VW Sydney Showdown 2014

Hi All,

Westside Mufflers, X-Force and VWMA bring you all the action for the VW Sydney Showdown 2014 on February 22nd at the Sydney Dragway.

Entries are now open at www.vwma.net.au along with the programme guide and off-track entertainment. Entries must be pre-paid by February 14th 2014. Entries will be accepted on the day, but the cost will be $150 paid to Sydney Dragway at the gate.

As per previous years, entrant gate passes and other information will be waiting at the front gate from 7am on the Saturday morning. No gate passes, etc will be posted out. Camping at the track is available to competitors and their registered crew from Friday 4pm until Sunday 9am at no additional charge. Some restrictions apply, particularly opening and closing times for the gate which VWMA has no control over. Please refer to the programme guide on the website.

The only change on the day depending on entrant numbers will be the aircooled class, which may be split into ET1 and ET2 based on qualifying times.

Spread the word. The future of the event is dependent on competitor numbers, and 100 plus entrants for 2014 will ensure continued racing.

See you on the track.

Cheers
Craig Hughes
Editor / Part-time Drag Racer
VWMA

already entered

Unfortunately, I have run out of time🙁

I wont have Grover at the drags this year, just to many things to do and a few issues I was not planning on.

Phil

Troy and I are driving down but without his car🙁 niggly issues at the dyno then having to rebook another session, waiting on trans blanket, mods to seat belts, few minor changes needed to front end,tech on car and then licensing. Won't rush it but will have the car sorted and dialled in for Warwick for sure!!

What's the weather been like up in Sydney? Rod said it's been raining a bit up his way, hot as hell down here.

HOT here today BUT carnt promise any thing for 22nd

Hi All,

To clarify the question regarding entries from last year's washed out Sydney event. If you nominated to roll your entry to 2014, then both your paperwork and entry fee are all in order and there is nothing else to do but rock up on the day and enjoy.

The Friday night Pizza run is back on at Dino's Pizzas and the RC drag racing will happen during the lunch break between qualifying and racing.

Cheers
Craig

Hi All

Vw Ultra in the UK have asked me to do a review of the event, I would like to give them some details of the cars and drivers please pm me with contact details or email me at steveparfitt@live.co.uk I will be at the dragway for 7.30am on sat and would like to have a few words from everyone involved

I look forward to hearing from you

steve

Catch you there Steve.... I'll be the bald guy hanging out with the Dapto Kings.

humpty wrote:Catch you there Steve.... I'll be the bald guy hanging out with the Dapto Kings.

Yeah, you'll be THE ONLY bald guy 😂


Will I see you for pizza ?

The WPVW dragster will be running with a newly sorted fuel system , that will actually allow me to drive past the half track point & aiming for a 8sec pass .... Chris Boltons engine is out to replace the clutch assembly & Chris hopes to better his 9.61@141.5mph .... Ben Ford has the engine out of his supercharged bug for a full strip down / check over & fabricate a new supercharger manifold , Ben is hoping to better his 9.90@134mph ....

and we almost decided to stop work on all of our cars when we heard that Andrew Makin was making the trip back up from Melbourne to drive the WPVW sports sedan , due to his track record of making appearances at previous events & bringing wash-out weather with him .... lol

I'm entered and looking forward to catching up with everyone and hopefully doing some laps

Still want this guards morgs?

humpty wrote:Catch you there Steve.... I'll be the bald guy hanging out with the Dapto Kings.

ah great i'll be the bald guy with a camera 😉

TNT done last Sunday , just a few little thing to tidy up for Sydney..😊

First race since last October 😊

Rose had him off the start 😊

Hi All,

Less than two weeks until the Sydney drags and only until this Friday 14th February for the early bird cut-off entry fee of $110. Late entries must pay at the gate $150. Please spread the word.

The programme for the day is up at www.vwma.net.au and on the Facebook Link. As much as possible the event will run to the times listed, so it's very important to listen for your call to the staging lanes and get scrutineering finished quickly. Your gate pass is also your scrutineering pass, so please ensure you have that in with the rest of your gear. A reminder that gate passes, etc can be collected from me on Friday from 4pm - 6pm and then from the gate starting at 7am. If you collect from the gate please make sure you still visit the VWMA tent to receive your driver's goodies bag courtesy of Volkswagen Genuine Parts.

On the programme you will notice cash incentives from Club VeeDub Sydney (Best Reaction Time) and Vintage VeeDub Supplies (8.99 second pass - conditions apply), and the trade area will have a display from Volkswagen Genuine Parts and X-Force. There will also be an RC drag competition near the VWMA tent at lunchtime, so bring along the small drag cars.

On Friday night Dinos' Pizza has the cruise and show'nshine in the shopping centre forecourt. This is a nice casual evening before the noise begins, so please make the effort to attend. It's akin to Warwick's street parade and static display before the racing.

The Flat Four Club of Sydney will be hosting the show'n'shine in the pit area which runs all day (free once you have paid your gate fee to the track), and the highlight for spectators is the twilight cruise before the finals, where anyone with a VeeDub can cruise up and down the drag track for a couple of circuits under lights and with music piped over the PA. Very Cool!

See you on the track!

Cheers
Craig Hughes
Editor / Part-time Drag Racer
VWMA

newghia wrote:

humpty wrote:Catch you there Steve.... I'll be the bald guy hanging out with the Dapto Kings.

Yeah, you'll be THE ONLY bald guy 😂


Will I see you for pizza ?

I reckon we will be there for that too... But I had better clear that with the 'team' first... 😂

Hi

Is there an entry list anywhere for the weekend?

Steve

Have a great day everyone.

Pizza, cruising, racing, sounds excellent! 👍

Have fun and be safe everyone.

Congrats to Russ & the rest of the CBB crew for winning top VW against Ben. (11.997 on a 11.99 dial in) Best final!
Thanks to everyone who came out & supported the VW community. A quick look around the pits shows that it is only growing stronger by the year! Grover is RAD!
After witnessing an incident first hand, It was also great to see rival teams put their differences aside & help out a fellow racer who ran into mishap. Faith in humanity restored!
Great day at the track! Looking forward to seeing more VW racing in Sydney!!! Might even one day have a crack myself at this straight line activity....😂

Thanks Craig for another great event. Weather held out, it even got a little to hot. As usual there were some hold ups in the racing schedule due to mishaps, but in all some good results and close finals, well done all that took the chance to enter a attend after two rainouts last year.

we had a nice Saturday at the VW Sydney drag showdown
Team Rose ( Ian, crew team & rose, team Driver took 2 cars down from Newcastle , rose raced the 1954 Nude Bug
The 1915 lowbugget street combo ran great Doing Low 13s all day
we put the 1952 in the show & shine as the steering needs a little attention before Rose Racers it again .
It was good to see some regular racers from Sydney and the south coast, but I didn’t see many Queenslander Racings .
See yous at VW Warwick .😊

where are all the picture threads??? I see nuffin!

I had a great time also, thanks Craig. I wasnt that keen on going to be honest, I only entered the rainout one on late impulse. But after 2 runs I was making a victory speech. 2 wins, within 0.05 of my dial in, an .009 reaction time. And then either the track got faster or I drove better cos I was doing big lift offs... not quite enough on the fourth run.

The guy on the gate saw my 16.85 dial in and couldnt believe it was quicker than his commodore (17s). He must have had kittens when the golf Rs started rolling out.

Yeh where were all the QLDers

3 of us showed up! We all had a blast...

Hi

I had a great time, need a bigger turbo or less weight.

I just checked Cackling Pipes website and he doesn't have any photos up yet.

Rose put a few up on Facebook.

Steve

Performance Upholstery wrote:3 of us showed up! We all had a blast...

that's right rose won her first race against you 😊
then the Mexican just beat her .😊
then Cindy won and she let Birchal win 😂
one out of 4 not bad and car run great .😊

then Cindy won and she let Birchal win

No she was driving like a girl 😂😂😘😘

vw54 wrote:

then Cindy won and she let Birchal win

No she was driving like a girl 😂😂😘😘

yeah sure.
here is one of my racers , I will finish up loading rest of my racers soon 😊
.

Good to see that everyone had fun and the weather held out, But seriously drag racing VW's is like a children's foot race at the olympics, cute, but hardly exciting. Top Fuelers for me
😵‍💫

silver wrote:But seriously drag racing VW's is like a children's foot race at the olympics, cute, but hardly exciting. Top Fuelers for me
😵‍💫

Yep, that's why I've been doing it for 34 years, but sitting in the car, I can't see them straining their necks to see the finish line or hear the crowd response when my VW beats a much larger capacity car. If it's that uncompetitive and uninteresting, why don't the V8's I race laugh and point When I come into the staging lanes?? - to each his own- H

HS618 wrote:

silver wrote:But seriously drag racing VW's is like a children's foot race at the olympics, cute, but hardly exciting. Top Fuelers for me
😵‍💫

Yep, that's why I've been doing it for 34 years,

Time to grow up maybe?

Grow old - inevitable, grow up - never - it's more fun!!

HS618 wrote:Grow old - inevitable, grow up - never - it's more fun!!

Couldnt agree more H.

Wow, another wanker.

Nice pics Rose. Where's the video from the camera on the back of your car when I raced you? . I waived as I went past (just kidding). I really enjoyed the days racing with you guys and the banter in the pits amongst the racers. It was one of the best days racing I have in a long time and I'm sorry for tying to psych you out in the staging lanes.
Cheers
Andrew

LOWBUG wrote:Wow, another wanker.

and judging by this post you might be the other one!

Silver you are a troll. Why do you bother to to post on a drag racing site for VW's and then critisise VW drag racing? Have you got nothing to do tonight? No cartoons on TV?
MODERATORS GET RID OF HIM

Moderators, please remove my posts on this subject - I give in!! I red-lit, crossed the centreline and broke out, My bad!!
Thanks - H

Grey Ghost wrote:Silver you are a troll. Why do you bother to to post on a drag racing site for VW's and then critisise VW drag racing? Have you got nothing to do tonight? No cartoons on TV?
MODERATORS GET RID OF HIM

so all opinions must be in favour of and supportive
or they are not appreciated…
then sorry
I'll try again..gee the VW racing was great this year only 6 seconds off the pace

How about you try and be constructive in your comments Silver - Try to remember for everybody else on this forum VW's are a passion and we love what we do.

HS618 wrote:Grow old - inevitable, grow up - never - it's more fun!!

And keep going, Henry......you're only young once. 👍

I LOVE MY VW's

yeah sure.

Rose yep NO u drove great as the film proves

I just won in our run that's all next time u will win


HENRY

Yep had an absolute ball got to the semis 4 of us there Matt Berry, Dave Becker, Andrew Ermel and meself Dave BEck ended up winning we had a good discussion at the staging lanes

didn't obey number 1 RULE DONT back off so Matt Berry got to the finals B u G g A r I think I worked out he won by 0.009 extremely close racing




SILVER if you didn't race or even attend for that matter DONT F$#@##$ comment I would expect those comments from TT

Hi

This is grass roots racing if we left the drag racing to only the elite classes where would the drivers come from that are going to drive the elite cars?

If I'm not mistaken Gary Berg still holds the record for the ss/cc class that he raced his VW in, locals have been coming close, this class is open to all sorts vehicles but a VW still holds the class record.

The racing on the weekend was bracket racing which truly is great fun no matter what your driving.

I actually prefer racing around corners but I was happy to get a 1/4 mile time for my car, I now have a baseline to improve on.

Steve

I am annoyed i had to work again and missed it all! to all those who raced and those who attended please keep doing it as our small group need to stick together! Please post any results and pics and stories as i want and need to hear them! thanks to all who attended!

silver wrote:

Grey Ghost wrote:Silver you are a troll. Why do you bother to to post on a drag racing site for VW's and then critisise VW drag racing? Have you got nothing to do tonight? No cartoons on TV?
MODERATORS GET RID OF HIM

so all opinions must be in favour of and supportive
or they are not appreciated…
then sorry
I'll try again..gee the VW racing was great this year only 6 seconds off the pace

Silver you're an idiot, what you're doing is like walking into Harlem and saying you hate black people... And telling Henry to grow up?? The man is the best ambassador for our sport we have, he's made more bogans look twice at a Vw than any of us! If you don't like Vw drag racing, get out of the Vw drag racing section of the forum... Or join in, maybe you can make it more exciting?

Grey Ghost wrote:Silver you are a troll. Why do you bother to to post on a drag racing site for VW's and then critisise VW drag racing? Have you got nothing to do tonight? No cartoons on TV?
MODERATORS GET RID OF HIM

👍 +1

People you're playing into his hands by feeding his self gratification in pushing peoples buttons and watching the fall out.
The way I look at it with a Volksy you get value for money...it's not over in 5secs.

Are we feeding a troll, I think we are, Sliver is a friend of mine buts he's wrong on this

Then as a friend Steve, have a quiet chat with him.

Hi Andrew
Will put up our slow video's of us racing soon. It was heaps of fun.😂😂

Idiot, Troll, Wanker, sure I did not expect to get anything but a rise out of here, but still its an opinion, good, bad or otherwise,
"If you did not go don't comment"( expletive omitted) does that apply to all the other comments of non attendees or just the ones you don't agree with
I only hope that others peoples comments are not treated equally.
Some of you showed class and read my comments for what they were a Stir. the others well ??????????
so I guess I am wrong, and see the point, that to those who enjoy it, even billy cart races are fun.

don't know what a troll is exactly…...

Steve and I had three goals for the weekends racing in our cars "Beetle Juice" and the "Grey Ghost".
1. That the rain holds out and we get to both race our cars after the 900kms drive up from Melbourne. DONE!
2. That at the end of the day we havent broken either car and they drive up on our trailers on thier own power. DONE!
3. That we have both have run an 11 second passes and done it side by side. We ran on our second qualifiers 12.1. & 11.9 missed it by that much! (add the times togehter and dived them by two prehaps?)

Allways the next time. We enjoyed pitting with our fellow Victorians Barry and Darcey in the back Essex Bros Turbo Beetle. Track was very slippery by the end of the day with lots of oil downs making for driving staight a little more difficult. Still heaps of fun. Congratulations to the class winners as they worked so very hard and drove so very well with difficult track conditions to get the wins, they earnt it.
Thanks to Craig and the crew from Sydney for a great event again.

Cheers
Andrew

Video of Andrew and I

Hi Rose,
Fantastic video. You so badly need a stage brake. You will pick up heaps of time on the launch because you can load the clutch up and rev the motor up on to boost without creeping out of stage. Nice footwork all the same! Good racing young lady!

Ian make a note: Staging brake before next event.

great day

silver, i didnt quite catch your race number in all the posts ?
OH you havent got one , how silly of me to think you were smart enough to drive in a straight line
so just FUCK OFF

Grey Ghost wrote:Hi Rose,
Fantastic video. You so badly need a stage brake. You will pick up heaps of time on the launch because you can load the clutch up and rev the motor up on to boost without creeping out of stage. Nice footwork all the same! Good racing young lady!

Ian make a note: Staging brake before next event.

.
its good to see the difference in speed and distance of a 13s and 11s car on the track in real time .

stoker wrote:silver, i didnt quite catch your race number in all the posts ?
OH you havent got one , how silly of me to think you were smart enough to drive in a straight line
so just FUCK OFF

I hardly ever look at this place. But when I do, there's always gold from Dave.

HS618 wrote:Grow old - inevitable, grow up - never - it's more fun!!

absolutely Henry !! very well said and very well supported ....

this guy is just another toolbag that shouldn't be on this forum and is a disgrace to the VW community in general .... this incident has been formally reported and should be taken care of ....

What you blokes were doing on the weekend WAS the real drag racing.
Group 1 in Australia long ago became a money-making circus for the Promoters with hardly any innovation left any more.

Keep racing and having fun. After over 30 years of racing my jaw still drops when I see first hand just how fast these funny-looking little things can go.........
🤪

Silver, I think it's time for an apology, not so much for your opinion whether agreeable or not but for the way it's was forwarded.

Inclining that Henry is childish and should grow up doesn't sit well with all of us who are passionate about VWs.

I agree with having an opinion and this being a public forum we are all entitled to it, but blatant sledging especially when not on friendly basis needs to be toned down especially when we all have different levels of Honey Badger Syndrome.

Nothing beats a good man hug after a fight........

fish26 wrote:Silver, I think it's time for an apology, not so much for your opinion whether agreeable or not but for the way it's was forwarded.

Inclining that Henry is childish and should grow up doesn't sit well with all of us who are passionate about VWs.

I agree with having an opinion and this being a public forum we are all entitled to it, but blatant sledging especially when not on friendly basis needs to be toned down especially when we all have different levels of Honey Badger Syndrome.

Nothing beats a good man hug after a fight........

My original post was general in its nature and did not point out any one individual or imply that those who participate are to be ridiculed..
My comment to Henry was intended tongue in cheek.
I did not think Henry took it too seriously, and made a witty reply, but if he did, I apologise
what has surprised me is the Hate, my post was never hateful.. it is my opinion, and I will fight to defend my and your right to an opinion……..
never was my post aggressive or personal but the replies have been……
I hope none of you ever post something like…. I think beam VW'S drive like crap, and should be obsolete….and then get replies to the tune of ...Fuck off, Wanker, Idiot, Troll, Toolbag, Keep your comments to your self..ect act.
It would be a Sad forum should that be the case.. and many of you have shown this to actually be so…
I don't think my behaviour is or should be deemed reportable, maybe if people read my words instead of the returning comments, those of you who are not struggling to reach triple digit IQ's will see there was no hate or venom in my post It just had a flavour many did not like..
If you wish to make a personal attack please don't limit it to the keyboard I will avail myself to hear your opinions anytime…
Silver

next topic please🙅

A video of my run with Cindy from WPVW

I for one think a few people need a teaspoon of cement lol

Had a great day in my Watercooler GTI Golf. Managed a best of 14.791 @ 96mph
Thanks to the organisers, will be back next year for sure!

A video of Birchall & I

A big thanks to Craig for organizing a fantastic event on Saturday, I had a good time.

I enjoyed giving my Hillclimb Bug a blast down the 1/4 mile, although as I suspected, my Hillclimb specific gearing isn,t to drag friendly.

My best time was a 13.4 sec pass, here is an in car of my solo pass.



Cheers Col

video of Michael and I

WPVW short burn out clip

rose wrote:WPVW short burn out clip

thanks to Craig Hughes
Editor / Part-time Drag Racer of
VWMA and the sponsor for organising the
VW Sydney Showdown 2014
We added a few vids that we took of some of our racers for people that didn't go
, they are a hit on FB
cheers ian.mezz

I Hope that some of you learn from this recent example of forum madness, here is the exchange between Henry and Myself and as I expected He is a class act

Dear Henry,
please accept this, my formal apology, if you were personally offended by my post. It's content was general in nature and was not intended to cause any hurt to any one individual, I actually giggled at your witty reply as I too will never grow up..
Hope you are ok and again no offence intended
Yours Sincerely
Wayne (Silver)

Wayne,
Please don't apologise as no offence was taken by me. I'm disappointed that it's gone this far.
Giving up is my way of saying I don't agree with the strength, impact and speed that the social media has on individuals as there are always going to be some people offended at what other people say on forums. Maybe my actions may make others think (just a little) before making comments. It's a personal stand to say I don't have to be part of it. I apologise if I inadvertently fuelled this wildfire of comment
It's hard to put into words but I've just had enough of the crap that goes on.
I have no issues if you post this
Regards -H


Thank you, Henry for your generous sentiment, yes some people take it too far..I am a cheeky bugger I know, but the inbreds just get so upset
Wayne.

THE END.

Group hug

rose wrote:A video of Birchall & I

Shit Rose, he had nearly half track start on you. Had you got away quicker on the green, I think the result would be different 😂😂😂

I also had a great day watching, thanks to all competing and the organizers/workers.

Kev

Camo wrote:

rose wrote:A video of Birchall & I

Shit Rose, he had nearly half track start on you. Had you got away quicker on the green, I think the result would be different 😂😂😂



I also had a great day watching, thanks to all competing and the organizers/workers.

Kev

yeah she had to give him a big head start , the old bugger.😊

yes I had a shocker all day with poor reaction times. I normally have a lot better reaction times but that's what happens on less than 5 hours sleep. There's always next time.

Have to let the old bugger win some times😂

Camo wrote:

rose wrote:A video of Birchall & I

Shit Rose, he had nearly half track start on you. Had you got away quicker on the green, I think the result would be different 😂😂😂

I also had a great day watching, thanks to all competing and the organizers/workers.

Kev

😂

Yeah thanks to Craig for getting the weather right this time 😉

I had a good time, even though i had an exhaust stud come loose on my first run and limit my races. Still managed to win 2 out of 3 races somehow with a back-firing exhaust and a bogged launch. 🤪 The first race by luck and the third thanks to my opponents red light. At least i got to sit down and enjoy watching the other racers for a while before limping the bug home early, scaring other road users with gunshots and a flaming exhaust.

Here's a vid of my first run.

Sounds and looks like it was a great event. Sorry I couldn't make it....bring on Warwick!

Silver,
I am not sure what you expected bringing a cat to a dog show, however for me it was exciting to see the passion some people have for VW drag racing finally come thru.

I am relatively new to the community and must admit leaving the event a little flat and regrettably disappointed.

The low attendance and the segregated pit area were not a post card for a thriving Vw drag racing community.

So thankyou Silver, I thought the ship was sinking.

Phil

Craig must have been praying to the sun gods for weeks, the weather was perfect and the racing was close.

Hearing from racers the track was pretty dirty and we didn't see the Tractor come out once, luckily there were no accidents from the inconsistent track and Im sure everyone had fun.

Commiserations to those who suffered mechanical gremlins but I guess such is the nature of the beast.

Wayne and Henry, both you guys are class acts in your own way and I personally appreciate and respect you both, it takes true men to overcome and admit differences of opinion and I'm expecting to see more apologies on this forum and less bullying and personal attacks as its easy to hide behind a keyboard and let obscenities fly.

Hi All,

Mmm, some interesting discussion afoot about the Sydney drags.

This is only the second year for the event (and not consecutive years), and there is still much to do to promote and improve the day. I noticed a comment about 'the ship sinking', which is a rather short sighted take on the event.

Where is there another one make drag racing event in Australia that can attract 87 drag cars? There were also at least 30 other cars not present, due mainly to funding/holiday shortages from last year's rained out debacle, so there is definitely a thriving VW drag racing scene. I guess it depends on whether you are a half full or half empty glass personality. Personally, I'm having a great time watching so many VW people enjoy the series.

I spoke to Sydney Dragway management today and they are of the same opinion - they want the VW event on their calendar and they are very keen to help with promotion for future events. They understood the problems associated with last year's non-event and have been through the same scenario themselves.

Major sponsor partner XForce loved the day and are committed for future events, and of course Brad Young from Westside Mufflers has always been a big supporter and has made the series a success. The Flat 4 Club of Sydney hosted the show'n'shine for the first time this year and have now offered to make the Sydney Drag Day their new club show'n'shine event, something they have not held for many years. This will also incorporate a swap meet.

It's all positive and full-on. And of course Warwick is the next big VW drag racing event on the calendar. My only ask would be to see as many VW drag racers make the effort each year to attend the two rounds. I estimate a field of 130 each time if this were to happen. Let's aim for Warwick 2014 as the best show of strength yet (which includes me getting my finger out and finishing the dragster).

See you on the track

Cheers
Craig Hughes
Editor/Part-Time Drag Racer

Good points Craig...I'm disappointed I couldn't make the journey south as I appreciate those that come north for Warwick. I'll be there with bells on even with the Jamboree only 2 weeks prior. Keep up the great work.

Philm wrote:The low attendance and the segregated pit area were not a post card for a thriving Vw drag racing community.

Phil

Sorry I didn't leave the pit area, weren't the public allowed into the pits?

1303Steve wrote:

Philm wrote:The low attendance and the segregated pit area were not a post card for a thriving Vw drag racing community.

Phil

Sorry I didn't leave the pit area, weren't the public allowed into the pits?

I thought public could go anywhere except for the start line. I walked all over and didnt see anyone looking to control entry.

No, the pits were open to the public. I went through them several times without any hassles.

It was great to see all this stuff & meet these great people in person - I don't often get the chance.

Bloody well done Craig and everyone else involved.

yeah Sydney drags are good as you can walk amoungst the race cars and talk to all the drivers, crew etc
the only place that you can not go is under the tunnel to the stagging lanes.

Excellent Craig,
Sure didn't look like 87 cars so, yes me looking at the glass half full.

Well to be a bit clearer I was commenting on the competition type cars, I know there are more out their and wonder why they do not take this unique opportunity to run at a VW only event.

Understand the rain outs take time to recover, a 3 day cobra event I managed was rained out 4 years in a row. It takes 10 times the effort to get it back on track.

Maybe segregation is the wrong word, but we are definitely not one big happy family. I understand there are reasons and history but it would be good to see some bridges mended.

My fear was that the Sydney event may die due to lack of support, but very happy to be proven wrong.

I just hope the community see what a great event they have here and support it.

Phil

I race my 13 sec bug and never feel out of place as everyone makes me feel that I belong. And we don't spend a heap of money and we still have heaps of fun.

I still had time to stir up the boys with some competitive banter 😂

There's always a better atmosphere when it's more than a 1 day event as you have more time to go have a chin wag to all the other crews. But it's still a good day out.

80 odd cars is a great turn out for a VW race event.

Well done Craig bring on Warwick the 3 day VW Drag racing event.

Just combine the Drags and the VW Nationals and make one awesome VW weekend event 😉

Hey Craig did the dude from QLD catch up with you at the track that had some VW parts for you??

Craig Torrens wrote:Just combine the Drags and the VW Nationals and make one awesome VW weekend event 😉

Craig Torrens wrote:Just combine the Drags and the VW Nationals and make one awesome VW weekend event 😉

Then it will rain for sure

Rose,
I always enjoy your enthusiasm for drag racing and look forward to your pictures and posts.

I am not sure why you would mention costs as you have mentioned it doesn't cost alot to participate and have fun. I have definitely never said Craig has done a bad job, it was actually the opposite just concerned the community were not there to support it. 80 is a great number but as Craig has mention at 130 cars would be incredible.

The VW community is broad from Modern water cooled, to vintage beetles. I love them all but with anything prefer the competition type cars and that is where I thought the support was lacking. There are many reasons for this and I too should have had my car ready and competing.

I never feel out of place, and certainly everyone made you feel welcome, but that's not what I am on about.

I do take my hat off to Craig as it is not easy doing what he is doing, and for the record I am actually a sponsor so I hope you see that I support Craig and what he is doing.



Phil

Hi Phil

Sorry I misunderstood what you where trying to get across, yes it is a shame that a lot more people don't support these events, as it takes a lot of effort and time to organise one.

I'm just saying that anyone can enter there car you don't have to have a full on drag car to get out there and have some fun.

Anyone can get out there and have a go and do a 18sec pass, still have fun and could even win as well.

Can't wait till Warwick.

rose wrote:Hey Craig did the dude from QLD catch up with you at the track that had some VW parts for you??

Craig Torrens wrote:Just combine the Drags and the VW Nationals and make one awesome VW weekend event 😉

Yes thanks Rose 😘

rose wrote:I'm just saying that anyone can enter there car you don't have to have a full on drag car to get out there and have some fun.

Anyone can get out there and have a go and do a 18sec pass, still have fun and could even win as well.

But also, maybe they shouldn't...
It's a fine line between encouraging enough people to enter to make an event viable and profitable and encouraging things which harm the outcome and or enjoyment of the event.

Mud tyres, axle-tramping and poor fluid containment are good examples. Every time a poorly set up car leaves the line banging the rear axles up and down it is pulling up patches of good surface from the track, likewise mud tyres doing it all the way down the length of the racing surface.

Fluid loss can happen to well built cars as well as others, but the majority of losses come from cars that have little to no preparation to run on a drag strip.

A quarter mile may only be twice the distance of an eighth, but the stresses on the car are over the distance are of a higher magnitude. A car "handling" abuse over an eighth may not hold together so well over the quarter.

So while anyone can enter and have fun, please, talk to people who race regularly and have invested heavily in the sport, or even better, have them look over your car and advise.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I agree 100% as much as Craig does an exellent job organizing these events its not all about the number of cars entered but the way cars are prepped for the race track.......a dirty track must be scary when you're in a sub 12sec car

Just combine the Drags and the VW Nationals and make one awesome VW weekend event 😉

WHY you wont attend anyway so what does it matter

vw54 wrote:

Just combine the Drags and the VW Nationals and make one awesome VW weekend event 😉

WHY you wont attend anyway so what does it matter

and thereby for your own good Craig don't comment

Tugger

Wow, I miss one event and you guys start ripping each others throats out. What the hell's going on, take a big breath and calm down.😂

Craig Torrens wrote:Just combine the Drags and the VW Nationals and make one awesome VW weekend event 😉

Like the idea but can't shake the mental image of all us circuit guys getting to turn 1 at WSID an not knowing where the rest of the track is? Drag racers never make turn 2 cause too busy repacking chutes, show car guys too worried they don't have the precious Fairfield showground roof to protect all the trailer queen rides from daylight & QLD guys be like not 1/8th mile WTF? 🤪

Looking forward to any future VW motorsport event (except motorkhana in a swing axle beetle...)

i like how the sword on this forum only has one edge favouring certain number of people.

Having the Nationals combined with Drag and Circuit racing at THE ONE LOCATION over a weekend makes the most sense by far.

Birchill, I think you should let go of your ego and actually pay some attention especially when contributing patrons pay for the privilege of being involved in the community.

So worked up right now, i better leave before i really express myself and GET REPORTED for profanity and personal attacks.

Hi

It would be great idea to have everything together on the one weekend.

Couple things that would chuck a spanner in the works.

One is the weather, Fairfield Show ground is completely under cover, who remembers going to soggy Nationals over the years? Club Vee Dub make a modest profit out of the VW Nationals, a rained out, outdoor event with poor attendance would put the club into such a poor financial position that future Nationals might not go ahead. That would leave Sydney apart the VW Showdown without any major VW event.

Flat Four are doing a good job running the show n shine at the VW Showdown, where would that leave them if the two events were combined.

The other is we've been trying to hire Eastern Creek for our VW Nationals Supersprint for a few years with no luck, hopefully with the new track at Luddenham becoming available soon we could move our VW Nationals Supersprint to there.

If we were able to hire Eastern Creek our club members would have to step up a notch to get flaggies etc to run the event. If we did manage to hire Eastern Creek the date is not set in concrete, if they get a better offer we would get the flick and then have no venue for the Supersprint

fish26, I'm not sure if your a Club Vee Dub member, if you are or wish to join we could always use more people wishing to make the VW Nationals a success into the future.

Steve Carter, President Club Vee Dub Sydney

Maybe we should start a new thread with ideas on how to turn the Nationals into a World Class Event?

And no, I won't be joining a club whose president drives a Subaru powered beetle as nice as it may be.

Crikey!.......How do you feel now, Steve? 🙄

Well form your own club and run your own VW show, good luck

He'll need a bit more than "good luck", I feel.

In my mind, cars are only 'bits of tin'.......it's the people that make a good club. Keep up the good work Steve.👍

I'm with you Ben. Sh*ts me when you see 'clubs' and their hierarchy believing they are the be all and end all of the scene...

Your all welcome to join

sauron wrote:Wow, I miss one event and you guys start ripping each others throats out. What the hell's going on, take a big breath and calm down.😂

.
Hi sauron
You missed out on some good racing , Rose was disappointed that she didn’t get to race you .
It's just the usual chat that happens after a car event , some one always can do it different or better.
Dave b and Craig T are just two vw car guys that are passionate about their hobbies. 🤪
Most of us on this forum have worked out ,just best to ignore post by female/male? user names silver
cheers ian
catch up with you at Warwick.

Combining the VW Nationals with the VW drags is not a new idea. It was the first thing I discussed with Club VeeDub when Sydney Dragway approached me to bring the drags to NSW in 2012. A whole host of logistical issues made the union not feasible, but both parties did try.

The washout of 2013 is another good reason why Club VeeDub wisely chose to stay at Fairfield. Club VeeDub relies heavily on its annual show for revenue. The washout was unfortunate for the drags, but as the series is not designed to generate an income for VWMA (cover costs only), the event was able to eventually recover from Warwick and this years Sydney event. For Club VeeDub it would have been a total disaster.

If we all supported the shows that come to our home town, or even beyond, then there would be no need for these discussions.

Well said Craig and as for revenue its not like were making bucket loads of money, but we do give a fair amount away to charities and member benefits

Well , I am a little disappointed in my results for last weekends event . I went into the event with high expectations of my first 7 second pass after the good success on my last outing in Adelaide .

After Adelaide the engine was freshened and the same tune installed for Sydney as a start . I found the track surface to be very slippery and in turn I had no grip . I managed to get the car down the track on my first pass with a 1.37 in the 60 ft , 5.79 @ 129 1/2 track and an 8.74 @ 158 by the end .


On my 2nd pass I managed to get about 300 ft out and blew the manifold apart at the silicon joins . This was the first time that I have had an issue with the intake manifold . The tune up was modified to supply a little more power .


On the 3rd pass I got to about the same place on the track and again blew the manifold apart . This time on a closer inspection the cast IDA manifolds that bolt to the heads have cracked and broken beyond repair . I have been through the data and at this stage I will blame the tyre shake for the damage to the manifold and not the modified tune . I will now make a new inlet manifold that bolts directly to the heads and get rid of the IDA manifolds . I will also back off the clutch a little as it is a bit too harsh at the moment .

I will try to do all of this and maybe head out for a test in about a month or so .
Well done to Craig for the event , ROD.

We are pretty stoked about both our cars performances at Sydney despite the track being slippery in the latter part of the day but we still had some very good runs.

Steve is keen to get out again while the weather holds out here in sunny Melbourne so we might go to Calder on Friday next week for the street meet. It’s nowhere near as good as racing with our fellow VW as we have to put up with a lot idiots in street cars who just give us “shit” about our Beetles but we soon wipe the smiles of their faces when they run 14s’in their souped up “street” Commodore’s and XR Falcons and we running flat 12’s or high 11’s.

I would much rather VW only events but we can’t have them all the time. It’s always going to be a big ask to get 100 plus VW of any configuration to race on a one day event regardless of the racing discipline.

Craig dose an excellent job getting the event together and making it work with the 90 odd cars this year after last year’s two rained out dates. I have been to many bigger events with 150 plus cars and I got to say it gets rushed and you are lucky to get 4 or more passes. They wait for nobody and if your class is called up and you don’t front in the staging lane in due time, bad luck!


I will always keep going to the VW only events whenever they are organized because I much rather race against guy and girls who share the same passion as me.

I going to sound greedy but I would rather not have drag racing at the nationals over the two days because I like taking my other VW’s to the show, swapping and buying VW bits, I couldn’t do both on the same weekend successfully.

Keep up the good work Craig.
Cheers

Hi ! all .. why was the track so shit , Graig H may fill in . Even a poor track should be able to hold most of our cars I'm glad i didn't go , if the track crew aren't looking after the racers and there safety , Thats a huge No No , only volkswagen's cars thinking . ( hope not )

How was everyone treated by track officials ? heard there was few things ,it maybe one guy . Was it true no burnouts accross start line ? No spread of rubber , No fun , is it a time issue ?
These meetings become a real chore , if the track , officials try to run the event like a huge ANDRA meet , Portland track really wanted us there , witch gives the event great feeling to attend . I feel Sydney couldn't care less , Yes i have race at Craigs Sydney event .

Maybe it would be good , for Craig to here's what guys & Girls , racers are thinking !

Hi

I found the track officials to be nothing but courteous, but then I didn't do anything to give them the shits, one even came to find me when I didn't show for the finals as I thought I had been eliminated.

I thought burnouts past the start were OK for quicker cars, maybe I miss heard that.

Steve

Yep, found the track officials great.

Dak-A-Tak wrote:Hi ! all .. why was the track so shit , Graig H may fill in . Even a poor track should be able to hold most of our cars I'm glad i didn't go , if the track crew aren't looking after the racers and there safety , Thats a huge No No , only volkswagen's cars thinking . ( hope not )

How was everyone treated by track officials ? heard there was few things ,it maybe one guy . Was it true no burnouts accross start line ? No spread of rubber , No fun , is it a time issue ?
These meetings become a real chore , if the track , officials try to run the event like a huge ANDRA meet , Portland track really wanted us there , witch gives the event great feeling to attend . I feel Sydney couldn't care less , Yes i have race at Craigs Sydney event .

Maybe it would be good , for Craig to here's what guys & Girls , racers are thinking !

Peter the track went off due to some delays with oil downs. At events like track championships you get more cars that are faster that help develop a groove in the track that provides better traction, this doesn't occur at any vw event as we have a larger proportion of street car out there having some fun. It certainly doesnt happen at warwick and i would be more concerned about safety issues by track officials there rather than sydney.

I know that a few of us did raise the track condition with track officials and the ANDRA official. The decision was made by a few people to no longer to continue running in those conditions.

I fully support anyone who puts there hand up and says i'm not racing as its too slippery. It certainly takes more balls to say enough is enough rather than go out and risk putting yourself in to the wall or worse still hit another car.

Peter, are you able to do across the line burnouts at willowbank? Sydney doesnt allow it and frankly it isnt needed as there is a large enough area to continue your burnout after the water. Warwick is a different track and they dont have the room between the burnout area and the start line to pull up in a controlled manner. I believe the only 2 cars that in regular competition that would be allowed to do burnouts across the line would be Wayne Penrose and Rod Penrose and that would be due to the category there vehicles are tech'd in and they race in.

The Sydney track officials were great and I wasn't aware that there was any kind of issue. You can understand there frustration though when cars that do break don't get off the racing surface but continue to drive down the track to get off at the first gate after the finish line. The officials worked hard to get us back racing again.

Perhaps we need a greater introduction or driver briefing for those who aren't regular racers to understand the importance of preparation and awareness of track processes to make these days go smoother. I understand things happen that get over looked, a line not quite done up properly, blowing out a rocker cover gasket etc, but the better prepared everyone is the less wasted time we have track day.

I have no doubt after speaking with officials that they are very supportive of our event and our cars.

Thanks to Craig for organizing the event. It isn't easy coordinating these types of things particularly from interstate.

well said Darren

Fear of breaking the gearbox in No.8 Beetle has kept me from competing at drag race events. Now that Dangerous Dave has 'beefed up' the box, this could change....although I may have trouble keeping the thing in a staight line. 😂

My experience with officials at the race meetings I have driven in, is that mostly they do a wonderfull - but often thankless - job.

A pat on the back is far more effective than a kick in the arse. 👍 [And that applies to most things....not just drag race officials].

fish26 wrote:Having the Nationals combined with Drag and Circuit racing at THE ONE LOCATION over a weekend makes the most sense by far.

You couldn't be more wrong. I speak from experience. Organising far larger events with more drag cars, and even with more than one day of racing has shown that neither the racers, car show-ers or spectators are truly satisfied...
Each detracts attention from the other. The car show will never be more than a side show to the racing. Even holding the show n' shine after the end of racing, still gets less attention than it deserves.

Even if the events are held on successive days, one or the other will suffer. A big day at the races means a lot of people won't bother to front a second day for another event.

The best thing for both events is to have them spread apart. There is more chance of people supporting them and enjoying them, meaning they will come back again next time.

I disagree with you.............................Moderators, can we please start a new thread about Improving the Nationals and move some of the posts to the new thread?

HotRodMatt wrote:

fish26 wrote:Having the Nationals combined with Drag and Circuit racing at THE ONE LOCATION over a weekend makes the most sense by far.

You couldn't be more wrong. I speak from experience. Organising far larger events with more drag cars, and even with more than one day of racing has shown that neither the racers, car show-ers or spectators are truly satisfied...
Each detracts attention from the other. The car show will never be more than a side show to the racing. Even holding the show n' shine after the end of racing, still gets less attention than it deserves.

Even if the events are held on successive days, one or the other will suffer. A big day at the races means a lot of people won't bother to front a second day for another event.

The best thing for both events is to have them spread apart. There is more chance of people supporting them and enjoying them, meaning they will come back again next time.

I better ring these guys up and tell them their event formula is wrong then.

http://www.bugjam.co.uk/index.php

http://www.goodwood.co.uk/festival-of-speed/welcome.aspx

http://www.summernats.com.au/pages/?ParentPageID=80&PageID=81

Small event thinking, will always produce small events.

I think the Jamboree is a pretty good formula....It gets huge crowds not solely because of the drag racing but for all the side events. Half the people wouldn't be there if it wasn't for the sound off, show"n"shine, girls etc. While they're not my cup of tea (except maybe the girls) they ultimately add to the atmosphere not to mention the promoters profits.

Stanley even the jambo is going back to a one day format as of this year from what I've read. Ray box did a questionnaire and general response was back to one day event, no bikes and no V8's.

LIFE IN THE LOW LANE wrote:Stanley even the jambo is going back to a one day format as of this year from what I've read. Ray box did a questionnaire and general response was back to one day event, no bikes and no V8's.

2014 Sydney Jamboree

15 March 2014
9:00am - 7:00pm

who's going

LIFE IN THE LOW LANE wrote:Stanley even the jambo is going back to a one day format as of this year from what I've read. Ray box did a questionnaire and general response was back to one day event, no bikes and no V8's.

Regardless of how many days it runs for, look at the formula they use. Its not just a drag event.

They have now expanded into area's such as drifting and have also brought the Dyno back.

Have a read at the below link.......they are clearly innovative in their format and want to expand the event to appeal to a broader mix of people.

http://jamboree.com.au/news/item220.php

Not only do they have a successful formula of combining Drag racing with a Carshow, they are now adding other exciting motoring disciplines too. 👍

Craig Torrens wrote:I better ring these guys up and tell them their event formula is wrong then.

http://www.bugjam.co.uk/index.php

http://www.goodwood.co.uk/festival-of-speed/welcome.aspx

http://www.summernats.com.au/pages/?ParentPageID=80&PageID=81

Small event thinking, will always produce small events.

Hi Craig

Only problem with using those examples is our small population compared to the UK and the easy travel between mainland Europe and the UK, both these things would make for very good crowd numbers and participants.

Summer Nats, I don't know how successful their formula would be with one make of car that we have.

Steve

LIFE IN THE LOW LANE wrote:Stanley even the jambo is going back to a one day format as of this year from what I've read. Ray box did a questionnaire and general response was back to one day event, no bikes and no V8's.

Yep...I voted Brendan...but this was purely a racing decision. Fast fours and rotaries...Where do bikes and V8s belong in this mix. My point was that it doesn't hurt to have something else to lure people through the gate...if fooly sic sub woofers and shiny cars do this great, does it mean I get less racing as a result...not in this case...bikes and V8s...yes

Its pissing down now, looks like we dodged a bullet last weekend, I was going out to see Rose run her green bug at the day of the drags but I'm sure it been cancelled

I see on facebook that Rose had a picture of her & the splitty at the pits, and saying that it was a bit wet today, back tomorrow.

colin wrote:A big thanks to Craig for organizing a fantastic event on Saturday, I had a good time.

I enjoyed giving my Hillclimb Bug a blast down the 1/4 mile, although as I suspected, my Hillclimb specific gearing isn,t to drag friendly.

My best time was a 13.4 sec pass, here is an in car of my solo pass.



Cheers Col

Cool run Col!
Really ran out of ratio in the top end, as you say.
What was the speed?

Looks like most cars ran as good as they could
given the conditions.
Glad the weather held out for everyone!

dangerous wrote:

colin wrote:A big thanks to Craig for organizing a fantastic event on Saturday, I had a good time.

I enjoyed giving my Hillclimb Bug a blast down the 1/4 mile, although as I suspected, my Hillclimb specific gearing isn,t to drag friendly.

My best time was a 13.4 sec pass, here is an in car of my solo pass.



Cheers Col

Cool run Col!
Really ran out of ratio in the top end, as you say.
What was the speed?

Looks like most cars ran as good as they could
given the conditions.
Glad the weather held out for everyone!

Thanks Dave, shame you couldn,t make it, she stopped at 94mph and I mean stopped! a 350mtr strip would have been perfect. LOL

Cheers Col