Gateways Schedule Out-Very Few Bracket Races

Gateway released their schedule this week. They only have 1 bracket race scheduled each month this year. I guess its another sign of the economy going south. Car counts were down last year because of gas prices. At least they are still having the Nostalgia race. Kind of sucks though. Guess I'll be traveling to Sikeston more this year and maybe Windy Hollow.

They have been getting less and less racer friendly the last few years (if that is even possible) and they lost several of the people that had been there for a few years. There were rumors that they were going to be bought out, but I havent heard much about that lately. The one positive is that they are going to have an Outlaw shootout this spring and if it goes good they are thinking about expanding it to a series of races throughout the summer and fall. It is supposed to include some index classes as well as drag radial classes, so hopefully that will work out.

I can't think of the last time I was at Gateway except for on a Wed night to try out something new with Wes. Every time the track has been in horrible condition but the place was incredibly crowded. Was that not the case for their regular bracket program?

Gateway is a beautiful facility yet it's just so poorly run it's amazing. Wes never likes to go there and prefers to drive 2X as far to run at Benton IL, Sikeston or ever Rogersville over Gateway.

I know what you mean Dave. We made several trips to KC last year and I think it will happen more this year. I just really prefer to race 1/4 mile although I did enjoy Windy Hollow last year.

You actually prefer Benton IL drag strip over gateway? I will never go back to that place!!! Justin

I know I saw some of the lowest car counts at TV last season than I have ever seen since I have been racing there, which is from the day it opened.

I know Sooner really cut back on their bracket program, I ran Super pro there early last season and they had 5 cars.........I won a whopping 12 bucks lol.

I think the index stuff will Help Sooner, TV has the street car deal but it has struggled over the years. Its guys like me where they are not a diehard bracket racer but cant afford a full blown heads up car. I always wanted to run the TV street car deal as we used to years ago, but there was no index i fit in, that and I dont want to put mufflers on the damn thing either.

I plan on attending all the Sooner 5.80 index races which is once a month, and hitting at least one bracket race a TV the same month as well, That and the special events like Buick Ford etc. Need to finish the smallblock car so brother can help pick up some tabs.

I just thank God I only have a 75 mile round trip to either track.

i loved racing at the world ford challenge event. gateway made the event, it was there most of the ten year stretch. surface was awesome, facility was awesome, perhaps it was due to the event managers not gateway. bobn

Yeah I will always miss the World Ford Challenge. We raced at everyone of them including Bowling Green, Joliet and Indy. That race usually ran very smoothly when it was at Gateway. I think they made a huge mistake turning it into the World Street Challenge and letting all makes and models in. The Ford deal was something special that a lot of Ford fans would travel a long way to go to. When they let everyone in it was no longer anything special IMO.

Not sure what will happen at Gateway. It is a nice facility but I think its almost too large for a weekly program. I'm surprised they are keeping the Tue. and Wed. night programs. I guess since they don't pay any money on those nights they can keep them going? It will be interesting to see if anyone shows up for those. The only reason I went during the week was to test for the weekends. I'm glad they are at least keeping 1 race a month. That was usually all I could make it to anyway but now I will reallly have to plan to hit those dates.

512Fairlane what class do you run? Justin

512Fairlane what class do you run? Justin

Pro (No box).

me too, look forward to racing/meeting you. Justin

me too, look forward to racing/meeting you. Justin

What kind of car do you have?

67 mustang gt coupe, this year my father and I are swapping out the little windsor for a big block. God willing, we will have the car finished by the end of this month. we plan on making it again to the spring bracket bash in a couple months.

67 mustang gt coupe, this year my father and I are swapping out the little windsor for a big block. God willing, we will have the car finished by the end of this month. we plan on making it again to the spring bracket bash in a couple months.

Good luck. See you out there. One nice thing about Gateway cutting the dates is the competition may not be as tight. I always felt at a disadvantage because I never had the time and money to race every weekend. Now no one will be able to run every weekend because they're not open.

Good call, plus I had the worst luck last year with breakage and last year if you missed one weekend there is no way you can make it to Indy. So there will be no excuse for me not to be at every one of those races. If I heard correctly there is a new drag strip coordinator at gateway??? Regardless I just got real tired of coles county and their politics!

They have been getting less and less racer friendly the last few years (if that is even possible) and they lost several of the people that had been there for a few years. There were rumors that they were going to be bought out, but I havent heard much about that lately. The one positive is that they are going to have an Outlaw shootout this spring and if it goes good they are thinking about expanding it to a series of races throughout the summer and fall. It is supposed to include some index classes as well as drag radial classes, so hopefully that will work out.

Bret Kepner is putting on the Owtlaw races. I can post some info on it if you all would like. We will probably run Drag Radial if it works out. He was saying that the bracket races have very little spectators and the owners are hoping the heads up racing will put more butts in the stands. There are index classes also that maybe some bracket guys could have fun running. Let me know if you guys want me to post all the info.

ultimatehellhound could you please post the info because I couldnt find it.

This is copied and posted from one of our local boards. It is a post from Bret Kepner.





Five years ago, I explained that the success of the Street Car Shootout Series could lead to bigger and better things. At that time, I envisioned many possible points toward which the series could evolve but I stated publicly that, as soon as I felt the area fans and racers could present a decent spectator show, I’d make a huge effort to allow it to move to the next realistic level. Well, I busted my butt this winter to continue that progress and we finally have been given a chance to present a race…and maybe a series…devoted entirely to “heads-up” street car racers.

The new Outlaw All Stars event will feature a full card of heads-up street car racing. Scheduled for Saturday, May 16th, the OAS program will include Outlaw Street Eliminator, (with no rules except NHRA Safety Guidelines), Super Street Eliminator, (for vehicles with true 10.5-inch rear tires), Drag Radial Eliminator, (for entries using D.O.T.-approved tires), and five “heads-up” Index divisions, (10.00, 11.00, 12.00, 13.00 and 14.00 seconds). All categories will compete on the full GIR quarter-mile, (except for Outlaw Street which will be run on the eighth-mile), and all classes will utilize a “Pro Start”.

I spent a serious amount of time during 2008 talking with track operators and racers, viewing rules, and generally keeping up on other local heads-up programs around the country. If you folks want to see a heads-up SERIES at Gateway, we’ll have one shot…and one shot only…to impress Dover. I’ve designed this program around the fact that it is a spectator-oriented event. In other words, this program can draw enough spectators to make it a viable alternative to bracket racing which is currently in a huge decline nationwide and never could draw paying fans, anyway. The OAS event will feature only heads-up cars; there will be no bracket racing scheduled. My goal is to make this a showcase for the area racers. There will be no gigantic purses and no attempt to pull the biggest names in “ten-five” racing. This program was created solely around YOU. The bi-state area has enough stars to make an entertaining show, (the SCSS has proven that and so has the Battle of the Boards during Midnight Madness). This event doesn’t need two hundred cars and five thousand spectators to be considered a success by Dover, (GIR’s parent company). In fact, I’ve structured it as a spectator show even in its duration; theoretically, it should be an event in which gates open at 3 PM and the finals are run off at 10 PM.

I’ll be watching other area track schedules so we can keep the date free of conflicts for both GIR and Benton, Rogersville, and others. The GIR staff has made it clear that, if it works, there could be other Outlaw All Stars events added for 2009. If it does really well, it could easily become a bonafide series in 2010.

Dozens of tracks are switching to heads-up and/or Index programs and I’m well aware that Benton (IL) struggled early in ‘08 but really turned their program around by the end of the year. On the other side of the coin, however, was the dismal failure of this type of program at Benton, Missouri, last season and the incredible lack of support shown at that track. Because Rob, MoPar Matt and Rene worked so hard to make their Southern Illinois King Of The Street program successful, I want to be sure I don’t step on their toes with an OAS date even though they’re running eighth-mile on Friday and many of his competitors could never pass NHRA tech. Likewise, I’ll be keeping the OAS events away from Midnight Madness programs since Matt and the STLSR.com gang have done very well with the Battle of the Boards concept.

As listed above, there will basically be a class for everybody. The Outlaw cars will run eighth-mile mainly to save parts and to decrease oil downs but everybody else will be on the quarter-mile. All classes will use a Pro Start and deep-staging will be allowed. Pass NHRA tech inspection and you’re in. I’m determined to make sure this program doesn’t cost any current racer one extra dollar in preparation. Therefore, rules will be few and far between. The downfall of many current heads-up programs at tracks around the country is far too many rules designed to placate every driver who comes through the gate. We all know we’ve got some hellaciously quick cars in the area which can fly under any set of rules so everybody should either develop a heads-up racer’s mindset or plan to run in an Index class.

The five Index categories, (10.00, 11.00, 12.00, 13.00 and 14.00), are self-explanatory. The heads-up (non-Index) divisions are pretty basic, too.

Outlaw Street: Anything with doors allowed; 10.5W, ADRL XTF, Pro Street, Pro Mod, or anybody else who wants to run in it is fair game.

Super Street: True 10.5-inch rear tire, any engine modification. No wheelie bars.

Drag Radial: I’ve talked with a lot of people about this class and most agree it will be easiest to simply allow any D.O.T. rear tire. Any engine modification. No wheelie bars.


I’m open to all opinions on the program but here are some facts.

1. The purses won’t be big but entry will be cheap.

2. Spectator admission will also be rock bottom.

3. OS, SS and DR will be qualified fields, (most likely eight cars), with nonqualifiers permitted to run in an Index class of their choice.

4. There will be NO street cruise.

5. Throttle stops will not be allowed in the Index classes.

6. I’ll personally make sure the trophies are nice.

7. Don't even ask about a naturally-aspirated class; I found out that almost every track which has one deals with rampant accusations of cheating, blatant misuse of teardown rules and, generally, tons of grief.

Folks, I worked really hard on this and I was absolutely stunned that Dover was willing to take a chance in what promises to be a very cautious year. I firmly believe the SCSS series has grown to the point that the area can now support a heads-up street car program which stands on its own. I told you we’d grow from the SCSS program and now we can.

I’m not opening up the rules for public debate but I need to hear your opinions if only to make sure all of them are heard. Use this thread to post constructive ideas and I’ll respond accordingly.

Five years ago, I offered the area racers and fans a chance to “step up” and they did. I’m banking you folks will take this and run with it, too. I should be an awesome deal for everybody!
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Bret Kepner
Saint Louis, Missouri, USA

Sounds interesting. I'm glad they allow deep staging. I can never get my boat to leave on a .400 tree. I'll need to step it up for a 10.00 index also.