texana55 Posted September 20, 2011 Report Share Posted September 20, 2011 Around mid to late April, spinning off from last years two track challenge, Stephan Danielsen (a visionary) developed the idea of creating the Street Stock Shootout of South Texas. Stephan took the bull by the horns and made contact with three tracks identifying unique dates that would not step on the others and allow all participants interested to not conflict with points, etc. at their local tracks. He further reached an agreement with the track operators that while each set of rules for the home tracks were a bit different, there were trade offs back and forth that make the group pretty equal. Along the way, he approached me for us to tag team this effort. This worked out pretty well as he and I both seem to be full of BS and we like to talk and this series idea was exciting to me as I saw what it could become. I began using the term “grass roots” over and over because this launched as truly grass roots with nothing more than an initial idea. There are so many conversations about “we need to run the same rules everywhere”. But, as teams when we can all understand that if there is a give here and a take there, we can be pretty equal no matter where we race. So, it became that we felt I37, SOS and TRP streets, along with STS Pures and Houston Hobby’s were pretty close (not perfect, but close for this series), and the series was off and running. And wow, did it ever take off. Suddenly, the synergy was building. Sponsors started coming in left and right who wanted to be part of this. We are so thankful for those!!! Again, “grass roots”. There is so much talk about this track or that track needs to do a larger purse. That is nice, but many times it takes the people interested in a particular class to do something and not just talk about what should be done. When we look back at the sponsor list, the vast majority of sponsors either have a car in the class at one of the tracks, really like the fender cars or have some connected interest to the class. Grass Roots and synergy in action sparked a major interest in the series and we were able to establish a very nice points fund and some nice special awards at each event with the sponsors coming to the table. We are so thankful for each and every form of sponsorship from funds to products, to the beautiful wood trophy. As this began to develop, I thought (even though this sounds odd), how cool it would be to have B Mains where someone didn’t make the A. How long has it been in our area with fender car action that we’ve seen a B Main on a regular Saturday night program? This was a thought, but we didn’t know if it was realistic to have more than 24 cars at one of these events. But, what a tremendous positive surprise the very first event at SOS turned out to be… Nervous as a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs, we showed up at SOS. Low and behold we had pre registered entries and a mass of folks to last minute register for SOS. 32 cars showed up with 31 of them registering into the series. Going into the series we knew there were good drivers, but I personally never really expected the extreme talent that was to be demonstrated and the class of participants we were to see. Personally, heading into that event, I was hoping everyone would respect each other on and off the track as it is my belief that nothing other than little league baseball invokes as much emotion as dirt track racing does.. .. What a top notch group of people in those 32 competitors on that night. We anticipated the time trials might take about an hour, but we were organized and pleasantly surprised when they were done within 20 to 25 minutes. That went like clockwork. Time allowed for out of car driver introductions and that was very special for the fans. Anytime we can connect with the fans, we are doing something good. The A Main came around for 23 men and one lady to take the green flag and the capacity crowd was on their feet. Oh, what an adrenaline rush it was to see grandstands full, with fans on their feet and 24 entertainers ready to do their thing. Each driver was there to win, but low and behold they competed with each other with tremendous respect with only one caution the entire race. And, the vision was proving to be true about matching the cars as there was a mix in the front runners with Chris, Wade, AJ, Tony and others in the front group. While each and every competitor who showed wanted to win, what they may not have realized is what their presence was doing to give the track a shot in the arm and the entertainment value they were providing to the capacity crowd. And, to get to test yourself against drivers you don’t normally run with. What a night and much smoother than we ever expected. Chris Shafer won the feature on his home turf to set down the possibility of a three track sweep and walked away with the points lead. We all shook hands and departed with excitement for event #2. Rolling into Edna for event #2 at TRP was to be a massive night as it was combined with the Aaron Hudgeons Memorial Limited Mod event. We picked up some more entries on that night into the series and if I recall correctly we had 35 cars racing which consisted of 33 men and two ladies on this night trying to get to the A Main. And, another capacity crowd. A few bumps with a couple of transponders hitting in the time trials. We were now able to incorporate a small cash prize for the two B winners to add to the nightly prizes. Off to the A Main with 23 men and one lady making the call, and we thought for sure on the slicker track there would be lots of paint sharing. Nope, that was not to be case. One or two cautions again and a different feature winner with Wade Jones and he took over the points lead. On this night Bobby Jack also started making his presence known by moving up in the front running and given Wade a solid run on the last few laps to challenge for the win. Two down and one to go, we rolled into Pleasanton for the I37 event to wrap up the series. Even on the last event, a few more registered into the series and it paid off for Donny and Johnny who both won special nightly awards. To our surprise rain came, but it turned out to be what the doctor ordered as it made the track very fast. 29 men and two ladies competed for a spot in the A Main with 24 men making it into the big show. And, yet again a capacity crowd! It would have taken a mathematician to keep up with the ever changing picture of the top in points. Wade came into the event leading with Chris in 2nd, but AJ and Bobby were there to add a twist. Time trials had a 1.5 second spread from the fastest to the slowest. Wade looked to have the points wrapped up if his position maintained in the feature, but low and behold two flat tires almost put him a lap down. Tension mounted as the race started back up without Wade, but quickly went back to caution without a lap being completed. Wade was able to rejoin the field at the tail without losing a lap. There was no telling how this would end, and mentally I had forgotten the points spread for AJ and Bobby. Bobby won the event with AJ second and a young man named Shawn made his presence known by finishing 3rd. Sunday rolled around and it was time for Stephan to do the math and figure out all of the points. Wade won the championship and AJ bumped up into second. Notable also was one racer making the top 10 points payout having only made two races. This series took off much larger than ever expected and it was due to the sponsors coming on board, the host tracks, and the class act of competitors registering into the series. As we embark forward to 2012, the series will be back with four tracks, adding STS, and we’ve already secured a title sponsor in Allgayer, Inc. Stephan will soon begin dialogue with the tracks on dates and possible standard purses for the events. We will approach all of the 2011 sponsors to sign on again and hope to gather even more sponsors. We will start early and hope to have sponsor commitments wrapped in early 2012 and start having registrations rolling in also. In closing, we couldn’t be more impressed with how everything went in the three events. Thank you sponsors for helping build the points fund and product sponsors. Thank you tracks for hosting the events. And thank you teams for registering into the series and giving the fans their moneys worth each and every time and doing it with class and style, just like we dreamed about!! How about it. Can I get a Hell Ya (Stone Cold style) for heading into 2012? Think big and let’s see if we can bring at least 40 cars to each of the 2012 events!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancer52 Posted September 20, 2011 Report Share Posted September 20, 2011 Very nice write up Monty. I think it captures a lot of the good things brought about by the shootout. I appreciate the work you and Stephan put into this. I've always enjoyed these type of events. I also wanted to mention that there was only one shootout driver to make the top 5 in all three events, my husband, AJ. I am proud of him. Also, I believe you will have two young ladies competing in the entire series next year. Brenda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texana55 Posted September 20, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 20, 2011 Very nice write up Monty. I think it captures a lot of the good things brought about by the shootout. I appreciate the work you and Stephan put into this. I've always enjoyed these type of events. I also wanted to mention that there was only one shootout driver to make the top 5 in all three events, my husband, AJ. I am proud of him. Also, I believe you will have two young ladies competing in the entire series next year. Brenda Thank you Miss Lady... AJ may not have been the fastest on time trials each event, even having to run a B at Texana. But when it came time for the A Main he had his coffee and was a sure bet to be in the front group by the time the checker flew. He was a dog gone thrill seeker up on the high side at I37..... And yep, word on the street is two teenage ladies (Patricia and Lauren) are going for all four events. Gotta love those girls in the series. They bring a special flare to the table.. .... Heck, maybe be a few more ladies in the series before it gets started. Never know... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BAB75 Posted September 20, 2011 Report Share Posted September 20, 2011 Monty, I have to say every body that put this together did a great job and deserve a round of applause. I didn't get to drive in this but it was fun to watch. I hope that this series countinue to grow. This is great for the sport, makes more people fans of this sport. So great Job everybody. Bo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickHolt Posted September 20, 2011 Report Share Posted September 20, 2011 Lone Star Speedzone will be creating a new forum area for the 2012 Street Stock Shootout of South Texas so Stephan and Monty won't have to re-post three or four times to get the word out to everyone. Congratulations to all involved for pulling off a MAJOR success story for stock car racing in South Texas. This is the sort of cooperation that is badly needed to grow the sport we love here in God's country. LSS was proud to be the "information hub" where folks got good, solid info from the "powers that be" all season long and look forward to serving in that role again in 2012. Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texana55 Posted September 20, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 20, 2011 Lone Star Speedzone will be creating a new forum area for the 2012 Street Stock Shootout of South Texas so Stephan and Monty won't have to re-post three or four times to get the word out to everyone. Congratulations to all involved for pulling off a MAJOR success story for stock car racing in South Texas. This is the sort of cooperation that is badly needed to grow the sport we love here in God's country. LSS was proud to be the "information hub" where folks got good, solid info from the "powers that be" all season long and look forward to serving in that role again in 2012. Nick Cool on the forum. I think when i get to writing, I take a lot of space, so multiplying that by 3 is kinda bad... And thanks Nick and others for giving us LSS as a medium to get information out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickHolt Posted September 20, 2011 Report Share Posted September 20, 2011 Cool on the forum. I think when i get to writing, I take a lot of space, so multiplying that by 3 is kinda bad... And thanks Nick and others for giving us LSS as a medium to get information out there. By the way, the new forum is open. Would you or Stephan like to have the first post in it? Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danielsen Motorsports Posted September 21, 2011 Report Share Posted September 21, 2011 Awesome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobbyJack Posted September 21, 2011 Report Share Posted September 21, 2011 great Im in for next year. I will be selling my sport mod that Jason Kelly is driving at I 37 this year. he finished 2nd last week. Bobby Jack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie Posted September 21, 2011 Report Share Posted September 21, 2011 One thing that really stood out to me is during the three races and the 150 or so times the track was taken for time trials, I believe there were no more than 2 cautions, 1 if memory serves me correctly but we all know how that works. That's one impressive stat for a bunch of weekend warriors that don't do this for a living! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie Posted September 21, 2011 Report Share Posted September 21, 2011 Cool on the forum. I think when i get to writing, I take a lot of space, so multiplying that by 3 is kinda bad... And thanks Nick and others for giving us LSS as a medium to get information out there. By the way, the new forum is open. Would you or Stephan like to have the first post in it? Nick Awesome deal man! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doitinthedirt Posted September 21, 2011 Report Share Posted September 21, 2011 Count the #5 an the #7 cars to be in the hunt,hopfully getting all the gremlins gone . been very embarssing going to Edna an our home track I37 and not making the show... we will be their looking foward to kicking butt an takein names too show what these cars can do. by then maybe we can help in the sponsorship monies . thank you Monty AN Stephan for working your butts off an putting on a great an remeberful show........ thank you Rick an Danny Schroat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sosrs Posted September 21, 2011 Report Share Posted September 21, 2011 Great series for fans and drivers. Thank you to Stephan and Monty for all your hard work. I am so excited about this series and can't wait for next year. Congratulations I37 on a great show and all your hard work to get the track ready. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texana55 Posted September 21, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 21, 2011 By the way, the new forum is open. Would you or Stephan like to have the first post in it? Nick Just to you everyone know, the forum is down the page on the forum topics. If you want to bookmark for a shortcut, the link is http://www.lonestarspeedzone.com/forums/in...hp?showforum=60 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racerguy8811 Posted September 22, 2011 Report Share Posted September 22, 2011 Monty is was fun to run the only two races that I did. And to crack the top ten in only two races I think that is something to hold on to going into next year. It is great to have people like you and Stephan putting this stuff together. I had a blast running with the guys at I-37 a bunch of good guys and gals around that area. I am looking forward to next year. I dont think if I hadnt qualified second and finished third I would have cracked the top ten. But its something good to know that I could do that in only two races. Thanks guys for some good fun and clean racing in this fender class. It brought out a bunch of people knowing drivers that traveled to all three events and also some that heard about it and didnt think we could make it through a thirty lap A Main event with few cautions we sure showed them we can all drive and respect one another. Thanks again guys!!!!! And thanks for all the good words after that A Main at I-37. Shawn Street Stock #11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jones41 Posted September 22, 2011 Report Share Posted September 22, 2011 We as a team couldn't be more honored to call this years shootout ours. Thank you to i37, shadyoaks speedway, texanna raceway, Monty and stephan for being great promoters, and thanks to all the sponsors! We look forward to next year with two cars, Its going to be fun and more of a challenge to everyone adding STS as the fourth track. Thanks again! #41 wade jones Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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