 with tax. Parking, $23.00, which we split. Beer at site, $12.00 for Budweiser....YECK!!!!! $10.00 for a brat. Any T-shirts you want to buy, $30.00 and up. I got our girls two Race Girl wife beater T's and it was over $60.00.

OK, I'll live with the money for nitro and alky and pro stock rides.... Don Prudhome lives about a mile from us, and we've done work at his house off and on, and his shop is just up in Vista. He always gives us great hospitality, has public open houses at the shop in Spring, and many of the old timers, a few of the old Stone Woods and Cooke team are also local. In Fallbrooke, we have the old Dragmaster chassis factory, and they do nostalgia shows in fall. Back home, we were blessed to have Chris Karamasenes near us.

Back to NHRA out here.....The Pomona track authority sees fit every year to inject half the day's program with those beyond stupid computerized bracket cars...Not the ones where it's all driver skill, these things have 9 second capability, they dial in a number, and the computer in the car calculates from the launch pad at about 100 feet out if the car is going to break out...Then, shuts the throttle down. A green light goes on inside, which is the drivers signal to step on it again and race. So, they come out screaming, wheelies, smoke, engine noise, everything you would expect...Then the idle and almost stop just after the launch pad. Then back on.

It is that reason we quit paying the money, we came to watch real racing, and this class of car takes up half the day of the finals.

I can only hope on the east coast, NHRA gives you guys a better show, and you're absolutely right, for the first time, if you have never seen the show, it is fabulous!! Enjoy

Not sure where you got the $95 price for general seating, there is no way in hell that NHRA or any other sanctioning body would charge $95 for general admission the stands would be empty!


Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals
November 13-16 - 2008 Pomona

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2008
Adult Admission $25.00
Junior Admission (6-12 years) $10.00

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2008
Adult Admission $30.00
Junior Admission (6-12 years) $10.00
Adult Reserved Seat $40.00
Junior Reserved Seat (6-12 years) $20.00
Child Reserved Seat (5 years & under) $10.00

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2008
Adult Admission $52.00
Junior Admission (6-12 years) $10.00
Adult Reserved Seat $62.00
Junior Reserved Seat (6-12 years) $24.00
Child Reserved Seat (5 years & under) $14.00

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2008
Adult Admission $55.00
Junior Admission (6-12 years) $12.00
Adult Reserved Seat $65.00
Junior Reserved Seat (6-12 years) $24.00
Child Reserved Seat (5 years & under) $14.00
4 DAY GENERAL ADMISSION $135.00
4 DAY RESERVED SEAT $165.00
TOP ELIMINATOR CLUB $375.00


Child 5 Years & Under Free in General Admission

[Skoontz]

Go to ticketron, buy tickets. The gate will be sold out. After that they start doinking you for parking, food, etc etc. You are allowed to bring water bottles only. Been like that for the past 6 years.

[HRTV]

Go to ticketron, buy tickets. The gate will be sold out. After that they start doinking you for parking, food, etc etc. You are allowed to bring water bottles only. Been like that for the past 6 years.

Nothing new here this is pretty routine for most major sporting events around the country NFL - NASCAR - NHRA and all the like. We pay $54 a ticket for Disney on Ice my kid loves it! these are once a year events so we just bite the bullet.