Punta Gorda Speedway
OCTOBER 13 ? PRO TRUCK, ROOKIE TRUCK,
DAN BENOIT MEMORIAL RW-50 LAPS,
PERFECT PEST CONTROL PRO 4-40 LAPS, STREET STOCK,
DWARF CARS AND T.Q. MIDGETS
Street Stock and T.Q. Midgets, are added to this weeks racing schedule
Pro Trucks, Road Warrior and Pro 4 will qualify
call for your slabs 941-575-7223
You gotta be kidding me… Time trials for Road Warriors and Mini Stocks…??? What a joke.
Not a joke at all. Its a treat for drivers in support divisions to have a shot at a time trial. Make it no more than once a year or so; it would be crazy to over-do it. I spent a 20+ seasons in support divisions and I clearly remember the few chances I had the chance to qualify. It is fun!
Boneman…
I agree with you. Those classes are our backbone… and every once in awhile i think its good for them to be recognized. Also fun for the fans to get to know them as they are our track regulars! Racing is supposed to be fun and these guys are fun! Kudos to Kevin for making racing fun for all classes. :huepfen024:
Carol Wicks :auto003:
It might be fun for the drivers, but a total snoozefest for the fans. It’s no secret that I HATE time trials, even for the top classes. I guess I grew up spoiled in an area that drivers actually RACED their way into a feature event, and the fast guys started near the back. Down here, they qualify, they DON’T run any heats, and fast guys start up front. Not only that, but every car in the field is setting up for 1 single lane, which equals very little passing, and promotes the bump & run style of moving up in the running order. More impatient drivers dumping each other.
Boooooring…
There is only 1 race a year in Florida that should have qualifying… the Governors Cup. Everything else, no matter the track or division, should run heat races.
Rex… as a racer yourself, would you prefer a 2 lap time trial, or a 10 lap heat race? I know you’re a RACER, and I’m pretty sure I know the answer.
as a driver in the roadwarriors…i think once again fras…u are wrong
we are running mid 17 seconds in the roadwarriors…and are pretty much one of the premier classes at punta gorda…the class everyone wants to see that runs as a backbone class
Jeez, I gotta explain everything around here in the most basic terms…
Frass, if 50 cars show up, then you can run a progressive show with heats where the lead cars earn their way in the feature. its a good show!
HOWEVER, if you only have 15 or 20, let them time trial once a year. Clearly, heats would be meaningless when the field is far from full. Run time trials before the “show” starts, and have a generous inversion or other handicap for the cars that will win anyway.
Heat races, whether they are “meaningless” or not, are still RACES. That’s what I come for. 2 weeks ago at Ocala, there were 18 races that night… if it were ‘features only’, I would’ve seen 5 races for the same money. NSS runs features only, and many nights the show is done and gone by 9:30-10:00.
TBARA, arguably one of the best formats and fan appeal in Florida runs heat races at EVERY show. Part of the excitement of that comes from dividing the field by 3, and speculating how the strong cars in each group will match up with the other groups.
In all my years as a race fan, I can’t recall a single time the crowd was whipped into a frenzy over time trials. Yet some of the best races I’ve seen in a lifetime were in heats.
Keep your qualifying format… but take a look in the stands while it’s going on. See if ANYONE is excited. You won’t find one… except for an occasional fist pump when someone sets a quicker time than the previous cars.
I thought one of the goals of a racetrack was to ENTERTAIN the laying fan. Qualifying does NOT do that.
… that last part was supposed to say “paying”, not laying.
I think Frass is right on this one. I agree the support classes are the backbone of any track. I have no problem and actually think they should have more special races for these classes. However, as a spectator, I find time trials extremely boring. Let’s take the UDLMCS who runs time trials and then line the heat races up with the fastest cars in front. It makes for extremely boring heat races as a rule. I’ve actually got so I count the number of passes in their heat races and it’s very few. At least on dirt, the track tends to change so the feature races do tend to have some passing. However on asphalt, that isn’t the case and the races with time trials tend to lead to boring races, or the bump and run type of racing.
It ironic that Jerry asked you to look in the stands during the qualifying. I did that the last time we ran time trials. Most spectators were talking to their neighbors, or sitting with their chins in their hands with a bored look on their face. The only people I saw actually watching were the car owners or family when their car was on the track. There was one car owner who stood there and watched most of the qualifying. For most fans it was a total waste of time and I hear quite a few complaints about it. These are facts and not just my opinion. It depends on what side of the fence you’re on.
BTW, as a photographer, time trials give me a decent opportunity to get some decent single car pictures. After a while though, they all look the same.