Antioch

I am NOT thrilled by all of this, but I'm gonna watch for a day or two before I offer an opinion. I must say the reasoning just doesn't make a lot of sense to me, and I can't imagine many Antioch regulars are happy either. I can say I don't think this was the way to go, and certainly the timing was terrible. You don't make big changes like this right before the start of the season. You do it at the end of the season so drivers have time to do what they need to do.



Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this post are those of an old racing reporter, column writer, announcer and co-founder of Wingless Spec Sprints and are not meant to offend. Unfortunately, these opinions sometimes do just that. Sorry about that. You know what they say about opinions

Yeah, I find that he is usually the best guy to go to for perspective on things like this. You don't drop a big change like this on racers so soon before the season. It's very harmful to car count, which is a problem in all of his classes out there right now. If anything, you meet with your drivers. You call up the other tracks and try to work with them, which is something that I admit has bothered me when it comes to Antioch and Spec Sprints.

I think it's great that the division has had you there keeping an eye on things and spreading the word for all these years. As for me being involved, I guess they feel they have the right people in the right places now. It is what it is. I hope it works out for them. I'm gonna wait and see on this deal, but I will have an opinion when the time comes. Not sure some people will like it, but I have to be honest.


Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this post are those of an old racing reporter, column writer, announcer and co-founder of Wingless Spec Sprints and are not meant to offend. Unfortunately, these opinions sometimes do just that. Sorry about that. You know what they say about opinions

C.W. I heard about this yesterday.
A couple of things regarding these rules.
4.) No angle milling of cylinder heads. This will get rid of about half the field.
7.) Lifter bore must be stock diameter for its engine. Will get rid or another 30% cars.
10.) Rockers must be steel or aluminum, any ratio as long as total lift does
not exceed .625” at the valve. Another few cars gone.
22.) Wet sump system with single stage external oil pump only. I have never seen a wet sump system with an external pump.

3.) $100 claim for shocks. Even the cheap shocks are a little over $100.

This will leave Antioch with about 4 or 5 cars.

Let's see, this is now Jan. 24 and the first race for these at Antioch is on March 7th. Six weeks from now. Common sense tells you this is the wrong time of the season to make any changes.
I don't think there will be many cars. Nothing like the first race of Spec Sprints racing there back in 99 had. I Know C.W. has the number.

C.W. Do you think I should included these cars on my spec sprint schedule with a disclaimer about reading Antioch's rules to make sure their car is legal?

Where is DOK when you need him?

Keith

Oh, believe me, I'm not thrilled by this. We had 12 cars opening day 99 and never less than that at Antioch that year. Would have been 14, but Travis and I forget the other driver couldn't quite get it ready in time. Compare to other opening days, Modifieds 1990 (4 cars), Pure Stocks 1995 (4 cars) Four Bangers (4 cars), Limited Late Models 2000 (4 cars). Why? We had a set of rules in 1998 and didn't mess with them. The first draft of our rules were written in August that year. After that, we focused on letting people know the dates and relevant information and spreading the word through publicity. All John had to do was open the gates and honor what he said that year, because Don and I handled most of the other things.

I do not get the timing or the reasoning of this at all. Had he done it at season's end last year, I could at least say he was giving the racers plenty of time. Six weeks notice before four consecutive races is NOT fair warning. Petaluma got all of his cars? Well, first I dispute that claim. Secondly, if a few guys did race there rather than Antioch, maybe the way they were treated had something to do with it? Maybe? Third, when the Dirt Mods went under 10 cars multiple times last year, there were no cancellations. When it was non IMCA sanctioned, he cleverly allowed Sport Mods to tag the rear and give it the appearance of more cars.

Fourth, nobody told him to isolate himself from the other tracks. When I was still there, and it's been a while, I was pushing for what became the Hunt Series. After Tom booked my big Spec Sprint race in 2001, that 32 car field showed what we were capable of. The Del Quinn Memorial had better count than that at Antioch in 2003 (35 cars). We had Orland, NCMA and a new Sacramento effort to work with and other tracks looking to get in. I think Watsonville was next. John could have been a leader in that AND had big shows at Antioch.

Instead, his feelings were hurt when he booked a $2000 to win show in October 2003 and had just 22 cars on short notice. He NEVER even attempted to call the Turners to see if they could stay dark at Orland for that race in exchange for promoting their Harvest Classic (27 Cars) to our guys. I doubt he talked with the NCMA either. He just booked a race and expected cars, right after Darryl's race, I might add. And that was in 2003.

What did he do since then? Did he even try to work with his brother at Petaluma for a series? Did he try to work with Padjen to form a series or Gage later? Marysville? Watsonville? You get the picture. Why not? Wasn't a 40 plus car field at Antioch in Spec Sprints appealing to him, or does it only matter if it's Dirt Modifieds? John should have been the leader in this effort. I wanted him to be the leader. He talked like he wanted to be a leader. I fell out of favor in 2000 for trying to help make that happen with him and Tom and Chowchilla.

And, the real kicker is after I walked away from Chowchilla, we had a Limited Late Model Series between two and then three tracks. We had a Modified series between Antioch and Chowchilla. So, working together with other tracks was not a foreign concept for John when it came to those two divisions. What made Spec Sprints so different? If he felt left out, he only has himself to blame. Did Antioch even try to make a special race for Spec Sprints after 2003? If so, it rarely happened.

Petaluma did. Petaluma also joined the Hunt Series. For crying out loud, Orland even got into that series, because they had a promoter there (Mike McCann) who cared enough to try. This is not meant to beat up John. I just don't understand his need to isolate himself or run off his guys now. Is he just looking for a reason to point a finger and say, "See, they have no cars" and cancel the class when only four cars show up?

Look at Hobby Stocks. I don't agree with what he just did there either, because it's the same bad timing, but that move was designed to get MORE cars to the track. I doubt Antioch will befit. However, Chowchilla has ten dates, and they may see some guys from down south because of that move. Maybe. It depends on who wants to race there for him. At least he made a move there designed to get more cars, even if the timing is bad.

Sure, he may be thinking of the little guys. Don and I were doing the same thing when we did things like the encouragement heat race, pushed for good starting money at the very beginning and that sort of thing. Every car in that field matters. The problem is, the little guy is already invested in the old rules and can't afford the change over. The higher dollar teams will probably just go Hunt racing or to Petaluma instead. So, will they show at Antioch? I doubt it They are in paint the car and go racing mode now, and the money isn't there for a new engine in most cases.

Is this Spec Sprints still and should it be included among the others? You can do it with an asterisk in the same way you might include Orland. You can run a Spec Sprint at Orland, but you can run an injected car there as well. You can't run what Petaluma, Chico, Marysvile or Hunt call a Spec Sprint at Antioch now. If somebody has a second motor to drop in their car, they may be interested. You can do it with an asterisk saying know the rules, I suppose. It's still wingless, but I wonder if he'll change that too.

I don't wish failure on anybody. I appreciate that John has taken the risk to invest in three race tracks right now. Two of them may not even be racing if not for him. I know the issues Antioch has right now with car count in EVERY division. NOTHING is golden there right now from what I see. There is stuff that is acceptable, but not great. However, this move was ill timed. I don't want it to fail, but he's not giving himself a good shot at success with what he is doing in my opinion. I am against this move as one of the architects of what was a successful launch of a class that several tracks liked so much they wanted to add. What is needed now is promoting, not big rule changes mere weeks before the season opener If I am wrong, I will be the first to congratulate him.



Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this post are those of an old racing reporter, column writer, announcer and co-founder of Wingless Spec Sprints and are not meant to offend. Unfortunately, these opinions sometimes do just that. Sorry about that. You know what they say about opinions

I was planning on antioch maybe once a month or so. all of this hasnt changed my mind. to tell the truth I must be way behind because my car is legal for the new rules the way it is. Ive basically been running the same stuff for a few years. I dont understand the external oil pump deal. Im going to the swap and practice so I plan on getting a clarification there. I get my shocks off ebay so they are mostly under 100 anyway.

For some good info > www.lokent.com/newsrumors.html