***Disclaimer.... The following post is MY OPINION and MY OPINION ONLY... if you are easially offended, PLEASE DO NOT READ!!!! You have been fore warned! :o)***

First things first….

DON’T RUSH ME PLEASE!!! You guys rushed me at world finals, I WAS NOT READY.. I know the rules, I heard you express to everyone the times, and how long till the lanes closed… YET… it still didn’t matter, cause guess what, YOU STILL JUDGED AMATURES ON SUNDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Markie Dietrich and Cory Himel, my two mentors taught me a very important rule in 2004, my rookie year… NEVER LET THE JUDGES WALK ALL OVER YOU… Jamie, no offence buddy, but, I in no way, shape or form think you where in any way correct for pushing me into the lanes… you did it to me at finals, I dropped 2 places from SBN to finals, I was not happy, and I damn near quit!  I will not let you or anyone else allow me to do that again! Sorry buddy, no hard feelings, however, I am a VERY WELL respect competitor in the Scene… no so much SQ or IASCA, but more so in the car show scene, I have a reputation of not allowing people to take advantage of a situation. Yes, the situation worked out, however, rushing me to get into the lanes with 4 cars in the lane, which would have taken 2 hours to get through, was not needed! I packed my *** up, and walked away to prevent myself from doing exactly what I did! My father calling me and telling me what was said pissed me off again, and I came back in a rage! I don’t stand for that from anyone! You, or any judge, Head judge or not! Sorry man! Again no hard feelings!

NOW, my big gripe with SBN 22….

WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED WITH TUNER JAM?!?!?!?! MO?!?!?!?!?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!?!! How can you go and combine the euro and American classes????? Especially with out announcing it to ANYONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am fortunate enough to know judges that tipped me in on it, but ***! I don’t think you know how many PISSED OF COMPETITORS YOU HAD!!! Paul had a HUGE speech about how we need to get consumer back into the competition lanes, and you guys go and pull this! ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?!?!?!   2ndly, WHAT THE HELL was the deal with classifying people?!?!?! You had a car in EXTREME that should have been CLEARLY in street, and a FEW cars that where in street that CLEARLY should have been in Extreme! Todd and I talked and talked about MY classification… however, there was a competitor, INSIDE, that doesn’t have NEARLY as many modifications as I do, however, does have an EXTREMELY nice install with a lot of glass and gel-coating work. BUT, because he’s got a 1.5” airbrushing of skulls in his paint job, he’s bumped into a class that should be left to MANUFACTORER AND ELITE CARS!!!! For having simple airbrush work, COME ON GUYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now, Todd and I talked about it, and had we not been judged already, I elected to jump up to the higher class to drop the other neon down into street, however, it did not pan out… Granted they still placed 3^rd, I can assure you, they where not very happy with the fact they where bumped in classes for something so ridiculous. NOT TO MENTION THE FACT THAT IT WAS COMBINED CLASS!!!! That neon had NO CHANCE against that VW!!! YOU KNOW IT, I KNOW IT, THEY KNOW IT!

After walking around for about 4 hours yesterday and meeting up with members of car clubs I hadn’t seen in a few months and some after a few years, I can promise you that TUNER JAM was a success! HOWEVER, there where guys who had NO IDEA what class they where in! This classifying on the fly thing has got to get fixed!!! If there is an OBVIOUS ELITE car in rookie, or street, then I can understand a reclassification! But, The classes SHOULD BE LEFT UP TO THE COMPETITORS!!!! If they want to risk playing with the big dawgs, they have to be ready to get bit!

 NOPI NATIONALS: When you register, you pick your class! PERIOD… NO MOD LIST, NONE OF THAT… if you CHOOSE to go into XTREME, you run the risk of getting your ass kicked… HOWEVER, if the judge KNOWS you are in Mild, and you should BLATENTLY be in extreme, you get Re-classed on the fly! AT THE JUDGES DISCRESSION! YOU HAVE NO CHOICE!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, having a SUGGESTION of what class you should choice in the rulebook is awesome! BUT DON’T MAKE THAT A BIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!

Lastly, I think there should be an amendment! If not, a re-class RESTRUCTOR for 2009+ You have to do something about sponsored vehicles mixed in with non-sponsored classes… JUST LIKE IASCA!!!! If you’re sponsored, you enter a pro class! PERIOD…

I saw about 16 FULLY sponsored cars in the rookie classes!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wow!!!!!!!!!

And that’s only the cars I KNOW about!!! People from south Florida and in this entire region that I see on the car show circuit every weekend! NOW, lets clear something up too, What is the definition of Rookie?!?!?

rook·ie  /ˈrʊk i/ Pronunciation Key- Show Spelled Pronunciation[roo k-ee] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation

–noun

A FIRST SEASON!!!!  Lets do this like IASCA… any first time competitor that doesn’t know how a Tuner Jam works, is able to join this class! THEN, we can start off with am AMATURE class, just like IASCA… call that your mild class!!! Then we can do Street, then Ultimate!!! Lets then break them down into makes!!!! American, Euro, Jap, BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH…. Then on top of that, you have classes for the BIG DAWGS… THE SPONSORED CARS… NO BREAK DOWN… you have AMATURE PRO, STREET PRO, and ULTIMATE PRO there are no rookie pros, obviously!!!! Doesn’t matter what kind of sponsor, whether its audio, tires, rims, body kit or what… YOU ARE A PRO… you where paid in one form or another to be there at that show, that makes you a professional in this industry! Car sponsorships.com or directly through BFGoodrich Tires… YOU ARE A PRO!!! No questions asked.

And, now knowing that Josh Tech helped with the rules, XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (Chad I took this part out of your post - language not permitted - the floydstr) LOLOLOLOL

BTW, for the record, I was not the one that was upset with the combining of classes… However, I think you need to make some kind of formal announcement to EVERYONE IN ADVANCE if you’re going to combine classes like that. I found it EXTREMELY fun to FINALLY get an opportunity to compete against Josh! He and I are such die hard CAR SHOW competitors, that it was finally awesome to get a chance to compete, not just with him, but AGAINST HIM! We had a blast, at the show, and on stage, as well as the Todd messing with us about the placement! I’m sure it was great entertainment for everyone at the trophy ceremony!

Anyhow, Paul, Mo, and everyone affiliated with IASCA, thank you for putting on a wonderful show, as usual, it was by far one of the best times I have had!!! I am already excited about next year!!! Finally be able to bring my entire display to SBN for an INDOOR SHOW!!!!

-=-=-=-=-

Chad V. Romano
Team Kicker / Team Evilbass
Elite - South Florida Member
 

hey chad

WOOOOOSAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH

good points

i am sure they will be adressed

but dont let your pressure raise too high man  its not healthy

Chad, your comments are appreciated and well taken.Sammy Vega and myself wrote the Tuner Jam for IASCA years ago. Before anyone else was using the word Tuner Jam. Josh Tech has helped judge some Tuner Jam events but did not write them. These rules are the best Car Show rules you will find anywhere. You are entitled to your opinion which I appreciate. I will recommend that you edit your post reference some of the language used ie. "Skeet and the GD" or I will delete it from this site. I have and will always stand for the competitors but will not stand for the language used. You and I person to person can say it like it is, but not like this where the international community can read. The Tuner Jam classes were combined by Moe and myself because of the entires last year. They were only one car in several classes so from history they were combined.

Best wishes to you Chad and "Go Get Em"

the floydstr 

Hey Chad,

Thank you for your thoughts; you are correct, there are areas that we need to "fine tune" and each year at SBN teaches us new things, as well as gives us new ideas for the following year.

What happened with the combination of American and European vehicles this year stemmed from the turnout from last year; there were barely any European vehicles and a small contingent of American vehicles at SBN21. When we reviewed the registrations from SBN21, it only made sense to combine European and American Classes because there weren't enough vehicles in each class to make it competitive. You saw the size of the trophies and you know they're not cheap; we always try our best to give competitors great value for the money.

The NOPI system works well, but you also have to consider a number of things:

1. Their awards are not nearly as good as ours
2. Judging takes about 3 to 5 minutes per car and the cost of entry to a NOPI event is the same as at SBN
3. Our judging is far more "involved" and competitors get copies of their score sheet
4. The turnout at NOPI events is far stronger than at SBN
5. Their Classes are Mild and Wild (basically); our Classes are Rookie (same as Mild), Street (Semi mild/Wild) and Ultimate (Wild), so there is more flexibility than in other car show formats

The term "Rookie" is used in Tuner Jam judging to denote a mild vehicle, not the experience level of the competitor, so Rookie cars are based on mods not experience. Without getting into a huge debate on the subject, this is detailed in the rule book and has been the breakdown for Tuner Jam Divisions since day one. We won't start "bending" the rules to fit one or two; the rules are designed for the masses and offer more Divisions and Classes than any  car show organization.

We are always trying to offer more value to the competitor in every facet of our organization; Tuner Jam is no different. The one important item we did learn from this year is that we have to offer the Classes in more detail on the website for those pre-registering and we will make that change for next year.

In regards to the language you used in your post, I understand that you used it lightheartedly when talking about the "thrill of competing" against Josh, but I do have to agree with Terry; it isn't necessary. We would truly appreciate it if you could edit your post and remove the language from it. Like Terry said, these posts are viewed by thousands of members around the world and it leaves a poor perception in the minds of some members. Thanks in advance for the edit.

In regards to the situation with Jamie at SBN, I have to admit, I'm very confused... I was there (remember?) and I thought that we had cleared up that miscommunication; Jamie wasn't trying to give you a hard time and only wanted you to get in the lanes, thinking that you were ready to go. Like I said to you in the meeting we had, I think if you would have given him a time frame as to when you would be able to get in the lanes, that whole situation wouldn't have erupted. Either way, I thought it was settled, but obviously it wasn't, otherwise you wouldn't have posted this thread about it. I know you're not targeting him specifically and that there are no hard feelings, but bringing it back up only serves to open up wounds...

I hope this post helps clear matters up and gives you a better understanding of what we are doing to make things work more smoothly. You know we love seeing your car in the lanes and we appreciate your support.

All the best my friend,

Moe

well i understand on both sides about the whole combining classes but also realize that in the street class for imports their are alot more cars in your class and a bigger variety i myself drive a protege but at tuner jam i go up against 350z,supra,wrx,ect my whole point is that its about having fun and all this should do is make people work harder on their cars to be able to go up agianst anybody.but thats just my opinoin and just go with the flow.

You hit the nail on the head Proman...

It's all about having fun and taking it to "the next level"... healthy, fun competition.

Thanks for your input; something tells me your Protege will likely be a contender next year! 

All the best,

Moe

Proman, thanks for your great insight about having fun. I appreciate your comments it shows the kind of sportsman you are. Thanks again :-)

the floydstr 

Guys, I dont want you to think that I'm not Having fun! and I do appologize about the post. The comments where a joke between me, Josh and his sister... all in good fun and lighthearted-ness. No offence to anyone, and I am sorry!

 Mo, the comments that I said, where just a simple statment... they were not ment to start anything with anyone. Its just a simple thing that needed to be address to every judge... Members do not like to be rushed at shows. Plain and simple. Like i said, i was taught by markie and corie not to stand for it. You, jamie, and myself did fix the situation at the time, But I do think it is fair that the other memebers of IASCA know what had happened and should know not to stand for it! 

 Terry, I was told that josh had a hand in writing the rule books, if that was not true, i take the statement back, because i was mis-informed by one of your judges. it was a conversation that was had with me and a few of the tuner jam judges just to get a general idea of what was happening so i could calm down some of the competitors at SBN. NO BIGGY! :o)

 And yes, i do understand the reason behing combining the classes, however, i think it would have been a little more approprate to let EVERYONE know ahead of time! like at the competitors meeting! I still had a killer time, dont get me wrong. you all know how good of friends josh and I are, and we had a killer time competiting against each other! I was just giving some incite into the show! :o)

thanks for the awesome responses! and sorry i didnt edit the post myself, I dont get on the computer as much as i wish i could! been busy with work!!! see you guys soon!

-C

Hey Chad,

Really sorry about the late reply my friend... caught up with website, the office move and building a couple cars for Soundcrafters... my days are pretty full lately! lol

Anyway, thanks for clearing that up; you are correct, we should have been more diligent and posted the classes well ahead of time. We'll be sure to make that happen for next year.

We're glad you had a great time this year and we hope that we all have even more fun next year, INSIDE the Ocean Center! (Finally, whew, lol)

All the best,

Moe