Gino ,, ithink thats a greate idea. Makes sence to me.

Mike ,,,what do you mean by moving over to OPA.

1st. i whant to run OPA ,SBI and maybe OSS. to get my Sponsors out there and have FUN.

2nd. i dont care who i run against,,,,,,the only person i am after is JIM and his Phantom. LOL

You know i think it would be nice after my first year to win all 3 nationals if they do not interfear !!!!:drink:

You know ,,this year i had so much truoble with my motor and still made a full season out of my pocket with NO income.
So i figured in 09 i will make all the races i can with no engine trouble and get paid from some sponsors. (still NO income),,
more fun ,more titles,more pricemoney,and less to spend.

Sounds like a pretty good plan i got there. LOL:grinser010::evilb:

I thought i make it happen (atleast for me) ,,united we (i) race ?
Thats what everybody taked about in the 08 season but only very few came down to KW,then the blame went to ,,,econemy ,,,no time ,,,,and so on.
Well it aint gonna get better untill we make it better ,so here i go.
No $$$$ anyway, so doesent matter where i go to have fun ,,Hell i only live once !!!!
Nothing is imposible if you whant to ,,,just need to try hard enuff.
SOOOO lets do it.

C-YA !!!

Whats your cost to do a OPA race? Providing you have no equipment cost (brakeage).
Travel $200 fuel
Hotel $250 2 nites
Entry $0000000000000000000000000
Food and ent. $400
Misc. $200
Total $1050 for a weekend cant beat it!

Then again I run a stock Merc. 525 and XR that needs no maintainance. :evilb::evilb:
MD

You forgot, racefuel 500-600 Bucks a race.
From FL up north 1500-1800 Gas.
Beeing a crazy German ,,,,,,PRICELESS ! LOL:evilb:

Rather than pay tow money to a team that might only show up for 1 or 2 races, how about a system that rewards the teams that make all or most of the races. You could
pay out year end prize purse based on points. This way we reward the core teams of the series. To help as well, pay
prize money farther down the finishing order at each race and
lower registration fee for teams that race 2 or less races.
You could put the fund together by lowering the existing prize amounts as previously suggested

This way we help the occasional racers as well as the full season guys.

Just adding to the ideas.

It is a great thing when we are all looking to improve what we have not fix something we think is broken....Thanks OPA!

How about starting with the team that has the most sites raced and the most distance traveled for the year.

Gino, I like your travel plan maybe a little fine tuning,but on a whole looks like it would work. Just my 2 cents, for the Crazy Chicken team, the help in the way of travel $ would make a big change on the amount of races run with OPA. Randy, your also on track big HP dose not mean a win? look at our Itty-bitty 500efi it's got 103 hours on the clock and will still get most teams attention. Duration and combination spells a win !!! We tried to race p4 but really hard to beat a twin engine boat out of a turn. 82 felt like you are really racing, not trying to stir the pot,an 80mph single engine run what you brung sounds pretty cool !!!! MAN-UP WE DID !!!! ALL EARS???

Actually....you can do it a lot cheaper pending your life style...and working on things...
In the last 2 years Smitty has let me store my boat there for a number of races...and with 3 races within 125 to 150 miles from his shop that will help on a lot of traveling..
Hotels....its really depends on you taste...you can find some hotels for under 70 bucks....and at some sites even cheaper...
Food...again...its what your taste is....if you are really on a budget you can go the weekend with $75...
Misc. just don't go to the strip clubs....
Total: If you are really crunched on a budget...and yes this is not counting maintance..you could do a race weeked for around $650 - $700.....and if you recieve $350 for attandance you can possible walk away with spending $300 to 400 for a race weekend....now compare that to your $1050 est. for a race weekend....thats aprox. $650 a race less...and in just one race weekend the team will now be able to afford to do another race....

The reason I posted on this is becasue there was a very small % of teams last year that attended all of OPA's races....and we are all talking about we need to grow...well its a lot easier to find a way to get a current race team who is doing 4 to 5 races to get them to do another 3 then to go out and find a whole new team to run a full race season...and it really dose not make a lot of sence to see a team that only runs the Gieco Tripple Crown because of the possiblity to win $11k or a team that only dose 2 races becasue they know they can win both and pick up $4400, and a team that runs the whole OPA series and gets nothing even though they have put in more time and money and support OPA for the whole year....

The reason I'm posting what can be done...is to get other guys who are thinking about coming out to race..but have only heard of the nightmares of the costs....and trying to find a way to get the other teams that can only afford to do 4 or 5 races to get to run the whole season....

Now look at what a team who races all 8 races with OPA and dose not place all year....what dose he get? ZERO
Vice looking at changing the payout a little in the same outcome they could recieve $3200 and still not place all year....now today..if we approached any of these teams that did not recieve any prize money and gave them $3200....In which senerio would that race owner have a better attitude about keep on racing...

Agian....are we only looking at what the highest possible payout a team can make...or are we really trying to get ever possible race team to every race...BOAT COUNT...

I think that some of the Garvey guys get travel expenses for each team and no purse for winning.

Al,
I agree with your point regarding trying to run a single engine inboard vee against a twin engine inboard vee in Class 4.The difference in the capabilities of the singles and twins is also compounded by the varying water condtions.This is why the OPA classes were re- structured after the 2005 season.The result was a mostly single engine inboard/twin outboard open cockpit vee class(Class 5)...and an entry level small boat single inboard open cockpit vee(other than the bat boats) class(Class 6).Class 5 is strong;and Class 6 is growing.

If there is a class in OPA that could use some tweaking..it is the current Class 4 with its varying hull and engine combinations.Are there enough boats out there to create another class?...to 80mph/32ft single inboard canopied or open cockpit vees.Maybe the speed could be higher..keep it at 85mph?This could provide a place for the current SVL's,former canopied A's and the single engine open cockpit vees who want to race at faster speeds.I think think that the rules for Class 5 should remain as is;except single engine only...twin engines grandfathered.
I actually think that this could also improve competition for the twin vee engine 85mph vees as well;particularly at the calm water races,keeping them seperate from the single engine vee lights.
I realize we dont want to add another class;but the growth potential is in the single engine vee classes for obvious reasons.
Just a thought.

Just a thought on tow money.

The APBA Valleyfield Canada race based their tow money on miles towed. If this helps at all... ?

You could offer appearance money to each team that shows
up. Extend prize payout to 10th place. Have payout at end of year for finishing position in class. You would have to reduce
the current prize payout amount, but it would spread the wealth among everyone. I don't like the idea of tow money based on distance. Say you pick 250 miles as your distance.
What if team has 245 mile trip? where do you draw the line?
This way, everyone benefits some, whether the place well
or not.

Rich

$$$
 

mike, hopefully merola will be able to put something together for the skiffs and garveys to show up and do a few races with the opa this coming year. talked with smitty breifly and he is all for it. but we also don't what to add any headaches to the opa. and i think/hope/know merola the prez of ECBRC is working on us to show up at the same 4 races as last year. as for purse verus tow money. must of us felt that the tow money was the way to go to make the field bigger.

I believe they paid $$$ per mile traveled. I am not sure if there was a minimum or not. No minimum means everyone gets a little bit of tow money..... ;)

That would be my thought, a pay per mile traveled. As stated, the Garvey's and Skiffs do that and those guys will sleep in tents to be able to run there ride. Those are the real die hards of the sport and am proud to see them show at our events. The crowds seem to love them also. Smitty, please work a deal for them to show at our events, that would make even a better show for the crowds and sponsors.

Scottc And Florda Dave Lol

I agree that it would be great to have the Garvy guys at the races again. They put on a great show and add lots of excitement to the event. Especially the big ugly one in the All Fired Up tub:party-smiley-004::eek:

Having raced all the races with OPA this year and having a great time doing it, I have a few thoughts. It is great that the organization allows input from all the racers and fans alike. I would not want the responsibility of running an org like this and Smitty does a great job. When I raced my local dirt tracks, they had the same problem, how to keep the cars coming to the races and reward them for their loyality. For them it was a points fund at the end of the year and awarded at the banquet, no show no money, it went to the next years fund. The triple crown is a great idea and good money (we won class 2), but maybe the money should go to a points fund and name it after the sponsor, Geico or whomever steps up. Keep the triple crown for bragging rights and pay the purses as a normal race. It may make more teams run the whole season. Plus it would give the sponsors more exposure. Tow money would be great, but where does the money come from. Next year will be a challenge to bring more money into the sport, the economy will be tight. I think the rule combination for the classes is good and fair for all, don't change for changes sake, figure a way to get more boats to all the races and maybe we will draw a few more sponsors to the table. Just my thoughts.
Charlie Groff, Team TKO

Mark, I respect your input and knowledge on this topic. A v-lite class would be the ticket and if there was a real class and tech for one in OPA we would have one tomorrow!!! Unfortunately unless you can travel all over with OSS it would leave you nowhere to race. I love spec class but with F-1 gone that leaves too many great under 30ft singles ridding around at 75mph !!! Don't you think 5 more mph would make the teams play into the race more and less imput on the acceleration to the first turn

I dont like paying teams per mile. Every team is equal. Also it would be a nightmare for a promoter to attempt to come up with a budget.
I have no problem racing for a trophy and splitting the purse equally between the teams that made the event.
When you bring in money as the purse thats when the teams get more pissed about losing and question the GPS. If more teams looked at it as a great time and got paid to show maybe the tension would go down for teams that didnt win. The GPS is not perfect but at this point it is the best solution for our style of racing.
The bigger question would be who wants more boats in there class with less chance of winning purse money.
Lets say nothing changes and there is no tow money and purse money is payed the same. I dont like that either! I believe OSS has that one figured out . Each boat has a equal value divided by the purse. Classes with 15 boats in it should not have the same purse as a class with 3 boats in it. We all pay the same equipment fee's and no race fees. Why should someone's chance to win money be greater than someone else's? WE ARE ALL EQUAL!!!!
Example there is $25k in the purse and 50 teams show up to race. Each team is worth $500 no matter what class they are in. If your class has 10 boats then your class has $5000 of the purse to divide up.
This is how we do it in OSS and it works out great. In SVL we just voted in paying down top 5 teams for 09. It spreads the wealth so most teams leave with something. You are still rewarding the winning teams with a larger purse but even the middle of the pack teams get paid to be there.
Go easy on me Scott!!
MD

Yes they brought their tents to Patchogue:

http://sharkeyimages.zenfolio.com/im...76126713-3.jpg

And I thought those were some new style restrooms without sighns! Sorry about the mess guy's.:eek::eek::eek:
MD

I also like the idea of voted class reps. Just beacause you won last years high points does not make you a guy that teams can talk to.
MD

funny how???
 

md, stop out to patchague next year and i'm sure they'de like to take you for a spin!

Al,
Thanks;and I respect your opinions on this topic as well.My suggestion was to maybe add another BRACKET CLASS for single engine vee bottoms canopied or open cockpit up to 80mph or 85mph and a maximum length of 32ft.I think we all miss the F1 concept...but how do we get back to that at this point?I hope all is well;and I look forward to racing with you guys next year.

You got my vote for OPA Class 5 rep.

But ,,,,,then i cant run against JIM ???????

32' single 835 HP ona box #5 ,,,,,,,,yuhu.

C-YA !!!
The winner is ........................DAREDEVIL .:evilb:

There has been some talk of running the 525 twin v's in a spec format. My only concern here is it will leave a big hole in class 2. Maybe it is worth looking at moving class 3 up and creating a class for the single V's that want spec racing, Class 3 could be called class 2 with the same speed bracket of 95. Class 3 would then be Spec single V.
Food for thought.

Just a tought....by starting to look at ways to make class 4 a single and twin class....we are just deluting the class's again and going back to make class's that fit a few boats vice equip your boats to fit the class's...

Class 4 is one of the biggest class's both in OPA and SBI/APBA.....by splitting it up to single and twins you are now going to have 2 or 3 boats in one and 3 or 4 boats in another...

We raced againts a single engine Activator in Class 3 that was always up front....

and Team Actane came out this year in a single engine and did good along with LaveyCraft in Class 4....

I agree, but there should be a length limitation in class 4 ?!

I thinkif class 4 would only go to 35 ' length would be ok,i dont care racing against twins but racing against a 38 foot boat with twin high HP doesent make sence.

Thought from my behalf.:party-smiley-004:

CLASS 4

401-Simmons Racing

411-Team Octane

413-The Jersey Boyz

417-Team Purrrfect

420-Dirty Pearl

433-Konrad

446-Reinforcer

451-Bounty Hunter

455-Adrenaline Rush

457-Vicious Racing

477-AMF/Laveycraft

These are the teams that ran Class 4 this year...but they avg. 6 to 7 boats a race...a lot of these boats did not run the whole season...now split up the twins to singles and what do you think the avg will drop to....

The question is will it grow not drop? Maybe there are teams that dont show based on they dont feel competitive against twins? I agree that if you only split the class then it makes no sence.
MD

True....if it brings out more boats that would be great...but from looking in the past...Class 4 racing has been great like Class 5 has been with big boat counts....with the current economy and looking at how many racers have been attending that would delute the big boat count in class 4 by doing that you may also find yourself taking boats out of Class 5 and having them beef up the HP and move up to Class 4 single....I would think with single engine boats winning and being compeditive like Laveycraft and Team Actane it shows that single engine boats can be compeditive maybe not in the ruff...but some of these small single engine boats can out turn some of the bigger...I think thats one of the great things about OPA...half the races are calm water and the other ruff....if makes it fair for all types of boats....

The next thing to ask is...how many single engine Class 4 boats raced the entire 2008 season...and could they have won the High Points Championship if they made all the races....like Laveycraft and Team Actane

I don't think Smitty is saying more classes, but replace C2 with SV and C3 with V.

My bust....I tought they were talking about single engines in class 4 but not spec racing but still bracket racing

Smitty...call me when you get a chance....Are you thinking if the SV class comes together it will be with 525's...I just sold mine....

Gino, I agee with you on not shaving boat count that already exists,but I think that if a class was around for some sort of p-1 style maybe hp x lbs or gear ratio x prop pitch that you could draw sevral SVL'S and some really fast old f-1 boats off their trailers. Many racers out there would jump at the chance to pitch the garman's and really hold it down !!! I'm not trying to cause trouble but if enough people would chime in ,I would love to put something together ''EARS WIDE OPEN"

Randy, call me Al Culbertson 410-967-5039

How about a stepped hull class and a non stepped hull class. We run an old Cig that needs lots of power to keep up with the newer stepped hull's running 525's. Both our speeds are the same but we need lots more power to do that.
Personally I like the classes the way they are. Splitting them is going to be hard to keep track over who is racing who. Also think of the site orginizers, now you will have to have many more starts, or even more days to run. Change can be good or bad. Sounds like maybe the racers need to all get together and make a vote.
I would love to see 50-75 boats at ever site and one large org in charge be it OPA, OSS or SBI. I feel speed is the best way to keep it equal.

But I'm still a newbie and don't know much.....................so be gentle on me.

why are their 2 pages of class/rule changes for class 4 and not one person from the class is commenting on their being a problem? What teams would be coming out if changes are to be made?

Class 4 works for me.

I made a comment about Class 4...We would have come to mere races if we didn't have to compete against a 42', 38', 35'and so on...ALL twins...We are only 27' (26' really) Activator with a canopy. We were not competitive in OSS SVL because of our hull and set-up, but we can be at 85 mph in class 4. BUT, against the larger boats, we have to run the chit out of our equipment to just keep up! Rough water is pretty rough in a 26' boat...canopy or not. Keep talking, we might be interested in trying again next year...I'm sure Randy can get a few more of the Vee-Lites to race here as well!! Don't forget, there are some less then 32' singles kicking around that might make it back to the water...You never know.

Dave