We're putting the finishing touches on booking an invitation-only side-by-side mud drag for next summer. I'm running 5 sanctioned classes plus one class for strictly locals coming off the street (gonna have 20 trucks in that class). Initially, I wanted to have just 10 vehicles per class in the sanctioned classes, & I planned to pay only 1st place. Now, we're planning to pay 1st through 3rd in each class. $40 entry fee which includes two adult admissions. Here are the classes & payout schedule:

Hot Street: $500/$250/$125 (1st/2nd/3rd)
Super Stock: $600/$300/$150
Pro Stock: $750/$375/$200
Modified: $1,000/$500/$250
Pro Modified: $1,500/$750/$375/$250/$200 (5 places paid in Pro Mod).

Keeping in mind that I want an abbreviated show (no more than 3 hours with each vehicle making two passes & some downtime for regrooming the track), and that I don't want to dillute the competition with a bunch of junk trucks, I still think I can go for more than 10 per class & have a good show. So, what do y'all think?

10 per class?
12?
14?
16?

Definitely don't want to go more than 16. For starters, there's not enough room to park much more than 100 vehicles (had 121 there once, but it was CROWDED). Plus, that could push the time of the event to too long. Lastly, it's gonna be tough to get even 16 competitors worthwhile in the Pro Mod class. Anyhow, any & all opinions are welcome.

Thanks,

TEX

for some reason, i can't vote from work here...but i say 10 per class. its a nice round number, especially if its by invitation only, then it can be like a prestigious 10!!

Originally posted by riffman
for some reason, i can't vote from work here...but i say 10 per class. its a nice round number, especially if its by invitation only, then it can be like a prestigious 10!!

Yup, that's kind of the idea. Some of those classes would have 40 entries at a "come one, come all" event. The more I narrow it down, the more competitive I can make it. Still, tough to decide who to leave out :(

TEX

well...you can let me run! (if i ever get a damn truck going! :D )

Originally posted by riffman
well...you can let me run! (if i ever get a damn truck going! :D )

Havin' a running truck would be a definite pre-requisite for being invited :D


TEX

but seriously, what would it take to get invited?

I'm kinda curious what the requirements for invitation will be too.

Is this for the races at the end of June or someting else you have planned?

I say 16 that way you dont have to decide who gets byes in brackets if that is how it is run. 16 1stround, 8 2nd round, 4 3rd 4 for the 4th round which would be for championship. 3 being decided by who whent fasted or furthest of the loosers in the 3rd round.

Matt

I think 16 would be easier to setup brackets

Originally posted by riffman
but seriously, what would it take to get invited?

Well, first dibs (so to speak) are gonna go to folks who've raced at my events in the past & particularly to those who've done well.

A guy who's been to 3 of my events & done well at all of them has a better shot of getting invited than does a guy who's only come to one.

All other things being equal, the better looking truck will also have to get the nod (though I do have a couple of really REALLY ugly ones that are getting invited just because they are SUPER fast).

Anyone who's made a habit out of being a PITA gets bumped to the bottom of the list. I have one "Modified" driver who's come to several of my races & has even taken 1st a couple times. But, he made a big scene at one of my races & at several other local events over the years. I'm only calling him as a last resort. In fact, his spot will probably be filled by someone who's never previously run with me.

Lastly, I want a good mix of both locals & out-of-towners. I'm going to try not to overload any of the classes (with the exception of that lowest class that's ALL local) with too many locals OR too many out-of-towners.

The one area where I'll be recruiting folks who haven't previously run with me will be the Pro Modified class. I've only had a total of 5 true Pro Mod cars run with me in the past. Most of the entries in that class are usually Modified vehicles that also run Pro Mod. In fact, my Pro Mod record is held by a guy who runs a Modified. For those not familiar with the difference, Modified means cut DOT tires, tube frame, typically alcohol & NOS injected. Pro Mod means paddle tires & superchargers. The Modified guys usually run both classes & some switch to paddle tires for Pro Mod. So, if you know any Pro Mod guys who would want to run for a $1,500 1st place prize in Missouri, on a date that will NOT conflict with NMRO, I'm all too happy to hear from them :)


As to the June event I've previously mentioned, this isn't it. The June 22nd race in Montgomery City, Missouri (the one that was supposed to be 2 days, but is now just 1) is open to anyone & everyone, from anywhere. And no pre-registration is necessary for that event. Just show up on race day with your entry fee, or admissions fee if you just want to watch.


As to the bracket ideas, that's true that 16 works well. However, we won't be using brackets. We'll run two passes per class & your best time counts as your time. If you're the 1st to run in the left lane on your 1st pass, you'll be the last to run in the right lane on your 2nd pass. And only your quickest time will count.


Thanks for all the comments & suggestions!

TEX

I voted before reading your opening post about the set-up. Please change my vote to 10. If you want to hold it to 3 hours. If you get to many incomplete passes and have to assist with getting them out, you'll run late.
Rich Klein
CalROCS

Originally posted by Big Rich
I voted before reading your opening post about the set-up. Please change my vote to 10. If you want to hold it to 3 hours. If you get to many incomplete passes and have to assist with getting them out, you'll run late.
Rich Klein
CalROCS

Shouldn't have to worry about incomplete passes since the mud will be just inches deep. Still, the more trucks, the more time it takes. 3 hours is the target :)

TEX

**wishes he lived near mud bog races**:crybaby2:

just cuz there ARE no mud races in cali i have ever seen what are the class breakdowns? (i read the pro mod stuff)

Originally posted by zakk
**wishes he lived near mud bog races**:crybaby2:

just cuz there ARE no mud races in cali i have ever seen what are the class breakdowns? (i read the pro mod stuff)

At most of my events, I have 11 classes & run two different kinds of pits. One lane is called a "Pit" is is 2-4 feet deep. 5 of my classes run in the "Pit". The second lane is called a "Fast Track" & is just inches deep. I have 6 "Fast Track" classes.

The "Pit" classes are:

- Real Street up to 35.0" - V8's have to pull 19" vacuum, must be legitimately street legal, full body, same suspension as stock, unmodified DOT tires no more than 35" stamped.

- Hot Street up to 38.0" - no vacuum check, engine swaps okay, gas for fuel, limit 1 carb, must have mufflers & all other "street" equipment. Uncut DOT tires up to 38.0" stamped (no 38.5's).

- Women's Hot Street - same as Hot Street, but female drivers only

- Outlaw Stock up to 44.5" - uncut DOT's up to 44.5", any suspension, may move driver around in cab, full body but may remove glass, alcohol allowed for fuel, 1-carb limit, stock wheelbase.

- Altered - homebuilt allowed, no "body" necessary. Any suspension, any wheelbase, any engine mods. If running dual carbs, injection, NOS, or supercharger, limited to uncut DOT tires of any size OR tractor tires. Single carb with no NOS or blower may run cut DOT tires or paddles.


"Fast Track" classes are:

Street Stock - any size uncut DOT tires. Must have street equipment (mufflers, lights, etc). 15" minimum vacuum for V8's.

Super Stock - stock wheelbase, full body with windshield, 1-carb limit, no 4-links. May run open headers & alcohol.

Pro Stock - Must have factory frame, may gut body (no narrowing). May stretch wheelbase up to 10% & set engine back (no more than 12" from front axle to 1st spark plug). No injection, but may run NOS. DOT tires only, but they may be cut.

Modified & Pro Mod you already know about

Women's Pro Altered - anything goes EXCEPT no superchargers. Female drivers only.


At my invitation-only, "Fast Track" only event, I'm running the following sanctioned classes:

Hot Street up to 38.0" (even though it's normally a "Pit" class)
Super Stock
Pro Stock
Modified
Pro Modified

Plus, I'm running an unsanctioned class I'm gonna call "Street Fighters". Those are the guys that are going to HAVE to be local & HAVE to DRIVE their race vehicles onto the grounds.


BTW, if you know anyone who has a decent sized fairgrounds that would be interested in putting on a mud race, I'm for hire - and I travel :)

TEX

Originally posted by makkat
I'm kinda curious what the requirements for invitation will be too.

Is this for the races at the end of June or someting else you have planned?

Hey, I see in another thread that you're an IH person, and a mud racer, and from CO. You wouldn't happen to John & Pansy would you?

TEX

I would love to enter but it's a long drive for me......hope everything goes well.....:beer: :(

Originally posted by TEX


Hey, I see in another thread that you're an IH person, and a mud racer, and from CO. You wouldn't happen to John & Pansy would you?

TEX

No, but we go racing with them often.

They got my wife hooked a couple of years ago at the pulls and now have get her doing mud drags.

Originally posted by makkat


No, but we go racing with them often.

They got my wife hooked a couple of years ago at the pulls and now have get her doing mud drags.

Nice folks. They've come to a couple of my events in the past - they're on my short-list of invitees too :)

TEX

Hey, what do you know about the (apparently now defunct) Rocky Mountain Mud Draggers? Pretty sure their President was from Westminster. Scott Dominguez or something like that. You know any of those folks? Do you think their downfall was stressing the top two classes too much & not paying attention to the small-time local racers?

TEX

Don't know them personally, but I heard that is the reasoning behind that group and the CMRA going away.....Thats why we have to drive to MO and further east.:)

Originally posted by makkat
Don't know them personally, but I heard that is the reasoning behind that group and the CMRA going away.....Thats why we have to drive to MO and further east.:)

Yeah, RMMD used to have a web site up & the amount of $$$ they were putting into the top classes was comparable to a national event. But, they had no lower classes. And the pictures showed them in all these nice facilities (like the one in Casper) with practically NO spectators. You want spectators, you have to have local involvement. And for what they'd have to charge to cover that big prize purse, no way the towns could justify bringing them back. They'd never recoup the cost in spectator fees. I've told the Comers this before. If you know of a place that wants to hold a race, tell 'em to get in touch with me. I'm not cheap either, so it needs to be a facility that seats a couple thousand folks or more. But, I WILL have a place for the small-time local racers to participate. My most recent event had 142 competition machines & 4,700 spectators. Considering the population of the town where this was held is only 2,200, that's not bad ;) But, if all I had were out-of-town racers, no way we would have had that kind of spectator turnout.

TEX