Any updates Wilbur??
Okay, race recap (it ain't pretty):
1) Gates were scheduled to open at 9:00 A.M. both days. Kudos for pulling this off without a hitch.
2) Two qualifying runs for each class scheduled to begin at 10:00 A.M.. Qualifying on Saturday did not begin until after 12:00.
3) Round one competition on Saturday did not begin until nearly 2:00 P.M.. All classes were run in order:
>Street ET
>Pro ET
>V-Twin
>Ultra Street
>Super Bike
>Super Comp
>Top Gas
>Grudge
>Test-n-Tune
Yes, Virginia, they were running Grudge as well as Test-n-Tune as part of the rotation
during competition. They were running grudge matches on mopeds fer chrissakes! In the middle of a competition that was already running almost three hours behind... By the time we got to round two it was 7:00 P.M.
Now for Sunday:
1) Upon arriving at the gate we were informed that the only classes running today would be ET classes, no pro classes. On top of that, Sunday racing would not accrue any points, and any points accrued during the 2017 season(?) would carry over to 2018.
2) Based on Saturday's race organization we were in no hurry to arrive at the track today. Well imagine our surprise that upon our 10:15 A.M. arrival they were already calling Street ET for their one and only qualifying run! Pulled the bike off the trailer, drove straight to tech (no multiple day tech cards issued, had to tech each day), and from tech drove straight to the lanes... where I managed to pull off a .004 reaction time!
The .004 reaction time in my single qualifying run managed to earn me a round one bye! Hot damn! Going to round two! Round two found me paired with Dusty Brazeal. Dusty pulled a .032 RT to my .083 RT and ran within .036 of his dial to my .051 (8.251 on a 8.20 dial) to beat me by .0661 ending my day before 1:00 P.M. in round two.
Overall, this proved to be valuable seat time and experience for me, especially in light of setting two personal bests this weekend. I doubt I would drive even to Valdosta to compete in this series though. Both days were plagued with inordinate delays while we waited for those "double entered" in Street ET to make it back around to the lanes. This contributed to a great deal of confusion. As far as I'm concerned, one bike, one rider, one entry (per class, multiple class entries OK). Screw the "double entry" BS. I will compete at any event they hold in Orlando, but they are going to need to step up their organizational skills to get me to go any further than Orlando. True, I've never tried to organize an all motorcycle drag race event, but I have attended, and participated in, events that had more than twice as many participants that were conducted in less amount of time. The grudge matches, along with test-n-tune being stuck in the rotation during completion was a mistake as far as I'm concerned. I would like to see more than one "track prep guy" at the next event as well. As it was, one guy was driving the tractor dragging the tires, then he would park the tractor and jump on the ATV to spray adhesive on the track. Lots of time spent watching this poor guy single handedly prep the track. My kudos to that guy since he appeared to be the hardest working guy there.
At least we finished early today!
