Flashlight Drags August 20th

[NJSPEEDER]

new thread to get all the pertanent info together.
we are planning to attend the flashlight drags on august 20th, the weekend after the east coast nats. this event is held at Zelienople airport, about 20mins north of pittsburgh, pa.

for details http://www.alteredgas.com/flashlight_drags.html

it looks to be a 5-6hour drive across rt80. we are looking to cruise out friday evening or saturday morning and return sunday afternoon/evening.

who's in?
1. NJSPEEDER
2. jims69camaro
3. Tru2Chevy
4. PA_GregSS
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

hotel info will be added soon.

later
tim

[IROCdan330]

I'm somewhat interested...

I'll be living in westchester then though...am i gonna be any closer than you guys?

[NJSPEEDER]

somewhat. you will be started on the trip across pa :)
west chester is an easy jump onto the turnpike if you wanted to meet us out there :)

later
tim

[jims69camaro]

some people might decide to cruise up saturday morning and leave saturday night, which i guess if you can do it more power to you. in the other post we talked about making it a two day outing, which would require hotel/motel info, so i did my best to find cheap yet comfortable accomodations.

Super 8 Motel - Barkeyville
Route 8 North and Interstate 80
(814) 786-8375
$84.88-94.88 per room depending on the bed(s). two double beds is $89.88, average out to $45 each if you don't mind sharing a room with someone. i just checked availability and it says there are no rooms available for that weekend...

Comfort Inn Barkeyville
137 Gibb Road
Barkeyville PA 16038

$59 to $105 - one queen $62.99, two doubles $71.99. solid availability, but i wouldn't want to guarantee for how long considering the super 8 is booked solid.

Inn On Grandview
Zelienople, PA

no rooms available. place sounds like a bed and breakfast, probably a little out of our price range for a single night's stay.

Quality Inn & Conference Center
1411 Liberty Street
Franklin PA 16323

from $79.00 to $150.00

Amerihost Inn Grove City
1924 Leesburg Grove City Road
Grove City PA 16127


there are other places available in new castle and grove city, but i need to know if that is too far away from the airport... pretty much looks like it's gonna be $70 per room no matter where we get reservations. speaking of, it would be a good idea to make these fairly soon as i don't know why but hotels in that area are booking up quickly.

[NJSPEEDER]

did any of the places mention web access? nto a requirement, but it woudl be nice to be able to check in with the rest of the world :)
figure one of the national chains would have access. comfort inns are usually pretty good. and quality inns are usually good too, plus it is a conference center, better chance of finding a bar :D
i think terrorizing....er....umm....staying at some peaceful b&b would be a lot of fun :twisted:

thanks for the research jim.

later
tim

[PA_GregSS]

Put me on the list. :rock:

[jims69camaro]

most all of the places have cable tv with HBO and internet ports available as standard ammenities listed in their lists of stuff they have on their websites. if we land on one particular hotel i would make special inquiry to be sure.

terrorizing, er uh, peaceful slumber at a B&B would not be worth the price. we can be rockstars no matter where we end up, as long as someone else's credit card is being used for security. :twisted:

[NJSPEEDER]

looks like the super8 and comfort inn are about 45mins from teh airport and the quality inn is about an hour(according to mapquest, draw your own conclusion).
anybody care to vote?
since the super8 is sold out. i make my first choice the comfort inn and second choice the quality inn.

later
tim

[Tru2Chevy]

If the super 8 in Barkeyville is full, we should see what hotels are available in Grove City, since that would be closer to the airport anyway. We can also see what is available in Butler.

- Justin

[jims69camaro]

the super8 in butler has rooms, as does grove city, but grove city starts at $74.88 while butler is $62.88. if it's a coin toss i'd rather save the ten bucks.

[Tru2Chevy]

the super8 in butler has rooms, as does grove city, but grove city starts at $74.88 while butler is $62.88. if it's a coin toss i'd rather save the ten bucks.

That's because the hotel in Grove City is a 5 minute walk to the Prime Outlets, and there isn't a whole lot to do in Butler - just a nice little town.

Out of Grove City, Butler and Barkeyville, Butler is the closest to the Zeli airport....

- Justin

[NJSPEEDER]

i vote butler then. closer to the airport will make for more time to drink...errr...ummm.... relax :)

later
tim

[PA_GregSS]

Butler sounds good to me. Let's make a decision quick so reservations get made before the rooms are gone!

[Tru2Chevy]

Butler is good for me too. So are we heading out Friday night and coming home Sunday afternoon? Or heading out Saturday morning and coming home Sunday afternoon?

FWIW, using the 31-46-80 route, Ewing to Butler will take approx 6.5 hours figuring 75mph travel on Rt. 80 (for the OD impaired)

- Justin

[NJSPEEDER]

my vote is butler and head out friday late afternoon/evening.

later
tim

[jims69camaro]

i wouldn't mind friday night so much as there won't be anything to do until saturday afternoon, right? if we leave out of here (meaning ewing) by 6:am, we would be rolling into butler around 12:noon, time for lunch and then head over to the hotel to check in and then off to the track.

like i said, i don't mind getting there friday night, this is only a suggestion.

i thought more people were going to head out?

[PA_GregSS]

Racing doesn't even start until 4. It would be a long day of doing nothing. If you guys head out on Friday, I'll just meet you out there.

[Tru2Chevy]

Well, either is cool with me....what say you Tim?

- Justin

[NJSPEEDER]

either way will work.
i was just thinking about sleeping in on saturday. my thought was get out there around midnight, check in, find local bar, close local bar, find another bar, close 2nd bar, wake up around noon, hit the pool/ late lunch, then off to the airport relaxed and well rested(and hopefully recovered from friday night :P)
if you guys wanna roll early sat that works too.

later
tim

[jims69camaro]

i finally nailed down a date with the mechanic: 8/16/05. all i can hope is that he can diagnose and repair the fuel problem with the '69 so i can bring it. as always, cutting it a bit close.

[NJSPEEDER]

final decision time, i want to get my hotel reservations worked out.
heading out saturday am since that was the most popular option.
hot dog johnny's seems like the easiest place to meet up since it will be basically on teh way for most of the group.
gates are around 2, racing to start around 4, figure hotel check in would be 2pm-ish. with a 6-7hour drive that means if we meet on rt46 around 6am we should have plenty of time to get checked in at the hotel, grab a bite, and go to the event.
sound good to you guys?

later
tim

[Tru2Chevy]

Sounds good to me.

- Justin

[PA_GregSS]

That sounds good. I'll hook up with you guys around Tannersville on 80. What hotel did we decide on? Super 8 in Butler?

[Tru2Chevy]

That sounds good. Â*I'll hook up with you guys around Tannersville on 80. Â*What hotel did we decide on? Â* Super 8 in Butler?

Yes, Super 8 in Butler

- Justin

[PA_GregSS]

Anyone make their room reservations yet? I think I'm going to do mine today.

[Tru2Chevy]

Anyone make their room reservations yet? Â*I think I'm going to do mine today.

Tim and I are just gonna share a room, I think he made the reservation a few days ago....

- Justin

[jims69camaro]

i'm gonna be last minute, as usual. i won't know for sure until tuesday.

[ShitOnWheels]

Anyone make their room reservations yet? Â*I think I'm going to do mine today.

Tim and I are just gonna share a room, I think he made the reservation a few days ago....

- Justin
:gheyfigh:

:j/k:

[Njgunslinger]

anyone ever been to one of these? only racing for 4 hours? Is there a lot of cars, how many runs do you get?

[PA_GregSS]

Haven't been there yet, this will be the first time checking it out. Another thing to take into consideration is that I think it's only an eighth mile.

[jims69camaro]

this thing is more about the cameraderie and the old cars than anything else. if you're just looking to run your car, save your money/time and go to one of the local tracks.

[Njgunslinger]

ahhh ok, ill save my money.. :)

[Tru2Chevy]

i'm gonna be last minute, as usual. Â*i won't know for sure until tuesday.

Any news from the shop yet Jim?

- Justin

[Fasterthanyou]

I can't go :( . I was planning on it but something came up Saturday that I have to do. This sucks but maybe next year.

[jims69camaro]

i'm gonna be last minute, as usual. Â*i won't know for sure until tuesday.

Any news from the shop yet Jim?

- Justin

it doesn't look good. at least i don't feel like a complete hack if a professional mechanic can't find the gremlin, either. but there are a few more days until sat/sun, so my fingers are crossed.

[Tru2Chevy]

it doesn't look good. Â*at least i don't feel like a complete hack if a professional mechanic can't find the gremlin, either. Â*but there are a few more days until sat/sun, so my fingers are crossed.

That sux Jim....hopefully your mechanic can get it fixed!

- Justin

[jims69camaro]

he's solid. we've been taking the other cars to him for a while and he always gets the work done ahead of schedule. i'm gonna get him on the phone this morning and see if i can't set a fire under him. the only thing that worries me about him is that he is "new school" mechanic, in that he's used to modules and computers and sensors. this is the first time in a while that he's had a classic to work on.

and, of course, my procrastination didn't help things. waiting until this week to get the car over to him...

[PA_GregSS]

Crap. I see that they are calling for showers on Saturday night in Butler. I guess we'll need to wait and see what they are saying tomorrow. :?

[jims69camaro]

the accelerator pump and back float were both bad. Â*nothing to do with my rebuild (seems the diaphram in the accelerator pump in the rebuild kit was bad). Â*so, it looks like i am down for the weekend, as the rebuild kit and float need to be ordered - don't ask. Â*

sorry i'll miss this one, but next year will be another opportunity. Â*have a great time, guys.

[PA_GregSS]

Well, let's keep our fingers crossed. It's a 40% of severe thunderstorms all day and night. Hopefully we'll get lucky and it'll miss us.

[NJSPEEDER]

i won't be heading out this weekend. i have to get a bunch of stupid **** done cause of teh car accident instead. sorry guys, maybe next time.

later
tim

[Tru2Chevy]

i won't be heading out this weekend. = I'm not going either. Don't want to test the bad wheel bearing with 2 back to back 6 hour drives.

- Justin

[jims69camaro]

bad things happen in threes. sorry i was the first one, i almost feel responsible for the others.