I am glad that they are doing the rounds. I will hopefully be part of those rounds.

First event in Grand Bend.

2006 Season Schedule

June 10 - 11 at Grand Bend Motorplex
July 1 - 2 at Toronto Motorsports Park
July 29 & 30 at Sparta Dragway
August 12 - 13 at Toronto Motorsports Park
September 9 - 10 at Toronto Motorsports Park
September 30 - October 1 at Toronto Motorsports Park

 

well personally i think that sucks....this track is not safe for any cars under nine seconds hence why they went 1/8th mile all year....safety first.. i am scared on the shutdown doing tens..cant imagine guys doing 190 m.p.h...just insane

 

i hadn't heard that they were doing 1/8 mile b/c of safety issues, the newspaper had said it was b/c of the churches/neighbors had got an injunction to limit the noise coming from the track on sundays, the compromise was to run 1/8 and shut down as opposed to 1/4

i DO think that the track needs to be greatly improved though, you could kill yourself on those bleachers and just nailing the new boards over the old boards isn't doing anything esthetically to the stands

also, why can't they put down a new return lane?? when we were there for the truck show, the trucks returning were running in the dirt/mud beside the return lane to avoid the tree branches, and the return lane was also to narrow, they tracked mud all over the track, and it was never cleaned properly for the CSCS race, the same day the transports were running they had a 7 second Astro van and some crazy *****'s coupe and they were alllllll over the track, not due to poor driving but due to the mud on the track b/c of the poor return lane

for that i say the track is unsafe, to be running 7 sec. cars on the track when there was still clearly mud on the track.

mind you i've never actually raced down the track, so maybe i am missing something that has happened to you. But i have been down it from start to finish a number of times.

Oh and another thing that would be nice would be all the bulbs on the time boards working, and all the sensors working would be a plus for tuning cars

 

According to the track those concerns are being addressed this year. There are a lot of tracks in this country that are in worse shape. As far as gong down in a 7 second car, come on gents thay have had 6 second passes and all are shut down in time and not issues. I am not gonna say it is the greatest but I think John Force and the likes used the shut down area and no problems.

1/8th were the ...are you hereing about only running an 1/8th? Pro mods maybe and that is what they run anywhere. All that complain about Sparta are the people that have not run there in who knows how long.

When is the last time you ran there? Or did you here it from a friend of a friend.

Sorry without turnig this into a pissing match, why don't you take your 10 second car to Sparta a few weeks before the OSCA event and check it out yourselfs. If you see people running all over the track and hitting the guard rails and running through mud on the track then do not go down.
If you see safety hazards tell the track staff.

thanks for reading

 

i read about them only running 1/8th (i don't know my classes but it was this guy racing a just as fast *****'s)

and they were only allowed to run 1/8th due to whatever reasons that the track had negotiated with the neighbors for last year, i'm just repeating what the track owner had said on race day(s) and what i read in the newpaper

they had those big lawsuits last year that never went through for the most part, still glad it's open, and i'm hoping they get all the upgrades done that they had said were going to be done.. potentially going to 10 races/shows this year, the improvements will be welcome by all

 

o.k...i ran there twice last year..i am not a wannabe reader i run full time in osca...have run the bend and tmp and sparta....yes me in the car driving...
this year they had any cars running faster than 8.90 shutting at the eighth...the people who have owned this had a major fight on there hands just to keep this place open....the john force days you are talkin about were years ago...the tracks condition has definatly deteriated....
many many racers have complained...your on the osca board are you not...those guys dont read it they do it....most of them have had many close calls at sparta because of track prep and the bumps its well documented...the racer i pit for has personally had his car roll at sparta...
they have stated they are changing things now that their court issues are to bed...i think thats great its a track with huge history and deserves to be brought back...have you ever gone 10 seconds yourself? or faster? its not a easy ride at the best of prep....and to wreck a $150,000 race car because osca wants to be the first big race at sparta i think is not a wise decision...


my .02 and please dont pee in public its just not cool...

 

Dave sent an e-mail out this week stating there were renovations being done to the track this year including the shut down area, sand pit at the end and the return road.
Yes there was a huge lawsuit in which they have overcome, but why not give them a shot, Every track that goes through a rough spell deserves a chance to fix the things people complain about.
I have seen many 10 second passes and even 9 second passes there last summer. From some of the OSCA cars to the Ironman shootout.
I have run TMP. G/B and Sparta. Sparta is the only place where theres shade, and you can sit by your car and watch runs.

I dont have a 10 second car (yet ) but I think good things are on the Horizon for Sparta

 

Yea peeing in public is not cool!

Anyway, thanks for the reply and I knew you are a reg OSCA driver and one of these days would like to meet you( as stated in other posts). that being said I have not driven a faster that 12 second car down so I do not know myslef. I did go to Sparta a lot last year and saw a lot of passes that were not shut down at the 1/8th.
What you wrote about wrecking and the cost of course I have to agree with you. All I am trying to say is that there are going to be improvements done to address the concerns that you and other full time drivers have. Like stated give them a chance and if you do not feel comfortable running down, at least check it out near June to see what has been done. Thanks

 

I haven't been there in just about 2 years but I will be there for the OSCA race. I honestly hope the improvements go through, I know I had one helluva time stopping from a 9.9X pass last time there. Actually I felt sorry for the poor guy at the end in the pick-up truck, I scared the hell out of him when I barrelled past him doing about 30km/h around the turn off. LOL! Stock brakes with a very poor vacuum assist made it really fun. Now I'm somewhat better equipped with a 4 wheel disc conversion and manual activation of it all now so whoaing it all down goes a bit smoother.

I will admit, I liked the pits but the track/timing equipment desperately needs some major TLC. Half my timeslips were missing quite a bit of info.

I'm looking forward to the non-TMP venues this season. Been a while since I was a Sparta and I haven't yet made the trip to Grand Bend.

 

very good to hear biz, i'm looking forward to the show and race season this year