Strategies for dealing with an early exit out of DW?

[c2xejk]

I am curious if anybody has had an inventive ways to deal with that dreaded "it is time to give up" moment. How do you deal with "I am ??? miles from my tow vehicle and the car is 'Kaput'"

For me, my plan was rather "simple". Get a rental car and go retrieve my truck and trailer. (Specifically, Enterprise since they will come get you...)

I have toyed with renting a Uhaul and trailer, but a quick pricing of this and I found it much more expensive. (~$100 for a car and $600 for Uhaul and trailer.)

I know others have been doing this much longer than I have, so what inventive ideas have people come up with when the have decided it is "time to quit DW"?

Any "middle of no where" strategies/plans?

Stories are always welcome...

Thanks

[ksuhre]

Go make great friends with one of those crazy people racing a sub-13 pickup on DW, grab a UHaul car hauler, and enjoy your new friends as they cart your junk back to the starting track while telling great stories!
Kerby

http://sites.google.com/site/eepod33/drag-week-2011/IMG_0108.JPG?attredirects=0

[greenXpress]

or sometimes someone in the stands will help out. Just ask Joe Berry.

In the "spirit of Drag Week" there would always be a way out. Some costlier than others.

[milner351]

My only idea was AAA - but that only gets you 100 miles.

I was hoping through the network of the "DW Family" there would be someone that could help out.

I thought about leaving a hide-a-key for the truck with the truck, so I could have someone get the truck and trailer and come get us.... I didn't get that done in time and thankfully we didn't need it.

A rental car to drive back to the truck and trailer is always a viable option - enterprise is brilliant with the come get you part.

[greenXpress]

Go make great friends with one of those crazy people racing a sub-13 pickup on DW, grab a UHaul car hauler, and enjoy your new friends as they cart your junk back to the starting track while telling great stories!
Kerby

http://sites.google.com/site/eepod33...attredirects=0

X2 ( 2013 I plan on having a real converter and cam, but would still be willing to try)

[BBR]

Contingency plan?? We don't need no stinkin contingency plan!!! Well, maybe we do. Haha.

My hagerty insurance has a free 50 mile tow. I figured that could get me back to civilization and then snag a rental car to go fetch the Durango.

I also considered just parking it somewhere and then just bumming rides the rest of the week. Then go get the car after DW was over.

[JeffMcKC]

I faced this in 08 with the "Giant Wheelie" it has nothing to do with wanting to go on. When your car is wheeled out side the gate and it closes behind you your stuck! You cant hide your car for 3 days and go on then come back to it.

( I know what the guy in the 57 felt like glad it was at Tulsa I was not so lucky I was 400 miles away) I hid mine as much as I could behind the Concession stand. Then caught a ride to the car rental store, drove back on the way picking up Houston who had to leave his car in a bad section of town, good for him his is a Rat Rod so Houston love you like a bro but your car fit right in. LOL We drove all night back 400 miles, then sat at the "Home Track" till it opened, all the time thinking man I hope someone does not loot my car or trailer or just back up and tow it all away. We loaded the rental in the trailer drove 400 miles back, left the car at the rental store to get back to the car, which was still there, loaded it up and drove back 400 miles to the home track. Then in 2010 left my car behind some guys house woke him up in the middle of the night to let him know I would be back, nice guy he wife gave us a Coke the next day as we put the injector in it, to drive to Indy to come in 30 minutes or less to late.

[milner351]

Hey Jeff - one of your brake lights is out... ;-)

[JeffMcKC]

I have a harder time keeping the front light working, keeping the front end tied down all week helped this year.

[BBR]

You cant hide your car for 3 days and go on then come back to it.

Haha! You don't drive a crusty Fox body Mustang either! I could probably park it in a Wal-Mart parking lot for a week and nobody would look twice at it. lol

[tsanchez]

Well this happened to me this yr, struggled and made it to the track then made the decision to quit because I lacked the parts necessary to continue. The desicion to quit in Dallas was that I knew it would fail (break a rocker or 16) and I didnt want to do it on the track or on some tiny road out in bfe, my car was still running so we drove it to the uhaul and rented a van and trailer, $350 bucks and we drove to Tulsa and transfered to our truck and trailer. Was easy, could have rented a car, drove 6 hrs and retrieved truck and drove 6 hrs back then been further away from home, this way we were in Ok city by evening on our way back home. Although I would have prefered to stay and work on car in Tulsa so I could make some real hits with it, my partner wanted to go and it was his truck so off we went.

[Lilracr]

Anybody thought about packing a 250cc motorcycle on the trailer?

I am glad this has come up, some really good stories and well worth the read to know different scenerio's.

[BlackGTO]

My final was at 2am 60-70 miles from Memphis and another valve spring went and my trani started to quit at the same time. I had ran out of springs, ever getting another similar one from dirty bird to keep going back somewhere in SW Ark. Had a set of springs overnighted to Thunder Road but got there in the late of day. They ended up in Memphis but by my luck the Racer who was still there, was out and took a differant route to Memphis. The trani was making metal as I changed the black ATF at Thunder Road the magnet was hairy with metal. I had added another trani cooler in Ennis but the damage was done, hense "drive alot loaded before DW". With 2 things out we got a tug off the big road by a fellow racer and wreckered car and trailer to Memphis later in the am. Got a renter and finished chasing the week and picked up car and trailer on way home. Was going to get a full set of 1.5 rockers from Comp and run them between the tracks to lessen the spring problem but didnt happen. Vince

[Joe Barry]

First I would recommend no plan, to me that's just setting yourself up for failure. I think work as hard as possible on making your car drive able and race ready, obviously you can't plan for everything but I think you have to have the right mind set. I'm still not happy about quitting and I won't be so easy to toss in the towel next year. With the wonderful world of the Internet you will be able to find someone to help you , whether its a ride somewhere or being towed somewhere . I posted on Yellow Bullet that I needed help, I had a dozen or more people contact me. I ended up having Walt Reynolds come and get my car and trailer and he then loaned me his truck to get to Tulsa. Walt is a great Drag Week person that makes you feel like you have known him forever, but all the other folks that contacted me were great too. So after all my babbling work hard to finish and forget about a contingency plan.

[Racingcritters]

Upgrade your AAA card if you can. In '09 I lost the valve train just outside a small town and was unable to get the parts for a repair in time to make the next track(about 2hrs away). Fortunately my wife upgraded my autoclub card which extended the towing mileage so I was able to have the car transported to the track and the following day had it towed(flatdeck both ways) from Nat'l Trail back to Muncie. Didn't cost me a dime out of pocket 'cept for a tip to the driver.