WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 25, 2011 - Powerboat pilots, crews and league officials from across the U.S. are gathering this week near Chicago for the 2012 annual meetings of the American Power Boat Association.  The near week-long event draws hundreds annually to update safety and competition rules, vote on officers for the new year and consider changes to the sport.  This year's meetings are being conducted in Hoffman Estates, IL, a northwest suburb of the Windy City.

There are a lot of items on the agenda this week, including a complete makeover of the sanctioning body's points system which I am all for.  The APBA scoring system is one I can't even image anyone would have thought was ever a good idea, needs some revamping, and there are some good proposals this year to finally, hopefully get something done.  The current system rewards the race winner with way too many points compared to the others in the field.  A guy who wins two club races and then sits out the remainder of the season would beat a guy who runs 5th every weekend all summer long under the current setup.  NASCAR was on to something when it began awarding drivers one point per position in each race, a proposition that I hope the APBA considers as well.

Back at home you have probably noticed some changes to the front of our website at www.herdracing.com.  The logo you see above has been added to the lower left corner of our home page.  You can click on the link to download our mobile app through your desk or lap top computer or you can snap the QR code with your mobile device to download the app right to your smart phone.  Our mobile app is still being worked on and some more stuff will be added as time goes on, but the main idea is up and running.  Soon you will be able to sign up and receive text messages directly to your phone.  This will allow you to follow the race action this coming summer without ever having to log on to your computer.  We'll let you know how the Herd Racing teams qualify and race in real time and will send those messages right to your phone from the race course every race weekend!

And, we'll have another 2012 sponsorship announcement coming soon!  We got the signed contract in the mail today and will now begin working on getting the press release and logos ready for publication.  Keep checking back.  Hopefully, we'll have something to report in a week or so.  Lot's of fun in the office this off season.

Dana Tomes