Pete, Read the posters & flyers. The money is staying local. Might want to get the facts first. As for rudeness, volunteers are just that. They are not decision makers. They are there to try to keep things running smoothly. Might be hard to do with people swearing at you.

Pete, I am not discounting what you say about rudeness being encountered by staff. I apologize for Wings & Wheelz to anyone who experienced that. As I said earlier, pre-registration indicated a small turnout except for possibly the drag. We did not anticipate 230 show cars + to show and 4000+ people to show up. The staff was overwhelmed. We are already planning, if the event takes place again next year, to triple, if not more, the volunteers who staff the event. Most of the volunteers were those who also volunteer at AirFEST. AirFEST had over 60,000 people attend this past May and all went fairly smooth considering. This was Wings & Wheelz first year, it can only improve! Food tix & lines were an issue and will definitely be changed for future events. The fact we had to turn show cars away due to lack of space is also another issue we are addressing for a possible event next year. The Drag, thanks to the group who helped us head it up, was fantastic! We did have Car Show & Drag race people assist us in these events. We also need to plan a date when 3 other major Fly-Ins in N. Illinois & Wisconsin are not taking place. Attendence by planes was truly affected by this. Any other questions, complaints or suggestions can be sent to g_conway5@yahoo.com. Please, we want to see the good, bad and the ugly! Thanks for your understanding.

I went and had a blast as a spectator. Again, I have some of the same complaints (no rudeness experienced) and some more. They had some dumpsters located in the way of viewing the drag race, and the long lines for food tickets and then a long line to use the ticket was insane. However, I understood the fact it was the first time for this. I wish they do it again, because I loved it. We need to keep the interest in these machines, as each generation that arrives, it seems that this will be a forgotton experience.

I also was a volunteer for the drag strip. I was at the end of the track handing out "time slips" with the driver's MPH. We had planned on announcing the MPH so the crowd could hear, but my radio was too far away to communicate with those at the start line. Again, it's something that will definitely be improved next year, but I still think it went as well as could be expected for the first event.

As far as event staff being rude... if you're talking about the short-haired girl who was working near the entrance gate, she was rude to everyone, myself included.

How did they advertise this? Myself, hubby and everyone I spoke with about it (after we rode by it!) didn't even know it was going on!! I would have went as would alot of my family.

Considering this was the first event that was held there of its kind, I think it went as well as it could. The 1/8 mile portion went smooth and besides some of the normal mishaps that happen it couldnt have gone better. As far as it being compared to autorama, where do they hold the 1/8 mile runs at autorama?

Kangaroojack......I was part of the prepteam for the event and I will say this again, it was an airport taxiway, not a dragstrip and there were cars in the low 11/high 10 sec. range that were hooking just fine for what it was. Next year will be even better,and you can bet on that.

I do agree that some changes need to be made, however, I think that this event has the potential to be a big hit again next year. I did, like Pete, encounter a VERY rude staff volunteer...however, she was feeling flustered due to the lack of coordination. There seemed to be a lack of signage in regards to where the beer tent was, the need to purchase food tickets before standing in the food line, etc. That said, we will likely attend again. (I do wish that they would announce each car's speed according to the deputy's radar guns.)

taysgranny -- don't get excited, Pete seems to be an inveterate complainer.

In response to the drag costing $25 and then add'l charges after running the drag. That is false. The drag charge was $25 for ALL DAY RUNS! If you or someone you know were charged additional costs after being in the drag please contact Wings and Wheelz at 608-754-5405 IMMEDIATELY! The charge to get in for Drag was $25 and that was good for as many runs as you could get in from Noon - 4:00 p.m.
Please understand that this was the first year, many, many bugs to iron out. We appreciate all feedback and suggestions. We are NOT a sanctioned race track, it was purely for "the fun of it". If staff was rude, we'd also like to know the situation along with a description of that staff member. We know there was a backlog in Registration and the Food ticket/food area. This will be changed for future events. We truly did not anticipate the amount of attendees for show & drag. We had pre-registration with only about 6 for the drag and 12 for show cars. How do you look in your magic ball to see that 180 show cars would show along with 48 drag? WE apologize if your experience was not up to par but we will take ALL of your suggestions seriously and implement new systems for our next event, hopefully next year. Thanks for your understanding.

I'm not going to it again. What a cluster. What airshow? 5 planes? "Flour drop"? I'm not even gonna go into the "drag racing". At least they could had cleaned the dirt off the runway first. Seeing a bunch of cars having alot of problems getting ANY traction was just pathetic. And $25/a run? Geesh. $30 gets you all night at Union Grove on a REAL dragstrip.

And whos bright idea was it to make you stand in line for food/drink TICKETS to stand in another line to get food or drink?

Saw the video and thought it was good. Not sure where this person thought they were rude. Keep in mind that it could an individual and not the whole group. I also think that some people just think everyone should kiss the ground they walk on. That is the customer I would not want coming back no matter how much they spend. Sounds like this person is jealous because he or she is part of the Beloit Autorama.