First Street Legal Day at Top End Dragways
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First off would like to give a big thanks to all who attended the first street legal race of the year.
Secondly I would like to explain/fill in a bit about the track, traction, etc. as I'm sure there will be some talk about it.
As stated by myself as well as plenty of the TM staff, there are plans for huge traction improvements at the strip. These are still the plans and there WILL be top fuel quality traction out there. Traction comes from the combo of good quality rubber (from racing slicks) and good compound. There needs to be a good layer of rubber as a base in which the compound can stick to and create traction. Being as the track saw little to no maintenance from the old owner, we had to scrap from the burnout box all the way to the 60 completely down to the cement substrate. By doing this we removed all of old crappy rubber but also had no rubber to build off of for traction and had to create a new base.
We did a considerable amount of prep ahead of time but being we had rain until midnight last night, 99% of that was washed away. We tried our best to get a decent base to build off of, we used 2-3 times the amount of compound required for normal prep (over 2 full barrels) as it was being absorbed into the cement/asphault/rubber as fast as we could spray it, but bottom line is that cars need to make passes and get heat into the track and lay rubber. Anyone who ran during or after the Quick 8 final and Sport bike final can atest to that, we did a full prep on top of what was already done just before that and there was a big improvement, even more so then what we had seen threw out the day, however, this is only about 1/4 of what I want the track to be, and we will be there by next weekend now that we have a good base to work with.
Again thank you to everyone who attended and all who waited it out well we got things sorted out.
If anyone has a questions, comments, or concerns please feel free to contact me either here, email, or at the track.
Charlie
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Hi Charlie
This is Mat the owner of the Mustang that spun out. I would have no problem paying extra to make sure the track is prepped and safe to run on street legal days. I feel it is up to the Top End Dragways management to make sure the track is safe for all races. I hope every person and car is a able to leave in one piece.
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Hi Matt,
Racers paying extra has absolutely nothing to do with it, I used over $2100 in just compound alone to get it to were we did and was more then happy to do so. It is my responsibility to make the track as safe as possible for all racers, and we did the best possible with the weather, equipment, track conditions etc as we could. It is also the responsibility of the racer to use good judgment in a situation were he/she may spin as well.Everyone needs to understand, we literally started with the equivalent of highway 10 that everyone drove out to the track on, there was NO base, this is why it require so much compound and needed rubber and cars making passes to build one.
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Dude give him a break. I give him mad props for all the work he is doing
Guaranteed the surface will be top notch with some time
I am excited to get up there later
And its not solely the tracks responsibility to keep a driver safe... a person can alway lift off the throttle
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I also understand were you are coming from, however I do not feel there was that much more that could have been done. Other tracks do not have to scrap all of the rubber off of the track and start new, with the sever neglect that this track saw before me taking ownership of it this was not an option. Most tracks are only in this situation once, right after being built.
There were multiple NHRA officials/workers there for the event, all of whom completely agreed with my procedures, how the track was prepped, and all agreed that the track was very green, practically new, and the only way to get traction was to prep as best as possible and start sending cars down.
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Top End;323316 wrote:
I also understand were you are coming from, however I do not feel there was that much more that could have been done. Other tracks do not have to scrap all of the rubber off of the track and start new, with the sever neglect that this track saw before me taking ownership of it this was not an option. Most tracks are only in this situation once, right after being built.There were multiple NHRA officials/workers there for the event, all of whom completely agreed with my procedures, how the track was prepped, and all agreed that the track was very green, practically new, and the only way to get traction was to prep as best as possible and start sending cars down.
I glad you are trying your best and I hope that track continues to get better. I hope we can enjoy great racing there for years to come. Good Luck Charlie with the track I am sure it will take countless hrs and dollars to get it where you what it.
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Just want to say I stayed there till the end of the night and the track was getting way better. I got my fox to drop .2 in the 60ft after the Quick 8. It was getting better for sure and cant wait to see how good it will be when Charlie is done with it. Again want to thank all of the staff of Top End because all of them seem like bunch of great guys from talking to them after the event. Keep up the good work guys.
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im not sure what you guys are worried about, there will be a couple bracket days between now and the next street legal, im more than positive they will be able to lay more rubber on the track than half the cars / trucks that were there, being on a bike and having spun all the way to the 330 mark i didnt come back and cry about it thats the way things go at a track, so i didnt understand why i overheard some conversations about people complaining. that is all
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Burnout contest? Best way to lay down some rubber.
Understeer is when you hit the wall with the front of the car
Oversteer is when you hit the wall with the rear of the car.
Horsepower is how fast you hit the wall
Torque is how far you take the wall with you -
Jason did a good job of laying down a bunch of rubber with that dragster style burnout lol
> Parker;299126 wrote:
> blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah German cars are the best thing since sliced bread. -
It took awhile to get going but now I understand why. Great work guys. The track was getting way better towards the end of the day. Better than last year. Was able to cut a 1.6 60ft and had my fastest pass in the final quick 8 race. The track can only get better.
Quick 8 cars
Me
Ek Hatch
Single turbo TA
Twin turbo Mustang
Turbo Daytona
Z06 Vette
Mustang Cobra
V8 S10Daytona took first an I took second.
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Next time through the quick 8 will run smoother, as it was my first time It was all new to me. Now that I know what Ethan wants and expects I can do a better job I'll have the bracket and maybe some pics posted next time.
> Mitch Hedberg wrote:
> I'm sick of following my dreams, I'm just going to find out where they are going and hook up with them later.ASE certified parts specialist.
2004 Impala LS 3.8 -
GoldyHatchPSI;323328 wrote:
It took awhile to get going but now I understand why. Great work guys. The track was getting way better towards the end of the day. Better than last year. Was able to cut a 1.6 60ft and had my fastest pass in the final quick 8 race. The track can only get better.
Quick 8 cars
Me
Ek Hatch
Single turbo TA
Twin turbo Mustang
Turbo Daytona
Z06 Vette
Mustang Cobra
V8 S10Daytona took first an I took second.
anybody hit 9's?
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i personally think it went well. it did suck to wait at times, but who am i to bitch about track operations. I had fun, and it was well worth the money so i will be out again.
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