Forum: HoseHeads Sprint Car General Forum (go)
Moderators: dirtonly  /  dmantx  /  hosehead

"Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity."

Podium before scales is common in the IRA.

I didn't do, even though I'm only 45 from the track, so I don't really have an excuse, but I have a question:

Did 1 and 2 go to the scales first?

Big Daddy E

As Big Daddy E said, IRA does the front stretch activities usually first then they do the scales so I would venture to assume he thought they did it the same. What's the problem with telling a guy & pushing him to scale then bringing him back out if nobody touched car & he did'nt go to his trailer?

Very few series have the drivers go to the scales before the podium, world of outlaws is the exception not the norm. Jason Meyers was disqualified after going to his pit area, not the front stretch. You are clueless. By the way, Justin Henderson just won at Williams Grove.

Wasn't there but from what I've read it sounds like he was stopped by someone on the frontstretch. Then DQ'd for not going to the scales. Would be a crappy ride home. They used to always bring the top 3 to the frontstretch for interviews, Which I thought was stupid because you got a guy just estatic as all get out & for what, To find out he'd be DQ'd @ the scales. Maybe someone needs to step up & buy the All Stars or Help ol Swamp step up his program, Maybe just run a series in Oh., Pa., Mi., In., & maybe Northern Ky.. The guy ( Swamp ) probably has a better contingency award for a 2 track series than the All Stars anyway. If Webb wouldn't sell which he probably wouldn't, Doesn't mean that it could survive without cars & fans.

If the drivers would stop running his shows the series would be gone. The fans around here have already stopped showing up at an All Star or MASS show. If the drivers would do the same you could stick a folk in it.

The drivers need to quit supporting it? All 5 of them? I think most drivers like Blaney, Hannagan, Smith have already started.

I've got to beleive that going to the scales was reviewed by the officials at the driver's meeting before the races; even if you had a podium finish. So while the ruling may be unpopular with some, it was probably discussed prior to any racing began; and who cares if the IRA does the front stretch thing before the scales... it was an AllStar race!

Chuck.....

You got that wrong, as stated before it's the NO STARS SERIES!

I doubt it. They probably just said, top 3 go to the scales.

So let me get this straight. They direct him to the front stretch with the top three then they DQ the 17b for not scaling first? Sounds like entrapment to me!

They're a great group of guys and Bill is one of the nicest people you'll ever meet in this sport. They race where and when their budget allows just like everyone else. They'd "get off the porch" more often if some of these arm chair critics would write a check to cover motel and fuel from western Wisconsin.

If an official directed Bill to stop on the front stretch I think he owes the team an apology.

Stan Meissner

I think that's the point that a lot of people are missing. Bill Balog and his crew aren't stupid, he's not going to travel that far and think he doesn't have to scale. It isn't unheard of to scale after the photo ops where they'll direct the top three to stop at Victory Lane and scale on the way back to their pits. What did the other two do? Did they scale and come back to VL?

It sounds like a misunderstanding and a case of Bill and crew not knowing the All Star's post race protocol. These things should have been made clear at the driver's meeting and if there were any changes in the program due to time constraints they should be communicated to the drivers during the course of the evening. I don't know where the All Stars were racing but I know Bill well enough to know he's been in the top three enough to know he has to scale. Again, wasn't there but it's ludicrous to think an experienced driver is going to try to pull the wool over their eyes by not scaling.

Like I said, sounds like entrapment to me.

Stan Meissner

Exactly, this isn't Balog's first ride, so I find it hard to believe that he'd "forget" to head to the scales. It sounds like he was STOPPED first by race officials before he could get to the scales, then disqualified for following directions.

I have a hunch that Bill and company won't be making that trip again but that's just a guess on my part and not the official word. I wouldn't go so far as to criticize the All Stars, never seen them and I have no opinion one way or the other, but stop a guy on the front stretch then DQ him? Sounds like something right off the conspiracy theory websites to me. I can see the headlines in my mind "Who Shot JFK", "Are UFO's Real?", "Was Bill Balog railroaded by All Star Officials?"

Stan Meissner

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Passmore to bad your driver cant get off the porch, hell all he can do is spin out. He's such a squirrel he will take out half the field on the four wide parade lap.

After several races where apparent winners were interviewed in victory lane, then found to be light at the scales the All Stars and WoO both scale the top five before declaring the winner. The drivers meeting covered this as well as the radio after the race. Lawrenceburg even has a nice scoring tower with the top five displayed. I am sure it was not that he was avoiding the scales, he simply stopped before scaling. Seeing that he was the only one on the front stretch, it was definitely an expensive oversight, and I can only assume he wondered where the other cars were. I never seen any official telling him to stop, and if the IRA handles post race weighing differently, maybe he simply stopped on his own. He ran a heck of a race, and it's a shame how it ended up for his team.