Car Count for 2006

[CheckerWon]

Art11758, I personally feel that if you do your homework and get a couple of sponsors and are NOT! cheating, it is affordable to race in this division and be very competitive..........I mean, if you have illegal heads or other things done to your engine, or msd boxes, brake controllers, soaking your tires, or anything that can cost a lot of extra $, then it might not be affordable. However, if you stick to the rules the best you can without breaking them, you can do it.

[art11758]

I agree. As a hands on person, I've always felt satisfaction came from hard work and not the "magic d'jour" that needs to be bought.

[wayne]

It Was Great Racing With You Guy's. (Or Trying To Race, Broke More Than I Raced) I Just Think I Need A Little Change. Maybe My Luck Will Change Up There. I Know My Wallet Will. Lol. I'm Still Going To Come To The Bullring For A Race Or Two.

[Tower Man]

Four heats with 10-12 cars...remember it well.
14 car consi to take two. Now that was interesting to watch. I remember one night when a BB driver didn't qualify, so I invited him to watch from the ramp.

Both of us went home that night with a new perspective.

[originalpoet]

I was not a driver at the time, but I remember being "invited" up to the ramp and standing shoulder to shoulder with "Tower Man", no doubt it was difficult to watch my driver, and the other 24 "hooligans" at the same time...not an easy thing.

[Tracy87BB]

There was so much competition to just make it into the show back then, that particular driver (as I remember it) was sitting 5th in points at the time.

Hey poet, I remember a few instances (more than I care to remember, anyway) when the Skunk and/or the Shadow ran consis, because there were THAT MANY cars...if you had 3 decent weeks, you could be handicapped to start 12th in your heat race...not always an easy feat to get yourself from there into a qualified spot in 10 laps!

Back to the original topic, I guess the meeting this weekend might give everyone a better idea of what to expect as far as car counts...how many new faces, returning faces, etc.

[Tower Man]

Ah yes, the original topic...car counts. Now I am not trying to upset anyone here, but many Blunderbust drivers forgot what the intent of the division is, (was). ENTRY LEVEL!!

It wasn't designed to be a career as some drivers have made it. Now Because of "career" Blunderbust drivers, the rules have gotten way out of control. So, for the same money that a competitive BB cost, they could run a Charger or a Figure 8.

With that being said, once the BB division went to after market this and high performance that, you took the casual racer out of the game. You took the driver who was just looking to play, out of the game. Yes I know there are Enduros, but most of us want to run every week, not just once a month.

It's tough to go backwards, but if something doesn't happen in the next year or two, the BB will be replaced by the Grand Enduros. Only my opinion, no inside scoop here, just my opinion.

[CheckerWon]

TowerMan, I feel that they should rename our division "Street Stocks." I know I shouldn't talk, having a lot of sponsors, but it is hard asking for sponsorship for a "blunderbust." Just having those two words in the same sentence is very negative ("blunder"/"bust"). I hear that a lot of guys have trouble getting companies and or people to give them $$$ because of the name alone. By the way, I refer to my car as a "Street Stock." It works for me and it is the truth; these machines are as close to the original street stock's as any other division out there. Just my opinion....Artie P.

[Wheel Racing]

Ah yes, the original topic...car counts. Now I am not trying to upset anyone here, but many Blunderbust drivers forgot what the intent of the division is, (was). ENTRY LEVEL!!

It wasn't designed to be a career as some drivers have made it. Now because of "career" Blunderbust drivers, the rules have gotten way out of control. So, for the same money that a competitive BB cost, they could run a Charger or a Figure 8.

With that being said, once the BB division went to after market this and high performance that, you took the casual racer out of the game. You took the driver who was just looking to play, out of the game. Yes I know there are Enduros, but most of us want to run every week, not just once a month.

It's tough to go backwards, but if something doesn't happen in the next year or two, the BB will be replaced by the Grand Enduros. Only my opinion, no inside scoop here, just my opinion.

Ok here it goes:
-If the track did not let the Charger OR Figure 8 cost get out of hand, then we "Career Blunderbust" drivers WOULD have a place to go
-Do you really think "for the same money a BB cost" that a "competitive" Charger could be raced?? Are you kidding me?? Can you run Charger tires 3+ weeks and still be competitive?? A Charger motor costs at least twice as much as a BB motor and HAS to be freshened every year. I ran my motor 2+ seasons, plus some cameo appearances, before deciding to freshen it for this coming season. Plus, the payoff is not much better than a Blunderbust anyway.
-As far as Fig 8, I grew up with that division, but who wants to spend all that time and money to race 1x a night for 20 laps and fight for 3rd place, when you have a chance to win in other divisions? If you want to win, you will be spending quite a bit more, right?? I know the payoff is the best, but not everybody has a desire to run the "x", and the cost is not as cheap as you portray. BB is still cheaper.
-You mention "casual racer". To me, that means that once a month racing Enduros should fill that "casual desire". There are Grand Enduro motors that have more technology and $$ invested than any BB motor out there, so why just pick on BB as moving away from Entry Level??? Like Racin Rich said, for those who wish to race weekly on a smaller budget, the Blunderbust class is a nice fit. For those who wish to race very competitively, but not every week, The Grand Enduros are a perfect fit. The traditional Enduros are a great way to gain some experience and "casually" race. I don't see a problem here.
-Aftermarket parts in some cases are cost saving. I do agree that we don't need to go any further than we already have, and I do question some parts that are now permitted, but to go backwards would be silly.
-How many guys step into higher divisions, only to fail due to lack of funds?? It is never fun being a backmarker, so why encourage people to get in over their heads (and wallets) and push them into where they are destined to fail and then maybe lose a competitor for good? Is it smart business to force a competitive team, crew, family and fan$ into a new hobby so that the "casual racer" can show up twice a season to have fun? Would the folks at that fancy Yaphank Track plan that??
-WJ you mentioned a 5 and out plan. Does this include the beloved Scott Sepe?? Why not?? You guys are complaining about the wrong thing here.The 2 cars that people complain the most about are the #00 and the #67. "Those guys are cheating, those cars are illegal, those cars are too fast". Well, as far as I know, this will be Wayne's 3rd or possibly 4th year and Tommy might only be in his 5th year. The tenure of the driver just may have less impact than the time they spend working on their cars, understanding the stock chassis and spending their $$ in the right areas. The same goes for Eugene in previous years. I challenge you to fill a field if you chase away all the drivers with 5+plus years in the division. Did you ever think that maybe the division gives us a place to race instead of disappearing altogether? $$ is the main reason I have to step aside every few years, why punish me or my fans that enjoy when I race? Just a list of drivers that would either be approaching the point of no return or even at that point: 00, 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 14, 16, 22, 42 ,43, 46, 53, 67, 69, 79, 90. Looks like we could fill a field without us, huh?
-I do agree with the name change. I have been pushing for that for years. Blunderbust is the worst name for any division anywhere. Thunder Cars, Heavy Stocks, etc would be great. Maybe some day they will give us "career drivers" a division name that we are not ashamed of. We spend as much time preparing our cars as the higher divisions, our crews should be proud of that and not embarrassed by the name. As far as I know, Barbara Cromarty named the division and NOT Big Bob. Sorry for the long rant but some people know just which of my buttons to push.

P.S. Not all drivers want to be mediocre forever. Just filling a field in a higher level division doesn't mean "competitive" racing. I like having an opportunity to win a race or two, not just be there to say "I was there", like some people I know.