Breaking News Please Read!

[Kelly Pelrine]

I have been racking my brain trying to figure out the best way to break this news to you all, and the only way i see is to be up front about it. So with that being said, Gary and i had to make a very tough decision which is to cut the purses for the True Street and Pro Outlaw classes. We simply cannot continue to have this series the way it is going. It was either cut the purses or not have the series at all and we don't want to give up because we are just getting started and we know we have a good thing here! Here is the new payout structure, but let me remind you all that if we do not get the attendence we need to make this, we may have to adjust the purse even further. And on the flip side of that, if we can get better attendance, we will payout more!

Pro Outlaw:
Winner: $1200
R/U: $400
Semi: $100
Quarter: $50

True Street:
Winner: $1000
R/U: $400
Semi: $100
Quarter: $40

Outlaw 8.5:
Winner: $500
R/U: $200
Semi: $50
Quarter: $25

We wanted to be able to pay back a bit further, and with the current car counts, paying back to the quarters pretty much guarantees all of you to get a little something back for your efforts. Of course we would like to see more cars show up, because without YOU we cannot do this. Unfortunatly we do not have enough money to keep the payouts like we had at the first two races. Both Gary and i are working on getting more sponsorships but that can only go so far. Please remember this is a brand new series. We are doing the best that we can to make a place for you all to race closer to home. But it is going to take time and more hard work and of course, you the racers, to really get things going.

I know this is going to be hard on some of you and i apologize. Bottom line... this is business and we are losing money and not making enough to cover the purses. All we can do is hope that you can support us in our decision and hang in there. We are also discussing adding in a 7.50 index class. But the ONLY way we will even consider it is if the class pays for itself without haivng to take anything away from the other classes. Im my opinion i don't see this as being a problem but for now we are going to see how things go for the July 1st race, and make a decision from there on the 7.50 class. Just know that it is something we are considering and that your suggestions haven't fallen on deaf ears.

I will leave this on a good note though. We did pick up 3 new sponsors today: Tri-State Muffler, The John R. Trucking Company, Inc and Joe Leach of Performance Motorsport & Machine. Thanks to all of you for coming on board, your help is greatly appreciated!

[2BLUGTS]

A 7.50 class would be great for us guys on a smaller budget. I was at the the June 3rd event with a friend that was running outlaw 8.5 and really liked it.

[302man]

Kelly, what I think is happening is not your fault at all. I honestly don't think there are enough "Outlaw" cars out there to support all the organizations. What I think you will see/find is that with 3 race organizations out there, why should they travel ? They will simply go to the closest one and race and keep the fuel costs to a min. Most people can't afford to race 3x a month and travel doing it. Therefore they pick the closest racing organization to them and call it a day.

It would be nice if the 3 organizations can get together and get back to the way things use to be.

[bbcstang]

Kelly and Gary,
Thanks for all the work so far. I will continue to support the race s long as you have it.

When I got to work Monday there were a couple of guys talking about the "Bad Ass heads up cars at Edgewater" this weekend. I talked with them a little while, and they were plenty impressed with the show. So you have a good product, if the word can get out, the fans will be there.

Keep up the good work
Kevin Neal

[Kelly Pelrine]

Kelly, what I think is happening is not your fault at all. I honestly don't think there are enough "Outlaw" cars out there to support all the organizations. What I think you will see/find is that with 3 race organizations out there, why should they travel ? They will simply go to the closest one and race and keep the fuel costs to a min. Most people can't afford to race 3x a month and travel doing it. Therefore they pick the closest racing organization to them and call it a day.

It would be nice if the 3 organizations can get together and get back to the way things use to be.

I think there are a decent amount of cars, they just arent coming out. And in time things will pick up (i hope). Worst case is we cut the class that is dragging down the others, because id rather do that then make the classes that are doing well disappear just because one class isnt pulling their weight. I agree that some dont want to travel, but in all honesty a few hours in each direction, isnt really "travelling" compared to what some people do. Your generally home the same evening with no hotel expenses. Sure gas prices are up but if you do the math an extra six or seven or even ten bucks a tank REALLY isnt that much more to do something that you love. But i do understand that most of these guys are not going to run the bigger series and travel across multi-states and that is why we are keeping the racing close to home. I also understand that most dont have the extra $$$ to be racing every weekend and they have families etc etc. All we can do is our best to keep things going, and make adjustments when we need to.

As far as getting all the series together and making it one big series, i dont see it happening, there would be too many hands in the cookie jar and not enough cookies. Unless we could all come up with a way to make things fair to every promoter, i just dont see it.

[Kelly Pelrine]

Kelly and Gary,
Thanks for all the work so far. I will continue to support the race s long as you have it.

When I got to work Monday there were a couple of guys talking about the "Bad Ass heads up cars at Edgewater" this weekend. I talked with them a little while, and they were plenty impressed with the show. So you have a good product, if the word can get out, the fans will be there.

Keep up the good work
Kevin Neal

Hey Kevin,

Thank you very much! Gary doesnt post but he said to say thanks also. Thats good to hear that people are talking. I agree, the more people talk about it the more will show up, hopefully we'll see the domino effect in a positive way :)

[Kelly Pelrine]

A 7.50 class would be great for us guys on a smaller budget. I was at the the June 3rd event with a friend that was running outlaw 8.5 and really liked it.

Thanks for your input! We will definitely be keeping an eye on things :D

[sprayn93coupe]

I will attend the next race as well but this time I will have my own number so that I dont run the risk of getting 666. Also I like the idea of the payouts going further back. It really does'nt matter to me because so far I have been in dead last at both races but I have fun and I would rather be racing than watching. I hope the series stays alive and would also encourage anyone with a car in the 7's or high 6's to come race and have some fun and also give me a chance to get next to last instead of dead last. See Ya in July

Jason Brunck

[302man]

I hope the series stays alive and would also encourage anyone with a car in the 7's or high 6's to come race and have some fun and also give me a chance to get next to last instead of dead last. See Ya in July

Jason Brunck

Great attitude ! Having fun is what its all about.

[Kelly Pelrine]

I will attend the next race as well but this time I will have my own number so that I dont run the risk of getting 666. Also I like the idea of the payouts going further back. It really does'nt matter to me because so far I have been in dead last at both races but I have fun and I would rather be racing than watching. I hope the series stays alive and would also encourage anyone with a car in the 7's or high 6's to come race and have some fun and also give me a chance to get next to last instead of dead last. See Ya in July

Jason Brunck

Jason..... i wish more people had the positive attitude that you do! This is about having fun & having a good time with friends, thank you for showing the spirit of drag racing is still alive :)
P.S. I feel like i jinxed ya by mentioning the 666 thing lol sorry!

[Victory Ray]

I will attend the next race as well but this time I will have my own number so that I dont run the risk of getting 666. Also I like the idea of the payouts going further back. It really does'nt matter to me because so far I have been in dead last at both races but I have fun and I would rather be racing than watching. I hope the series stays alive and would also encourage anyone with a car in the 7's or high 6's to come race and have some fun and also give me a chance to get next to last instead of dead last. See Ya in July

Jason Brunck

Ya, you do have a good attitude little buddy.

your pal,

Ray

[Bill Lutz]

I have been racking my brain trying to figure out the best way to break this news to you all, and the only way i see is to be up front about it. So with that being said, Gary and i had to make a very tough decision which is to cut the purses for the True Street and Pro Outlaw classes. We simply cannot continue to have this series the way it is going. It was either cut the purses or not have the series at all and we don't want to give up because we are just getting started and we know we have a good thing here! Here is the new payout structure, but let me remind you all that if we do not get the attendence we need to make this, we may have to adjust the purse even further. And on the flip side of that, if we can get better attendance, we will payout more!

Pro Outlaw:
Winner: $1200
R/U: $400
Semi: $100
Quarter: $50

True Street:
Winner: $1000
R/U: $400
Semi: $100
Quarter: $40

Outlaw 8.5:
Winner: $500
R/U: $200
Semi: $50
Quarter: $25

We wanted to be able to pay back a bit further, and with the current car counts, paying back to the quarters pretty much guarantees all of you to get a little something back for your efforts. Of course we would like to see more cars show up, because without YOU we cannot do this. Unfortunatly we do not have enough money to keep the payouts like we had at the first two races. Both Gary and i are working on getting more sponsorships but that can only go so far. Please remember this is a brand new series. We are doing the best that we can to make a place for you all to race closer to home. But it is going to take time and more hard work and of course, you the racers, to really get things going.

I know this is going to be hard on some of you and i apologize. Bottom line... this is business and we are losing money and not making enough to cover the purses. All we can do is hope that you can support us in our decision and hang in there. We are also discussing adding in a 7.50 index class. But the ONLY way we will even consider it is if the class pays for itself without haivng to take anything away from the other classes. Im my opinion i don't see this as being a problem but for now we are going to see how things go for the July 1st race, and make a decision from there on the 7.50 class. Just know that it is something we are considering and that your suggestions haven't fallen on deaf ears.

I will leave this on a good note though. We did pick up 3 new sponsors today: Tri-State Muffler, The John R. Trucking Company, Inc and Joe Leach of Performance Motorsport & Machine. Thanks to all of you for coming on board, your help is greatly appreciated!

Kelly doesn't the sponsors pay the purse? If that's the case I don't understand why you guys would cut it. Can you disclose that information on who actually pays the purse if not I understand?

[Mark Keiser]

Do you really think they have sponsors chipping in over $5600 per race?

[Bill Lutz]

Do you really think they have sponsors chipping in over $5600 per race?

No idea I have never ran a race before that's why I was asking. I know it's a write off for the business so maybe but again I have no idea that's why I was asking Kelly.

[Kelly Pelrine]

Hey Bill...ideally that would be the way to go, unfortuantly this is not the case with us (except for 8.5). I am hoping that if all goes well this year we will have something to show potential sponsors at PRI and be able to achieve that goal :) But that may be hoping for a bit much, at this point we'll take any help we can get cuz it all adds up!

[Bill Lutz]

Hey Bill...ideally that would be the way to go, unfortuantly this is not the case with us (except for 8.5). I am hoping that if all goes well this year we will have something to show potential sponsors at PRI and be able to achieve that goal :) But that may be hoping for a bit much, at this point we'll take any help we can get cuz it all adds up!

So then is Edgewater making up the difference?

[Kelly Pelrine]

So then is Edgewater making up the difference?

Not directly. Sorry but i dont feel its proper to discuss my business and finances with anyone on the internet, or anyone not directly involved with my business. Hope you understand.

[Bill Lutz]

Not directly. Sorry but i dont feel its proper to discuss my business and finances with anyone on the internet, or anyone not directly involved with my business. Hope you understand.

I understand I just didn't know where the line was I guess we found it. Take care and we will still run it being that it's so close to home.