I think it's still Keith. The new owners are the Strupps (Mrs. is CJ and I think the Mr. is Steve). If I've met them I can remember - but I AM getting old. We'll miss Brian and Kerri but I'm sure the Strupps are great folks, too. In any case, if you contact Keith he'll sort it out, I'm sure.
I went online last night trying to pay membership to ECTA without registering for the April event. I want to run Bluebelle in June. I was thinking join up and get a copy of the new rules book way ahead of time.
Well, they've got some work to do on their web client where you register/join. It went off in my hand, and some other folks', too. They'll get that fixed. Patience.
Sue Unit was yakking with the Strupps on FB about it and CJ said call. So I called. CJ is a obviously a wonderful lady, can't wait to meet her in person. Bottom line is, wait to register online or if you're in a hurry to register for April, go print out the registration form and mail it to them.
What I gleaned from that conversation with CJ (wow what a nice lady), the only biggest rule change - well, she fessed that Steve can talk about rules in detail more than she can, and Steve wasn't around - this is preliminary of course, she said everybody will have to wear fire suit, gloves, shoes. etc. No matter the class, she said that's the one thing Steve is adamant about.
I'm okay with that, I'll get that stuff to run Bluebelle 130-something plus. That may or may not weed out some little guys but it won't weed me out. The Big Guys already have that stuff to begin with. And the other big thing - a backup brake system, secondary. More than one brake system if the primary brake system fails on shutdown. CJ said that to me on the phone, so it's not official but she said that's what's coming in the rules.
I just paid membership for this year, plan on spectating in April since it's so close.
Rookie question: Can I bring a guest spectator as well or will there be credential inspection at the gate? Never been to any kind of LSR event so this should be fun.
I just paid membership for this year, plan on spectating in April since it's so close.
Rookie question: Can I bring a guest spectator as well or will there be credential inspection at the gate? Never been to any kind of LSR event so this should be fun.
We're REALLY laid back. I often say that the only thing we take seriously is safety. Spectators are not an issue though there is a fee to enter the grounds (like Russell, I'm going on what we did in Ohio). Dogs have to be on leads and you MUST keep up with your kids, again a safety thing. They've been working to keep kids off mini bikes, golf carts, etc. with mixed success but I don't suppose you're likely to bring anything like that as a spectator. Lots of the racers have such equipment and kids seem to end up driving them around.
Anyhow - come and have fun! Bring binoculars and a long lens for the camera. Assuming the new announcer does what we did in Ohio you'll want an FM radio to hear what's going on.
Yep, everything Dan and Russell said. And be ready to walk a long way if you want to enjoy the whole thing, to soak it all in.
From a spectating standpoint, I for one haven't seen the layout in Arkansas yet. So I don't know what to recommend. Way back when the event was held in Maxton NC, you could sit at the finish line (the time trap) and see all the way down to the starting point. In Ohio, the track ran downhill, so you had to either watch the cars start or watch the cars finish the run in the shutdown area. You couldn't even see the finish line from the starting sitting in the car at the starting line.
The beauty of ECTA is being able to walk all through the cars waiting in line and talk with the folks who are there running them. Since it's not a "race" per se, there is no ego. Everybody is there to have fun running the cars (or bikes, or whatever they brought). It really IS cool. From spectating just one time at Maxton I got the wild idea to actually do it. And I'm glad I did, it's really cool.
I guess this is the thread to ask a couple of questions that I cannot find answers to on the website:
1. I did not see Keith or Tonya's names as contact persons. Are they still owners?
2. Are lifetime memberships still honored?
I'm not sure about Keith & Tonya but I contacted the Strupps (not sure of the spelling) and they said the lifetime memberships are, indeed, honored. I needed to know that before I could register to run so I checked it out.
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