12 car heats, really?

ThrowbackRacingTeam · 7/27/20, 1:35 PM

Taking a page from old BMARA...
Take top 32 into the 4 “fast” heats that transfer 4 to the feature and remainder to the B.
Run 2 “slow” heats for 33-48 that transfer 2 to the B and the remainder go to the C.
This way the slow guys run together in their own heats and don’t get blown off the track starting in the 5th or 6th row running against top guys. Makes for better races for the fans too.

JakeCroxton · 7/27/20, 3:05 PM

Everyone criticized the Fast 32 format with qualifying races - as I recall, it was a "get with the times" argument...now we're wanting to add heats to give the 48th fastest guy/gal a better shot at transferring...into what would ultimately be less transfer spots available...it doesn't change anything it just adds another race.

Leave it alone...

Some of my favorite memories as a kid were Busch All-Star Tour Late Model races...45 cars show up...TWO extra-distance qualifiers...invert 10, take 10...get your time back...invert 6. ONE Consolation Race taking 4...it was like watching four feature races with lots of action. Those races stick out above almost EVERY race where I saw 5 or 6 heats of anything. I don't want to see more races that are mediocre. The Prairie Dirt Classic for WoOLM at Fairbury...has a similar plan...FOUR qualifying features...big races, lots of action, nobody goes home early nor do they use the center of their seat...

Didn't Carson Short go 11 to 2 in a heat at Putnamville awhile back? What's wrong with that...that shoots down pretty much every negative argument...slow qualifying time you're buried and can never recover, everyone outside the invert should just go home - they don't have a chance, too many cars tear up racecars, he'd have had a better chance if there were less cars...

You can never load a heat race with the pill draw like an AllStars/MSCS format. Everybody has to race every lap every time they're on the track. I flagged a multi-sanction Late Model race in Burlington, IA one night several years ago that had Bobby Pierce, Shannon Babb, Brian Shirley, Jesse Stovall, the track points leader, and Terry Phillips in the same heat race in a 46-car field...taking 4. That's where they DREW...and then time trialed and raced against one another (just like AllStars/MSCS). The next two heats were lackluster and the first B was loaded taking two. If you get a loaded heat...at least it's because that's how performance sorted out the times.

To each there own...but there's nothing wrong with the format...it's not supposed to be easy. Sorry for the rant, but I drive 4-6 hours the other direction and have for the better part of a decade now...to see THIS FORMAT...because it consistently provides the best racing that I see from practice through the last lap of the A-feature compared to any other format that I see.

Jerry Shaw · 7/27/20, 4:14 PM

When I first saw them do it like this at Putnamville, I was skeptical. But, after that set of heats and the show Carson Short and Brent Beauchamp put on (and several great instances, since then) I'm skeptical no more. It works for me.

Jerry

IndianaSprintFan · 7/27/20, 7:55 PM

There’s not to many cars. There’s to many cars per heat. Big difference

brsteg · 7/27/20, 8:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IndianaSprintFan

There’s not to many cars. There’s to many cars per heat. Big difference

That's actually a small difference. If you want the qualifiers back you essientially want less cars. (Get the slow guys out early, who needs them)

If you want more heats; well ok having only 3 transfer spots can create extra drama. But what creates lots more drama is more cars on track racing for more positions which can lead to some more cautions. Avoiding the squirrels is part of racing, and seeing what they squirrels do is part of the drama as a fan.

If you want less cautions with the fewer cars, those extra heats will add the time back with no promise of the action of a 10 car heat.

Most exciting heat races of the year in any car class is the Dream and World 100 heat races with 12-16 cars

brsteg · 7/27/20, 8:12 PM

And if you say you don't need drama in your racing one of 2 things are true. You enjoy being bored, or we have different definitions of drama in racing.

We don't need the make believe NASCAR drama; racing especially dirt racing of all classes has enough natural drama to be interesting.

Midget98 · 7/28/20, 10:21 AM

There is nothing wrong with running a non -qualifiers race as long as you make it a decent length for the number of cars that would be in it. If you have 50 cars show up leaving you 18 cars in a non qualifiers race, it should definitely be a minimum of 15 laps. Take the top 4 and move along. If you feel bad and want to give the rest another chance, keep them out of the heats and throw them at the back of the C or D.