& CAR CRUISE
every FRIDAY NIGHT
Starting May 7th, 2010
Our Drags will make our Cruise the "COOLEST" Cruise found ANYWHERE!
Friday, Feb. 5th
We'll be at the Maratta Custom Car Show in Hartford, CT at the EXPO Center this weekend all day Saturday & Sunday. We'd love to meet you all in person. It'd be a great time to get any questions answered. As always, suggestons are always welcome. We'll be at the "Speedbowl" booth, so stop by!
While we're there, we have plans to get together with Dennis Tate from the TV show, "Cars & Us". He will be taping enough to fill two shows. We plan on getting together to be interviewed for the upcoming Holeshot Drags season. Dennis is a big supporter of the concept (we've been on two shows already), and he's really big on the old time Gassers. We'll be seeing him throughout the season.
We massaged the classes a little bit to alleviate our concerns on tracking points for the season. We originally planned on having 4 indexes, from slow to fast. One possible problem that came up was keeping track of points of cars and/or drivers that are right on the fence between 2 indexes... if a car gets faster as the season progresses, it's possible that they would end up switching to a faster index. We had no way of transfering the points and be fair if they did this.
So our solution is to go back to having street legal cars run "Street Eliminator" and modified street cars and all-out race cars run "Competition Eliminator". This will make it easier for a competitor to stay in one eliminator, and therefore retain points. Both run a dial-in, bracket style. At this time we feel the points should go with the driver, so that seems to be consistant with other tracks.
Regarding electronics, they will not be allowed on Street and Nostalgia Eliminators (we're trying to get info on Jr. Dragsters). Electronics are allowed on the Competition Eliminator, as well as both Outlaw Eliminators.
Every week we keep learning of new Gassers that will be running with us, so we felt that having their own "Eliminator" would make for a great show. We'll be fine tuning rules, such as year cutoff, etc. there's alot of these cars that have been sitting in garages for years, and this is just what they need to blow off the cobwebs and bring them out.
We also know that alot of guys liked the heads-up concept of the "Outlaw Eliminator", but may not be competitive against the 500+ cu. in. cars with multiple power adders. Solution? Another heads-up "Outlaw" class called "Outlaw 2.5". Same rules as "Outlaw", such as a heads-up 0.400 Pro tree, but with a 2.50 breakout rule. This class will be perfect for the typical modified small block Street/Strip car, the car that would run 11's and 12's in the quarter mile.
For the guys with the tuners, the fact that we're allowing slicks should be welcome news. The modified FWD cars usually had traction issues. Running slicks should prove to be a good solution. We're always looking for new pictures... we're missing pics of the FWD contingent, so guys, send 'em in!
Time to wrap this up for now. See all of you at the show this weekend!
"Plum Crazy" Gil and his restored A100 dodge Wheelie Truck. Pictured with a 383" wedge, now being replaced with a bigger 493" stump puller. Gil plans on being on hand opening day.
Sunday, Jan. 31st
Well, January is in the books, putting us closer to days that will be warmer. Spring can't come soon enough for us! Believe it or not, we're about 10 weeks away from our opener... hard to imagine.
From the "brain fade" department: We've been asking people to send pictures. Of course, not being as computer savvy as we should be, we failed to realize that you can't send them from our contact page. Oops... time to fix that. Our apologies. You can email us directly by sending to sparky@100footdrags.com . They should get to us. If not, give us a call at the shop at 860-772-2058. We'd like to welcome B&B Performance in Branford, CT as the left lane sponsor. They join right lane sponsor Swift Performance from Norwich in a growing list of HDRA sponsors for the 2010 season. We will be doing articles on both in the upcoming issue of our newsletter, as well as coverage here on the site.
Kevin Dunn's '41 Willys pickup. Kevin is going to be another regular with us on Friday nights at the Holeshot 100 foot Drags. This was taken at Island last season at a Nostalgia event.
Wednesday, Jan. 27th
We're getting calls and emails from all over the place. The word is really starting to get out about our Friday night gig. Keep it going! Keep sending pictures! We love 'em
We plan on attending the Maratta show the first weekend of Feb. (a week and a half from now). Dennis Tate from the TV show "Cars & Us" will be there. We're going to try to get together to get an interview with me for an upcoming show. We've been on before, and it got us some nice publicity. Dennis is a hardcore Dover Dragway fan.
Mike Marvin's 'Vette will be running with us on a limited basis. Car runs 8.30's in the 1/4. And yes, they have mufflers for this!
Regular Holeshot Drag competitor Troy Marvin's truck doing double duty in the truck pulls
A postcard from Connecticut Dragway... anybody know the year? Postcard from GeorgePascucci
This is George Pascucci's Henry J. It features a Hilborn injected big inch small block Chevy. George also has a beautiful '37 Chevy Gasser, but I have to tell ya, the Henry J is my favorite. Car runs in the 9's.
This is the Monza owned by Tom Babowicz. Car runs 10.1's in the 1/4, which translates to 1.8's to 1.9's in the 100 foot format. Car should go good in both the heads-up OUTLAW class as well as the Class A Index.
This is the '40 Willys of Cy Virgulto. Another racer really excited to "burn some rubber" in CT! We'll be talking to him later, as well as Tom (the Monza above) to get more details.
While we've been making a big push for the drags, we can't forget the weekly Cruise that will be part of what will be a fantastic Friday night "happening". Above is Charlie Collins' '62 Ford. We expect to see him, as well as other cars like this as part of the Friday night extravaganza.
More pictures coming of both Drag and Cruise cars participating Friday nights. We're short on details, but we caught wind of a Nostalgia Wheelie Van being built, and could very well be putting on exhibition runs as part of the Friday events. We will try to get pictures and details this week. Fred Carrado's Buick Grand National... Fred was a regular competitor during our Wednesday night events during the 2009 season. Lots of power, had trouble hooking up. We plan on having some kind of a burnout pad, which should help people like Fred out. Fred is one of the sports nicest guys.... an absolute pleasure to be with. He always has a kind word, and is quick to give a hand to anyone.
This is Dean Schimetschek's '55 Chevy that will be running on a regular basis during the upcoming season. I was thinking "Gasser" when I saw this pic, but I see "D/A" on the side. We have to find out what the deal is on what class this used to run. Regardless, the car is just plain cool to look at. We're excited to know that cars like this are going to be running with us. Dean ran from time to time last season with a 500+ cu. in. '59 Ford that was a record holder in the 60's at the Connecticut Dragway. This season it's the '55's turn.
Sunday, Jan. 24th
We'd like to welcome two new sponsors for our 2010 season. First,
SWIFT MOTORSPORTS in Norwich, CT will be sponsoring the right lane, as well as all the Cruise nights. Swift has a tremendous facility, complete with a wheel dyno which can be set up for 2wd or AWD. They currently have a new Camaro project car in which they have added a turbo. They have plans to make this into a kit. We'll be posting pictures of this car. About 540 HP on 5-1/2 pounds of boost!!! This car will be at our Friday night events.
Our other new sponsor is JO-DI's Sound & Performance Center in New London, CT. They will be sponsoring the May 7th opening night "Tuners vs Domestic Shootout", plus the "Tuner Shootout" on August 6th. While JO-DI's can hook anybody up with a great sound system, they also deal in performance parts and their installation for all cars. Stop by and see 'em!
PICTURES: The pictures are just starting to come in. We have pics of a 10 second Monza on their way, and possibly pics of a wheelie van that will make its way down to the 'Bowl.
JUST STOP AND THINK WHAT'S HAPPENING HERE: This is shaping up to be an amazing season. Drag Racing is back in Connecticut after over 25 years of nothing. People are chomping at the bit to go back racing. Anything and everything will be coming out of the woodwork to race with us on Friday nights. Cars that may not be legal for 1/4 milers won't have to stay parked... they'll be with us. A Car Cruise, which will add an atmosphere unlike anything else to the Drags. The Drags... adding an element to the Cruise that no other Cruise can match. Nostalgia Gassers, all-out heads-up high horsepower "Outlaw" door slammers, Street rods, Tuners, Street cars, people racing Mom's car, Motorcycles, Jr Dragsters... you name it, and it'll be racing here.
This combination of Drags and Cruise every week is going to create something amazing! This won't be just a Friday night event... it's going to be a happening! This will be the place to be... a weekly festival that everybody will plan their Friday night around!
The word is spreading, and it's growing. Thanks to all those helping get the word out, and please keep doing it. We're all going to be part of something that is going to be huge!
Tuesday, Jan. 19th
There's alot of excitement in the air for the Friday Night Drags& Cruise at the 'Bowl this season. We know of several cars that will be running the heads-up "OUTLAW" class... we're going to see alot of FAST cars this summer. We also know of cars built or being built just for the Bracket Races on our 100 foot format.
We have been told by people that they would like to send pics of their cars they'll be using to compete. Please send them and we'll post them.
As many of you can imagine, sponsorship is the lifeblood af any race operation. We are going full force with our Sponsorship Program as of today. We're keeping it simple. We are publishing a weekly newsletter (monthly from Feb. - April) that will be given to spectators and racers FREE!
You have a business that could use a cost effective way to reach potential customers? Place an ad with our newsletter. Placing an ad will make your business a partial or total sponsor for an event. Sponsor a night. Sponsor a lane. Sponsor the a Cruise night.
Don't have a business, or don't have anything left in the budget, but still want to participate? For $20 you can sponsor one foot of the race track. We started this program this afternoon, and already have a couple feet sold. You'll be listed on our website, and you'll get a card certifying your sponsorship.
Look at our new "Newsletter" page. Keep in mind that it's a work-in-process, and it needs alot of tweeking. A brief explaination of our sponsorship program is on that page also. We need to find a better way to put the newsletter on this site, so we will be receptive to constructive ideas.
SPREAD THE WORD! DRAG RACING IS BACK IN CONNECTICUT!
Wednesday, Jan. 13th
It was great to see the turnout we had last night for our first rules meeting. Some new faces, and some faces we haven't seen since we last had the tree. We're going to have some FAST cars showing up, including participants for our new heads-up "OUTLAW" CLASS. We're also expecting some old time Gassers to running with us on a regular basis. We also see where some people are going to build cars just to go racing with us. DRAG RACING IS BACK IN FULL FOCE IN CONNECTICUT!
Everybody gave great feedback, and now we have some homework to do. We'll have the rules a little more refined by next week. We have to get some questions answered by the Speedbowl operators first before we get everything resolved. We have a meeting with them tomorrow. Some of the questions dealt with building a burnout pad (anybody with connections with a concrete business?), helmets, passengers, etc. The main objective was to emphasize safety.
No surprise here, but everybody was in agreement that the Cruise done in combination with the Drags is going to be an absolute home run. The atmosphere is going to be unlike anything else.
Right now, we are going to be concentrating on landing sponsorships for each event. We'll soon be posting a page on how businesses or clubs can benefit from becoming involved in our sponsorship program. The rates will be quite affordable too.
We'll be back updating the site in the next day or two. Any feedback or questions? Shoot us an email! Meanwhile, get on the phones and internet and go spread the word!
Thursday, Dec. 24th
We're in the process of adding to the rules. It's a work-in-process. We've started to clarify how we will run the races during each event, as well as starting to add safety items. We have more work to do, and suggestions are welcome.
As it stands right now, we will be running 8 eliminators each night. All "Street" and "Modified" cars will be run together, and divided between 4 indexes (each being an eliminator). Dial-in will be permissable within each index; competitors cannot run faster than their chosen index.
Index A: 2.49 and faster
Index B: 2.50 - 2.99
Index C: 3.00 - 3.49
Index D: 3.50 and slower
There will most likely be special separate races during the season for just "Street" cars, as well as "Modified".
There will also be four other eliminators: Outlaw, Jr. Dragster, Motorcycle, plus whatever the Shootout is for the event. The "rules" page has more info and details.
During out first ever "Nationals" in October, we plan to run all the "Shootouts", as well as`all the other regular Eliminators during the weekend. There could be 30 or more "Eliminators" during those 3 days!
For those that don't know yet, we're bringing back the tree and full timing system, complete with time slips, dial-ins, index, heads-up pro tree, etc.
We will NOT have a 60 foot time available on the slip for multible reasons. First, the finish line is just past that mark. Second, because we are using a stock car track that has other events on it, we are not allowed to spray the surface with a traction compound as it would create a dangerous situation for their Saturday night events. Because of this, comparing your 60 foot times from other facilities would be futile. Since our format is totally different from traditional drags, we are toying with having a 6 foot time printed on the slip. This would be more relevant and unique to our distance and format.
More later.
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SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE.
Please shoot us an email or give us a call if interested
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