Holeshot Drag Racing Association

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5/9/13
   The weatherman is not our friend when it comes to motorsports events. Due to the fact that the forecast has shown nothing but rain in the forecast for Saturday, it only makes sense to postpone the CT Dragwayfest this Saturday and reschedule it. There are too many people coming from long distances, and we don't want them to make a trip for nothing.
   Thompson has the rest of Saturdays and Sundays booked for the season, so we are going for Friday night July 12th. This is actually going to be a blessing in disguise. No matter what Saturday or Sunday we choose, there's always a show somewhere that we would be running against. Not on a Friday night though! Also, there's nothing like racing under the lights!
   We have to find some Top Fuelers for that night, but now we'll be able to see the flames out of the headers! Awesome!
   We are going to come up with actual times for sign in, vendor set up, etc in the next few days, but these are our thoughts for the moment. The bulk of the racing will be done from 5pm to 9pm or so. We should have a staff available to start tech and sign for pretty much the whole afternoon, so that should eliminate the jam up at the pit gate and sign in booth. We may even be able to get vendors in during the morning if they are available.
   As said before, we will be coming out with the actual times by next week.

4/24/13

   The CT Dragwayfest is almost here. On the morning of race day, it's going to be quite busy, so to help speed things along, we are allowing competitors to pre-enter.
   Details are on this website on the "CT Dragwayfest" page. They're easy to follow, but shoot us an email or give us a call if you have any questions.
   Know anyone coming to race? Please pass on this information regarding the pre-entry option.
   Now, if you don't pre-enter, don't panic! You can still enter on race day. We're not turning people away.

4/17/13
   Success! The Dirt Drags & Stone Boat Truck Pulls at the Lebanon Fairgrounds this past Sunday were a success! The races went off without a hitch, and the pulls were a lot of fun to watch.
   This was our first pull ever. Add to the fact that pulling on a stone boat is totally new to all of uis in this area, so we were in a steep learning curve. We had several guys from Mass that came down with their trucks, and they showed us the ropes, as pulling a stone boat is what they normally do. Special thanks goes out to them.
   What we saw was the pulling a stone boat requires skill and a certain technique to get it going once the weight starts getting added on. One doesn't just hook up and pull, like what is found on a transfer sled. It's also very entertaining to watch. It appears that everybody gets more time on the sled as well with stone boats... 4, 5, maybe even 6 times compared to once or twice on the transfer sled. You also get two tries each time.
   Our next event is in May, but the date is in limbo for the moment. In trying to keep things consistent, we are striving to have an event at Lebanon every month on the 2nd Sunday of each month, but May is proving to be a challenge for us.
   Currently we have been scheduled for May 5th, but we are having schedule conflicts, and are looking to move that date to Memorial Day Monday. While that works great for us, apparently it may not for the Lion's Club, the owners of the fairgrounds. We'll get a handle on it in a couple days and give a final date.
   Speedbowl is next! Our 7th season (4th full time) with the 'Bowl starts in two weeks, Friday night May 3rd. Everybody is getting the itch to run, and FINALLY the weather is starting to get better. Lots of new cars coming out, so it'll be interesting.
   As always, the admission is free, and the Car Cruise will continue at the Sho'n'Go.
   Connecticut Dragwayfest! It'll be here before you know it. We're getting calls and emails every day. This thing is going to be huge!
   While racers do not have to pre-register, we are looking to have that process in place to save time during sign-in. We're looking to give a cool t-shirt for each competitor that registers ahead of time. We should have something set up by Monday April 22nd.

4/9/13

     Truck Pulls and Dirt Drags this Sunday! HDRA opens the season April 14th at the Lebanon Fairgrounds in Lebanon, CT. We're back with the Holeshot drags for Trucks, Off-Road Racers, and Quads. Racing starts at 12 noon, but we're going to open the gates at 10am to accommodate the sign-in.
     New to this event is the Stone Boat Truck Pulls. We're getting a tremendous response, as it was a long winter, and everybody is itching to do something.
     The rules for the Pulls are identical to Marvin Shaw's, which is used for most of the Street Truck Pulls in CT. They seem to work, and we feel there is no need to re-invent the wheel.
     Entry fee for each pull class is $20, and competitors may run multiple classes.
     Spread the Word! Get all your friends and family out there to support Dirt Drags and Truck Pulls! Let's make this weekend a great opener!

3/29/13

     NEWS FLASH! We are adding Truck Pulls to the April 14th Dirt Drag program at Lebanon/ We will have the updated schedule and rules this week. We expect the classes will be similar to what is seen at the pulls at the fairs for street trucks.
     We're putting a twist into this event... we'll be using a stone boat instead of a transfer sled. While the transfer sled is what is normally used in most pulls, there are a couple fairgrounds in Mass. that use the stone boat. We're using the stone boat because we have it available to us immediately, and it's different.
     We just found out today that we could do this. With the long winter finally in the rear view mirror, everybody is itching to do something. All the people we spoke to so far is really looking forward to hooking up to the sled! Spread the word! We'll post rules and the new schedule in a few days.

3/27/13

FINALLY!!! Racing season is almost here! Alot of things are going to be happening, and it all starts in a few weeks.

First, HDRA starts 2013 with Dirt Drags at the Lebanon Fairgrounds, Lebanon CT. Street Trucks, Off-Road Racers, and Quads will be running the 100 foot format on the clay racing surface. We will be racing every month, usually on the 2nd Sunday (check out our "Schedule" page for actual schedule).

NOTICE: STREET TRUCKS. All street truck owners should make it a point to be at all of our events to be as well prepared as possible for our $10,000 Street Truck Dirt Drag Challenge in July!

7th Season at Waterford starts Friday night May 3rd, and continues through the end of September. We will continue to see more cars being built for this great 100 foot format, and we expect a fantastic season.

We have had requests to have "Buybacks", in which a racer can buy their way back into Eliminations if they go out first round. We've never been really comfortable with this idea, but we also understand the frustration of going out 1st round. We've found that different tracks do this in different ways. So if we do something, it will be something like this:

Our thoughts are to run first round eliminations. All winners go OFF the track, and the losers STAY ON. All first round losers go into a "Second Chance" race, and we continue until they are finished. Then we bring back out the first round winners for their eliminations.

There will be no "buying in", as everybody going out first round are eligible. Our thoughts are that first round competitors, and those that continue on will get 10 points for each round. Those that go into the 2nd Chance eliminations will get 3 points per round. This type of point system makes things more fair, and this 2nd Chance event gives each racer at least 2 shots to continue for the night.

This is NOT set in stone, but we are seriously looking at this. Your thoughts?

CT DRAGWAYFEST! It's coming Saturday May 11th! There's been a HUGE response to this CT Dragway Reunion event, which will be held at Thompson Speedway. It'll be the first time that HDRA has expanded past the 100 foot mark and doing it in 300 feet instead. There will be no timing system, and all starts will be flag start. We are doing five classes, similar to what the Orange Drag Reunion uses. We will also be having a Car Show, and that should be huge as well. Throw in a Cacklefest of Nitro Top Fuelers, and you end up with a great event.

1/16/13
   CT Dragwayfest May 11th! We now have a date for this Nostagia Drag & Car Show. This event is going to be HUGE!
   300 feet! While we are known for our 100 foot format, we are going to let people stretch their legs and run 300 feet. This race is strictly for fun. Flag start, no timing system, just blow of some steam and have a good time.
   There will also be a car show to add to what will be a festive atmosphere. We are actively seeking a car club to oversee this part of the show.
   1985 cutoff date. Most Nostagia shows have a cutoff date of '74 for eligible cars, but since Conn. Dragway was open through the '85 season, we feel it's only right that we change that as well to reflect what could have actually run there at that time.
   Cacklefest! We plan to have some Top Fuel cars attending to do a Cacklefest. Two cars we've had before are George Snizek's Tazmanian Devil (Pacers Auto), and Billy Lynches Dragster. If they are available on that date, they will be on hand to run their nitro burning Hemis. Nothing like the sound of a Top Fuel car on Nitro! We are also actively seeking additional cars to be part of the Cacklefest.
   More coming! We will be putting a CT Dragwayfest page on this site very soon. We will also be developing a Facebook page for this show. Rules, times, etc will all be coming soon and made available.

12/24/12
   Happy Holidays to All! We take this time to wish everybody a healthy and happy holiday season. We have alot of great things happening for the 2013 season, and we'll be sharing all this info in more detail in the next week or so.
   Meanwhile, enjoy all your family and friends during this special time. We wish for you to be happy, healthy, and prosperous during the new year.

11/10/12
   Tomorrows race canceled at Lebanon Fairgrounds Sunday November 11th. This was a last minute addition to today's event, but after discussing it with the racers, we decided it best to wait until we reopen in April.
   It became obvious today that we are still being affected by the 2 storms we had the past week. Many of our regulars that normally be with us today to race were too busy making up for work lost during the storms. We kept hearing story upon story during the day. Hey, we tried.
   Still, we had a great season. Waterford was generally up, and we will be starting our 7th season there (4th year in a row full time). While we will be staying with the same basic format, we will be tweaking the rules a little bit for 2013. I'm sure we'll have no shortage of ideas thrown at us this Friday at the Banquet.
   The biggest surprise though was the addition of dirt drags, primarily at Lebanon. We had a great time there, and the Lions are a wonderful organization to work with. While we will be going to multiple Fairgrounds in 2013, Lebanon will be our home track for dirt. It will also be the home for the home for STREETTRUCKARAMA, a multi event weekend show, with the $10,000 Street Truck Dirt challenge! Stay tuned for more!

11/3/12
   Sandy postpones HDRA. We hope everybody is safe, and damage was minimal from this horrific storm. As bad as the shoreline (where we live) got it, people in NY and Jersey got it much worse. Let's keep those people in our prayers. For many, things are going to get worse before they get better.
   Banquet. Meanwhile, we've postponed our banquet as well as our last Dirt Drag event at Lebanon. Tonight's banquet has been rescheduled for Friday night November 16th (two weeks). The Elks' food supplier was without power, and delivery of food for our banquet could not be guaranteed.
   Dirt Drags. While we know we could have worked the track into shape, we thought it best to move that by one week as well to next Saturday Nov. 10th. Our start times are an hour earlier as Daylights Savings will be over (turn your clocks back one hour Sunday!). Pits open at 10am, and Test & Tune starts at 11am. We are staying with the same format as last time: OUTLAW, STREET TRUCK, Jr. QUADS, SENIOR QUADS.
   While we've been getting a tremendous response for this weekend, everybody we spoke to understood why we moved the dates. It's better that we let everybody get through this weekend, catch their breath, and have a better chance to be ready at a later date.
   July 20-21, 2013. Street Trucks, 100 Feet, $10,000! It's coming! STREETTRUCKARAMA. Lebanon Fairgrounds!

10/19/12
   Dirt Drags this Sunday! The racing season isn't over yet! Tomorrow we have another Dirt drag event at the Lebanon Fairgrounds in Lebanon, CT (right next to Colchester). Everybody has been having a great time! If you have a Street Truck or Quad, come on out and join us. It costs $10 to get in, and another $10 to race for the day.
   With the days getting shorter, we are going to tighten up the program a little bit. We are not going to have Top Dirt Eliminators for the next two events. While we may have to make adjustments on the fly, the plan is to have the following Eliminators:
- OUTLAW (Competiton vehicles).
- STREET TRUCKS (Gas & Diesel combined).
- SENIOR QUADS (15 years & older).
- JR. QUADS (14 years & younger).
   We will split up the Street Trucks into two classes (Gas & Diesel) if there are 8 or more in Gas.
   Spread the word! We have racing tomorrow, and then finish the season Saturday Nov 3rd (rain date the next day), again at the fairgrounds in Lebanon, CT.
   Lebanon Fairgrounds loves the Dirt Drags, and HDRA loves working with Lebanon Fairgrounds organization.
   The Lions Club does wonderful things for the community. The income from the fairgrounds gets put back into the local community in the form of multiple charities. The fair itself benefits about 20 other charitible organizations (such as churches, etc).
   We have been a welcome source of income for the Lions Club, and both our organizations plan to expand our involvement. Plans for now are to have events there once a month from April to November. We are also looking at building another track on a different part of the property. It would allow us to have a longer shutdown area, and where we are looking would suppress the noise better. Adding this track would also give the fair more options with equestrian events (during the fair as well as off-season). We will keep you posted as new info comes along.

10/4/12
Awards Banquet Nov. 2nd! We will be having our Awards Banquet for the Top 10 in each Eliminator on Friday Night, November 2nd, 7:00pm. It will be at the Elks Club on Washington Ave. in New London, CT (same place as the last one we had). All are welcome to attend, not just the Top 10. We also welcome our Long Island racers as well as our racers in our new Dirt Series.
Ticket prices are $20.00 each, and maybe purchased by sending a check or m.o. to the address listed at the bottom of the center column. You may also pay for these tickets through PayPal, again info listed in the next column. So the Elks can properly prepare, we must have your reservation IN OUR HANDS by Monday October 29th. We have NO plans to sell tickets at the door, as they will not have extra food to accomodate latecomers.
Included will be a an open Buffet, which worked out for us the last time. The bar will be open for those that want adult beverages. We also plan on having the tree on hand again for some friendly reaction times racing. We are also looking for some kind of a
video ahow as well... still working on that!
   Bench Racing in January? We can still get together in the winter to go over any changes with the rules for 2013. We do not anticipate any radical changes. The main purpose is just to get together and do bench racing. Perhaps we can have a "Reaction Time Shootout", or something like that. Maybe include some old Drag Racing movies.

10/3/12
Still lots of racing left! Yes, we're at the end of the 2012 season, but we still have quite a bit of racing left.
Holeshot Drag Nationals. This is our 3rd Annual Nats at the Waterford Speedbowl, and we have 20 different Eliminators and Shootouts!. The listing of events is on the center column, but the bottom line is that most competitors will be eligible for 3 to 4 of these events. While we kept many of the events from last year, we did make some changes, and additions.
First, we are eliminating most of the index races, but staying with the 2.50 Index. There will be two of them, one for the Cars and one for the Bikes. To qualify for this event, each competitor must be able to run 2.99 or faster. We will be running the 0.500 Pro-tree.
We have added a "Super 16" event for the top 16 in points for each of the 3 Eliminators. This will be our normal dial-in racing.
We've added an "Import" Shootout, plus a Shootout for Street Trucks. Motorcycles (2 wheels only) will have their own Shootout, as well as Quads (which includes aTV's Snowmobiles, ATV's, etc.).
It's going to be a very busy day, with everybody getting many opportunities to win a trophy.
Pits open at 11am, and Test & Tune starts at 12 noon.
Street Truck Dirt Drags. While the HDRA season will be over after the 13th for the Speedbowl, we still have plenty of racing left at the Lebanon Fairgrounds, in Lebanon, CT. Our next event is Sunday October 21st, and we are staying with our same format as the last event.
Along with the strong showing of Street Trucks, we are looking for the continuation of growth from the Outlaws. The Quads were a new addition for us last time, and they were a tremendous hit. We're expecting a bigger field of them as well.
November Racing! We just got the green light from the Lebanon Fairgrounds for us to have an event the first weekend of November. We have not made a decision as to whether to go with a Saturday or Sunday yet. Going on a Saturday Nov 3rd would allow for a possible raindate the next day. We will let you know soon, but just be aware we will be racing that weekend.

... All the news, including older posts can be found on the "News" page.

Waterford Speedbowl

Paul Holmes wins 2nd COMP

Anthony Rondeau wins STREET

Jeff Shaw wins BIKE

Next event Friday May 17th
______

Dirt Drags and Truck Pulls at
Lebanon Fairgrounds. Next event coming Monday

May 27th
Races every month through November

Send email to: sparky@100footdrags.com

DIRT DRAGS
MEMORIAL DAY MONDAY MAY 27TH
at the LEBANON FAIRGROUNDS, LEBANON, CT
Race time 4pm
Almost ANYTHING WELCOME!
Trucks 4wd & 2wd, Quads, Off-Road Racers, Street Cars, Dirt Bikes, ATV's
------------------
DRAGWAYFEST RESCHEDULED!
NEW DATE: FRIDAY NIGHT JULY 12th
Full schedule coming next week...
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Steve Magnante, along with Larry Eiden to handle Announcing Duties July 12th

Steve Magnante (left) will be on hand Friday night July 12th to handle the main announcing duties for the CT Dragwayfest. Steve is shown here with Mike Joy at the Barrett Jackson auction. Former CT Dragway announcer Larry Eiden will also be on hand handling announcing duties as well.

---------------------------------
HOLESHOT DRAGS
WATERFORD SPEEDBOWL
Friday Night May 3rd Opener
-------------------------
CONNECTICUT DRAGWAYFEST
RESCHEDULED TO
FRIDAY NIGHT JULY 12TH
The Ct Dragway reunion race!
300' Nostalgia Drags
and Car Show
Thompson Speedway - Thompson, CT

------------------

Our 2nd Season on DIRT!
8 Events Scheduled from April through November at Lebanon Fairgrounds, including STREETTRUCKARAMA! Other Fairgrounds to be scheduled as well!

Also...
Our 7th Season at the Speedbowl!Opener Friday Night May 3rd
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Classes for Truck Pulls

GAS: 4800 LBS 4WD
GAS: 5800 LBS 4WD
GAS 7000 4WD
DIESEL 7000 4WD
DIESEL 8000
OPEN 10,000

Four Wheel Drive Truck and SUV Pulling Rules

1. Use of Alcoholic beverages and/or Drugs will be IMMEDIATE cause for DISQUALIFICATION of VEHICLE AND DRIVER.

2. The Fair, Sled Operator and Helpers are NOT responsible for breakage or HARM TO THE PULLING VEHICLE or PERSONS involved.

3. Registration will be 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. NO REGISTRATION AFTER PULLS BEGIN.

4. Registration Fee will be $20 for each puller in each class.

5. Open to STREET LEGAL vehicles, GAS or DIESEL, ONE FUEL ONLY NO ADDITIVES.

6. MUST show CURRENT vehicle registration and insurance when signing in.

7. DRIVERS must be at least 18 years of age, UNDER 18 with signed Parental Consent and PARENT must be PRESENT and DRIVE ON and OFF track.

8. Drivers MUST wear Helmets, Seatbelts and Shirts.

9. Drivers MUST have COMPLETE CONTROL at all times. NO HOT RODDING PERMITTED.

10. All vehicles MUST be in PARK or NEUTRAL while being hooked to Sled.

11. NO JERKING CHAIN on START of PULL. TIGHT CHAIN ONLY.

12. The Number 1 puller or number 2 puller is the TEST puller in each class. When Sled is set, that puller can ACCEPT that PULL or PULL AGAIN IMMEDIATELY.

13. The Hitch Point MUST NOT be over 26” high and be able to receive Hook on Sled (2.5”), will be measured at a straight outward position.

14. Only a mechanical Failure will allow anyone to pull again at the end of a class. OUT OF GAS is NOT considered a MECHANICAL FAILURE.

15. Any Vehicle that goes on or over Boundary Lines will be DISQUALIFIED.

16. Vehicles that need extra weight for a class MUST have WEIGHT SECURED. WEIGHT LOSS WHILE HOOKED TO SLED, TRUCK WILL BE DISQUALIFIED.

17. No ADDED WEIGHT IN FRONT OF STOCK BUMPER SUPPORT, PLOW HITCH OR WINCH OK. ADD FRONT WEIGHT IN OPEN CLASS ONLY.

18. U-JOINTS MUST be DUCT TAPED if exposed or in sight.

19. The 1st and 2nd WINNERS in all Classes MUST weight out if Scales are available.

20. D.O.T TIRES ONLY.

21. No solid suspension - 1 inch clearance required

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