Would YOU come back?

[Frasson118]

This is an article written by Pat & Bill Eckel, who are about as close to "professional race fans" that there is. These 2 travel all over the country, almost every weekend of the year, and this is their experience with CCMP. If you were them, would you ever return?

They might be fooling their county, but they're not fooling the rest of the country. A bad, overpriced, inefficient show IS a deal killer. Maybe it was just a bad night there, but many thousands of people pay attention to what the Eckels have to say, and they didn't say nice things... in fact, they made a whole lot of sense.

CCMP... need to get your act together!

Saturday, December 5 - We hurried over toward Punta Gorda and our night destination of the Charlotte County Motorsports Park. The day time temperature had only reached 62 degrees so we knew it was going to be damp and cold this evening. We were looking forward to seeing the asphalt sprints running wingless under the banner of the CFSS (Checkered Flag Sprint Series) and the figure 8 busses which would be a new track for us. Well, guess what?? We didn’t get to see either. According to the release from CFSS posted on the hoseheads.com web site on Tuesday they canceled their final event due to the impending inclement weather conditions for the south Florida area. Well I don’t know what weather service they looked at but weather.com’s forecast got better as the week went on. By Friday they were calling for 60% chance of showers during the day clearing out by 6 PM and no chance of rain for the rest of the evening. Well, if I was Mark Gimmler who finished 10 points behind point champion, Keith Butler, I wouldn’t have been too happy about not running. I don’t understand why a sanctioning body would cancel their portion of the racing while the track itself did not and were able to run their program on the evening in question. Makes a race fan want to come out and support a group who doesn’t even give it a shot to run!! I will tell you about the figure 8 situation toward the end of the blog.

We will give CCMP management credit for giving it their all to be able to be ready to run their show even though the grounds were still with big puddles throughout the grounds both inside the gates and outside. We were not aware of the sprint cancellation and no posting of such was hanging anywhere to inform the race fan of this situation. Therefore the $20 charged to witness six divisions of budget racers was entirely too steep.

The first on track activity took place at 6:15, just 15 minutes off the scheduled starting time, and we will give them this as they did a great job pumping the excess water out to allow racing to occur. Time trials were run for the nine outlaw street stocks on hand as they would be running a special 50 lap (why so many laps for so few cars??) feature event later in the program. The first heat racing was led off by the one heat for the 8 fab fours on hand followed by two heats for the 11 road warriors what would be racing. The pro fours only needed one heat for their seven car field while the thunder trucks needed two for their 13 truck field (the largest field of the evening). The mini stocks ran one heat for their seven car field before the intermission break at 7:44. The figure 8’s would only run a feature. Twenty minutes later we were ready to go with the first feature event of the evening. The fab fours ran 25 non-stop laps with A.J. Pollard able to hold off the field for the win with the checker waving at 8:14. The road warriors were next up and they would run a feature 30 laps being the distance. What followed was the show killer when it took these guys and gals 55 minutes to run their feature slowed by nine cautions. Did management ever hear about the concept of a time limit!!! Jeff Firestine won this marathon. All this time the few hundred fans in attendence got colder and colder as the night went on. And the clown up in the announcing booth mentioned every time he came trackside in his short sleeves that it was a little nippy tonight. Well, maybe he should try sitting outside all night instead of sitting up there in his heated announcing booth cracking stupid jokes and telling us more times than I care to remember that the hard cider at the beer stand was real good as they fed him free samples.

It was not until 9:30 that the 35 lap thunder truck feature saw the initial green flag and these folks proceeded to bang and crash each other to the tune of six cautions and 45 minutes of agony with James Dellea surviving. The pro fours were next and they ran one of the better races of the evening going 25 laps with only one caution in 11 minutes with John Pummell Jr. prevailing. It was now 10:30 with still three features to go. The outlaw street stocks took the green at 10:37 and proceeded to put on the best race of the evening. Shane Leonard won but the race long battle for positions two through four was excellent. It was now 11:02 and for the first time became aware of the fact that the speedway has an 11:30 curfew. The mini stocks came trackside and we both got this sick feeling in our stomachs. We both knew deep down in our souls that we would not be seeing any figure 8 racing tonight. And true to form the final checker of the evening waved at 11:29 and the evening was declared complete. Jesse Dutilly stood in victory lane as the fans exited the race track. I spoke with one of the track officials and he stated that they have a strict 11:30 curfew which is enforced.

Well, that didn’t do us any good as we never saw a wheel turn on the figure 8 course in racing action so there would be no Florida double this road trip. We both were fuming as we exited the grounds and this might have helped warmed us up after a long and cold evening witnessing the most inefficient racing program that we have seen all year. Why did it take almost 5 1/2 hours to run six classes when 13 was the highest car count in any division?? The amount of down time during caution periods was much too long and the flagger insisted that he must throw the white flag before restarting every race even though the cars and trucks were perfectly aligned and could have gone sooner. And why did they have to run so many laps in every feature for so few cars?? And if you knew you had a curfew why would you interview the top three in every feature class except one and not have time limits on any and all divisions?? I sent an e-mail to the Charlotte County web site so I will pass on any explainations they may send along on some of their reasoning for the going ons at their speedway.

It was a pitiful example of management have no clue on how to run an efficient program and a prime example of why some short track racing is in bad shape. Maybe the above mismanagement, the cold weather and the 20 dollar price tag were reasons there were only a few hundred fans in attendence. People will find better ways to spend their hard earned money if promoters don’t wake up and improve their product. Enough said!!!

[Frasson118]

"Why did it take almost 5 1/2 hours to run six classes when 13 was the highest car count in any division??"

There's NO excuse for that kind of torture, especially on a cold, damp night. Not to mention, they got to see NEITHER of the classes they came to see, and not discounted a penny for it.

[Edm]

That's pretty bad but they must have caught them on a bad night. If it was like that all the time the place would be empty. If you think it was bad for a fan not to see the figure 8 race that night, imagine what it was like for the drivers who rushed there after a long week of work only to wait around all night in the cold then have to pack it up without racing. Pretty bad for everyone.

I'm going this weekend for the first time so hopefully it will be decent. Too long of a drive for it not to be.

[sunshinestateracing1]

not all correct

Figure 8 bus racing was not on the schedule for that night according to the web site, The figure 8 bus race was two weeks prior to this date and they only run them once a month.

not sure about the other issues, but there was not any Figure 8 bus racing scheduled.

I seen the race two weeks earlier and it was a great bus race, wish they would have been scheduled again that soon, but they were not.

[Frasson118]

By the way, this wasn't posted in an effort to bash this track in particular. It's a criticism of ALL tracks that drag their shows on, overcharge for the show fans got for their money, and send people home pissed off. For the Greatest Show On Earth, this show sure didn't impress anyone.

A 50 lap, 9 car race... that took 55 minutes to complete???? Gimme a break!

At the VERY least, CCMP should have explained at the ticket window that the Sprints would not be there, and reduced the admission price by $5.00. Letting people pay full-price and THEN finding out, is more or less a bait & switch practice. They had less people to pay off, which basically is an increase for the track. With that small of a crowd, maybe they were desperate. And if $20 IS the normal rate, you guys are ripping people off EVERY week.

The same situation happened to me at Auburndale recently, with the Sprints being cancelled (it might have been the same club too), but they had the decency to hold the ticket price down to an affordable $10 (maybe it was $12). I'd have been very upset if they charged me $20 and then let me find out the truth later on.

Tracks that take this kind of approach to running what is supposed to be an exciting sport, are only gonna run the people off that are anything less than die-hard fans. Again, this doesn't mean just CCMP, but ANY track that runs a show as poorly as this one was.

[bubba]

Its peculiar that they took the time to note the start and finish of each race prior to realizing they were behind, normally you do that when you are already pissed. Seems like maybe an axe to grind.

However, if it did unfold that way - that is gawd awful.

[Frasson118]

Actually, noting the starting/finishing times is something the Eckels have done for a good 15 years. They do it from every track they visit. Most times, they even tell what time they got up, and when they pulled in the driveway at the end of the night. They have no axe to grind with anyone, but they do put out their impressions of every single track and race they go to (which is over 100 races per year!).

They've seen the best and worst of every corner of this country... if they say a track or show is a dog, I believe them!

[OLD STYLE RACER 2]

Hey Jerry?....What's the name of there site?

[Frasson118]

Go to Gaternews.com

There is a list of bloggers on the left side of the home page. I didn't look to see if there are archives or not. They wrote for many years in The Racing News, in a column called "A Typical Weekend"... which for the rest of us would be anything but "typical". Sometimes they will hit 5-7 shows in a week... most of the time without ever missing work! These 2 do NOT sit still, nor do they spend very much time at any one particular track, or even a particular STATE.

[SeminoleWind]

I've been reading about the Eckels travels for a few years. Always very informative and interesting. Lately, I have not read too many positive reports during their visits to our nations speedways.

We have got to figure out where we are going with this sport.

Do we want fans in the stands? If not, then 5 and 6 hour shows are fine. Go to an SCCA race, they will race from 8 in the morning until dark (most races do have time limits). Sure, they will sell you a ticket, but it is never advertised as a "show" or "entertainment".
Maybe we are at the point of amateur road racing and drag racing. No purses, plenty of track time, a program geared for the racers. If you want to come and watch, fine, just expect to see race cars on their time, not yours.

[Edm]

Not to get off topic but this somewhat relates. I don't understand why these tracks charge $20 for grand stand seating for any race. How can a family of 4 afford that when dad/mom is lucky to bring home $500 a week if anything? These tracks don't understand that money is one of the main reasons people quit coming. I remember in my teens I would go to the track and see several people in the stands my age with their families. You don't see that anymore.

[flvideo]

Ed the times have changed. I grew up at race tracks too and as soon as you arrived you went looking for your buddys. The racing was good then but the most important thing was my buds. The thing is the money crunch an the economy has effected us all. Tracks as well as the working stiff. I see tracks doing things that would have been unheard of when I was growing up at tracks around Florida. Carnivals, stunt shows, rodeos, Drifting, and anything to bring new people. When I sarted racing I made .90 cents an hour pumping gas and changing oil. I rode a motorcycle that got 100MPG at .19 cents a gallon to get to school and where ever else I could get to. Al our cars and most parts came from the local junk yards. Now its hard or impossible to be competitive with junk yard parts. The tracks are for the most part just trying to stay open. Whe I was growing up racing or hanging out at a local drive in or a bond fire at the beach was the only entertainment we had. Now if you lite a fire on the beach they'd put you under the jail. We rode our motorcycles on the beach and had a ball. Now there is so much for the young people to do its a competition for the entertainment buck. Just my .02 cents. Bob... ps: Give me a call on my cell when you get to CCMP I'd like to shake your hand. 941-737-5857

[Edm]

I'd like to shake your hand. 941-737-5857

Ditto will do, whats the weather like down there?

[flvideo]

I looked at the weather a while ago and the Tampa station called for 50% chances of rain Sat. We have been pretty lucky this year and dodged the bullit several times. Give me a call. Bob...

[Andy S]

At the VERY least, CCMP should have explained at the ticket window that the Sprints would not be there, and reduced the admission price by $5.00. Letting people pay full-price and THEN finding out, is more or less a bait & switch practice.

I think that's the bit that would have angered me, and probably made me never return again. I worked with a local soccer team back in the Uk who advertised a game against a big top-level team (Liverpool FC), sold advance tickets, promoted the game everywhere and got a great big crowd in paying full match admission prices. When the teams came out they found the match was against a 'Liverpool FC XI' which turned out to be the Under 18s team, and NONE of the promised superstars were within 300 miles of the stadium. That was 7 years ago and the team still hear about that debacle whenever they try to promote a big fundraiser or announce the promotions for a big game.

One thing I find interesting in this whole debate is that it obviously comes into the bigger issue of trying to get more people into the stands. Most of the discussions always talk about trying to get new people into the sport, brining new families in, and what can tracks add to their show to bring first-timers in. I think there are two things going on with this that don't get the attention they deserve:

1 - this board is full of people who already like racing, and a lot of them aren't going anymore or are cutting down on their nights at the races. Surely it would take a lot less work to try and get these people out and into the stands than to find ways to bring the elusive 'new blood' out?

I heard a really interesting interview with a marketing guy a few months back that really hit home with me and that I use a lot in my own job. He said that quite often what brings companies down is that they can have a market share of 90% and they just obsess about that 10% that they don't have, trying to get them as well. They put all their effort into that 10%, trying to please them, change what they do to attract them, and put very little effort into trying to keep the 90% that like what they do already happy. And then they wonder why, with all the changes and the lack of attention showed to their existing customers, their base drops away and they lose the customers they do have, and never get the elusive 10% anyway.

Are local racetracks in danger of doing this?

2 - on the back of that, and again this is something I wrangle with in my day job all the time, the elusive 'newcomers' that a lot of thought goes into are an interesting sector themselves. I see lots of promotions being done to bring new people in, but very few of them seem to stick around. Conversely this board, and even my own experience, is that something in us all clicked when we first saw racing. For me I enjoyed seeing the cars close up that first night, but ultimately it was the quality of the racing and the cars out there that brought me back the next week, and no novelty races or promotions. Conversely I've also been to racetracks where the quality of the racing was poor and the cars themselves weren't that great, and I really wasn't busting a gut to go back there again.

My point with this is that do the tracks need to accept that there will always be people who go along to the tracks as a novelty and barely come back, but also appreciate that there'll also be people who come along, see a good show and connect with something there that hooks them for life? And those people just need the push to get to the track one time to realize it, which is more about doing things like the Boy Scout promotions we've seen at OSW this year.

Similarly there are a load of people out there who've already shown that they enjoy racing as they head over to NASCAR tracks every year, but don't come to their local short-track. Is what they need to be shown the direct line between the two levels of sport, and how close the quality of cars and racing is? In which they're more likely to be put off by the gimmicks than they are attracted by them.

Just wondering aloud, but I do think the point about spending so much time and effort on attracting new fans while risking alienating the existing and lapsed fans is a valid one - just from reading this board it's obvious that it's a problem.