Some nice changes were announced for the upcoming 2011 racing season at Delaware Speedway.
Those changes would include some 600 new seats complete with backs. The possibility of some new or returning favourites such as ARCA, OSS, OSCAAR, VMODS, and the return of the ISMA's
The Super Stock agenda for 2011 has had quite a few adjustment put forward for as suggestions for the track officiating body to look at. Some of those changes are the by now famous Ultimate Sandblasting fibergalss modern era muscle car bodies. The proposal for this monumentous change was voted upon by all attending team representatives. The vote came back as quite a surprise with a 20 for it and a mere 8 against.
Most of the suggestions for other changes are going to be considered over the next month or two before we will realize just what those changes are. Some of those changes put fourth were overhauling the handicapping system, a 3 nite on 1 nite off schedule, rain day make up races, hold back pay for 1 night, a copule of more big lap feature nites with time qualifying. Sponsor appreciation deals and the like are apparently going to be allot more structured going forward, as is building the relationship between the track ,drivers and fans.
Ron Sheridan the new Race Director did an excellent of laying out just how the race procedures are going to be handled and by whom. Some ideas he brought to the table were, cleaning up starts and restarts, the return of the dreaded black flag, what constitutes a bump and run as opposed to a dump and run. On the technical side it has been assured we can forget about mid-season show of hands rule votes and presumably the tech guys are going to take a firmer stand on the rules regarding the cars.
From the crowd side of the meeting and it was nearly a crowd! The big concern was obviously the new body and the secondary concern was scrapping the 9" 50# weight penalty. As it stands both of these issues are not finalized and more information will be forthcoming. I might expect some changes for the current steal bodies as well as some tweaks to the pending approved version only glass bodies.
I don't think too many teams went away dissatisfied, and I would like to say most went away with a stronger sense of what is coming is good. And by the way we are not going to have repaved the track, so get used to the idea of another season of the ole' girls curves, dimples and bumps.
With the fabulous 2010 season behind us, I can see 2011 is going to be that much better. I think the track is going in the right direction to continue the strong push for improvements.
Just edited the title. There's gonna be 5 of these threads up by the end of the week 🙂
That all sounds pretty good Jim, and thanks for posting. I had a deal at my kid's school last night and was unable to attend the SS meeting. Reports have been trickling in that it was a positive deal and that Ron seems to be ready to listen and make some good changes.
It's gonna be good to see the new body styles in SS for sure. I never had anything against the old ones, but maybe it is time for an update. Of course, now the class is going to be surpassing the LMs in the "cool looks" department. 😉 (what the hell...SS has always been my favorite div anyway.)
Heh....what constitutes a bump and run as opposed to a dump and run? That's pretty easy isn't it? You move the guy in front of you just enough to take the spot then its a bump. If the guy gets all squirrelly, goes into the grass or the fence' or has half the field pass him as he collects it, then its a dump. Penalize the result, not the action. That's my take anyway.
Ron Sheridan the new Race Director did an excellent of laying out just how the race procedures are going to be handled and by whom.
So who's handling what? Anything different?
i would rather hear they were going to fix the track than put in 600 seat
My notes from the meeting:
November 1, 2011
Delaware Speedway SUPERSTOCK Driver's Meeting
INTRODUCTION:
- Joe Joe Czernai introduced himself and the Speedway Team. Joe is General Manager, and is
responsible for all aspects of the Speedway operation.
- Paul Houghton is responsible for Business Operations - "everything that happens at the top of the hill"
- Ron Sheridan was introduced as the new Director of Racing Operations. Ron will be responsible for racing procedures on Friday night and overseeing the Technical Inspection crew.
- Leon, Darrell, Doug will be joined by Ken Kellestine who will help Leon re-write (update) the Speedway Rule Book.
- CPT will no longer be responsible for Speedway marketing and promotion. Jim (missed the name) has been hired to manage that area.
STATE OF THE UNION:
- Joe pointed out that 2010 was one of the best years yet for the Speedway. Attendance was up, and sales in all areas saw increases. Good weather helped with this success.
- Making Ron Sheridan the Director of Racing Operations will lead to "significant changes in the way that we handle that part of the business compared to how its been done in the past".
- 600 new seats will be added to the Speedway in 2011. No track resurfacing is plannned in 2011, it remains high on the list of priorities for the future.
2011 SCHEDULE:
- Speedway Management is aware that the 2010 Super Stock schedule was "a bit heavy".
- NCATS will return to the Speedway on June 11, 2011
- ISMA will return on August 5/6th
- The NASCAR Stars "Showdown" event will return in July. Drivers like Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, Denny Hamlin and others are possible, negotiations continue.
- Speedway negotiating OSS, ARCA, OSCAAR, Vintage Mods events.
- the season will end a bit later in September (September events did well this year)
- The 2010 year-end Banquet was very successful, that will continue
- Joe solicited feedback from drivers on the 2011 schedule. Feedback included:
- 15 races might be OK, but the schedule must be broken up more
- please return to "race 3 (weeks), off 1 (week)" format - Teams get stretched without breaks
- look at longer races (max 50 laps)
- try including more "qualifying" opportunities
- include pre-planned autograph sessions (Speedway will work on this for sure)
- Joe said that Management wants "2 showcase vents" for Super Stocks in 2011
- there will be FOUR Friday night divisions at the Speedway in 2011, plus Enduros and Chaos Cars
PAYOUTS:
- Ron put a suggestion on the table - in order to get "all of us" out of the Speedway quicker,
how about having weekly payouts made one week in arrears.
- reaction from drivers seemed favourable
- a suggestion was made to include payout envelopes with transponder pickups
- issue will be studied further by Management Team
RACE OPERATIONS
- Joe introduced Ron Sheridan as someone whose "professional demeanor, sportsmanship, trustworthiness, and leadership" will pay dividends for the racing program going forward
- the professionalism that Ron brings will be the focus at the Speedway from now on.
- Ron took over this portion of the meeting, stating that he wants Friday night racing to be "as smooth and fair as possible". "I want to be fair to you as drivers and our Team."
- "I am not a Tech Inspector. I will be working with them and will not override their decisions"
_ "You won't see rules changing between Tuesday and Friday".
- Ron is very open to technical and other questions during the week, but will not make instant, on the spot decisions. "We will analyse, think on things" before making decisions.
- Ron's priority is "to enforce the existing rules", not make up a bunch of new ones.
- "All cars will be teched." (regardless of finishing position)
- Friday night race procedures will be reviewed.
- "THE BLACK FLAG WILL RETURN TO DELAWARE SPEEDWAY." "If someone right in front of your bumper spins, you might as well go to the back because you will get the Black Flag."
- Ron has a pet peeve about "blocking" and will be studying this and how to prevent it in the future.
- Ron agreed with one driver's suggestion that "the race leader owns the track, owns the line".
- The old "bump and run" was not rejected outright, but Ron said "don't spin a guy out".
- Ron said that the waving of the Green Flag would be more consistent, and he responded positively to suggestions that a "starting line or zone" be established in turn four.
- Ron wants drivers lined up, in position after they take the White Flag - " no weaving, checking brakes, any of that stuff after the White Flag".
- The Handicap System will be studied, reviewed. Submit any suggestions to Ron. What ever is finalized will be published for all to see, and will be used throughout the season.
- Ron likes the 1-2-3 double-up formation on restarts.
- Ron will be on the Radio Friday nights. Joe stated that there were "definitely some issues last year, that will be corrected". It all goes to the "professionalism" that Joe and Ron expect from everyone - staff, officials, and DRIVERS (emphasis added).
- once the 2011 Rule Book has been written, it will "be frozen for the whole season".
- there was some discussion of suggestions of moving to an 8" rim and allowing right side wheel offsets (to enhance the chances for passing on the outside). Didn't seem to be a lot of support for this.
- It was suggested, for reliability reasons, that teams could upgrade valve springs, oil pans, and timing chains on crate engines. Leon indicated that he would study the valve spring and timing chain issues, but no change would be allowed on the oil pan. Stay tuned.
- safety concerns where raised on the implementation of the 9" Ford rear end - this too will be examined.
FIBREGLASS BODY
- Ron and the rest of the Management Team wanted to get reactions to the idea of allowing the new 2010 Camaro, Mustang, and Challenger bodies in Super Stock.
- there was a lively debate about the merits of this rule change.
- a (non-binding) vote was taken on whether or not Teams wanted to allow the new bodies. The vote was 20 for and 8 against the rule change.
- Leon and his Team will examine the weight differences between typical steel bodied Super Stocks (eg: Nova, Camaro) and the fibreglass bodies to determine if a weight penalty would be required IF AND WHEN the new bodies are approved.
OTHER ITEMS
- various suggestions where raised and noted by the Management Team
- the current Rule Book will be reviewed "line by line" in order to bring it completely up to date.
- the 2011 Rule Book should be available "before Christmas".
- after the meeting Leon and Ken stated to the author of these notes that the rules for "shocks" are the number one priority in the Super Stock rules review.
IN CONCLUSION
- overall tone of the meeting was positive.
- Joe and Ron chaired a very business-like meeting.
- The new Management Team seemed very confident and determined to improve racing, to make the whole deal more professional in 2011 and beyond.
- attendance at the meeting was very good.
- reaction to the new Team seemed, to this observer, to be very very positive.
Wow. Excellent report Doug. Sounds like they have it on track.
My only wish for Delaware is to have long-term sustainablility for all divisions. Keep the costs down, keep your entry level divisions entry level, don't change what's been working, and keep the guys having fun.
And more importantly, study what's gone on before. (They teach history in school for a reason.)
The OWMs should have never dwindled the way they did, and we should still be able to get 24-28 trucks out instead of 16-on-a-good-night. Find out why that happened, and don't do it again.
I was so afraid that the OWM thing was going to happen to SS. Feeling a little better about that this morning. 🙂