Err, maybe not.........My Grand daughter has a cheer leading competition in San Antonio that same Saturday..... ou: One of these days i'll be able to make it to on of these events for a little :3gears: Until then I guess it's just gonna be :ball: Harry
I'll be there with the GSX hopefully. It's been running real hard, but started giving me valve noise today. Think I may have boogered up a set of rockers. I'll have it ready in time though. I need to get a set of 15x8s and BFG Drags on order for the festivities!!! With any luck I'll get a set of time slips this year.
Turned out to be a collapsed lifter. A set is on the way from TA. If I don't blow the rear end out of the car doing these 0-100 runs as often as I do I'll be around to find my way down the track. Can't wait to finally have something to run.
Temple Could someone post the location of Temple. Are you talking about Temple, TX, the town? I may have my 64 completed by then. It would be no match for any of you, but it sounds like fun. Thanks, Karl
Karl it is just outside the Town of Temple TX. Where HK Dodgen(sp.) loop meets 95 and drive south about 3+ miles and it will be on the right side of the road. if you need any help let us know. I will post a pic soon.
Just as an FYI to the Buick members, I have spoken with Phil about coinciding an Oldsmobile get together on this same date at the track. So far I have about 10 cars lined up to come out with another five or so maybe's. Hopefully, I will be able to get some more Oldsmobiles lined up by December. If any of you guys know any Olds or Pontiac owners or frequent a Pontiac board :Comp: , you might try to get them to come out so we can flood the field with BOP power and have some cool non-cheby/furd cars to look at. I know I am very much looking forward to this event. I just wish it was not three months away. Ben
Hi all, Since I can't make it to this get together either :ball: , could someone post or send me pics of the event ?? Ben, not sure if you know Ali from www.Texas442.com , but you can contact him if Phil hasn't yet. Wish I could be there to :3gears: Harry EDIT: just checked the page, I guess they reworked it, no email address...Phil could prolly put you in touch with Ali.....
Thanks for the suggestion Harry. I already posted a note on the local AustinOlds listserve that Ali runs. Ben
Phil, Have you heard about this. http://www.templeacademy.com/ CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE Due to circumstances beyond our control, Temple Academy Dragway will be closed until further notice. We apologize to all the racers and fans that things have had to go this way, but there comes a point in time where enough is enough, and we passed that point months ago. First of all, I want to thank all the racers and fans that have heard through the grapevine whats going on for lending us their support. Also, to our bracket racers, especially those interested in going to the Bracket Finals. We apologize for the bad timing of all of this, but we were at a critical point, and something had to be done. Please understand, that we have PLENTY of time for us to resolve this issue and make the Bracket Finals, but the ball is not in my court right now. I enjoyed the event last year more than any other race Ive attended, and I looked forward to racing in it this year myself as an alternate. Please know we will do everything in our power to make sure we make it to the Bracket Finals. So that the rumors and gossip dont get completely out of hand, Ill give a brief synopsis of where we are and how we got here. First of all, let me be the first to say that none of this is anyones business. However, theres no way that I can allow one side of a story be presented that is so skewed from the facts without having our own side known. So while many of you may not have heard any of this, there have been enough who have to warrant a rebuttal on our part. As many of you know, we took over this track from Ms. Tomastik back in May of last year. Well, at the time of the initial purchase agreement we were given figures as to what the track produced for revenue, and what was expected to be the "typical" income for the track on a monthly basis. These facts were supported by a ledger and an official P&L that is used when filing income tax for a business. Based off of the income statement and supporting information provided to us a purchase price was agreed upon, and the terms of the purchase were established. Our initial plan was to file the purchase agreement with the title company, and then plan to close on the property sometime in late June or early July. On a purchase like this it takes some time for the title insurance to be drawn up, deed records checked, liens verified, etc. Well, Ms. Tomastik wanted out of the track as quickly as possible, and we figured it would probably be a good idea for us to get into the business as soon as possible. So a lease agreement with a mandatory purchase was drawn up based on the terms we established during negotiations for the purchase. We took over in mid-May and it only took us about 3 weeks of operation to realize that we were either doing something horribly wrong, or the income figures we were provided were greatly exaggerated by Ms. Tomastik. Having entered into the lease agreement actually ended up being a huge benefit to us, because it afforded some flexibility on our part when it came to the point where we actually closed on the purchase of the property. Instead of being locked into a mortgage that was based on inaccurate information, we could renegotiate the purchase price as more accurate income statements became available. The longer we ran the track, the clearer the picture became as to what the track really generated for income. By October of 2004, we informed Ms. Tomastik that there was no way we could continue operating the track under the purchase agreement we originally signed, because the income the track generated was no where near what she stated it to be. This is after we saw spectator counts here that people hadn't seen in 20+ years. I think anyone who has been to one of our shows can attest to the fact that most of them draw some pretty large crowds. Yet even after cutting costs, trimming labor, and doing whatever possible to help our bottom line, we were still losing anywhere from $4,000 to $6,000 per month. These losses dont even include the money we lost guaranteeing the purse to our Sunday bracket racers at the time during our first 5 months of operation, but that was our own fault. We presented Ms. Tomastik with a proposal that would drop our payment significantly. This figure was still higher than what I felt the track was worth, but I wanted to be fair and I felt that our second year should be better than the first. We had most of Ft Hood deployed to Iraq, and the track was in a period of transition when most racers had already established a home track. She agreed to the lower price, but stated she needed the remaining down payment before it could go into effect. At that point we had advanced her so much of the down payment that we didnt owe her enough for her to clear up the liens she had on the property which would have further delayed the closing. We advanced her money for her half of the survey, to pay off her past-due bill to Accutime (so that Rusty could come out and replace the timing system when the existing one melted down after not even a month of running the track), and other misc. things. Well we worked out a deal that gave her not only the remaining down payment that was due but also an additional $35,000. This involved me purchasing the house and the surrounding land separately, so that she could get the additional money she needed. We even offered to pay the property taxes for her on not only the house, but the track as well (which equaled approx $5,000) if she just got us the new contract signed. Well we held to our end of the bargain and by March 4th she had all of the remaining down payment, plus the additional money. I told her specifically that when we closed on that portion of the purchase that our new payment would have to go into effect immediately. She seemed to understand and agree at the time, but now she says she didn't. I find it curious that she says she didnt agree to the new terms, yet she agreed to get the additional money down and allowed us to pay the taxes on the house and surrounding land without question. Well, it's been 6 months and she still has not given us the updated contract signed. So we have been paying her the reduced payment that we agreed upon since March, because as far as we were concerned the final closing on the remainder of the track was just a formality and really just consisted of paperwork to be completed by the title company. That is what we had agreed to do with her, and everything was going along fine. All that we had been obligated to pay had been paid and then some. There were some issues with the county when it came to getting the title policy (because the track actually used to belong to the county), but that had just recently been resolved. Now that we are close to FINALLY closing she has decided that she didn't agree to the terms we set forth back in the fall of last year, and that she didn't agree to the payment going down when the remaining down payment was paid to her back in March. So now that closing is coming about she is trying to say we are $35,000 + behind and that we have to pay her that before we can close. Not only has she informed us of this, but she has also spread the word that we are behind on our payments to other racers and stated to them that she is taking the track back. Nothing could be further from the truth. All I can say is, we have NEVER missed a payment, and we have NEVER paid her late. We aren't behind on anything. Should this matter be drawn out even further and a resolution failed to be reached, Ill gladly post a scanned copy of every check shes ever cashed from us, along with the contracts, letters, financial statements, and any and all other supporting documents. What I dont want is for things to get out of hand even further by Ms. Tomastik stating that we are the ones that havent kept our end of the bargain. Her continuing to do so, along with her stating she is taking the track back does not do anything but hurt the business we have been working so hard to build up. Now that the issue has been drawn out as long as it has, and the situation has gotten rather ugly, we have had to reevaluate our place here and decide whether or not its even worth it for us to stay. When I look at what Ive spent over the last 15 months, I could have put our Pro Mod back together, completely stocked with an inventory of parts, hired a crew chief and run for 3 full seasons and thats taking parts attrition into consideration. Maybe that would have been the smart thing to do. When I look at my other business, I can do more in 2 weeks than the track did in the last 4 months, with about 1% of the headache. These are just things that we have to take into consideration, and while we want to be here, and we want this to work, and we love the racers we also have to make sure that it is something worth doing. Putting up with all the garbage, the trash talk, the delays, etc. have not made this worthwhile at all. I hope the racers who complain, the people who gripe, and the ones who think everything we do is wrong realize that we arent doing this because its padding our pockets. This is not a goldmine by any means. We are doing this because its something we love to do. I love this track, and I always have. I grew up racing here. I think all we want to do is pay a fair price for it, and not feel like we are getting shafted. I dont think thats too much to ask. Granted, what the track makes now is much more than it made when we took over. But Im not buying it for what its worth now, thats a result of us busting our butts on it, Im buying it for what it was worth when Ms. Tomastik and I first sat down to negotiate a price. We have one final offer to her and its pretty much take it or leave it. I am absolutely inflexible on what we have offered her at this point. If she takes it, then things will pick up right where they left off and be better than ever. If she doesnt, then I dont know what to say. We tried. Its just gotten to the point where something had to be done, and this was the only way it was going to get done. Im serious enough about this that Im willing to shut the track down and walk away if necessary. I hope by the end of next week a resolution has been reached, and things can proceed from there. If not, then even though Ms. Tomastik has ownership of the property, I still have possession, which supercedes everything and the track will remain closed until an agreement is reached or we relinquish possession. I will not operate the track, hold any events, or invest anything further into the facility until this matter is resolved once and for all. I hope that everyone will understand our position, and while Im sure many of you are upset with us, please remember that we wouldnt be in this situation had we not been presented with information that was knowingly misrepresented from the very beginning. Thanks again for all the calls of support and offers of help, but right now there is nothing more that can be done. If and when the matter is resolved satisfactorily, then we will resume racing at once. We hope you understand. Thanks, Greg Duffield President - G.T. Motorsports, Inc.
Ok, I took a look at San Antonio Raceway They have nothing schedueled for December 3rd. I sent them an email to see if they could set that date as a street meet day. I will let everyone know once I hear something. :beer
Thats pretty crazy. Phil, let me know when you figure out what is going to happen so I can relay it to the ROP board. Ben
Darn. I like that place. The track in Seguin is very nice, but it is acres of paving without the homey feeling in Temple. In December it would be fine. :3gears: http://www.sanantonioraceway.com/sar_2005_schedule.htm Frank :beer
There's a 1/8-mile track here that's pretty nice...and their December schedule looks open. http://abilenedragstrip.com/index.html
