After Diesel Innovations (DI's) / Clash of the Titans race at RiverCity Raceway, I think we all learned a lot. I have spoken with David Lott (DI's) about the do's and don'ts of sponsoring a race. There was a lot learned and I'm sure there is more to learn.
1st - There seems to be a large interest in Diesel Drag racing.
2nd - It not all about the purse money.
3rd - Hope for good weather.
4th - It's all about the good times and racing.
We have tossed a lot of things on the table and we are ALWAYS looking for more suggestions and involvement.
One thing is to start at a smaller scale. If we can get the Houston / Dallas-Ft. Worth / Austin / San Antonio / South and East Texas Diesel trucks interested, then expand to a larger market. Most of the country watches what we do with these trucks and as we grow we will be able to draw them to an annual larger event. If trucks show up the sponsors will be close behind.
Second thing is purse money. This can be the race entry fee paid back out. The better attendance the more money on the line. Also maybe include trophies.
Third thing is to start at smaller racetracks. I'm not sure whether most of you know it, but to rent a large track like RiverCity Raceway or Houston Raceway Park in Baytown runs into the Tens (10's) of thousands of dollars. It surprised me also. There are a number of 1/8-mile tracks around the state. We could meet at one of these tracks on a non-event day/nights and put our own race together. Most of these tracks would welcome us. Especially if we have 50+ trucks entered and 100 people show up. We would pay at the gate the regular entry fee, then put a pot together between ourselves. I'm sure the local track will work with us. HAPS has done something similar to this at Navasota with success.
Fourth thing would be the truck classes. We tried the index classes, which will work if a lot of trucks are in each class. We could also try having maybe three qualifying runs and then run a bracket type of system. This is what Fun Ford Weekend does with the Lightning's. Your dial in would be one-tenth (. 1) less than your fastest pass and no breaking before the finish line. Also we need to decide on what type of starting tree we want. It can be either a Sportsman tree or a Pro tree.
Fifth thing is to have group racing. We can have the Fords against the Dodges against the GM's. Or Houston Area Power Strokes (HAPS) against Lone Star TDR (
www.lstdr.org) We could still run a type of bracket. The trophy could be an old crankshaft (and we seem to have plenty ) that gets passed back and forth between the winning groups. A little like the Bayou City Bucket Bowl that gets passed between U of Houston and Rice or the Governors cup between Houston Texans and the Dallas Cowboys.
Sixth thing would be to get Diesel Hot Rod Association (
www.DHRAonline.com) involved as we grow. DRHA is the upcoming governing body of diesel drag races. Part of DHRA's goal is to have 4-5 regions in the United States that have 3-5 races each per year with a points system and then one annual national event with the points leaders at the end of the racing season.
The thing to remember is to have FUN and grow as a group.
I'm open for all suggestions. Your interest, suggestions and involvement motivate me. Post here and lets see where we can guide this, so hopefully early next year we can put this together. Give me a thumbs up or if you are interested in watching or racing. Let me hear from you.
Attention: TDR Forum Junkies 
). We all kinda know each other down here, so if it's NOT him, we'll find him. 
