hope there wasnt a thread on this. i have been to the california reunion about 4 times. didnt get to go there this past year. i have really enjoyed it in the past. i have gone to the bowlingreen reunion just about every year also. great time. i heard alot of things took place at california that really got people stirred up. i hope these things will get resolved. hate to see a good thing go bad. i know it has been getting bigger each year, which makes it harder to handle. but we need to keep the history. its what us older guys remember and the younger people want to see. i know there are alot of great reunions going on every year, and thats great. dont let them die. they all are the back bone of this hobby. whats your ideas of all this. thank you steve gibbs for all you have done to keep this alive..
There were some Major issues and feathers got ruffled on both sides. These issues will be worked on when the Museum board meets in Jan '17. If these issues do not get resolved, then expect a indepentent event possably happening prior to the reunion date and the CHRR will become just the Nostalgia World Finals
thanks for the reply bruce. its been a great run until this year. i hope it gets resolved. but like everything else, theres always change.
Like everything else times are changing Cackle cars took center stage and there are a million of them. I can understand the focus on these cars because they are popular and the track doesn`t have to do a thing except collect the money. The real race cars started at the 660` and continued from there. That being said it is called the reunion but a nostalgia funny car costs thousands to participate and we were treated, in my opinion, like second class citizens as were the opinions of almost all the other racers. Just ask Gibbs and Gino
that sucks, the reunion is there for everybody, not just the select, i hope they can get it together.
No offense to Cackle and Display cars but its the ones that go balls out down the track that bring me to events like this. I have been trying to make this show for years and I hope to finally get there in 2017. Please keep us posted.
its been a great show, something for everybody. you need to put it on your list to do. hopefully nhra will continue with the way these reunions have been run in the past. there is a reason this show has made it 25 years.
thanks joker for posting the pics. i really like the whole show over the years, im an old fart so i can relate to the older guys wanting to cackle there cars, a lot of time and money spent on the restorations, these cars should be there, the racing is excellent, quite a field of cars ,that put on one hell of a show! the swap has been really good, like i have said, i think its great, lets put it back like it was.
Ive been to all Reunions as both racer and cackler, If it wasnt for the display/cackler aspect of the event, it would have been gone a long time ago. The event was starting to lose its charm after 9-10 and the fan attendence showed it. Bill Pitts firing up his dragster in the grove got noticed by many others and just grew from there. If the racing gets your rev limiter going, then the March Meet is a better event to attend
Thanks, I didn't mean that I dislike the cackle and display cars. I enjoy it all but when there doesn't seem to be enough time for the cars making passes(especially the little guys) it kind of ruins it for me. I have never been to any of the West coast events and hope to make it out there in 2017 or 18 so thanks for the heads up about the March Meet.
There is a timed schdual for the reunion, Things/events that HAVE to go off at a certain time without delay, its always been like that and why the event is only open to certain class race cars and not every class in the Heritage series. The MM gets close to 650 race cars and they run til their done unless they get rained on. Cackle cars are not a part of MM
the reunions do have something for everybody, some great history, and some great racing. i guess if they had more classes of racing they would have to make it a 5 or 6 day event. they cram in alot in a fairly short period of time now. i my sell am tired of the rolling billboards that the pro classes are running every weekend on the circuit, but it is cool to see some of the regulars come to the reunions and run there fun cars. for me its been a great time to see the old timers show up and display and cackle these cars, and the racing that gos on. hope they can keep it on track! i really want to come back out for 2017!
and i want to say that the fellow that spoke above my post from so cal, has had a lot to do with keeping these cars alive!
I've been to most of the reunions, including the first one. I've spent all weekend there and just gone on Sat. only. I've never been disappointed in any of them. The drag racing, cars on display, swap meet, and even the venders make for a weekend not to be missed. To top this all off, you get to meet and talk to some of those amazing hot rod hero's that you read about in car books. I hope it last's.
The reunion has something for everyone. Yes, when there are problems on the track the little guy loses. Schedules at a drag race don`t always work out, but people seem to like watching the (markee) cars run. If I were running an exhibition car and only got 2 passes after towing 2500 miles I might not be happy, but with over 200 cackle cars in house there are things to see. The problems we encountered were the layout of the pits fault. 1 return road with pedestrians, cruisers and racers crammed into 1 lane. It took an hour to get to the oil dump and back witch was located in the middle of the cackle fest two return roads one way each would help a lot one next to the grove an one in place of the original. Maybe cackle fest cars on the west side of the return road. That`s my 2 cents
Jalopy Joker, now that you've got photo evidence that I was there, I cant hide anymore! Haha The event was a bit different than it has been in the past... My personal experience started with a quaint little letter from NHRA, 2 days before my 28 hour (each way) trip, stating that I wasn't chosen to participate in the Saturday night cackle. After some back and forth with event staff, that didn't know what was actually supposed to happen at the event, I decided to head for the event anyhow. Skip forward to Wednesday, we arrived with a couple of local friends, that regularly attend at 10:00am. Gates for pitting opened at 1pm. I was following friends in as we were all pitting in the same location. I was stopped by the parking aides after they were waved through... Skip forward to pitting 4 hours after they had gotten parked!!! It took us less time to cross Utah than it did to get 200 yards into the pits! Thursday proved interesting and many feathers were ruffled and among the cackle pits, there were bets that at the drivers meeting there would be a fist fight! This was the result of a letter that NHRA was giving to people arriving Thursday and cars being tech'd that arrived Wednesday. This letter stated that no cackle cars could be started in the pits at any time, and could only be started during designated times on the racing surface! Keep in mind Nitro cars don't like to fire cold, its a very good way to brake parts! That sent a number of the 107 registered cackle entries home before the event started officially! Now these rules did change over the course of the event, however, it wasn't told to the owners/operators in a group meeting, you only found out if you asked an official! From Friday on the event did get better, and start running smoother, as it reverted more to the previous years operation. The swap meet wasn't as good as previous years, but still much better than what we've got here! I'm very glad that I did attend the event, as I had help from none other than Red Greth (of the Speed Sport Special) on getting my nitro strombergs dialed in. That I believe wouldn't be something that one could have had in many other places! Its a time to hang out with heroes of the sport and the hobby and to me that's the best part! At the event, I was invited to a few up and coming events through the states that show a lot promise! It looks like the Tuscon Reunion (May 5&6 2017) will be the next stop for us! And depending on what comes from NHRA over the next couple of months will be a huge deciding factor on if we will return to Bakersfield for CHRR 2017. I hope that my post has added some insight to the spectators that may have been in the dark as to what happened during the event from the cackle car side. Hope to meet more Hamb'rs over our southern events in 2017! Brant Inglis
dave, brant i appreciate your input! im glad you told us what went on, i hope things can be straightened out. i throught steve gibbs did an excellent job all these years with all the reunions. hope he stays in control. i dont want to see anybody left out. i hope nhra reads this thread. these guys pour there heart and soul into these cars, no matter if there racing or cackling, there are alot of people wanting to attend thes reunions because of whats been build over the years. please dont let a good thing go down the tubes.
Stopped going a few years ago. It's Ok, but after umpteen it just seemed the same, year after year.There is just no innovation or imagination as to how it's run, what it features and how what it does feature is presented.WAY too much dead time, (yeah I know how nitro racing is), no filler cars, just DEAD, nothing on the track time.This is the NHRA?Jeez, nice job guys! But if you have never been, it's great, lots of cool stuff, cool cars. VERY worth going. It just NEVER changes or does ANYTHING different. My two cents.
i have to admit, i like it all, but i guess im into the history of the old cars, and it seems to me the last few years there is more and more old cars either being restored or recreated that spark my interest. just again its what i like. i can see thes cars and remember them from the magazines as a kid. many i have seen run years ago. but the inovation these builders came up with, and diff body configurations always sparked my interest. nowadays you flip on a race, you cant tell one bill board from another, or one rail from another, no interest for me. anyway, as you can tell im older and like the history. im always amazed of the builders an restorers on this board, who bring thes cars back to life. the quality of the restorations are unbelivable. i have noticed a decline on here lately of the build threads for these cars, i dont want them to go away, they are history. but there are some young guys trying to keep it alive, please continue.
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