Everyone, keep the suggestions coming. We are listening.
In the meantime I'll give my opinion (nothing official) on two things.
Stand alone: Mistake. It would be difficult to get a premiere facility, date and draw in enough participants/fans to make it profitable. Besides, isn't part of the point to showcase the LS potential to non-LS people? How do you draw in a bunch of trad engine guys to a LS community when it's LS specific? I believe GMPP is trying to showcase the LS platform and sell motors...how can you do that to a bunch of people that already own or are aware? IMO the NMCA is the ideal place to accomplish this.
Brackets: Ughh...I would love to be able to convince the "powers that be" that we shouldn't run them (and will do my best to convince them of so). That said, I do think we could still have the normal 3 tier bracket program as long as we have decent weather, it's not a points deal, AND no jr's.
Don't say that man. Give these guys a chance to get it all sorted out! Have a little faith. They have a year to get it all sorted out. I am sure there are some big changes in the making.
Soulless-->The text message is an incredible idea! Why isn't this implemented already in the NMCA?! seems so simple in this day and age. Great idea!
Well, lets put it this way. If they want I can build the database get with a cheap txt paging service and voila! you have txt notification. Mass txt for everyone LOL. We put our phone numbers on the tech card when we get there. It could also be used to communicate schedules or time changes. I think it would be a great idea to keep up with the daily events. There is potential there for sponsors too, "IF" we wanted, but personally I hate txt spam.
__________________ STOLENOnyx Black 2002 SLP SS Camaro, MTI Lid, B&M Ripper Shifter, AR Torque Thrust II's, TSP 231/237, NX Wet Kit, QTP/LT's and QTP electric cutout, 255 Walbro Fuel pump, Spec Stage III, Moser 12 bolt, 410's, 33 spline axles, BMR TQ/Arm, Subframes, Lower control arms, Relocation brackets, P/H bar, QA1-Hals Front Shocks and Springs
Last edited by Souless; 10-20-2009 at 04:21 PM..
Reason: cuz i can
Don't say that man. Give these guys a chance to get it all sorted out! Have a little faith. They have a year to get it all sorted out. I am sure there are some big changes in the making.
Soulless-->The text message is an incredible idea! Why isn't this implemented already in the NMCA?! seems so simple in this day and age. Great idea!
Thank you, we are trying.
As far as the text, yeah that's def. worth looking into. There is the FM radio (in this case 100.3) but it seems that not everyone had a radio.?.
Brackets: Ughh...I would love to be able to convince the "powers that be" that we shouldn't run them (and will do my best to convince them of so). That said, I do think we could still have the normal 3 tier bracket program as long as we have decent weather, it's not a points deal, AND no jr's.
Just my humble opinion.
Scott,
If you got to keep the bracket guys(cash crop i know), at least put a reasonable limit on the stuff. Say 125 cars, and no buy backs. This is the finals here, we don't have time or room for that non-sense.
__________________ 1999 Trans Am Tatershack Performance I need a motor sponsor that can handle 25psi
A3--Full Suspension--347--S480--6.0 manifolds--A2W http://tnfbody.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9537
Special Thanks to: Tatershack Performance/AEIcnc.com/Speed Engineering
As a fan, attending for the first time, i was thoroughly disappointed. I will most likely not return next year. We stayed at the track the majority of both days, and saw a couple LS cars in time trials, and 1 round of LSX eliminations. The 10.5 W, and pro-mod cars kept me in the stands. but as far as the bracket racers, i can drive 20 minutes to the local track and see bracket racers... i drove the 12 hours to see LSX cars. Like previously mentioned, i too dont follow the NMCA circuit, and cant stay at the track for days, so not having the LSX cars during the midday was an incredible let down. It surely hope that the schedule wasnt intended to get the fans there early, and hold us there until nightfall. Cause it surely felt like it.
The promotion was great. Likewise with the vendor area, and car show. I enjoyed seeing the top LSX cars up close, and racing. The scheduling was horrendous. But all-in-all for me it was a waste of a trip, and i probably will never return.
This is EXACTLY what I don't want to see. We built this event to showcase the baddest of the bad in the LS community. Trust me when I say we will work to eliminate the problems that you had at the event. Give us another chance.
If they make the changes I will personally buy your tickets for next years event.
The spectators such as you are more important at this event than people realize. Thanks for your opinion.
Robin
__________________
Fastest LS Nitrous pass 7.77@179
GM Performance Parts
Check Out the new E Commerce Web Site at GMPerformaceParts.com for the best deals on GMPP Crate Engines.
The radio is OK. We had ours at the trailer full blast on 100.3 and we still had trouble hearing the rounds. When people are firing up their cars or driving by or working on their rides its tuff to hear. On top of that I know we were not always by the radio. Its tuff to keep tied down to the trailer/radio when you have to wait 12hrs between runs.
__________________ STOLENOnyx Black 2002 SLP SS Camaro, MTI Lid, B&M Ripper Shifter, AR Torque Thrust II's, TSP 231/237, NX Wet Kit, QTP/LT's and QTP electric cutout, 255 Walbro Fuel pump, Spec Stage III, Moser 12 bolt, 410's, 33 spline axles, BMR TQ/Arm, Subframes, Lower control arms, Relocation brackets, P/H bar, QA1-Hals Front Shocks and Springs
As far as the text, yeah that's def. worth looking into. There is the FM radio (in this case 100.3) but it seems that not everyone had a radio.?.
I know at one point we parked in the same field as the true street/index car guys to warm up, and the 100.3 was Intermittent at best on reception. Remember when you park those guys that far out a) they are not always around their cars, and b) reception is going to lack.
Half the fun of being there is walking the pits where the big boys park. But you park them seperate from the rest, so the guys don't hear the calls to the staging lanes.
__________________ 1999 Trans Am Tatershack Performance I need a motor sponsor that can handle 25psi
A3--Full Suspension--347--S480--6.0 manifolds--A2W http://tnfbody.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9537
Special Thanks to: Tatershack Performance/AEIcnc.com/Speed Engineering
If you got to keep the bracket guys(cash crop i know), at least put a reasonable limit on the stuff. Say 125 cars, and no buy backs. This is the finals here, we don't have time or room for that non-sense.
I'm Aaron...Scott is the goofy looking guy!
Agreed, but as I mentioned we (Scott, myself and a few others) need to convince some of the higher ups the needed changes.
OK first I want to say that I am grateful for the efforts of the NMCA as well as Memphis Motorsports Park. Never once did I hear about anyone having their name badge yanked from their neck. Seriously it takes a huge effort to stage and produce this event.
My thoughts and comments are/were a direct reflection of what I was hearing in the pits. As I am sponsored by GM Performance Parts some would like to construe my comments as GM Performance Parts official position. The guys at GMPP are registered here and if the need be will post their feelings.
I have had a conversation with one of my friends from the NMCA. I certainly expressed a bit more in that conversation than I can post here. My friend made some valid points and several observations that I need to express.
First at the beginning of the year we were dealing with a sagging economy as well as soft sponsor commitments. Given the gloomy outlook it was prudent to plan for some decrease in attendance or spectators at events. Many businesses have reduced their goals and budgets based on the turndown in the economy. If you read Scott’s posts you can see that the event hasn’t shrunk.
Next is the weather. If you can control the weather then you would not be reading this post for sure. It’s impossible to predict what the weather will do. With the colder weather came conditions that wreaked havoc on tune ups as well as traction. Cars made more power than they have ever seen and many personal bests were achieved this weekend. That also resulted in a lot of missed tunes and the breakage.
Given the fact that the car counts were more not less and the weather was killing the cars things got way behind. I mean how many times have you seen bracket cars crash? And on an 1/8 mile race?
Since my earlier posts I have been told that next year the NMCA finals will NOT be run with the Memphis Motorsport Park Bracket Finals. Of course that is not mean that the NMCA would not run a limited bracket program.
I suggested the Nitrous class also.
At this point we need to move forward and address the problems from this years event. My experience tells me that the guys and gals at the Pro Media/ NMCA will make the changes needed to insure a successful event next year.
Robin
__________________
Fastest LS Nitrous pass 7.77@179
GM Performance Parts
Check Out the new E Commerce Web Site at GMPerformaceParts.com for the best deals on GMPP Crate Engines.
I have to agree with PSJ. The true street cruise was great the first year because of the escort. It was nice to run through town at a casual rate. Last year some of us got maps of the route. This year we didnt get that. Fast cars in a local town with no escort is a very bad idea. If you dont know where you are going you tend to follow the car in front of you. At one point in the cruise we had probably 30 cars in a cleaner parking lot waiting to find out where to go.
I also think the text notification is a good idea. I missed qualifications on saturday because of the time it took to run through true street. When we got done with our three passes the LSX tent was gone and I had no idea where the awards meeting was. Figured it was being done on sunday. Sunday started out ok. We were in the lanes at 9:15ish. Then we didn't run again till 5 or 6. I went up to the tent to check the status quite often. Derrek did a great job of keeping me in the loop though.
I look forward to this event every year. Its really the "main" event for me all season. I put a lot of time and effort into making sure the car is ready to perform. I definitely will go again, but I think the schedule was a bit messed up.
Thanks again for the event. It has to be hard to put something like this together.
-Mike Mester
__________________ 2000 Trans Am
Mike Mester
2007 LSX True Street Runner Up
10.65@125.15 - 1.40 60' NA
9.74@137.67 - 1.40 60' N20
First and foremost I would like the thank the people that made this event possible for us. I saw a lot of NMCA guys, like Derek who teched us in, working from the time we got there until after we left. We really appreciate your dedication to making this event happen. I am so happy that you guys keep giving us LS powered drivers a place to come together and race. We also felt really welcomed, every staff member we talked to thanked us for coming participate.
The Early bird party totally rocked. The food and staff were excellent and ya'll had a ton of really great prizes. Even though we didn't win anything this year (LOL) we still had a great time. Thanks for doing that for us!
There were A LOT of uncontrollable events that happened Saturday and Sunday to really blow the schedule out of whack but that's racing. The LSX Shootout is still a baby, and with some tweaks here and there and THE CONTINUED SUPPORT of the LSX drivers/fans it will hopefully become one of the greatest events of the year. So I'm asking everyone who came who didn't have a great experience to come back next year. My husband and I have supported this event since it started 3 years ago, and we plan to continue to do so. Without everyone's support and participation this event will cease to exist. And remember guys this is the only event of its kind for us out there right now, if we stop supporting this event it will die out and we may not receive another opportunity to get another started.
I personally had a good time this year, even though I was cold, 8 months pregnant AND my husband lost out first round eliminations. I know if I was able to enjoy myself ya'll should too! I already miss all our new and old friends from the event! And the turnout of LSX cars this year was just amazing! See you guys next year!
__________________ 1994 Formula (updated body w/ 99 transam parts) Currently under construction.
2006 Cobalt SS SuperCharged 209hp 200ftlb torque 32mpg
Derek does a great job for sure. Again, think about having a non-NMCA person or two to stand up for the LSX community who can point out IN THE MOMENT that something is going down that does not make sense. I know that Scott, Aaron and Derek are doing their jobs, and you guys kick ass, but you need someone who is outside of the organization who speak up for the shootout when the schedule starts getting screwed up. Sure there will be delays, but there need to be adjustments too. You can't tell me you couldn't have run a round of elims before that giant local bracket class that had everything from pickup trucks to rails.
Texting is a great idea Souless (you are madman's buddy with the red ss right)
I think we should make the index racers race the same cars in the index. So a 10.0 car should race a 10.0 car...ect....I have been to all three and did feel like this year we were kind of put to the side. I had fun none the less, I had to race my DD vette because my camaro lifted a head tuesday night before we left for memphis. Oh well.
__________________
2002 Camaro Z28 |HKE 370ci build with 300 shot in progress|old best 10.28@131mph| 2008 LS1tech calender car
2009 Corvette Coupe | M6 | Cyber Grey | Iforged | 11.94@119mph
I was a spectator this year and was hoping to bring my car to the next one but me and my buddies left pretty dissappointed. Our whole point in going was to meet some of the folks that we see post here on the board on a regular basis and to see some of the nastiest LSX cars around. Although I did enjoy getting away from the local track and hanging out with my buds I didn't feel it was worth the 10hr drive. Most of the two days we were there we spent walking around the pits looking at the same stuff over and over because the schedules were all jacked up. We never really new when anything was going on and even when asking some of the guys that were participating in the racing they had no clue just like us.
Sunday was extremely dissapointing because that is when I expected to see the big boys make their passes put it was 4pm I think and still nobody knew when the LSX guys would get their turn. When you have to drive 10hrs to get back home for work on Monday you end up having to decide whether you are gonna stay and hope to see some racing or just pack it up and get on the road. We decided to hit the road and get an early start on the drive back home.
I feel like we were pretty much overlooked the whole time. It seemed like we were an after thought that was get the nmca cars in and then oh yeah we have that lsx stuff to run. There for 12 hours and we made one run. We had too many people to count come over and ask us when we were going to run again and when they found out how long it would be they would have to leave. I think its a good event but there needs to be some tweaks made to make it flow better and get it finished up in a more timely manner.
I had a problem with the true street class because whats the point of the 30 mile cruise and then sit there for hours thats not back to back passes.
Also some of the rules for drag radial need to be looked at. Like the side exit exhaust should be allowed and the 295s should be dropped because nobody runs them and it seems like they don't limit the times at all. I would like to see a limited class for the nitrous guys to run in. I think that could get a lot of cars interested in it. The nitrous cars we run in normal drag radial are all big blocks not small blocks. I also think that to run the tracks normal bracket race during a high profile event like this is not a good idea. There are way too many cars to have to try and run get that done.
P.S. The track was one of the best tracks I have seen and the crew did a great job of maintaining the track conditions through the tough weather and all of the break downs and so forth.
We need a couple of folks from our community to work with the NMCA guys to ensure that things run more smoothly next year. We need these folks to jump in front of the bus when the schedule get predictably gets delayed and fight for a better time slot.
I knew before lunch that first round elims were scheduled for 1:30 and were probably going to run at 2:30 - 2:45. If we had the opportunity to challenge running later it would have worked much much better.
Steve, I know you are reading this stuff, and you know that I just want stuff to go well. I'd like to help more formally. We don't want to do another race or two on our own it would be nice to iron out the issues and make year VI the best year ever. It can be done!
As a fan, attending for the first time, i was thoroughly disappointed. I will most likely not return next year. We stayed at the track the majority of both days, and saw a couple LS cars in time trials, and 1 round of LSX eliminations. The 10.5 W, and pro-mod cars kept me in the stands. but as far as the bracket racers, i can drive 20 minutes to the local track and see bracket racers... i drove the 12 hours to see LSX cars. Like previously mentioned, i too dont follow the NMCA circuit, and cant stay at the track for days, so not having the LSX cars during the midday was an incredible let down. It surely hope that the schedule wasnt intended to get the fans there early, and hold us there until nightfall. Cause it surely felt like it.
The promotion was great. Likewise with the vendor area, and car show. I enjoyed seeing the top LSX cars up close, and racing. The scheduling was horrendous. But all-in-all for me it was a waste of a trip, and i probably will never return.
WTF You were there Brandon? Didn't see ya all weekend lol.
I would say next year should be awesome with the decision to drop Brackets from the program.
The Scheduling this year really turned a lot of people off it seems... I see why but I will give it another shot as I had a fucking blast in the City and hanging out with old and new friends.
