Forum: HoseHeads Sprint Car General Forum (go)
Moderators: dirtonly  /  dmantx  /  hosehead

I've been to races where heat races start at 8:00pm

Couldn't agree more.  Kinda like when they used to end an NHL game in a 0-0 tie.  

What were the biggest factors?   Late starting time?   Too long cleaning up cautions?   Long down time between races?   Too many classes?  

I'm curious what happens when a race is cut short due to curfew. Is a winner declared? Do the finish the race next week? 

If more than half of the feature laps are completed, then the race is considered complete, otherwise it is deemed an incomplete feature and all starting cars will get equal pay/points

I was at both races as well and I was not happy either, BUT, there were situations beyond any clubs control. At Plymouth, they dumped waaay too much water on the track.  This left it a quagmire and they had to skim a bunch ofit off to even get cars on the track.  This set them back about an hour, hour and a half.  With the spring we had, the ground water table is still high and the track just proved to be an elbows up, tacky, rutty mess.  This caused many wrecks and in the wingLESS A, there was a 7 car pile up with cars on top of each other.  As you can imagine, it took quite awhile to sort that out.  This all led to a longer than normal show that resulted in the curfew being implemented.   At Angell Park, thetrack was elbows up but nowhere near as wet as Plymouth.  The main issue at AP was the decision to run the Legends A main first.  A very ridiculous move, when the IRA were the main draw along with the Badger Midgets.  The Legend A ran for over 45 minutes and they only completed 7, yes, 7 laps until they called it.  Badger ran their A and it was fantastic with only a few stoppages.  Great race.  The IRA came onto the track and lined up as the HARD 10PM curfew was approaching.  They can finish a race if it starts before 10, but any yellows after 10 and the night is done.  That is what happened.  It was not the IRA's fault, nor Badger Midgets, as far as I know.  It was someone's decision to run the support group, Legends FIRST.  All in all, it was a decent race weekend.

That is what happened Saturday night.  The 360's were awarded equal points and pay and I am sure the same for the IRA guys on Sunday night.

I feel your pain with the legends. For those of us who attend the Nationals probably remember the legends spinning or spinning each other out. I don't think they schedule the legends anymore. 

IMO in the early part of the season, why not try to start earlier especially on a Saturday night. I would love to be out of the track by 10 - 10:30, especially with kids. 

Keep It Real

I remember when most PA tracks had a midnight curfew. They had to start the last feature before midnight or risk getting a fine. Not sure if that is still a thing or not. Most tracks here only have 2 or 3 divisions a night now and rarely run late. They also run the headline feature first.

A

If you're concerned about the points race, awarding everyone the same points only helps the guys in the lead. The guys at the back haven't gained anything and now have less races to do it. So the points needed per event to gain positions increases. I also doubt that Racers show up hoping to save fuel and wear and tear on the race car when they sign in.

Even though I may not know you, I 
care what most of you think!

I'm not sure I can agree with your math there Lou. 

I think the guys in back make up some ground in points. Let's say I'm mid pack in points, and I'm 250 points behind the leader. If we each get 20 points for the shortened race, I'm still 250 points behind the leader. In contrast, if the race finished, the point leader could have gained 75 points for winning while I gained 15 points for 15th place or whatever. I'm then 310 points behind. . 

Okay. But that's kind of a participation ribbon mentality

Even though I may not know you, I 
care what most of you think!

Maybe, but in a good way. It rewards the racers who showed up and not the ones who stayed home.

The badger midgets race was indeed excellent. Felt like the sprints had a chance to have a great show of their own. Angell Park really adheres to their noise curfew. Hope it's appreciated by the locals because if I was promoting there I probably would have said "eh let's just finish this quick yet" to the point where the curfew becomes meaningless. just being honest!

Port Royals curfew is still midnight. They are allowed to finish a race that is started before that. They have at special races gotten permission to run late. I am not sure now with the mayor being in the pits most nights if they could just go ask him for permission. They do only run three divisions in resent years and it has been a while since the curfew has been an issue.

It is a race dirercters job to keep things moving and also plan ahead.  He must watch the clock and keep things moving.  I was at a track once and cars were not coming onto track when they were called.  Race director said on PA they would line cars up the way they came on track.  All of a sudden they were running into each other to get on track.  It is up to race directer.