Michael, back in the late 70's when GM first introduced the diesels in the passenger cars, the same problem was occuring in the real cold weather. What GM was advising the owners then, and I worked with 2 fellows who had diesel Olds, was to add a gallon or more of K1 kerosene to the fuel tank on each refill. K1 is the type they use in space heaters and stays liquid at very low temperatures. Again back in the 70's when this problem was happening, the suppliers were blending in the K1 before sending it out. I can't believe they haven't been doing this now. Depending on the size of your fuel tank, the K1 will dilute the diesel and make it pourable again. Does your truck have a return line from the pump to the tank ?

Andamo, yes it has a return line. The way I figure it is I haven’t used the vehicle much so I think I’m using a summer blend of fuel and I could have one of the following problems.

1. I need to put a de-gelling additive in it. DF 2 has a lot of Paraffin in it and it separates out and clogs the filter.
2. I’ve got water in my line. I do believe the vehicle has a drain to separate the water but in any event HEET makes a de-icer/water removal additive for diesels like what is commonly known as “dry gas” in regular gasoline engines.

I just hope I didn’t trash my primary injection pump trying to run it with out fuel pressure for a couple of mile! And messing around with the thing at 6:30 AM in -7 F temperatures really pissed me off!

quote:

Originally posted by ChuckT:
The full season isn't on here yet, but the beginning is on:
http://www.pittsburghracewaypark.com/Schedule/

I write the e-newsletter, and the last one announced a lot of the big shows. Let me know if there's anything I can help you out on.

Thanks for the info Chuck. Do they usually run points on Sunday's for the juniors? How many points races do they normally have?

Thanks
Terry

Hi Terry,

We run Sundays for the first couple actual racedays: May 6 is the first points day, then we switch to Saturdays for points in all classes on May 12 for the summer months. I think there will be around 16 points days this season, but that is not definite yet. Last year, we had 14 scheduled, and got 11 of them in. In case you didn't see it earlier in the thread, PRP will be hosting an IHRA junior dragster national event July 20-22. Let us know if you come up!

Chuck,
Thanks again for the info. I did see that PRP was hosting the IHRA junior nationals in July, I circled that on my calender as a race to attend. When do you think the schedule will be finalized?
Terry

My pleasure Terry, glad to help out. If you're not from the area, and need info on what's around, let us know. All of us on here have our favorites. From what I understand, the schedule is pretty close to set. Here are the big events as we have them so far:
Opening weekend is April 14 & 15, test and tune both days, plus a swap meet.

There will be several Friday night box/no box races in 2007, $25 to enter, $400 to win, $150 to runner up, $50 for semis. No points, just come out and run for fun, practice, and a little $$!

PRP will feature a number of Door Jamz this season, which will be a heads up, pro tree, 1/8th mile race, for the quickest 8 door cars only.

Saturday, May 12, all mothers receive free spectator admission.

Night of Fire returns on its own night, June 16, regular racing, with a jet truck, jet dragsters, and fireworks.

Saturday, May 26, on Memorial Day weekend, PRP will salute our nation's Armed Forces. Those with a military ID (past or present) will be admitted free. This race day will also feature the commencement ceremonies for the Army's local class, along with the Mid America funny car show.

The Chrysler Classic returns to PRP on June 22-24 for the 3rd Annual Curt George Memorial race.

The IHRA Pro-Am is July 6-8, with a box/no-box race for the weekly racers in addition to the Pro-Am classes.

July 20-22, PRP will host a junior dragster national event.

Sunday, August 5, it's the PID Reunion, with nostalgia racing and a car cruise. AND.... meet the most influential drag racer of all time, Big Daddy Don Garlits!

The 3rd annual King of Street race is September 16, for street legal cars and bikes only.

September 28-30, the Star Boyz, who performed at last year’s Thunder in the Burgh, will bring their show to PRP. Check them out at http://www.starboyz.com/

The 4th annual Ghosts, Goblins, and Gearheads Halloween race is October 12-14. This weekend is a lot of fun, with plenty of racing, costume contests for kids and adults, trick or treating, and more!

PRP will be the home of the IHRA Division 3 Bracket Finals for 2007, and 2008 & 2009! All the other tracks in the division will come to PRP October 4-7 to crown champion in Junior Dragster, Bike, Street, Modified, and Top. It’s also an opportunity to see a lot of cool cars from other parts of the division.

I’m sorry to hear that Jeffrey, we sure will miss you guys, hopefully you can make it over to race with us some this year. I can see your reasoning, and Beaver is a nice place to race for sure. For me the earlier starting time isn’t a issue, but to some it is. I can’t believe it was made to alienate anyone, my guess is it’s probably more of a scheduling thing.
If I’m not mistaken that is how Quaker has been doing it for years, perhaps someone in the know, could give the juniors a reason for the move?
Steve

Ok, Rich Zemrose, if you're out there, this one is courtesy of Bud and Ray.

quote:

comes down to it, take the boxes out of the cars and the jrs will hold their own against anyone at the track!!!!

now that is some funny shyt...jeff stewart

Jeff,

Wow some interesting posts on here. There is value to both sides of your reasons Jeff. BUT just like any racer will say even the top sportsman guys agree that if your into bracket racing for the money, it is a bad reason as it is never enough. Racing is fun, and who knows were Ryan may go with this but at this level it is more about FUN and competition but not money. Even if you won $120 a week it would take 30 to 50 wins to cover the costs of a motor. That is a tough task in any class. Plus that money does not cover towing costs and fuel and many other racing costs. You will never win enough to cover racing costs.

I am not sure how Beaver Bob gets away with some things he does with the Jr classes. I believe he got warned by IHRA about letting Jrs run faster than 7.90 and 85mph. Also i always thought or thought Jrs were not allowed to be paid in cash as it had to be a bond. Maybe the rules have changed on that and i will ask Frank.

Yes QCR ran the JR program early in the morning for the same reasons PRP is going to start doing it. The Top/Mod/ street classes do not want to be at the track till 1 or 2 am in the morning. The same goes for the Jrs, how many times do you remember being there for noon time and not leaving till 11pm. That is a long day for kids and parents. So by moving the starting time to 10am, you will get 2 time runs and start eliminations well before the bigger classes start at 1pm. Actually you should be done or close to being finished by 1pm. You also have to look at the safety factor, it is tough to have 40 jrs running around with the big cars moving too. With the amount of JRs expected this year because of QCR closing it should be a great year with lots of new faces and cars. Keep in mind the car counts at beaver is well less that PRP and QCR. Yes having 4 time runs is great but you won't find many tracks able to do that with large car counts. Also running the JRs in the morning helps keep the car consistant as you are not waiting for hours between rounds. PRP is not going to round robin Jrs but more like 15-20 minute break between rounds but it will be a moving pace. You will find out this year that running a big motor, it is better to run rounds back to back. The car is more consistant if it is tuned correctly. With Mia's 3 1/2 motor within 5 minutes after a round it is ready to run again.

Jeff if you really are going to Beaver, good luck and have a great season. I only ask that you re-think your decision as Ryan is moving up to the 10-12 class this year and the competition will be tough. It is a world of difference from the 8-9 class. You really have to be on your game with the car and driver. In the end isn't that what you are really looking for, great racing competition for ryan to shine as a driver and yourself as a crew chief. We would love to have you stay and race at PRP. If you have questions you can always email me at racecar66@verizon.net or call gregg and Frank at the track to answer your questions and concerns.

vettez06

Do you run a Jr at PRP?? I don't know the name Vettez06?

The program is run by a combined effort of everyone at the track. From the track crew to computer operator. It is a great team effort and will keep getting better.

Keep in mind that even though we are starting early the track will be treated unlike how QCR did it for the Jr.s and waited till the big cars started. Did that mess up your dialins..

oh yes it messed up our dialins!and as for the new program i thinks its great.did you ever try and run 2 cars 1 top and jr?wow what a race in its self,no matter what i did i always ended up in the back of the lanes in top when they called the jrs for their run,and with nobody but myself and my driver(jr)its a pain,not to mention having to have the program wait for me to get my fat but back and out of my car to get jr started and down the track.great program prp.its about time!!!paying $$$to jr's is a bad thing.$$$$is the root of all evel.qcr did try to pay 25.for a win or a trophey.i always made brandon take the trophey.jr's race for tropheys not cash.you cant show of that cash when friends come over can you???

I think the bonds are a good idea anyways. It's looking out for the kids future. I know it may not be much, but I sure wish now that I am in college that I would have had some bonds maturing so that it would make my school loans smaller. Beaver springs runs good programs, but they don't have as many cars. They also pay for crap. As everyone knows Kevin tried running their points and ours, sure he won some money, but they paid like 150 to win street one night. It's just too low. If he would have won here what he won there(which he wouldn't due to the more difficult competition) he would have won probably 2 times as much maybe more.

quote:

Originally posted by jeffrey10x2:
well..............
i have been banging my head on the wall here and i think 1 can to a conclusion.
i have been debating on running points at prp or beaver.
and after weighing the pros and cons, we decided that we will be running in the points series at beaver this year.
but still make a few races at prp.
this time its all about the bux.
they pay $6 a head to win and $4 a head for 2nd in cash.
i also talked to a friend that races a bike there and he said at their banquet, the first place jr got a $2500 custom paint job from kohrs mopar restorations and $1000 in cash. plus a huge trophy and jacket.
plus jrs get 4 time runs.
we love racing at prp, but im not really fond of the running the jrs early. i honestly feel its trying to alienate them from the big cars instead of being a part of it.
isnt it all about racing? i also think they have like 29-30 points races on the schedule.
like i said, we have thought long and hard about this,
and when it comes down to it, its about getting seat time, and the bonds dont help fix a blown motor.
jeff

Wow, I can't believe anyone running a junior dragster is in it for the money. I thought it was all about having fun and spending time with your family. I guess I have been going about it all wrong.
Jeff I will tell you my experience with Beaver Springs. First I will tell you that last year we raced at Norwalk,QCR,PRP,Milan,Martin,Bristol,Pacemaker,Numidia,Dragway 42,Columbus,Reynolds and Beaver Springs logging 407 runs. The Beaver Springs track is the worst that we raced on. Their were probably 50+ juniors that could not stage ( I assume the track goes uphill). We were informed to tighten up our belts and quit b*******. I have never had to tighten my belt anywhere else. The track is also very bumpy. I am not here to bash Beaver Springs. Beaver Bob is a great guy and a wonderful promoter, but I think the racing surface needs attention.
I was also told that the 2006 IHRA Div. 3 Bracket Team Champions raced there every week. I quickly reminded them that was because Team Norwalk chose to go to the Div. 5 event at Martin.
Jeff, most all of the tracks are going to an early morning program, it's just one of those things. PRP runs a good program, I hope to maybe run points there if it doesn't conflict with our Norwalk schedule.

See you at the races,
Terry

Terry,

Being that you run at so many different tracks, do they pay by bonds or cash or trophy only? Just wondering, hope to see ya at the track this year..

Bill, all of the tracks are different. I didn't think you were allowed to pay the kids cash but their are a few track that do.
Norwalk-Trophy
Pacemakers-Trophy + savings bond
Columbus-Trophy + savings bond + fuel tickets
Bristol- Trophy + savings bond
Dragway 42-Cash
QCR-Trophy Summit Gift card + QCR bucks
Milan- Trophy + savings bond + Milan bucks
Numidia-Trophy + cash
Reynolds-Trophy + cash
Martin-?
That is what we received at these tracks last year from what I can remember.

Terry

Jeff,

Just keep in mind that Yes Ryan did a great job of driving but you had a basic car setup. Now that you are moving up into a much faster class 8.90 everything will change. It is really tough for a 7.90/8.90 car to judge a 12.90 car you were running at special events so it was much easier to beat the faster kids with a slower car

The padding of the dial in you are used to will not work in a 8.90 class plus cutting a light is only half the job now. Ryan will have to learn how to race the finish line along with cutting a good light. His reaction times will be way off as the car will react totally different with the big motor in it. In turn much much easier to red light or be really late. Plus you as a crew chief will have to change lots depending on weather and track conditions and car/driver reactions you did not deal much with before.

If you are set on going for the money then Good luck running at Beaver Bob this year but don't be surprised if the money does not come that easy as the competiton just got a 100 times harder and the cars you will be running are 100 times better than you are used to. What was your finish line MPH? 35-40 now it will be 70-75 and 4 seconds faster.

Ok what i am trying to say easily is that you ran a very easy class last year and this is the year Ryan and yourself will need to take it to another level as that is where the class is. So if you expecting to win money all the time you might be in for a rude awaking in this 8.90 class...

Thats why i would say stay at PRP for another season and if Ryan hammers everyone there go for the money at beaver. Trust me when i say that i have seen many a young driver have a problem with the switch and take half a season to get used to the changes. Mia was no exception, i got gray hair that first season in the 8.90 class. Its a lot to learn and adapt to as crew chief and driver. Just my little advice.

>> Romeo writes: "Beaver springs runs good programs, but they don't have as many cars. They also pay for crap. As everyone knows Kevin tried running their points and ours, sure he won some money, but they paid like 150 to win street one night."

Beaver: Street ET is a $5 lower entry, $10 higher round money, and $400/$100 Top Beaver runoff on top of the regular purse. You can make money at Beaver, and if you want to run for more money, you can run Modified, which I know he did. Instead of comparing 1 night, compare a full season.

>> Bill Turk writes: "i always thought or thought Jrs were not allowed to be paid in cash as it had to be a bond."

You should see it in the Carolinas....

>> Terry writes: "Their were probably 50+ juniors that could not stage ( I assume the track goes uphill)."

Beaver is uphill. It's on a 1% grade. Jr.'s not staging blamed on the TRACK? C'mon!

>> Terry writes:"I have never had to tighten my belt anywhere else."

Why are your belts not tight in the first place? The track surface is certainly not perfect, but it regularly holds 7-sec dragsters and altereds in Top ET. I have a hard time believing its an issue for a Jr.

>> Terry writes: "I was also told that the 2006 IHRA Div. 3 Bracket Team Champions raced there every week. I quickly reminded them that was because Team Norwalk chose to go to the Div. 5 event"

They also won the 2002 IHRA Div. 3 Finals, with Norwalk. They've also won the NHRA Div. 1 Bracket Finals a couple of times, against tracks like Maple Grove and Atco. The track is home to a large number of individual Bracket Finals champs, including 6 Bike champs since 1991. Must be because the track is too bumpy.

Just defending my old home...

Jeff,
We'll see you at the braket finals when PRP kicks Beaver's butt.

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Beard:
>> Romeo writes: "Beaver springs runs good programs, but they don't have as many cars. They also pay for crap. As everyone knows Kevin tried running their points and ours, sure he won some money, but they paid like 150 to win street one night."

Beaver: Street ET is a $5 lower entry, $10 higher round money, and $400/$100 Top Beaver runoff on top of the regular purse. You can make money at Beaver, and if you want to run for more money, you can run Modified, which I know he did. Instead of comparing 1 night, compare a full season.

>> Bill Turk writes: "i always thought or thought Jrs were not allowed to be paid in cash as it had to be a bond."

You should see it in the Carolinas....

>> Terry writes: "Their were probably 50+ juniors that could not stage ( I assume the track goes uphill)."

Beaver is uphill. It's on a 1% grade. Jr.'s not staging blamed on the TRACK? C'mon!

>> Terry writes:"I have never had to tighten my belt anywhere else."

Why are your belts not tight in the first place? The track surface is certainly not perfect, but it regularly holds 7-sec dragsters and altereds in Top ET. I have a hard time believing its an issue for a Jr.

>> Terry writes: "I was also told that the 2006 IHRA Div. 3 Bracket Team Champions raced there every week. I quickly reminded them that was because Team Norwalk chose to go to the Div. 5 event"

They also won the 2002 IHRA Div. 3 Finals, with Norwalk. They've also won the NHRA Div. 1 Bracket Finals a couple of times, against tracks like Maple Grove and Atco. The track is home to a large number of individual Bracket Finals champs, including 6 Bike champs since 1991. Must be because the track is too bumpy.

Just defending my old home...

Michael, you obviously have never setup a junior dragster clutch by your above comments, so I am not going to get into with you. But like I said their were 50+ junior dragsters that struggled to stage because of the 1% uphill grade to the track, so that was indeed the problem.
As far as the Bracket Team Champions go, you probably know that Norwalk has won the Team Championship like 15 out of 23 years or so. I guess they had a few off years. Didn't you do some web site work for Norwalk some years back?

Just telling it like it is, don't take it personally.
Terry