Dragway 42's "Rock and Race" Event 2009 - July 17, 18, and 19

I talked to Jim at the Chopper's Show last week-end and the reason he's not doing it is because of a personal problem..... that simple!
I had one of the best times since I moved from California back in '03. Last year was great and I plan to have a super time this year.
This one was up there with Jalopy Showdown....love it (and I'm old!).
Oh Ya! That t-shirt sucks..... somebody has to let these people know there were other cars built in the 40's & 50's!!!

 

reminds me of how they aborted the old project X 57 chevy. that made me sick as hell ! ! that car was one of the ones that inspired me as a kid. that shirt looks kinda chip foosy, barry lobeck

 

i agree.
the t shirt seems to be a harbinger of the billety pro fairgrounds goldchainer brigade.
jim murphy was the backbone of this event.
i have seen nobody that can put on an event of this caliber.
i have heard rumors of phil dirt and the dozers(yawn) moldy oldies
and tweed and billet dash freindly atmosphere.
i hope im wrong.
ill go but definitly wont be buying a shirt this year.

 

Concerning the t-shirt design, artists are always wanting to make sure that they don't duplicate previous efforts while still keeping a tie to previous year's themes.

I wouldn't be surprised if the artist didn't also remember that Toby campaigned a '57 Chevy sedan and convertible (in addition to a lot of other late model body styles) back in his wheelstander days.

 

You always have to wonder how an owner (track, fair grounds, park, etc.) could stand around and experience a show for several years, and then step up to take over the show and produce a shirt like that. Do they just not get it? Is it that hard?

 

who's toby?

 

I was wondering the same thing! I thought I'd keep my mouth shut just incase he was some famous guy or something.

I'm hoping that the T-shirt does not give a sneak peak into the future of this event. It has become one of my more favorite events. I hope it doesn't change all that much. If this heads towards the Blue Suede Cruise/Goodguys type of deal I'll pass.

 

I went to a few of the Blue Suede Cruise events at Norwalk before Good Guys got there hands in it and they were ok, the music was all dj stuff but I was there to run the cars and get together with friends and shoot the shit. Now that Good guys are involved they raised the price way up, you are lucky to get two time runs in on Friday or Saturday and it just screwed what that event was for all those years. I was talking with some guys back in 07 who said you have to come down to Dragway 42, they said if I thought I was having a good time at Norwalk that I would have a grat time at 42. The Gasser Reunoin at Thompson is a great event, you have all day Friday to run your and Saturday until around 4 or 5 at night and then can run the night race and then come back Sunday and run the eliminations. I know from what I have heard is that 42 is a Billetproof feel with dragracing added so I hope they dont screw this up, this is my first year coming down and am looking forward to it.

Jon

 

Im done..Not one to dictate how a show will be from the shirt design but WoW did the artist miss whatever he was trying to hit with that one!

I was turned off when i got reamed for driving my car up to the stage area to see the bands play!Because of some drunk ass spinnin hookers in the camp area! Im to old for curfews

Jim had fliers at Detroit Cleveland autoramas and the Choppers show..that expense for the fliers helped make that show! Not spending the money or the time to advertise will kill the spirit of that show!...well and that t-shirt design..

 

Toby and Jack Ehrmantraut have owned and operated Dragway 42 for the past 19 years and have been Jim's partner in all 3 of the previous Rock and Race events.

No show is perfect. Not previous years. Not this year. Not future years.

Everyone tries their best to give the most people possible what they want from any event.

For every one person who learned about the show from the flyers, many others learned from word of mouth, the internet, and other media sources.

There will be a huge direct mailing soon (larger than any of the number of flyers distributed at the Autoramas) that will highlight the Rock and Race as one of the 2009 season's spotlight events, so the advertising budget has not been reduced for this year's event.

As to the t-shirt design, I'm sure that not everyone likes every design that comes out for every multi-year event.

Let's just hope that Mother Nature cooperates like it has in 2 of the 3 previous "Rock and Race" weekends.

 

Jim did put ALOT of time and effort into promoting the show.

And yes the noise curfew irked me too....but I assumed it was for the younger yahoos running around doing stupid shit, so I grudgingly dealt with it. I was a punk kid at one time in my life but I hopefully outgrew that stage so I could see both side of the coin. I could see the safety aspect (no burnouts, racing in the pits, etc) but not allowing someone to rev a motor in a parked car or a stereo cranked or forcing someone to park there car at another campsite other than their own and telling them they can come back and get it in the AM instead of telling them to go back to their campsite and shut it down???? This all seemed a little too restrictive to me...it is a party after all...not a greaser/racer/punk rocker sleepover!!!!!!!

Well I dealt with it until a 40 something fat guy on a minibike got yelled at and all he did was ride up to see the bands (ME!). I wasn't doing burnouts or wheelies, just riding up towards the stage area. I became quite angry at this point especially when I had to push said minibike back to my campsite.

As a side bar....the guy that yelled at me was enforcing not Jim's rules, but track rules. The same people that are now holding the reigns on the show are the ones that had the noise curfew.

I'll probably show up again this year. Last year it was the same day as a swapmeet that I usually hit but I had ALOT more fun at this event...hopefully this year I will not regret missing the swapmeet if they are on the same day again!

 

Has the track been serviced, I recall it was a bit bumpy.

Who are the bands ( please no Sha na na bulshit!)

I hope it is kept low brow as usual. Don't fix what aint broke!!!

Dave

 

No doubt about that.

Because, ultimately the track is the one that is held responsible for anything and everything that happens at the facility.

Anyone who has visited multiple racetracks will tell you that Jack and Toby try to be as liberal as they can (and more than most other tracks would be) with the racers, spectators, and fans. By the same token, there comes a point where even they have to draw the line.

And we will be glad to have you!

I don't know about the 'bumpy', but on the last weekend the track was open in 2008 there was a bike that made back to back 180+ MPH runs in the supposed 'bad' lane along with door cars in the 160's and a 170+ mph dragster.

Mother Nature's bad timing of rainy, cold weather has not allowed a single tire to "be turned in anger" yet this year at the track but I am sure that the surface will be fine.

 

Well the word of mouth at the shows was "is there a show? is it all trashed up now?prices go up? racing still the same?wheres jim?".....that all is answered in a flyer...Everyone that saw the flyers from the previous years would agree that all your questions were answered there... lot of mixed feelings from what ive seen..and heard. Alot of people came from other states to participate in this show... Sure hope that word of mouth reaches them..

 

dragway 42 ,
im not trying to be a jerk but are you gonna answer any of our questions including the one about the dip left at the big end of the track created by the paving machine that sank in when it was left partially on the track
or are you gonna keep on spinning everything with no direct answers to any of the questions asked by any of us?

 

please fix the dip

Jesse Woost went airborn in his arogant J during a low 10 second pass. he told me he loves Jesus, but isnt ready to visit him yet.

42 is a historical landmark, one of the coolest race tracks in the united states hands down. You got a cool venue there ! ! put the cash into the track leave the rest old and timey lookin. my two cents

 

I am still planning on coming down this year but I am a little concerned that this is not going to be as good as I have heard its been in years past. Lets hope they are listening and will make it the same show its been in years past. Lots of people last year at the Gasser Reunion said to come down its a great time.

Jon

 

still would like to know how much for all weekend /w racing???? and what about the dip???? bands?????? good times had but ya dont fix what aint broke.

 

how many people have to keep asking you legitimate questions before you answer them directly?

like it or not the hamb is your target demographic that can make or break this event.
jim murphys excellent communication skills and updates are what made it such a success in previous years.
people have been asking you questions for over five days and you still havent responded.
did you unsubscribe to your own thread?
or do you just not care?

 

well...
we are all still waiting for answers to our questions.
we are not gonna go away.
all we are asking for is some honesty here.
did you even plan the event yet?
saying nothing is almost like pleaing no contest in court.
people just want to know whats going on.
is that too much to ask of you?

 

this thread is about dragway 42.
certain people(uh...me and everybody else are trying to get the real story on the event) are having a hard enough time finding out about this event from track owners(er uh...dragway 42).
so please start a seperate thread about your (um.. someone elses event)

me

 

bump

 

<!--StartFragment --> I just saw this thread, I wish I had seen it sooner so I could have set the record straight earlier. The reason why I am not promoting the show this year is personal. I have a personal family issue that I need to deal with and because of that I am not able to devote the time or money necessary to make the show a success, or at least to do the show the way I think it needs to be done. The track owners stepped up and decided to keep the show going. Everyone who likes The Rock & Race should thank Jack and Toby for stepping up to the plate to keep this show alive. Yes they are going to make some mistakes, yes they are going to do some things differently than I would (the t-shirt art is terrible) but at least they are trying. I'm still going to be booking the bands for Friday and Saturday and we do have some great bands lined up again for this years show. As far as the other questions people have asked, well I just don't have those answers for you. What I can tell you is. Expect a flyer or announcement in the next week detailing the show with cost, bands, etc. and expect this years Rock and Race to be just as fun and exciting as the first 3 years.

 

Thanks for the reply. hope everything works out for you. Hope everything turn outs fine.
Our area certainly has a good number of quality events available to us. And for those who take the chances staging such events I'm thankful. Now let's have a rock'in race!

 

The H.A.M.B. members are the first to get a sneak peek at the upcoming Cruisin' Times Magazine ad.

 

was that so hard?
that helps out a great deal.
can you post times and prices for all us hambers that want to go?

 

We know that everyone wants to know as much as they can, as soon as they can, but when it comes down to it, it is very important to us that we provide accurate information to everyone.

Sometimes that takes longer than any of us would like.

Jim worked very hard to adjust to the availability of certain bands, and he was finally able to get all of the artists in place that allowed him to finalize the band line-up on Tuesday afternoon.

With the "Rock" piece of the program nailed down, more detailed advertising for the event could move forward. H.A.M.B. members were the first to see the Cruisin' Times ad which was finalized 3 days later.

We appreciate everyone's thirst for details. That is why H.A.M.B. members are also likely to be some of the first to see the full event flyer which should be ready in the next few days.

That item will contain the detailed schedule for this year's event.

Dragway 42 is doing what it can for folks in these tough economic times, by holding the line on pricing.

There will be NO price increase for spectators or racers for this year's Rock and Race event.

We look forward to another great event and appreciate the support from all of you who have attended or participated in the past.

For those not counting...The 2009 "Rock and Race" Is 70 DAYS Away!

 

i will be happy to attend now that i know whats going on.
sounds great.
i will start telling everyone i know

 

Can executioner be any more annoying???????????? you want pricing? go to 42's website site as posted in the flyer


AND STFU