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This Season Has Been Kinda a Bust

padam

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Location
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I’ll start by saying I had the season of my life last year, winning the UMTR Street Stick class points. I sort of had the intention to step back from racing after that, just because of how resource intensive it is in terms of time money and labor. But over the winter I got really excited about racing again and jumped back in with both feet.

One of the things I don’t like about racing is the effort required to be competitive, and have it washed away by weather or arbitrary decisions by tracks, or just bad luck.

Another is the lack of urgency or commitment among track management. So much time is spent waiting for nothing, next thing you know it’s the middle of the night or weather has rolled in and racing has to be cancelled, never to be rescheduled. I can only imagine how tough it is to run a racetrack, but if you’re going to do it, why not do it right?

My season started off rough, broken transmission and clutch troubles. I got way behind in the points early mostly because of my driving. A lot of breakouts and poor finish line decisions.

Middle of the season I started going some rounds. I had a runner up at Kuhnle in July, then did ok at Nation Trails the next week. Started to claw back some points.

The next race at Quaker I went out Friday the night before and had some good Test and Tune runs, and went a couple rounds in Modified. Cool, feeling good about Saturday.
Well it rained at night and the track cancelled the race at 7:30 am, clear skies at 8:15. They probably made the right choice because it rained again in the afternoon but I was pissed.

Ok looking forward to this weekend at Kuhnle. Well, for whatever reason Kuhnle decided to repave in the middle of the season. Race Cancelled.

Next race I have other commitments. 3 races after that and I think I’m basically mathematically eliminated after July 19.

I really consider Magnolia my home track. The didn’t open this season. It was supposed to open under new management in July. No they are shooting for some time in September. I really hope They do. If I could get some racing in there I think it would salvage my season.

Sorry for the long rant. I do consider myself blessed every day I get to go down the track.
IMG_4956.jpeg
 
I miss it then there were rumors that the 1/4 mile track in Baytown (Houston) was going to close. They actually stayed open for nearly a year longer but instead of selling to another operator, they flat out sold the place to a warehouse outfit that totally uprooted the whole thing. Got another track that's a bit further away but it's 1/8 mile and even though it's better than nothing, I still hate it.
 
Hard to keep your enthusiasm going when it's not going well.
I mainly went to the drag strip to have a good time. Wasn't a partier out there but didn't want to be working on the car the whole time at the track. The car's tune was what I call a 'fat' tune that way the car didn't change much if any during the day and into the evening. Everyone was trying to get the last ounce out of theirs and run on the ragged edge. If my car ran the same ET in a time trial as it did the last time out, I simply left it alone. Never engaged in the smack talk stuff either and the ones that tried it with me got no reaction except for me walking away. My smack talk was on the starting line starting with the burnout. Didn't break the rules but pushed them to the very edge and was the only time I wore a watch....the guys that were faster got hurt the worse. Loved bracket racing even though I didn't like it when it was in it's infancy. My enthusiasm was taking out the biggest mouth lol
 
Tracks closing all around us like a plaque, no time to work on 'em even though supposedly technology has made it simpler somehow, tight wallets with a shaky economy on the horizon and potential high costs for parts because of shipping or manufacturing logistics are keeping cars at home in the garages or at local car shows at the very least.
The dwindling desolate back streets are quiet, but people don't need to be. Voice your passions.
This era of cars will not die, it's just a cycle.
 
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I really respect you guys that stick with it for the reasons you listed. I started a few dedicated racecars and time commitments from work and family ended both before I fully sorted them out. In my mind either you're in 100% or you're not.
 
You could have been golfing. Would probably have cost you more $’s.
I golf and race. What else is there to spend money on? Running in 3 different series this year. So so good.
Doug
 
I’ll start by saying I had the season of my life last year, winning the UMTR Street Stick class points. I sort of had the intention to step back from racing after that, just because of how resource intensive it is in terms of time money and labor. But over the winter I got really excited about racing again and jumped back in with both feet.

One of the things I don’t like about racing is the effort required to be competitive, and have it washed away by weather or arbitrary decisions by tracks, or just bad luck.

Another is the lack of urgency or commitment among track management. So much time is spent waiting for nothing, next thing you know it’s the middle of the night or weather has rolled in and racing has to be cancelled, never to be rescheduled. I can only imagine how tough it is to run a racetrack, but if you’re going to do it, why not do it right?

My season started off rough, broken transmission and clutch troubles. I got way behind in the points early mostly because of my driving. A lot of breakouts and poor finish line decisions.

Middle of the season I started going some rounds. I had a runner up at Kuhnle in July, then did ok at Nation Trails the next week. Started to claw back some points.

The next race at Quaker I went out Friday the night before and had some good Test and Tune runs, and went a couple rounds in Modified. Cool, feeling good about Saturday.
Well it rained at night and the track cancelled the race at 7:30 am, clear skies at 8:15. They probably made the right choice because it rained again in the afternoon but I was pissed.

Ok looking forward to this weekend at Kuhnle. Well, for whatever reason Kuhnle decided to repave in the middle of the season. Race Cancelled.

Next race I have other commitments. 3 races after that and I think I’m basically mathematically eliminated after July 19.

I really consider Magnolia my home track. The didn’t open this season. It was supposed to open under new management in July. No they are shooting for some time in September. I really hope They do. If I could get some racing in there I think it would salvage my season.

Sorry for the long rant. I do consider myself blessed every day I get to go down the track. View attachment 1902404

I get it brother. I had a best friend passing remove me from one tracks points chase. Weird track decisions and how they’ve treated me chased me away from another. Was sick as a dog for two high dollar races and then finally got out for the first weekend only for the brake line to start dripping. Still feel myself blessed to participate.
 
I've always enjoyed racing, but what made it the best was the friends you raced with and the overall racing community.

I've lived it for 45 years, all but just a few guys from that era are now either gone, or far to old to race anymore.

Back then the average guy could find a body and stop buy a junkyard and grab an engine for a $100. Then spend $400-$500 and have something you could have some fun in.

Nowadays, I question my sanity everytime I press place order, but it's the addiction and the high you get from collecting parts and assembling the machine.

I still very much live in the present, but I'll never forget all the Friday & Saturday nights I spent at the tracks back in the good ole days.

Tom
 
Yep I’ve been through a few different sets of friends I raced with starting with the guys I grew up with. For the most part I’m the only one still doing it.

I don’t make friends easy, and I am not really part of the “family” that racers talk about. But the UMTR guys are a great bunch and I was starting to feel comfortable with them, really enjoying the series.

But making friends isn’t why I race.
I just love racing. The speed, noise, smells. I love the cars, I love being in the staging lanes. I really enjoy the (friendly) competition.

I don’t enjoy the travel. I don’t have a big budget so my tow equipment is always marginal and I worry about breaking down too far from home. The RV I’m towing with this year has been giving me fits with misfires. I think I finally figured it out, but now nowhere to tow lol.
 
I've always enjoyed racing, but what made it the best was the friends you raced with and the overall racing community.

I've lived it for 45 years, all but just a few guys from that era are now either gone, or far to old to race anymore.

Back then the average guy could find a body and stop buy a junkyard and grab an engine for a $100. Then spend $400-$500 and have something you could have some fun in.

Nowadays, I question my sanity everytime I press place order, but it's the addiction and the high you get from collecting parts and assembling the machine.

I still very much live in the present, but I'll never forget all the Friday & Saturday nights I spent at the tracks back in the good ole days.

Tom
sometimes 5 days a week when it was nice

or Wed. (Freemont my favorite or Vacaville 1/8th mile, closed/sold I was young)
Thur. (Sears Point, now Infinity is still open)
Fri. or Wed.s (Sacramento, closed/sold)
Sat, (test & tune if not a race) any one of them
& sometimes even Sundays too
occasional Bakersfield (still open) or Redding or Oroville even (closed just abandoned)
all up & down the west coast, from Kent W. to LA County Raceway
I attended the last races at Fremont/Baylands Raceway (closed & sat there for a decade),
& Orange County International Raceway (best track west coast)
aside from Baylands, best mineshaft air
& Ontario Motor Speedway
& LACR too (at altitude)
Riverside (closed) it's a bunch of condos & a strip shopping mall
(I did meet Barbra Eden/Jeanie at as an 8 y/o kid)
among many, many others when I traveled
been across the US like 14-15 times, I started in 1975, a 16 y/o at Fremont
ran my 1st 8 second pass, at Fremont 2 days after I turned 18, got my comp license
July 14th 1977, pretty much 'fulltime till 2007', mostly traveling,
I tapered of bigtime after...

I grew up around it from 1966 (7 y/o before he'd let me tag along) w/Stepdad Bob
I loved the Super Stocker's & the Fuel Altered's
I was into MX as a kid 1st, when I got my permit, then license I did cars
bikes were for the street or dirt to play
remember having to wear white pants to be in the pits & on a race crew ?
crazy dirty after, my mom always wondered
Bob's S/SH (mid 12's IIRC) started in his 64 GTO 389 4 speed 4.11:1,
Racemasters ol' pie-cutter slicks
he had many more, mostly Pontiacs GTOs & Firebirds, but had Fords & MoPars too
we'd go to Riverside, Lions, LongBeach, LACR, Redding, Oroville,
Sacramento, Sears Point, he loved Vacaville, Woodburn, Kent, Fallon, Fremont :blah:
many of the above, we once had 27 tracks we'd go to, just here in Calif.
more if you count Idaho, Or., Wa., Nv., Az. or NM
we have like 4 now in Calif.
my nearest now is Bakersfield, 200 miles away...
I once lived 12 miles from Sacramento Raceway...
About the same distance from Fremont at one time too,
I loved them years

18 y/o my AA/Gas altered, 301 cid Blown Inj. 1806#s @ 6#s per/cid
My super-gas 9.90, LS7 468cid all iron BBC/PG street & strip car background
later converted to a T/S car On a lot of N2O, ran in the 7's
Budnicks 23 T Ford Altered AA-Gas 6-71 Blown 301ci Donovan (1).jpg


I miss them years, most are gone now...
Seems like it's not worth the travel & time (or $$$) needed now...
I never lost interest, it left US, sold out to the highest bidder
or just closed because insurance was too costly...

7.90 S/E Super Eliminator (as shown, could go 7.40's)
a different combo than the photo (can only post 10)
had it with all iron/full roller 14:1 alum rod 427, rect. port, PG w/5,500 stall transbreak
on methanol Enderle hat on a tunnel-ram, on 33x15s
w/no ballast 6.90's @ 190 all day long
Budnicks 23 T Ford Altered Crower Inj. #1 (1a) sharpened up a bit.JPG

my 1st pass in the 7s in a doored car, at Sac. early 80s
Budnicks 67 Camaro 8.98 @ Sacramento early 1980's (brightened up a tad).png

even in Alaska
my 8.90 S/C 321cid alum SBC
Budnicks 71 Camaro 321ci Donovan SBC S-C Alaska Polar Raceway mid 80's.jpg

Alaska Plamer Polar Raceway
in S/ST Olds W30 455, just for fun, I lived just off the racetrack property
Budnicks 71 Olds 442 SST.JPG

T/S or 7.90 S/E, when I was still in Concord
Budnicks 49 Ford Business Coupe Pro-Gas #4.jpg

1st 8 second S/C car 301cid Pete Jackson FI, if that doesn't date me,
inj. methanol, Fremont/Baylands, experimenting with different fuels
damn near as fast as it was blown gas
Budnicks 23 T Ford Altered 301ci Pete Jackson Injected #1 Fremont 1980.JPG


T/S or Outlaw P/S
Budnicks 89 Camaro Z28 Outlaw Pro-Stock & 71 Camaro SS 301ci Donovon Super-Comp Alaska 1980's.JPG

my fastest doored-car 6.69 @ 217 T/S Trans Am
Budnicks 92 Trans Am 540ci N20 Outlaw Pro-Stock Sac. Raceway early 90's.JPG

87 White T/A blown/N2O door-slammers deal
1988 Govn. Cup & Night of Fire Sac-Raceway my 85 TA 7.90 car #3 Bonney Felson.JPG


:soapbox:

carry on
 
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