Ford Thunder thoughts and ideas.....

bruno wrote:#1. you will never duplicate the family feeling of windy hollow.
#2. if you want a crowd get some sponsors, advertise, location and plan ahead
#3. I apologize to everyone from being absent from the board, I feel like its my fault and responsibility for not helping out with the events/races.
#4. Everybody has valid points on this subject , we just need to prepare for the next one and have more then one individual put this event together.


Miss you guys
Nick

Who are you again ?  

for what its worth it would be nice if we had a lot more to show up. everyone says they had other races to run at that they had to go to for points or wutever reason. well I had an OSCA race in music city to be at for point and pay out was a hell of a lot better but I was at the ford race. we tried to get help to make payouts better and to help pay for expences. we only had 4 people help sponcer the race and I thak them a lot. I think some of the people are gonna try one more year to have it. I will be there as alwys to help keep it going and to race. for all the people that really wanna have a great time invite a friend and come on its well worth it, but for all u other keyboard racers that wanna run ur mouths and give opinons when ull never come anyways just shut up. yes US60 is not an nhra track but its a good track that hooks damn good and only cost the people who show up $1000 total. and as for thoses who wanna heads up race we had 2 of them this year. im just sick and tired of working ass off for those who say yea be there and don't come. that just way I feel about it all


P.S. for those who came glad to see all my old friends and had an awesome time c ya soon

79ford pickup wrote:for what its worth it would be nice if we had a lot more to show up.  everyone says they had other races to run at that they had to go to for points or wutever reason.  well I had an OSCA race in music city to be at for point and pay out was a hell of a lot better but I was at the ford race.  we tried to get help to make payouts better and to help pay for expences.  we only had 4 people help sponcer the race and I thak them a lot.  I think some of the people are gonna try one more year to have it.  I will be there as alwys to help keep it going and to race.  for all the people that really wanna have a great time invite a friend and come on its well worth it, but for all u other keyboard racers that wanna run ur mouths and give opinons when ull never come anyways just shut up.  yes US60 is not an nhra track but its a good track that hooks damn good and only cost the people who show up $1000 total.  and as for thoses who wanna heads up race we had 2 of them this year.  im just sick and tired of working ass off for those who say yea be there and don't come.  that just way I feel about it all


P.S. for those who came glad to see all my old friends and had an awesome time  c ya soon

That is why I think promoting this as a RACE is not doing the "Ford Bash" justice. It is an outing which could really be an EVENT to lot of people and should get promoted and viewed as such.
This is just one more reason to get a date posted a year ahead of time, BEFORE others, and hopefully it can be promoted enough that it can become a priority to simply BE THERE, racing or not.

That won't happen in 3 months; it takes flyers at swap meets and other vehicles windshields parked at other races throughout the year to make enough people even aware of the whole situation. If only 2% of 10,000 or so aware people can show-up, that is 200 people.
A good crowd of people going to an event surely can bring racers as part of that event  but, regular racers won't entice other normal people who do not have a race vehicle, to attend ... it just doesn't happen.

I agree w/car & driver safety . I also agree w/the drivers being healthy (such as heart problems) and such. But,if it's NOT about the money w/NHRA answer this. I had to have a EKG today for my NHRA license(not a problem) but my point is,why do they charge us $100 +for a license after WE pay to have a complete physical to make sure we are safe enough to drive a racecar. I agree w/Wes. If they were REALLY worried about everyones safety,they would put more tire and wheelie bars under those small tire rocket ships.Safety is great.NHRA SUCKS.

That is why I think promoting this as a RACE is not doing the "Ford Bash" justice. It is an outing which could really be an EVENT to lot of people and should get promoted and viewed as such.
This is just one more reason to get a date posted a year ahead of time, BEFORE others, and hopefully it can be promoted enough that it can become a priority to simply BE THERE, racing or not.

That won't happen in 3 months; it takes flyers at swap meets and other vehicles windshields parked at other races throughout the year to make enough people even aware of the whole situation. If only 2% of 10,000 or so aware people can show-up, that is 200 people.
A good crowd of people going to an event surely can bring racers as part of that event  but, regular racers won't entice other normal people who do not have a race vehicle, to attend ... it just doesn't happen.[/quote]

I agree Randy,hell Charlie always has a great turnout for his seminars. Its another reunion.  

79ford pickup wrote:  for all the people that really wanna have a great time invite a friend and come on its well worth it, but for all u other keyboard racers that wanna run ur mouths and give opinons when ull never come anyways just shut up.  yes US60 is not an nhra track but its a good track that hooks damn good and only cost the people who show up $1000 total.  and as for thoses who wanna heads up race we had 2 of them this year.  im just sick and tired of working ass off for those who say yea be there and don't come.  that just way I feel about it all


P.S. for those who came glad to see all my old friends and had an awesome time  c ya soon

Hey, I drove further then anyone two years ago and would like to return.  The question was asked, I answered.  I don't know what else to tell you.

Gentlemen,

That was my purpose for this thread.. to get people talking.
So far we have been talking about the racing.. which is good...BUT

Is there anything else we could do to draw people to this event ? Especially for those who don't race ??
Possibly have a tech seminar on Saturday morning ?? a Car show ?? a swap meet ??
There are folks here that don't have racecars, but we need them to a part of this.
A big meet and greet, so everybody gets to put a name with a face ??

As most have said, This is just more then a race, it's a reunion...
We need to make this reunion an event people won't want to miss....

JMO....

QtrWarrior wrote:Gentlemen,

That was my purpose for this thread.. to get people talking.
So far we have been talking about the racing.. which is good...BUT

Is there anything else we could do to draw people to this event ? Especially for those who don't race ??
Possibly have a tech seminar on Saturday morning ??  a Car show ?? a swap meet ??
There are folks here that don't have racecars, but we need them to a part of this.
A big meet and greet, so everybody gets to put a name with a face ??

As most have said, This is just more then a race, it's a reunion...
We need to make this reunion an event people won't want to miss....

JMO....

Add jr dragsters to the list

seriousness

Contact all the FE guys
some sort of grudge N/T racing

Promote promote , but as some said in other words its a happy medium . As of right now its a meeting of friends and a good time (never been but going off peoples exp) if it gets bigger or to big it may take away from that and not have that feel .

I plan on going next year car or not ..... id love to be able to bring some lobsters down from up here and do a boil in the pits for ya guys . Last time i was down south in florida ...sorry that lobster is not to good lol .   

I would love to see like a swapmeet happen. Some guys already bring a few things along and sell or trade. I ended up hauling an aluminum block that Keith Fulp had bought from Mo to the race this year. To start with people could throw some extra parts in and show up. I don't think anyone would complain about that. But just like the race you can't expect it to be huge overnight. I think some people get discouraged if they come and there is a low car count or with a swapmeet that's small so they don't come the next time. Well then next time it's smaller. Sometimes I don't understand these things. We've got a swapmeet at six flags just out of st Louis and it's really set up nice. Pricing for venders and buyers is good, location is great, parking is great they even split it into two sides, with one side being swapmeet and the other being more like a garage sale. The sad thing is it has really never took off. Why??? It's far better everything than some of the others that I go to, but never as big. The only thing is, it's kinda like the race, I think instead of giving it a chance to grow, people expect it to be a national event over night. Sometime you got to just keep on keeping on and see how it turns out.

Don't forget the crableggs.  

A date & place needs to be gotten NOW ... and everyone here needs to help promote this thing.

Hell, given the two major all Ford swap meets in Columbus, Ohio and a couple local races throughout the year ... I could give out 1,000 flyers depicting more than simply another race, myself.

QtrWarrior wrote:

bruno wrote:#1. you will never duplicate the family feeling of windy hollow.
#2. if you want a crowd get some sponsors, advertise, location and plan ahead
#3. I apologize to everyone from being absent from the board, I feel like its my fault and responsibility for not helping out with the events/races.
#4. Everybody has valid points on this subject , we just need to prepare for the next one and have more then one individual put this event together.


Miss you guys
Nick

Who are you again ?  

im your Boss !!!  

bruno wrote:

QtrWarrior wrote:

bruno wrote:#1. you will never duplicate the family feeling of windy hollow.
#2. if you want a crowd get some sponsors, advertise, location and plan ahead
#3. I apologize to everyone from being absent from the board, I feel like its my fault and responsibility for not helping out with the events/races.
#4. Everybody has valid points on this subject , we just need to prepare for the next one and have more then one individual put this event together.


Miss you guys
Nick

Who are you again ?  

im your Boss !!!  

I thought you where the silent partner? LOL

@

Some options and observations

US 60 raceway to Owensboro KY is approx. 1 hour
                      to Elizabethtown KY is approx. 1 hour
                      to Louisville KY is approx. 1 hour 15 minutes
                      to Bowling Green KY approx. 1 hour 30 minutes

All of these towns have malls, multiple eating establishments and such to spend time at, the track is 1/8 mile only, hooks very well(so it sounds), relaxed on safety teams/rules

Ohio Valley Raceway in West Point Kentucky is a 1/8 mile track, more stringent on rules/safety from what I have heard other than this I don't know
                     to Elizabethtown approx. 30 minutes
                     to Louisville approx. 30 minutes
                     to Owensboro approx. 1 hour 45 minutes
                     to Bowling Green  approx. 1 hour 45 minutes

Beech Bend Raceway(Bowling Green) 1/8 or 1/4 mile track, more stringent on rules/safety from what I have heard Again I do not know as I haven't finished my car to get to run anywhere.

Regardless of where you choose to have it needs to be scheduled NOW and start promoting NOW to get your attendance up.  As for who to let come ANY FORD CAN RACE who cares which version of Ford power they use as long as they use Ford power(which is what I thought was happening the last several years), Also I would include Jr Dragsters to get kids there also.

Just my 2 cents worth(May not be worth that much since I cant race yet)

I did a little investigating.
The two largest all FORD swap meets in the country are in Columbus, Ohio. They draw more than a million people both vendors and buyers.

A track close, (just 35 miles NW), to Columbus, Ohio is "Pacemaker" which I mentioned earlier because the daughter of the owner works at Jeg's and was next to our booths at the fall all Ford swap meet and she mentioned that they do all sorts of this stuff..
www.pacemakersdragwaypark.com

It is in Mt. Vernon, Ohio ... 10 minutes from a mall ... 15 minutes from hotel/motels ... 5 minutes from restaurants of all kinds.

It IS an NHRA affiliated track, though can be a bit lax with some rules at non sanctioned events.

I think they might actually still have a "Jeg's Quick 32 sponsored race" on their schedule so, fast cars will have enough room to stop.

It seems to me like the Kentucky people/racers are the ones who most resist any traveling to make this EVENT work.

.

@

@

bruno wrote:

QtrWarrior wrote:

bruno wrote:#1. you will never duplicate the family feeling of windy hollow.
#2. if you want a crowd get some sponsors, advertise, location and plan ahead
#3. I apologize to everyone from being absent from the board, I feel like its my fault and responsibility for not helping out with the events/races.
#4. Everybody has valid points on this subject , we just need to prepare for the next one and have more then one individual put this event together.


Miss you guys
Nick

Who are you again ?  

im your Boss !!!  

I'm sorry...
My boss wears a dress... Just like your's does...  

Pacemakers is as of this year ran by Rod Zolman. Rod is a racer himself and is bending over backwards to make this facility a great place to race and it is showing. They had their 1st super 32 last weekend and everyone was very happy with the track surface. Another bonus is the facility has concrete retaining walls, not steel guard rails. The track has been marginal to say the least over the past couple of years, but that is not the case any more. By the way, Rod is a Ford guy too!

Some thoughts.....

The race has been in Ky, as far as I know, because the guys in Ky have been putting on the race, be it Phillip at Windy , or George at US60.
Blake(?) did have the one race at US43 in Tn..

I think this works for most of us, as it "halfway" more or less , in the North /South direction.
I know it is 640 miles from my door to the entrance to US60..
A little farther North might be ok, but too much farther would eliminate some of our Southern brothers...

The main question remains.. IF the race is moved( or whatever) Who is going to cough up the track rental $$ a year in advance ??

Also, I am not trying to start trouble here, just the opposite..
I am trying to spur conversation to make sure this race lives on, no matter where it may land...

Oakley Motorsports wrote:Randy my wife is from the area.  No SQ race there because turnout is terrible in past years and track conditions are the same.  The reason I think it has always been in ky is because the guys trying to run the event live here.  

I believe the SUMMIT sponsored "Quick 32 race #2" is at that track this weekend ... June 14.

Simply because SUMMIT is one of their sponsors is the reason JEG'S no longer uses that track for one of their races.

EDIT:  It is also the reason you won't find anything to do with a JEG'S race at Norwalk either.

QtrWarrior wrote:Some thoughts.....

The race has been in Ky, as far as I know, because the guys in Ky have been putting on the race, be it Phillip at Windy , or George at US60.
Blake(?) did have the one race at US43 in Tn..

I think this works for most of us, as it "halfway" more or less , in the North /South direction.
I know it is 640 miles from my door to the entrance to US60..
A little farther North might be ok, but too much farther would eliminate some of our Southern brothers...

The main question remains.. IF the race is moved( or whatever) Who is going to cough up the track rental $$ a year in advance ??

Also, I am not trying to start trouble here, just the opposite..
I am trying to spur conversation to make sure this race lives on, no matter where it may land...

I would say that it takes some actual phone conversation with track proprietors to see exactly what can be do-able. Most big tracks want everything up front but, smaller places will usually work with you.

Oakley Motorsports wrote:  The reason I think it has always been in ky is because the guys trying to run the event live here.  

Exactly my point ... what does it matter where you are living...?
Robotnick at "Survival" is from here but, his FE race was in PA.  It had a lot to do with getting people from Carlisle and Columbus to show-up even though he was forced to travel 400 miles..

I'll be there anyway so, it almost doesn't make any difference to me other than to get a larger following.

There are a whole lot of Mud racers, boat racers, pullers, etc. on this forum who don't really have a large interrest in a drag race but, could be easily enticed to an EVENT.

@