Top Et racing

[masonracing]

Alright, I am going to bring this up again.

What's everyones opinion of throttle stops in top et? They allowed t stops at the IHRA pro am on July 4th and all of those guys were sent packing early.

I would live to see this rule changed for the following reason:

If I am going to run QR and some SC next year, I need to collect some stop data. The track sometimes is questionable on Fridays, and testing after racing is over puts unneeded wear on the combo.

[dragracerdave]

my opinion it shouldnt matter if you run them or not it should be the racers choice

[hinkle1]

I don't see a problem with a throttle stop, as long as it used according to the rule book. You should bring it up at the banquet and get it voted in. I have one with some dust on it that needs to be used.

[malibruiser2x11]

i dont really care but i tryed to get this done a couple years ago and they would not let me do it, i wanted to do it in my door car when the track was slick nin the heat, they only allow it the one race because of all the class cars. i think if you look it up in summit series it is not allowed. good luck

[masonracing]

I think that most people are scared that you can cheat with one. My car is 100% NHRA and IHRA legal though. I would also be willing to dial my car 5.70 on every pass.

I can understand if it is against summit super series rules. What about the non-points races? There's no reason to ban throttle stops during them.

Some people complain that I would leave first, they would come around me, and then I would come back around them. I could catch people off guard with this. But lets get serious. There's really no difference than running High-gear only big MPH cars. Those are allowed, so why not throttle stops?

[hinkle1]

When I was talking about what the rule book says, I was talking about using it no different than they do in class racing. That is if it is agreed upon to use them. At least with a throttle stop, you can tell the racer is using it most of the time. Unlike the guys that race with their gps, traction control box, magic box, driveshaft counter, wheel counters, and whatever other devises they have to try to win. If you drive your lane and dail your car, then you shouldn't have to worry what the guy in the other lane is doing. I definately can't see a problem if the man is willing to dail the index every round of every race no matter what the situation is, if he's using the stop. Just my opinion.

[masonracing]

I am definitely willing to dial the index every round. I am only pushing this to get data for 8.90 classes. There would be no reason for me to dial anything but the index.

[masonracing]

I also think that the reason you don't have more guys hop in quick, super, or hot rod during our local divisionals is because people just don't know enough about them. If clay city would allow throttle stops during regular races, it would give racers more opportunity to try them.

[malibruiser2x11]

all you can do is bring it up at the banquet and maybe they will vote on it.

[masonracing]

Yeah, I'm thinking about doing more leg work than just bringing it up at the banquet. I want to call the division director and get him to clarify the rulebook. It's really not too clear. Then I might call Jared and see what he says.

[flemster]

I think it would get a few more racers at the pro am... As it stands now I think they usually only have like 3 local racers run it.. I am wanting to run hot rod at it so it would help me too to get to use them occaisionally..

[masonracing]

Yep steve. It could only help car counts in the pro am classes in July. I was listening to wfo radio last night and they were talking about this very thing almost (plus the possible index change and getting fans into racing). It would definitely help car counts if people would realize it's not that hard to get into. Basically just one part and you're good to go.

[joshbaker]

Just a guess, but I would say most racers do not run pro am because it's $125 entry to run for $1100.

[masonracing]

I got $1050 for getting runner up. The advertised pay is $1100 to win, but the contingencies make up the difference. Also, there is normally a couple of shootout races, a top et race, and a gamblers. You can get in 6 races over the course of the weekend and it's in our backyard.

[joshbaker]

What are the entries and payouts on all of those? And how much does a throttle stop cost to buy?

[malibruiser2x11]

hope you have better luck collecting your contingencies than i did, i won super rod one year and runnered up the next and all they could tell me was my paper work must have got lost, i didnt get sh.....t

[masonracing]

I didn't have any problems getting my contingency. Lunati was the last company to pay and it took them 2 months. I had a check from Jegs the Friday after the race was over. Summit was not far behind. Sometimes companies will want you to sign a advertisement release and verify som info. In Lunati's case, that's what took them so long. Of course, it was my first time getting it, so the next time might not be so smooth. I'll have to wait and see.

[masonracing]

It was $475 for the car entries for the weekend. Total winners payout was $10,200 and I didn't get in one of the races. Plus if you're stickered right, that can go up to $1500 per pro am race. That would make the total payout around $13,200.

Some bracket races offer a better return on investment as advertised, but most of these races are cut up at 4-6 cars.

[chrisgarrett]

I don't think it will change the Pro-Am car count significantly, if at all. The ROI is awful, and most racers realize this. These races used to be much more enticing when contingency for a divisional was around $3000 and was paid promptly. Also, the entry used to be cheaper. If the contingency returns to previous levels, the car counts will probably increase.

As for throttle stops in Top ET (wasn't that the original point of this thread?), I haven't seen a good argument for making them illegal. But I hate them anyway.

Chris

[joshbaker]

After reading the rulebook it does not clearly state that throttle stops are not permitted. If the track allowed them it wouldn't affect me but I do think a majority of mid 5-6 second cars would vote against them. Did you ever get a clarification of the rules