For the first time, both events in one location on the same day. Billetproof moved from Ypsilanti's Riverside Park out to Milan Dragway to coincide withe the Detroit Dragway Reunion. BILLETPROOF MICHIGAN: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bossmustang/sets/72157633461658073/ DETROIT DRAGWAY REUNION: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bossmustang/sets/72157633462422873/ Bill
Thanks Bill. wish the program would of been a bit quicker and the rain held off longer. A good time anyways..... we whiped some ass on the track too
Thank you so much for all the pictures. I didn't go because it was cold and raining at home should have went as I was mad all day at myself. Darrell
THANKS FOR THE PICTORIAL ! my son was suppose to take care of that but was out late with a girlfriend . so I couldnt bitch... To dam bad the weather screwed us, it was a HUGE day for car guys n gals , dont get much better than that thanks again ! Glad the cat that crashed wasnt hurt !!
A few incidents slowed things down on the track. Regardless, a great day. They need to do some work regarding the check in. Starting around 9, it was pretty brutal. Took close to an hour from Plank Road to the ticket booth.
I'll second that. I drove my OT truck down,as I was having electrical issues with the Sport Fury. I spoke with the two guys outside the Billetproof entrance,showed them my entry form and explained that I wanted to go in at that point and then walk over to the Reunion side. They said I couldn't come in there and would have to go in the racer's entrance. Couldn't figure out why,as even though I didn't have a car,I had paid,and was willing to(and did) park my truck in the outside lot. I told them that I just wanted to get my goody bag,take that back to my truck,and then go back in and get pics of the rods and such. Still got told to head to the other entrance. So-o-o-o...I head over there,walk up to the booth and explain to them what I wanted to do. Their question: "Did you pay your 5 bucks?". Well,no,I replied;no one had told me that I had to pay 5 bucks to come over(remember,I walked to the other entrance on the road,not inside the facility),so I paid the 10 buck spectator fee,headed in and got a few pics of the drag cars. Decided to head back to the Billetproof side;this is where things got crappy. I walked through the staging lanes,came in the entrance by the swap area,and got stopped at the red tent and was told that I had to pay 5 bucks to proceed. Showed them my entry sheet(still had not turned that in for my goody bag,cuz I hadn't come in that way,remember?),AND my ticket for the Reunion,and was still told that I had to pay another 5 bucks. WTF? So,I paid ANOTHER 5 bucks,and they didn't want to stamp my hand. Why,I don't know. I explained-AGAIN- that I didn't bring my car,that I had not only paid for the Billetproof event,but had also paid(including an extra 5 bones) for the Reunion. They finally decided to stamp my hand-thank you-and it was then that I noticed the other tent for car entries-and the goody bags. Walked over there,and explained to the nice lady in the knit hat and gloves(whoever you were-I thank you immensely for being the ONLY person who understood what was going on) what had occurred with the "5 bucks here,5 bucks there" and she was understanding. Got my goody bag,took it back to my truck,and upon walking back in,was stopped-AGAIN-and asked where I was going. By now,I'm getting pizzed;I showed them the barely visible hand stamp,explained that I had just run my g.b. out to my truck because I didn't have my car. After some deliberation,they let me back in. Took some pics,checked out the swap,and decided to head back to the other side... ...This was the last straw. As I'm walking over to the racer's side(still inside the facility),I get stopped by the red tent and told that I have to pay 5 bucks to go over there. Explained-AGAIN!!!-that I had already been over there,paid an extra 5 for that privilege,showed the guy my Reunion ticket,told him that I had already paid 5 bucks to the women in the red tent to come into the Billetproof event-which I had already paid to come in to months ago-and showed him my hand stamp. He tells me that I have an attitude problem-wtf?,who wouldn't at this point?-and I politely inform him that I was tired of getting jerked around for another 5 bucks every time I want to go somewhere at an event that I've not only paid for in advance,but have now paid extra just to move around in. I asked him "Wouldn't you have an attitude by now?". Was told that I had to ante up another 5 bucks if I wanted to go to the other side. Showed him my Reunion ticket-AGAIN!-explaining that I'd already been there and HAD PAID. At that point,I said "Fuck this!" and just walked out. Sorry Billetproof;with the exception of the lady at the registration tent,the rest of the experience,for me,was bad. From the misdirection at the entrance,to the constant demand for "another 5 bucks",which I paid,I had a very unpleasant event. I'd like to hear from anyone else who had issues like this;not to bash the Billetproof crew,but to maybe improve the events for people in situations like mine. Will I come back to another B-P event? I really don't know,I really don't.
Oh,BossMustang;thanks for some great pics. I'd add mine,but they would just be duplicates. I was bummed that I didn't get any of cars on the track.
Al K, I had the same experience going back and forth. It seemed those two guys at the gate on the spectator side either had no idea what was going on, or they were making extra money by jerking people around. I paid a total of 15.00 to see both events, but they were asking an additional 5.00 every time I walked thru the gate. It took a minute or two to get them to understand I was paid up each time I crossed over. Very strange.
First off Al K... my apologies to you.. if you pre-registered your vehicle and then if couldnt make it you should have been let in with your pre-registration form. No questions asked. I hadnt discussed that possibility with Rudy and Dennis at the front gate or with the track staff. Will have that straightened out for next year should it happen again to anyone else. we will also have wrist bands for show participants and pit passes so there is no question as to who has access to where and for how much. That should clear it alllll up. once again Al K please accept my apologies. PM me your email and your shipping address... will put you on the list for the 2014 Billetproof/Detroit DragWay Reunion as a special guest (yer in gratis all the way around) and will send you some Billetproof Swag to make up for the hassle.
The wrist bands should clear up the issue of if you have bought your pit pass, or show pass. Will have that handled for next year. Sorry for the mix ups.
Hey bud;not asking for ANY special favors-not my way of doing things. I thank you for the offer,though. It just seems that communication was lacking,and even when I showed that I had paid,people still wanted money. I'm going through some serious personal crap right now,and there's doubt as to whether I'll even have my car a year from now-we'll see. I had to return home early anyway,so my time was tight to begin with,but I still wanted to see some cars go down the track,and had the camera ready to capture them. I should have stuck around,but with my sour mood,there could have easily been a fist-fight with someone-NOT what a good event like this needs.
No worries man, just want to make it right for you. Like I said, you should have been let right in with your pre-reg confirmation. PM me when you are doing better... would like to make it right for you. Will have the glitches you outlined fixed next year.
Al K, take Choptop up on his offer, the guy showing a lot of class, after your hassle you deserve his offer. Good Luck on your next Billetproof trip it'll be a cool one. Thanks to BossMustang for all the cool pictures. CRUISER
Beautiful Nova,my son's favorite car there!I guess there were some teething problems for the first time merger?We had a great time,didn't experience anything too dramatic.Hope it continues to be held together and grows bigger each year.
Ok, I kept my mouth shut until now, but the $5.00 thing? WELCOME TO MILAN-FUCKIN-DRAGWAY! I'm not even talkin outta turn here for those who race there regularly. You go knowing it's "X" cost-wise, then when you get there it's "Z". The deal, the payouts, rain checks, and on and on and on, Milan's been famous for their lack of consistancy for a long time. I go to watch and support fellow racers, but I wouldn't compete at that track if the fucker paid me to. I'll stop there, but I did have a good time with friends and cars and will return for next year.
I think the wrist band is the perfect answer. I too had an issue at the red tent after walking to the BilletProof side from the pit side. I had my pre-registration in hand and wanted to collect the goodie bag and check out the cars. I figure out, no thanks to the folks manning that tent/entrance, to walk around to the entrance that the Billetproof cars entered and got the goodie bag from Rudy and entered at that entrance. Al, the lady with the knit cap on is Rudy's wife. Despite the chilly temps it was a fun couple of days out at the track. (Friday and Saturday for me) Thanks to all involved.
Not sure what your problem is ? I paid my entry fee "NO surprises" it was as stated.. pit passes are $15.00 so if you got in for $5.00 whats the issue ? For racers in this area it would be a shame to have non racers bitch and whine untill the track closed , so stay home. The next closest track doubles the travel expenses.
All in all it was a good day. A couple things about Milan... There's 1 way in off the freeway, it's a 2 lane country road....it's easy to have a back up..maybe have show cars roll in at a certain time and open the gates to spectators later? The layout needs improving, me and my friend got directed along the pits and had to park at what was a dead end, luckily there was a gate we could open to get out. There's plenty of room out there to park all the cars together in single row lines. I had no issues with anyone there or the 5 dollar fiasco..payed once, no problems..The drag racing was great, and walking over into the pits was a blast got to see club brother Forrest's Skai high Chevy barn find out at the track and Ernie bestwicks 427 comet and the Gassers group, etc. the manual trans guys were fun to watch, and when that Willys pro mod type car hit the walls.... Whoa! Get the first year bugs worked out and it could be a better event next year.... We won't talk about the weather..welcome to Michigan, gonna be 81 this week...and 3 weeks from now you can sweat your ass off in Davisburg at Sins of Steel
I too got stopped twice crossing back and forth after I paid. In my case I simply said "No I don't." when they tried to charge me two more times. As far as the rest, I raced back in the 90s at both Milan and Det Dragway, and I'd have taken DD over Milan any day when related to track business. I won't bother with how it went when I sponsored the track decades ago. If you have a good experience there I'm happy for you, but it would be a gross falsehood to think I'm totally solo on my mindset.
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