HMP Driver's Meeting?

[Outlaw #03]

I was unable to attend the Driver's Meeting. Was anything important discussed or decided?

[landlord]

ASA is allowing the PLM to install 1.6 rockers,carb spacer and aftermarket balancer.HMP decided in the spirit of keeping cost down not to allow those changes.Also you have to have an approved shielded wiring harness for the MSD box.There was some stuff in the mod class,but I was not paying real close attention.

[hray]

Someone that heard the stuff on the Pro Mod rules please post. We couldn't attend either.

[hray]

Surely someone heard the changes in ProMod rules (if any).

[HOUSTONLM04]

Someone that heard the stuff on the Pro Mod rules please post. We couldn't attend either.

 

Wrote this up last night and I'm just getting around to posting it.

 

By no means am I trying to represent HMP here and I certainly have no authority over anything that is contained here and I'm not 100% sure if it's all accurate or not. If you have specific questions please contact HMP.

 

As best I can remember...

 

Mick Anderson opened the meeting with introductions and a prayer.

 

Then, Graham Baker welcomed everyone on behalf of his brother, their families and the staff at HMP.

 

Luis Garcia (sp?) opened the meeting discussing the status of Speedfest 2007, a multi-day event scheduled for March 15th thru 17th at HMP. He indicated progress was moving as expected noting the $50,000 purse is in fact a reality and that sponsorship efforts have been successful to date. He noted that the anticipated car count for this event is currently 150+ which is presenting some parking challenges in the pit area. He also reviewed several other agenda items; most notable being the driver appreciation dinner that is set for the Thursday night of the event and the A-Grand-For-A-Fan program that is a marketing program similar to the Winston No Bull 5. He closed by reminding everyone the entry fees for Speedfest 2007 increase significantly after February 28th.

 

Next, Graham Baker gave a brief talk about the all effort that has gone into getting the 2007 schedule in place. He recognized his appreciation for the open discussions and cooperative efforts that occurred during the off-season between all the Texas tracks. He commented that efforts were made to work with both SAS and THR with scheduling and cross promotion of series and events. He noted that an agreement was nearly reached that would have allowed the USRA Modified to race at HMP with the Pro Modifies but contention regarding tires could not be overcome. A question was raised regarding the race starting procedures for 2007 and he indicated it will be identical as it was in 2006. A request was made to publish the formula used to determine the starting order and he indicated it would be availabe by the first race meeting. Before turning the meeting over to Mary Ann Nauman, Graham noted that the 2007 HMP schedule consists of 16 race meetings and that drivers would be allowed to drop 3 from their season point totals. Then Mary Ann then took the floor and echoed similar sentiments regarding track and sanction cooperation. She went on to discuss the events scheduled for THR in 2007 and queried the attendees regarding THR hosing a few races for the HMP Pro classes on their off weekends. A vote was taken and the quorum appeared to be in favor of the scheduling idea.

 

Next, the meeting was turned over the Sarah Mandabach who discussed the ASA sanction and what it means to racers at HMP. Major points were the mandatory insurance requirements for the Pro Late Model drivers, the year end purse contribution committed by ASA (no amount was discussed), web presence on the ASA web site and the publishing of results to national media outlets that are served by ASA. She went on to note that all racers at HMP, not just the PLM guys and gals, have the opportunity to use the ASA insurance, both drivers and crew. For the PLM drivers she emphasized the need to get paperwork submitted to ASA 30 days prior to the first race for processing because the insurance is a requirement for PLM drivers, no exception. She also noted the ASA license and insurance was good at all member tracks.

 

Next, the meeting was turned over to John Mandabach who discussed several new marketing programs HMP will be implementing in 2007. Most notable is the Fans In The Stands = Cash In Your Hands program; whereby drivers can purchase grandstand tickets for $10/ea, a $5 discount from the gate price, and HMP will contribute $5 dollars for every ticket into the drivers points fund. He also reviewed a few stipulations regarding driver eligibility and the obvious restrictions regarding "scalping" on track property. He went on to discuss the new souvenir program that will be published and the need for stories, driver bios and advertisers. He noted that the program will be professionally produced and serve both the oval track and drag strip.

 

Finally the meeting was turned over to Randy Anderson for the rules portion of the meeting. The PLM and PMod rules were distributed while Randy reiterated that all crate motors at HMP will be the 400hp variety. Randy then introduced Robbie Davidson who went on to review the new ignition wiring rules for the PLM and PMod classes. Most notable is that all ignitions must be wired in compliance with the HMP ignition wiring diagram, including specific shielding for both the distributor and tach wires. Randy noted that Robbie Davidson is fabricating the wire harness for $95 (I think) or you can get them from other qualified sources for $125 (I think) or build them yourself as long as they meet the HMP specification. There ware several specific items discussed for both the PLM and PMod classes. For the PLM the most time was spent discussing changes to the ASA rules and what if any will be adopted by HMP; most specifically rocker arms, dampeners, abc body rules and carb spacers. Randy indicated that the mindset at HMP is to focus on keeping racer costs under control and most likely would keep rules the same as 06 in these areas. Randy briefly discussed possible penalties for fully compliant ASA cars and he noted any penalty would most likely involve RPM limits and/or left side weight; nothing definitive was decided in this area during the meeting. For the PMods three points of discussion were focused on; the open motor rule and new weight formula (7.5# per ci) and how it will be policed, clarification on the shock rules and the allowing of quick change rear ends. Several other rule clarifications were discussed as well but nothing really too different from 06. The HMP Stocks had a brief discussion regarding some rule clarifications, like no electric motors and 4 wheels per car are required (lol) Nothing else major was discussed.

 

The meeting closed with Graham Baker thanking attendees and reminding everyone of the February 3rd race meeting. Then Sarah Mandabach opened the pizza buffet to the group and indicated the cold drinks were provided by HMP sponsor Pepsi. May of the attendees took the opportunity to get their 2007 registration filed and reacquaint for fellow racers after the meeting.