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E--town MANats... Constructive suggestions, anyone...? #24332
05/24/06 02:48 AM
05/24/06 02:48 AM
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Alan Offline OP
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Interesting item...

I was reading the Raceway News free paper that they hand out at E-town (May 21 edition) - I direct your attention to page 8, the text of which I copy below:

Mopar Atlantic Nationals Destined to be an Unforgettable Event

The staff and management of Raceway Park are committed to bringing the Mopar Atlantic Nationals Back to its past glory of the 1990's. Many factors have contributed to what might be conceived as a downhill spiral including poor weather and the changing climate with the Mopar enthusiasts. Many new ideas are being discussed and gone over, some of which are tried and true ideas from the glory days of this event including the $10,000 Hemi Shootout, late model Mopar muscle classes and more. The track is committed to the success of this event. Many people will be working on this event to ensure it will be a must-see in the Mopar world. All Mopar racers, show participants, fans and vendors who have comments or ideas are welcome to email the track at info@etownrcwy.com or call 732-446-7800. We will also be monitoring the moparts.com message board. Once again, we are committed to bringing the the Mopar Atlantic Nationals back to prominence.




So there you have it... not exactly a full-page ad in The New York Times, but it seems like someone cared enough to put the statement in print somewhere...

I will be the first to mention - having been involved in arranging the Moparts.com hospitality tent for this event for a number of years now - that the event organizers (Jack Koziol in particular) have been very responsive and accomodating as we have moved and expanded our spaces for this event. Raceway Park management clearly is supportive in this capacity, as the vendor registration and space allocation and so on always seems to be handled very well - access to the track and vendor areas is good, and there's plenty of room for everyone - so unless any other vendors have a comment here, I'd personally say this area is not the weak spot.

The racing generally seems to be well participated in, although noticably lighter in entries this year - as I am not directly involved in racing, I hope others reading this might expand on whether there can be improvements in this part of the event.

From my perspective, the biggest improvement needs to be in including some "attractions" as has been done quite well in years past - I remember Garlits, Muldowney, Ekstrand, Maverick, Landy and Riggle all being there (including machines) at various times over the events history - granted, as the years tick by, there is not an endless source of living legends that continue to be available (or still with us), but there's got to be a few possibilities still out there... sorry, Galen Govier just doesn't cut it for me as a attraction...

Maybe getting some involvement with D-C would be a good idea...? ~What with the new retro Chally due out soon(?), you'd think they'd want to mingle it up with those that sort of at least remember what one was... and could talk it up enough that Mikey Mustang might think about jumping ship.

Any other ideas for this show....? Remember, they're "monitoring"...



- Alan

Re: E--town MANats... Constructive suggestions, anyone...? [Re: Alan] #24333
05/24/06 03:40 AM
05/24/06 03:40 AM
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Chrysler's involvement would be nice. They bring the new stuff to Carlisle and give you a chance at a goofy 5min test drive at 6 mph through show cars. Why not bring them here and let people drive them on a better course? They have the room - doesn't have to be motorkhana (sp) or 50 mph but a nice little cruise around would be cool.


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Re: E--town MANats... Constructive suggestions, anyone...? [Re: Alan] #24334
05/24/06 07:24 AM
05/24/06 07:24 AM
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Fitchburg,Massachusetts
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I noticed that when flipping through it Saturday night.

I definately believe they are trying but need to concentrate on organization! (That and a little help from mother nature!!!)

A great show can't be a success if its thrown together in a short period of time.

I'm not sure who handles the show setup but they should start planning for next year now and be prepared to advertise! ~Mike~

BTW: I honestly think this show would have had a better turnout if it weren't for the gloomy looking weather prediction! ~Mike~

Re: E--town MANats... Constructive suggestions, anyone...? [Re: MPerry] #24335
05/24/06 07:27 AM
05/24/06 07:27 AM
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Quote:

BTW: I honestly think this show would have had a better turnout if it weren't for the gloomy looking weather prediction! ~Mike~






thats just something that i think people are gonna have to deal with... just always seems to be an iffy weekend for weather....


It's better to keep your mouth shut and give the impression that you're stupid than to open it and remove all doubt.

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Re: E--town MANats... Constructive suggestions, anyone...? [Re: abodyjoe] #24336
05/24/06 07:39 AM
05/24/06 07:39 AM
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Personally, except for racing the never liked the E town show. Getting in/out of the place is usually a nightmare of some type. Attendance has been terrible last time I went (3 years ago). Parking on asphalt also sucks. Mostly, I found the people not too nice in general. I've had much better experiences once you get out of the NY area; ie. Carlisle.

Re: E--town MANats... Constructive suggestions, anyone...? [Re: BergmanAutoCraft] #24337
05/24/06 09:01 AM
05/24/06 09:01 AM

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Yes,some improvements need to be done...they;ve got to get the word out on the show a lot earlier each year,be more accomadating to the racers,driving all the way down to the airplane hangers was a hassle,having to pit where we pitted sucked,please put us closer to the staging lanes!!come up with a better give away then a crate motor And prep the track a lot better!!!We look forward to this event every year but its really getting hard to be excited anymore.....

Re: E--town MANats... Constructive suggestions, anyone...? [Re: Alan] #24338
05/24/06 09:15 AM
05/24/06 09:15 AM
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Mohnton, Pa
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The biggest problem I see is that no one comes to this event anymore. I went on Sunday. If it wouldn't have been for the drag racing the show would have been a total waste of my time. The location is great. The have plenty of room and a first class drag strip. But there were very few vendors and swap meet spaces filled. There were very few cars in the show field. I would be supprised if they have a show next year?

Re: E--town MANats... Constructive suggestions, anyone...? [Re: Alan] #24339
05/24/06 09:21 AM
05/24/06 09:21 AM
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I have been a long time attendee of this event and we make the 2+ hour trip down from CT. I would suggest that they try for a weekend when there are not other competing Mopar events. i recall that this show used to be in June. they should consider moving it back. There was a mopar show in MA and PA this past weekend as well. It is a pain to get out of the event but I don't know if there is anything that can be done about that (traffic). We always have a good time but i liked it better when it was bigger. I know there are many more nice mopars in local NJ. I don't know why they don't show up.


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Re: E--town MANats... Constructive suggestions, anyone...? [Re: MPerry] #24340
05/24/06 09:24 AM
05/24/06 09:24 AM
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Quote:


BTW: I honestly think this show would have had a better turnout if it weren't for the gloomy looking weather prediction! ~Mike~




i think the timing of the event has alot to do with it , moving it INTO a more rain prone time , earlier in the spring , was NOT very bright on someones part ...

Re: E--town MANats... Constructive suggestions, anyone...? [Re: jeff968] #24341
05/24/06 09:30 AM
05/24/06 09:30 AM
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Berlin, N.J.
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it was always the weekend after memorial day i believe.. they probably put a show that actually gets people to come out on that weekend... the mopar show is stuck where it is..


It's better to keep your mouth shut and give the impression that you're stupid than to open it and remove all doubt.

www.MoparMisfits.com
Re: E--town MANats... Constructive suggestions, anyone...? [Re: abodyjoe] #24342
05/24/06 09:31 AM
05/24/06 09:31 AM
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Quote:

it was always the weekend after memorial day i believe.. they probably put a show that actually gets people to come out on that weekend... the mopar show is stuck where it is..




the weekend after memorial day was usually very packed on sunday , people came , its really gone down hill since they moved it into the winter

Re: E--town MANats... Constructive suggestions, anyone...? #24343
05/24/06 09:32 AM
05/24/06 09:32 AM
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Quote:

driving all the way down to the airplane hangers was a hassle,having to pit where we pitted sucked,please put us closer to the staging lanes!!





i didn't see any johnny on the spots or bath rooms where they put the race cars.. looks like the racers had to walk a mile to the bathroom...


It's better to keep your mouth shut and give the impression that you're stupid than to open it and remove all doubt.

www.MoparMisfits.com
Re: E--town MANats... Constructive suggestions, anyone...? [Re: JohnRR] #24344
05/24/06 09:34 AM
05/24/06 09:34 AM
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The reason it was moved was so the NHRA meet wouldnt be a rainout every year. So now what..it rains every other there. Poor choice, but in terms of $$, understandable for the track. I talked to a couple of guys who did go, and the talk was the same. Very small, rain on and off, and the large caravans that used to go, were reduced to 1-2 cars. We used to go with at least 10 cars. Most of our group this year stayed home because of the weather, too busy, or just not enough draw to get them to spend the $500 on the weekend. Track prep is always iffy when it rains, and more so when it's not a heavy racer day. The vender area gets vacant becuase of NJ's tax deal. I dont know if they still appear or what, but I wouldnt sell there because of it. The secret is, get the word out, and get lucky to have decent weather. If you have that, then it will start to grow again. The community hasnt changed much IMO, 'cept getting older. The even took a serious down turn a few years back. Like the first year it wasnt in June.


Well, art is art, isn't it? Still, on the other hand, water is water! And east is east and west is west and if you take cranberries and stew them like applesauce they taste much more like prunes than rhubarb does. Now, uh... Now you tell me what you know.
Re: E--town MANats... Constructive suggestions, anyone. [Re: Alan] #24345
05/24/06 10:00 AM
05/24/06 10:00 AM
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In the 80's/90's when it was in June it was sometimes brutally hot there. So now it's not but there's a better chance of rainout. I appreciate the less brutal heat compared to the early years.

Bringing it in has the effect not only on weather, but that some people still haven't gotten their cars on the road for the year yet.

As for the event... I see it suffering more from bad mouthing here than anywhere else. It's a 275 mile round trip for me and I did it. My coil fried at the registration booth and the car was dead for awhile but I think I had more fun than half the people here in spite of it.

If people come, vendors will come... simple as that.

Some nit-picking I could do:

1. The kids at the gate standing around while the line to get in is as long as the dragstrip. They didn't even open up all 3 lanes. I think it took upwards of a 1/2 hour to get into the place once on the property. Who decided to bring the spectators with the minivans into the same lines as unregistered participants? (yeah... I think my coil would have gotten me home if it hadn't been sitting frying waiting to get in.). Oh yeah... security made us open trunks too!

2. Saturday: $25 to show, 1 trophy per class. Why not just eliminate categories and do top 50 or whatever... it was supposed to be populist voting anyway.
Might as well have a non judged category to just park inside the area and not worry about it.

3. Food costs too much (but I'm glad they upgraded the Burger girls!!! ).

4. Reserved for later. I'm sure I'll think of something else to complain about.


Black Betty: '69 Charger RT: 440 6 pack, TKO600 5 speed, 3.73 Dana.
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Re: E--town MANats... Constructive suggestions, anyone. [Re: BrianShaughnessy] #24346
05/24/06 10:21 AM
05/24/06 10:21 AM

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Quote:

Oh yeah... security made us open trunks too!





They do that to ensure that no glass bottle come onto the property. THey don't want glass littering the pits.

Re: E--town MANats... Constructive suggestions, anyone...? [Re: abodyjoe] #24347
05/24/06 10:28 AM
05/24/06 10:28 AM
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the dates were swapped with the NHRA national event.

Quote:

it was always the weekend after memorial day i believe.. they probably put a show that actually gets people to come out on that weekend... the mopar show is stuck where it is..



Re: E--town MANats... Constructive suggestions, anyone. #24348
05/24/06 10:30 AM
05/24/06 10:30 AM
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I went this past weekend both days and had a great time even drove my cars there both days(6 pack vert & Hemi vert) & got caught in the rain, I think it is not marketed correctly IMO and I think the fact that the local hobbyists in the Tri state area that dont even bother making an effort to attend this show is pathetic! Think about all the local Mopar clubs in NY,NJ,PA the show can be massive, I go to a lot of local cruise nights in & around the Englishtown area, Jackson, Whiskey, Route 9 shows, S.I. etc and there are a ton of rare and cool Mopars that never even bother attending the show, but they wont think twice about attending the same old BORING weekly cruise with terrible music and same cars every week.

Last edited by MRVCODE; 05/24/06 10:31 AM.
Re: E--town MANats... Constructive suggestions, anyone. [Re: BrianShaughnessy] #24349
05/24/06 10:32 AM
05/24/06 10:32 AM
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So the gate situation hasnt changed in 4 years. And they wonder why "bad mouthing" occurs. As far as distance, there were plenty in our group who came from as far as Canada, so it's not distance, it's draw. I need a return on investment for my time and $$. I like to photograph the race cars, the matcg racers, etc, And I like to race my/a car if possible...I rarely bring my car out anymore, so when I do, I want to run it. Not sit in the lanes, or sit in tech, and then sit in the noise tester line, then get 3 runs in maybe. That's what it was the last time I trailered. Then i had trouble coming home, and that was it. No more E town until I get a good reference. I hear the racing was better, because the car count was down. But that's necessarily a good thing. I didn tmind waiting for "king of the Street" cars to run..I do mind waiting for cleanup from the 87 diplomat that leaked tranny oil down the center of the track because tech didnt look closely enough.


Well, art is art, isn't it? Still, on the other hand, water is water! And east is east and west is west and if you take cranberries and stew them like applesauce they taste much more like prunes than rhubarb does. Now, uh... Now you tell me what you know.
Re: E--town MANats... Constructive suggestions, anyone. #24350
05/24/06 10:42 AM
05/24/06 10:42 AM
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Quote:

Quote:

Oh yeah... security made us open trunks too!





They do that to ensure that no glass bottle come onto the property. THey don't want glass littering the pits.





They're checking for alcohol as well, it's against the law to have it at a race track in NJ.

As far as the show going down hill a bit, I agree. I understand expenses have gone up over the years, but the vending space prices are rediculous here & most other places these days. The days of $35 spaces are gone, but when a space reaches upwards of being close to $100, & then add the higher fuel costs, forget it.

I've never missed the show until they started switching dates. The cold & the rain are a minimal factor for me personally, but Mother's Day, Memorial Day, & a ton of birthdays kill my chances now. Every weekend in May is filled, so a car show won't fit in easy. Factor in the high cost & the bad weather & I'd rather stay home.

Bringing back some decent door prizes & a give-away-car might help too, it won't hurt.


.

Re: E--town MANats... Constructive suggestions, anyone...? [Re: Alan] #24351
05/24/06 10:45 AM
05/24/06 10:45 AM
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First of all I think it is a good sign that the track recognizes the fact that the event has been lacking the past few years. Kudos to them for taking the effort to publicly address that. Here is an opportunity to have some input.

I didn't go this year because of weather once again. It seems every year that the weather is an issue. That is a fact. Will the track change the date...don't know, but I think it would help.

I think that any event will have areas where people can complain and find faults with. I am just amazed at how many people have been bashing the Mopar event at E Town. I for one am glad that someone puts on such a show for us Mopar fans. If we feel the need to complain then we should do it in a helpful way so that Raceway Park can improve the event. I can talk to 10 different guys and have 10 different complaints.
The car show was small, the vendors were to limited, the prices were too high on parts, the lanes were unorganized, the pits get too hot.....and the list goes on. I guess it depends on what you are looking for in an event. I look at it as an opportunity to get out and have some fun either with or without the car. I don't have many expectations other than that. I know the traffic is going to be bad, I know it is going to cost me some coin, I know there are a bunch of things that may not be perfect. But I also know that it is still better than sitting home complaining about it. I don't know whats going on but it sure stinks to hear everybody bad mouthing every event that is out there. Whether it's E Town, Ohio, Carlisle, wherever.....something is always a problem for us. It's getting old already. If we keep this kind of mentality up we may find these events just fade away. And then with no events to go to we will complain about that. Just get out there and have fun guys!

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