Tuesday Nov 20th
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Tuesday Nov 20th
What time? Still at Chances Lounge in Patch?
Yes, still at Chances. Usually starts at 9pm.
SAFER meetings are held at "Chances Lounge", located at 415 East Main Street in Patchogue, are to start at 8:00 P.M. This is from Joe Saraceno, club secretary.
Unfortunately, the meetings tend to start late, however, it is supposed to be an 8:00 p.m. meeting start time.
Paul
Thanks...I'll be there.
I hope you guys and girls that vote, vote The Dean into the Hall Of Fame. Nobody deserves it more than him. Runner up in many championships, best appearing cars many times. Won the 2000 Championship with a handicap at the time. He was a true person of what our sport is about. A fan favorite. Please vote him in as a member of the Hall, he belongs with the likes of Don Howe, Joey Jr. and many others.
Pappy, I have to agree with you there.
In my opinion, there are still a few others who need to be there as well, but this is not the place to discuss. Hope you're doing well.
Yes, I'm sure it will be spoken about at the meeting. I hope Bill gets it too. He well deserves it. Also will be asking to present the award to him, and say a little something.
SAFER meeting coming up. I think you should have everyone who has a car, SAFER member or not, be present. It's time to come up with ways to save the division. 12 cars do not make a good race. It's time to work with the track to get live back into the division and keep the track going. The cost is to high. Nothing against guys like Roger, who has the dollars to spend. He earned it by his talent to win. It's time to cut back and make it a competitive division again. Motors, for one, shouild all be within a buget to build. I am not trying to take away from the motor builders. I think they should help too, as this would be good for there business. Tires are way too much. Work on that issue. SAFER and the Fig8 guys can work together again to get this done. I am not saying not to buy good stuff to make your car run good, just have a limit on what you can do. This is just my opinion. Have an open house meeting, no fighting, just ideas to get all the cars back. Dollar for dollar, fig.8 racing is the best. Please work together to get the cars back out there. al van ness (pappy)
al the problem is nobody will work together and thats been since the 8cyls were made legalQuote:
Originally Posted by pappy
Fisherman, it was way before that. Anyway, there are only a couple of 6 cyl left. What I observed at the last meeting is the handfull of teams who showed are looking to resolve some of the issues. There wasn't any finger pointing. It seemed like a collective body.
But Pappy is right, we need to find ways to save the division. 12 cars is not working. And I keep hearing the same winter stories for the last 10 years, "We'll have 18 -20 cars".
In an earlier post I asked, "Where are the missing cars?" There must be a dozen or so sitting. If you have one and realistically aren't going to race, contact one of us and let's talk.
It's true, nobody sticks together. It's time if you want to save the division. Other old timer's, besides me, can see what's happening. No car counts in all divisions and track goes bye bye. The track needs to work with everyone to get it all back and come up withways to get the people back. The people need to stick together to make it work.
Fisherman and Pappy, when was the last time either one you attended a SAFER Meeting? How do you know what goes on there? As of the 2007 season, every driver was a member. Granted, there are not a lot, but everyone felt the need to be part of the club. Let me fill you in on some of the things going on. Many members have been speaking to drivers from other divisions encouraging them to come to the Fig-8 division. Others drivers have given people their car's to use in practice to see if it is something they would like to do. Last year we had two drivers join the Fig8 from the Blunderbust division. As of right now, I know of one Fig-8 car that was sold to someone new coming into the division.
SAFER is also looking into some forms of fund raising for the Point Fund and to possibly have the Rookie of The Year money again. These things may help bring new people to the division.
The cost for a Fig-8 car and the expense to run a season has always been a issue that is discussed at just about every meeting. All drivers are in agreement to try and keep the expense down, starting with the tires. The previous "management" did not have open ears to discuss any issue. SAFER members are hoping the new people in charge will listen to their ideas. We are waiting on a date for a meeting with the chief stewards before the general winter meeting.
Obviously, SAFER has the right idea, because as you can see here on LI JAM other divisions have decided to get the drivers together and have meetings. Negative comments are not something that is going to help us get people into the division, so if you are all that concerned, let's keep things positive.
Kathy Kraft
Roger is NOT putting all kinds of money in his car. The motor is 4 years old. Just getting freashened up this year. That is something you have to expect if you want to race. There are no trick parts that you have to put in each year to be competetive. We have the same car that anyone else out there has this year, except for Joe's 6cyl.Quote:
Originally Posted by pappy
The point is you can get a car today and race it as long as it is straight, freshen it up every few years. Get seat time, and you can win any given night.
I have a motor in Carl's car. Everything was new except the block. And there is no more than $4,500 in it. I think Blunderbust are a lot more than that.
BOTTOM LINE, this is the division to be in.
I think Pappy lives in Florida and making the meetings might be cost prohibitive.
But Fig 8 T.K., you are right about other divisions having meetings. The Blunderbust met last week and have another meeting next Monday. The Late Models are meeting Wednesday and the Trucks are trying to get it together. The Enduro's approached me for some guidance on a meeting for them as well.
It's a new era for Long Island Auto Racing.
SAFER always did its part to make it right. I did not mean no offense to Roger. I was making a point, if you run good it helps to get the sponsors. Roger is a heck of a driver that has helped my son and I from time to time. I apologize if I offended anyone. I put a lot of years in the division and I do not want to see it go away. I am glad to see other divisions meeting, maybe this time everyone will stick together.
I still have to stress Roger has very little in sponsors. From what I have heard about other teams, Roger's sponsors totaled is much less than what some of the even newer teams have gotten from one sponsor.
You would think he could land the big one. And yes, a team like the 63 that races year after year out of their pocket, would be very happy with the FEW grand that we race with.
The point is you can race economically in this division. Buy a car for 5 to 10 thousand. Put tires on every two or three weeks. Stay out of trouble to limit the wheels and front end parts you will have to replace. Also, play it smart and shop at the swap meets for replacement parts.
Pappy, no need to apologize for your opinion.
And yes, dollar for dollar, the Figure 8's are the place to be. That's why we have a car and finishing 12th will cover the expenses. Throw in point fund money, NASCAR, the Track and S.A.F.E.R., and you have a financially successfull race team. You just need to keep the wheels on it.
Trying to get sponsors is not an easy thing to do. It is all about how many people you know and how much time you are willing to spend on getting the sponsors. It is a lot of work and very time consuming, but in the end well worth it.
It is a great division to be in and most of the teams get along and are very helpful when you need something. If you need advice, spare parts, or any type of help, the ones we have asked have all been great. Our crew has helped other crews.
I think that having the SAFER meetings every month is helpful, everyone has the chance to talk about the problems that occur at the track (whether they do or not it is up to them). I think that every division has its problems. I believe that we have the least amount of issues, and for the "most part" everyone gets along.
JMO