AJ, Mark, and I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. And while the Christmas and New Year's holidays are more opportunities to spend time with family and friend, we wanted to get a "save the date" heads up out there before the Christmas rush. Our 5th Annual Practice Tree race will be held on Saturday, February 11th. We're still firming up all the details, and we will post them all soon. We are also looking for sponsors, so please contact us if you would like to donate products, services, or cash. The last 2 years, the big race has paid $1000 to win, $300 to runner up... pretty nice for a $20 entry!
steelcitydragrace (at) yahoo.com

(lumberjackin' the other tree first )

BGR will certainly be supporting and attending this event.We hope to have some great news to announce about the 2012 Curt George Memorial Race.

Great to hear Bob, we need dates for the Curt George Memorial so we can put in for vacation

Bob, thanks for all of your support! We definitely appreciate it!

We have been working with Michael and Jamie Tedesco and are looking seriously to having the Curt race include a points series.Josh King has been gracious and is considering including PRP/Curt George Memorial Race as a potential event if he puts a series together.PRP is looking for sponsers for each race class and the event.As always BGR and Associates will supporting the event.
If anyone one is interested in sponsering any part of the event contact BGR or PRP.Any help will be appreciated.
Respectfully
Bob

Bob- If possible please let us know the dates of the Curt George Race ASAP, we are planning on attending as usual! We ran the deal that Josh had in Indy and thought it was a very nice race. My only wish is that, if it becomes a points series that it is not one of those double points deals. As a racer I want a set fee to pre-register for the week-end and not one of those deals that if you wish to run both days their is an extra fee when you get to the track in order to run both days. Thanks - HEMI JOE

That's great news that the Curt George Memorial will remain on the same weekend as it has been.

In the news for the 5th Annual Steel City Practice Tree Shootout, Pittsburgh Raceway Park is returning as the event sponsor! Their generous sponsorship will help us build that big race purse to $1000 to the winner!

Also, some early volunteers have come forward with menu items, with Jeff Hann bringing his award winning chili! Trust me, I wouldn't steer you wrong on the vittles! If I'm saying their tasty, take it to the bank!

Our venue has also been secured, and it will be the same as the last 3 years:
New Alexandria Fire Hall, 8370 Route 22, New Alexandria PA 15670. Coming from the west, it's on the left side of Route 22 about 1/4 mile past the Sheetz at 22/981. Coming from the east on 22, it's on the right about 1/2 mile past PRP.

More details to follow on fees, prizes, food, etc. We are also looking for sponsors, be it in cash, gift cards, products, services, etc. PM me, Aj, or Mark, or email us at steelcitydragrace (at) yahoo.com , if you'd like to be do something. We encourage all of our participants to support those who are supporting us.

Thanks!

Pics from last year's race are on the link:
http://s713.photobucket.com/albums/ww134...ree%20Shootout/

Updated details on the upcoming race:

Updated sponsors and menu... thanks!!!

Pittsburgh Raceway Park is the presenting sponsor of the 5th Annual Steel City Shootout!

Beat the winter blahs! Come out and enjoy a day filled with fierce competition on the tree. Don’t miss the event everyone is talking about until the first day of on track competition. The event will be at the New Alexandria Firemen's club, good space, easy to get to.

Date: Saturday, February 11, 2012
Time: Gates open at 11:30am, sign up, eat, racing starts at 12:30PM
Place: New Alexandria Fire Hall, 8370 State Route 22, New Alexandria PA 15670. (From the west, on the left side of 22 shortly after you pass Sheetz (you will pass it and make a left to circle back to it); from the east, on the right side of 22, shortly after you pass PRP)

Entry: Adults $5
Children 12 and under $3
Children 6 and under free
You don't have to race, but everyone coming through the door will have to pay the entry/cover charge. Our menu so far:
Fried chicken from Wal Mart
Chili, courtesy of Jeff "THE HAMMER" Hann
Rigatoni, courtesy of Amy Romeo
Veggie pizza, courtesy of Kimmy Whalen
Buffalo chicken dip, courtesy of Carrie Penn

Iced tea, lemonade, punch, water. We will not be offering soda, but you are welcome to bring your own lunch, snacks, and/or beverages (cover charge WILL still apply), but no alcohol please. This is a family oriented event, and there will be kids present.

Email us (AJ Casini, Chuck Turocy, Mark Romeo) at steelcitydragrace@yahoo.com if you are going to attend, if you would like to sponsor, and/or if you want to show off your mad culinary skills. We need to keep a head count to know how much food to get.

Race 1 is $5 entry, race 2 is $20 entry.

All races will pay back to the quartefinals, and if the purse is great enough, we will pay back further.

Only race 2 will have buybacks, for $5. We are not looking to make a dime on this. All money will be paid back 100%. If there's anything left after expenses, it will be put into the racing.

Rules:
* Round 1 in races 1 & 2 will consist of both racers hitting the tree twice as "time trials." Round 2 and on will have no time trials.
* All rounds with the exception of the final will be best of 3. Final round is best of 5.
* How to enter: "Tech cards" will be sold at the door. Buy your "tech card" for each race you want to enter. Write your name CLEARLY on the ticket you hand in. If you are double entering, write #1 after your name on the first entry, #2 on the second.
* Pairings will be randomly drawn.
* Bye runs will be randomly drawn at the beginning of each round.
* Racing is off of the handheld button only.
* Racing is off of the bottom bulb only.
* The tree is full sized, with LED bulbs.
* Tree will be in time trial mode, or, as if both racers have the exact same dial in.
* Rollout will be able to be set for each racer by adjusting the delay.
* The christmas tree decides all winners, ie, if 2 racers in competition have identical reaction times, the winner is the one whose lane is flashing on the tree.
* Double entries WILL be allowed in BOTH races!
* IF - IF!!!! - there is time and interest, we will have a top bulb race AFTER the 2 bottom bulb races. Entry and payout TBD, rules above apply

Thanks to our sponsors so far for their most generous donations. Prizes will be awarded as both part of the Chinese auction and in the races (TBD). Please support those who support us:

* Our presenting sponsor, Pittsburgh Raceway Park, www.pittsburghracewaypark.com
* All Around Transportation Service, www.bookyourlimotoday.com
* Bob George Racing
* Bowman Performance / http://bowmanperformance.com/
* RJ's Heating & Cooling, http://www.rjsheatingandcooling.com/


We will be having a 50/50 drawing as well, to benefit the Thinking Of Nikki Foundation. 3 tickets for $1, an arm's length for $5, and a wingspan for $10. All money will be paid out, 50% to the winner, 50% to the Thinking Of Nikki Foundation. Please visit www.thinkingofnikki.com or look for Thinking Of Nikki on Facebook.

We will be doing a Chinese raffle for most of the generous donations from our sponsors, as follows:
Each adult will be given 3 tickets. There will be a cup by each prize. You can choose which prize(s) you'd like to drop your ticket(s) in... you can drop all 3 in one, or spread them out.

We have additional sponsor and menu announcements to make, but that can wait til later in the week. For now, AJ, Mark, and I hope that you had a wonderful Christmas, and wish you the very best for a great 2012.

AJ, Mark, and I are excited to announce that NAPA Auto Part of South Greensburg is returning as a sponsor, donating prizes to be given away.

And we're excited to introduce a new sponsor, Victory 1 Performance!
Victory 1 Performance will be providing awards and prizes from their flagship product line, vTreePro software and accessories, which turn your pc into a practice tree, and are made in the USA! V1P is committed to exceptional customer service, and to donating at least 10% of their profits to non-profit charitable organizations. Their website, www.victory1performance.com , has great descriptions of all their products, and secure online ordering. Victory 1 Performance is providing us with almost $700 worth of their products for race and raffle prizes! Those prizes include:

* 1st place in the big race - vTreePro 2.0 package, choice of 2 switches (certificate form)

* 1st place in the little race - vTreePro 2.0 & choice of 1 switch (certificate form)

* Competitor w/most perfect lights in eliminations - 50% off any vTP package deal, software, or accessory

* Raffle prizes - vTreePro 2.0 CDs, w/ 25% off coupon code that can be applied to accessories

Please visit their website, www.victory1performance.com and see their full product line!

AJ, Mark, and I are excited to announce another brand new sponsor to the Steel City Practice Tree Shootout: www.schooledbyscotty.com and www.grassrootsbracketseries.com will be donating 2 classroom entries (valued at $150 each). The winners will be randomly drawn from the losers of rounds 1-4 in each of the bottom bulb races. Scotty Richardson's Drag Racing School will be at PRP September 6, and it aims to:

* Teach You The Basics
* Sharpen Your Skills
* Increase Your Focus On The Starting Line
* Teach You Finish Line Techniques In Race Conditions
* Help with Delay Box and Throttle Stop Settings
* Make You And Your Car More Consistent
* Get Your Competition License At No Extra Charge
* Teach You To WIN!!!
I want everyone to know that I have been very lucky and blessed with my success and with all of the relationships that I have had on and off of the track. I have raced for over 25 years and my goal is to do something no one else offers. I've been very fortunate to receive a lot from racing. I want to share all of the information that I have learned myself and from other racers at a very reasonable price for you. I promise and guarantee you that if you come to one of my schools, there won't be anything left on the table to learn.
Thanks again for the support - Scotty Richardson
====================================================
www.grassrootsbracketseries.com
The Grassroots Bracket Series was founded in 2010 by Scotty Richardson. The goal is to grow the sport of bracket racing, especially on the local level with the support of our marketing partners, the track management and the racers. The small, local dragstrips across America were the foundation, the grassroots so to say, of the sport of drag racing. Our events and marketing partners are focused on the local racers to keep drag racing affordable, vibrant and moving forward the best we can. I hope you will choose to support the Grassroots Bracket Series.

Thank you for your support and A BIG THANK YOU goes out the tracks that believe in what we are trying to do for the bracket racers. Without the tracks this can’t happen.
Scotty Richardson and Jok Nicholson- The Grassroots Bracket Series

Nice!!...great job as always Chuck,Mark and A.J. Wafflebatter is planning on coming down from NY...don't know if Marco will make it. Mark Verdoni will be there also I'm pretty sure.

AJ, Mark, and I are happy to announce Bob Jones - www.jonesrv.com - and Jones Race Trailer Sales is returning as a sponsor, as is ASAP Performance, Allison Park, PA - http://asapbyed.com/ - 412-492-7454

Thank you to all of our sponsors and cooks, and all who will be coming to race. You all are what makes this event happen!

I'll be posting the entry list soon, but if you haven't confirmed on the FB event link, or sent us an email at steelcitydragrace at yahoo.com, we don't know you're coming, and we want to make sure we have enough food and drink for all.

Also, while I think that we've said we don't make a dime, that once we cover expenses, all money is put back into the race, I don't think we've mentioned what the race purse is. Typically, in the little race ($5 entry), it's about $200-$225 to win, $100 to runner up, and we pay back to the 1/4s. Double entries are allowed (and that is our max, 2 entries per racer), but there are no buybacks. The big race ($20 entry), thanks to our sponsors and particpants, we are expecting to once again pay $1000 to the winner, $300 to the runner up, and pay back to the quarters. This is on top of the prizes we have from our sponsors that get awarded via the Chinese auction. For a $5 cover charge, you get a tasty lunch, a reasonable entry fee, and a shot at some nice cash and prizes, as well as having a blast in the middle of winter! We hope to see you February 11!

AJ, Mark, and I are happy to announce that Rodeheaver's Hot Rod and Auto Repair, McClellandtown, PA, has donated a very cool prize for the Chinese auction: a certificate for 3 pulls on their chassis dyno!
Check out www.rodeheavershotrod.com/ !!

A couple more sponsors are back on board... Dean Racing Engines will once again sponsor the bounty program. In rounds 1-4 of both bottom bulb races, a racer's name will be picked at random and have the bounty placed on them. Win the round, pick up the bounty money... lose the round, the bounty money goes to the opponent.

And thanks to Moparts' own pittsburghracer, John Cadamore, and his generosity, the purse in the big race has grown again!

Less than 3 weeks away now! The link is updated with the menu, sponsors, and entrant list! If you don't see your name on the list, please email us at steelcitydragrace at yahoo.com

http://www.angelfire.com/pa2/BrotherhoodRacing/fifthannualsteelcityshootout.html

5 days away! Extended forecast is looking like a cold day, but clear, and it will be warm in temperature, atmosphere, and camaraderie inside the New Alexandria Fire Hall! If you haven't already, drop us a line at steelcitydragrace at yahoo.com to let us know you're coming. We won't turn anyone away, but knowing you're coming helps us with the food and supply order. Thanks again to all of our sponsors, volunteer chefs, and participants - they truly make this event the good time that it is!

Hey Chuck, I PM'd you on UnitedGearHeads. Let me know your thoughts.

Here we are, 5 days before the 5th Annual Steel City Shootout, and sponsors are still hopping on! AJ, Mark, and I are happy to announce 2 brand new sponsors, the first is M&M Parts and Leather, 6041 Route 30 Greensburg, on the web at http://www.mmleatheronline.com/ . M&M offers motorcycle parts, apparel, boots, leathers, and Carhartt gear, and they're donating a $25 gift card for the chinese auction.

The second new sponsor is one very familiar... it's Moparts' own 1BADX!!! Mike, of http://www.ostdyno.com/ is putting up the winner's choice of one hour of free chassis dyno time, or $100 off of dyno tuning services, via the chinese auction. Home of some of the fastest GenIII Hemi's, OST tuning, either on the dyno, or with their software and diagnostic equipment, can help you find power for any application!

Thanks to both M&M Parts and Leather and OST for their support!

The link is updated with sponsors, menu, and entrants. If you're not on the entry list and will be attending, please let us know by emailing steelcitydragrace at yahoo.com

Guys...I edited this and put a date in...Sounds like a lot of fun!! Hope you all have a blast!!