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 My Opinion - Gordyville 2009
January 19, 2009 05:16AM
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Moderator
Registered: 03/25/2008
Posts: 1,449
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The Midwest Winter Nationals 2009 [aka Gordyville] was a great success. In spite of the bone chilling weather, there seemed to have been very few no-show’s. In fact the crowds on both Friday and Saturday were SRO. Let’s start with the down side of the pull;
1; The show ran a little to long, I know with that many classes and that many tractors it does take time to get everyone down the track, however I wonder if there isn't ways to speed the show up a little.
2; After the afternoon session there should be a different way to sort out the people that have an evening ticket, rather than sending everyone out into the cold. Maybe have all the fans move to one side of the arena and then letting evening ticket holders back to the other side and letting the ones without evening tickets either purchase tickets or have them leave the building. There needs to be a better process in the frigid weather.
3; I’m not really sure why they run the finals in the order they do. I’m sure they have a very good reason, however has a fan I would like the see the NTPA/Outlaw SF’s and Pro Stocks run later in the show. I have nothing against the Pro Farm or Hot Farm [in fact I enjoy them] but I do feel that a show should build from lower HP to the strongest tractors in the show.
4; I think they are taking a little too long to pull the tractors off the track. I would like to see a sliding hitch on the pull-back tractors. That way the guy driving the pull-back tractor doesn’t have to spend time trying maneuver around the sand pile, just get close enough, pull the sliding hitch into place and hookup and pull the tractor off the track. I know 30 seconds doesn’t sound like much of a savings, however when you multiply it by 100 tractors per session you’re looking at almost an hour shorter session.
Now the upside of the pull;
1; As usual Gordyville had a vast number of top quality tractors in every class. If you like smoke this is the pull for you. With over 30 hours and almost 500 hooks of nonstop pulling in a total of five sessions, there's pulling enough for even the diehard fan.
2; The announcing was outstanding. Stacy and Art do a great job not only with information, but also who’s on the “bubble” and who the leaders are. The fan is never in the dark when it comes to information. This year Miles Krieger was also behind the mike and did a great job in Carl Downs’s absence. Miles not only has that legendary Krieger voice but has a vast knowledge of pulling vehicles. A great addition to the team! When Jake and I finally left the building after the finals Stacy was still talking!
3; All the many versions of the Limited PS, LL SS and Natural SS class are always very interesting.
4; Next to the NFMS track crew the Gordyville track crew was the best I’ve ever seen, fast, efficient and consistent.
5; The track was a power track that never changed hook after hook.
6; The sled and smoke machine were once again provided by Dave Hager of Patriot Motor Sports, and once again they were dead on with their sled settings, show after show Dave and crew perform flawlessly putting on shows that are fair, fast and exciting. Dave Hager is a true legend in the sport!
7; I like to call it the “Gordyville Experience”; there’s just something about this show that I really like. Maybe it’s the mix of classes, or the number of tractors, maybe its tractors that we don’t get to see very often, I’m not really sure what it is, however I know that I always look forward to the “Gordyville” event.
If you couldn’t make Gordyville or haven’t had enough pulling yet I would recommend the “Whatssmokin” 2009 Hoosier Invitational, in Cloverdale, Indiana at the Crossroads U.S.A. 03/12/2009
Link to [www.whatssmokin.net]
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/19/2009 05:26AM by Dick Morgan.
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