GATEWAY REVISES 2009 MIDWEEK EVENT SCHEDULE!
#236788
02/26/09 12:20 PM
02/26/09 12:20 PM
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Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 289 Saint Louis, Missouri, USA
Bret Kepner
OP
enthusiast
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OP
enthusiast
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 289
Saint Louis, Missouri, USA
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GATEWAY INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY REVISES 2009 MIDWEEK DRAG RACING SCHEDULE
In an attempt to maintain a weekly drag racing series as a viable option, Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Illinois, has restructured its Tuesday and Wednesday midweek programs for the 2009 racing season. Beginning on Tuesday, March 24, GIR’s Tuesday Street Tires Test-and-Tune and Wednesday Slick Tires and Motorcycles Test-and-Tune programs will be combined into one program held each week on Tuesday. Starting with the Tuesday, March 31 event, the weekly series will include the Street Car Shootout Series, the Doc’s Harley-Davidson Street Bike Shootout and, on previously scheduled dates, High School Eliminator.
Using a new format to ensure an equal number of run attempts for all competitors, a “punch card” distributed to and carried by each entered driver will allow up to three official passes, (not counting elimination rounds in the Shootout programs). As in past Tuesday and Wednesday events, however, early arrivals and those who stay later in the program can expect up to five runs, (discounting unforeseen delays), during each Tuesday night program.
An important aspect of the new Tuesday night format is the fact that Wednesdays will be retained as rain dates for each weekly program. If a scheduled Tuesday event is rained out under GIR guidelines, (the cancellation of all activity within two hours of the first car running down the track), the same program, (including Shootouts and High School Eliminator), will be contested the next night using the same schedule and format.
In addition, the new Tuesday events will include more employees in technical inspection, staging, starting line and race control to increase the efficiency of the event. The technical inspection process will be streamlined to include the sale of technical inspection cards, the signing of releases and the distribution of armbands in one specific area at the rear of the staging area.
Strict staging lane assignments will ensure that timed trials and qualifying runs will be orderly and consistent. The misuse or transfer of “punch cards” during an event will, obviously, be considered a capital offense. There will be no changes in the format of the Street Car Shootout Series or the Street Bike Shootout Series; each will involve the four quickest qualifiers in eliminations. “Fastest Street Car” qualifier decals will still be awarded to the sixteen quickest drivers in the SCSS and the Sport Tuner Showdown and Super Truck Showdown programs will still be contested.
Spectator admission will remain at $10 for adults with children under 12 years admitted free. Contestant entry fees will remain as posted for the 2009 season.
For cars with Street Tires, Contestant Admission for 2009 is $20 or $15 for all drivers with two or more passengers purchasing a spectator admission. The $15 contestant admission is also available to all current High School or College Students possessing valid school identification.
For cars with Slick Tires, Contestant Admission for 2009 is $25. Contestant admission for all motorcycle riders and Junior Dragster racers is $20. Contestant Admission of $20 for all drivers with two or more passengers purchasing a spectator admission.
The following is the Tuesday Event Timetable which will be followed under the new format. Events which include High School Eliminator will utilize a slightly modified schedule which will not affect the number of runs afforded to other competitors. Note that, in situations in which fewer delays are experienced, more runs may be afforded to each participant:
Gates Open at 5 PM
First call to staging at 5:30 PM
Staging lane assignments:
Lanes 1-2-3-4: Street Tire cars Lanes 5-6: Slick Tire Cars Lane 7: High School Eliminator Times Trials/Pro Tree Tests/Junior Dragsters Lane 0: Motorcycles
Free Open Timed Trials (No Card Punches) from 6:00 PM until 6:30 PM. (One car from each lane for thirty minutes).
6:30 PM: Street Tire Timed Trials/SCSS Qualifying Session #1
7:00 PM: Motorcycle Timed Trials/SBSS Qualifying Session #1
7:30 PM: Slick Tire Timed Trials Session #1
8:00 PM: Street Tire Timed Trials/SCSS Qualifying Session #2
8:30PM: Motorcycle Timed Trials/SBSS Qualifying Session #2
9:00 PM: Slick Tire Timed Trials Session #2
9:30 PM: Street Tire Timed Trials/SCSS Qualifying Session #3 (Cards with less than two Punches)
9:45 PM: Motorcycle Timed Trials/SBSS Qualifying Session #3 (Cards with less than two Punches)
10:00 PM: SCSS Top Four Qualifiers will report in front of main grandstands; SBSS Top Four Qualifiers will report to “short ‘chute”.
10:00 PM: Slick Tire Timed Trials (Cards with less than two Punches)
10:15 PM: Semi-finals of SBSS and SCSS
10:20 PM: Street Tire Timed Trials (Cards with less than two Punches)
10:45 PM: Slick Tire Timed Trials (Cards with less than two Punches)
11:00 PM: All SCSS and SBSS Finals in the following order:
Super Truck Showdown
Sport Tuner Showdown
Street Bike Shootout
Street Car Shootout
11:10 PM: Winner’s Circle photos in front of main grandstands.
The staff of Gateway International Raceway apologizes for any inconvenience presented by this revision but, in the current economic climate, everything possible was done to preserve the programs currently offered. Please note that, other than the cancellation of the twenty-four scheduled Wednesday events, no other 2009 programs, racing series or major event has been affected or changed at GIR.
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Re: GATEWAY REVISES 2009 MIDWEEK EVENT SCHEDULE!
[Re: Bret Kepner]
#236793
02/27/09 09:30 AM
02/27/09 09:30 AM
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Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 1,489 St. Louis Mo.
10 o to go
"Happy Don"
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"Happy Don"
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 1,489
St. Louis Mo.
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Bret can you get a jackpot up for those wanting to run for some cash.Add it to the elimination series and we can practice handicap racing. please maybe $25.00 we had that years ago along with king of street. don
2009 418" build dan smith built
new 9.96 131.82
6.23 108
1.30 60 foot
best to date 9/15/09
8in 727 430 dana 2860 lb 3040 lb w driver
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Re: GATEWAY REVISES 2009 MIDWEEK EVENT SCHEDULE!
[Re: 10 o to go]
#236794
02/27/09 11:56 AM
02/27/09 11:56 AM
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Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 289 Saint Louis, Missouri, USA
Bret Kepner
OP
enthusiast
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OP
enthusiast
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 289
Saint Louis, Missouri, USA
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Ya know, Don, if we still had a Jackpot Eliminator, I'd never have picked up a camera. The only reason I started taking pictures is because I had nothing else to do on Wednesdays after they killed Jackpot back in 2000. Because of my weekend work schedule, I usually only could race during the week. I sure miss it.
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Re: GATEWAY REVISES 2009 MIDWEEK EVENT SCHEDULE!
[Re: 340B5]
#236799
03/01/09 02:58 AM
03/01/09 02:58 AM
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Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 289 Saint Louis, Missouri, USA
Bret Kepner
OP
enthusiast
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OP
enthusiast
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 289
Saint Louis, Missouri, USA
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Quote:
Wonderful....Do they intend on working on the track before slick tires run or will we be bouncing off the walls? How far is Benton?
I don't know who 340B5 is but he obviously hasn't been to a Tuesday night to see NHRA Pro Stockers running 6.60/207 nearly every week or Drag Radial cars running 8.20/178 regularly. Yeah, it's just terrible how bad the track is prepped. By the way, through eighteen events and over 12,000 runs in 2008 there was not ONE INSTANCE of guardrail contact on a Tuesday. Yeah, it sucks, alright.
Complain all you want but at least get your facts straight before you waste the bandwidth. Benton (either Missouri OR Illinois) isn't very far. You could always go to Terre Haute. OOPS! Never mind. They shut down for good last year.
Don, I don't see how a Jackpot program could be run without a 1 AM finish. By the way, you know I don't work for Gateway.
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Re: GATEWAY REVISES 2009 MIDWEEK EVENT SCHEDULE!
[Re: beeliever]
#236801
03/02/09 09:22 PM
03/02/09 09:22 PM
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Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 1,489 St. Louis Mo.
10 o to go
"Happy Don"
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"Happy Don"
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 1,489
St. Louis Mo.
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majority of disgruntle racers are the bracket racers.We are spoiled to race for $$$$ not a trophy.We've honed the skills on bracket racing and not just put the peddle to the floor.WE go on reaction times and top end being chased or chasing.Evidently by statements made go else where it doesn't effect GIR sad.It's taken 3 years to put brackets where they are now and 5 years to build the tuesday program Nobody has said why the lack of effort to try to change brackets back to yesterdays events.Maybe this will increase sat car count.Hard to tune a sat car without the old wed . They all have a place . my take don
2009 418" build dan smith built
new 9.96 131.82
6.23 108
1.30 60 foot
best to date 9/15/09
8in 727 430 dana 2860 lb 3040 lb w driver
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Re: GATEWAY REVISES 2009 MIDWEEK EVENT SCHEDULE!
[Re: 10 o to go]
#236802
03/02/09 10:13 PM
03/02/09 10:13 PM
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Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 1,532 off the grid
340B5
pro stock
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pro stock
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 1,532
off the grid
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IMO-It could have been handled differently. Maybe a Tuesday and Wednesday t&t one week and nothing the next. I understand Gateway is looking to survive, but they can't achieve that by sticking it to the racers. All businesses in these difficult times need the customer more than ever.
You can't tell me they are going to be able to stick to that schedule. The minute someone scatters parts on the track, the schedule is out the window. If you do the math, it's almost twice as many cars with less than 50% more run time.
Yeah, it's got a smallblock.
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Re: GATEWAY REVISES 2009 MIDWEEK EVENT SCHEDULE!
[Re: Bret Kepner]
#236803
03/02/09 11:50 PM
03/02/09 11:50 PM
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 3,104 Wheels up, MO
nhramark
master
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master
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 3,104
Wheels up, MO
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Quote:
The staff of Gateway International Raceway apologizes Please note that, other than the cancellation of the twenty-four scheduled Wednesday events, no other 2009 programs, racing series or major event has been affected or changed at GIR.
DOH!!!
Well I wasn't planning to race much, if at all, this year so I don't have anything to complain about.
As a spectator though, I am now going to LOVE Tuesday nights. I want to see the street car shootout (sounds like a great time) on the same night I can see my regular racing friends. I can ride out there on the Harley, see some great racing action, and maybe I can take some pics of Mr. Dirt instead of the other way around.
That 11 pm finish time seems a little optomistic though.........
[image]http://s1126.photobucket.com/user/nhramark1/library/Racing[/image]
9.100 @ 150 mph
5.780 @ 120 mph
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