FUPS Sportsman Rules and Dates

[dirtracer29x]

first off this isnt a v8 bomber class or mini stock everyone know's what it takes to run theses cars and be up front it's part of racing if you cant afford it dont do it why sit here and complain on how much tires are or payout. Racing isnt cheap never has been never will be it's simple!!

[chassisdude]

first off this isnt a v8 bomber class or mini stock everyone know's what it takes to run theses cars and be up front it's part of racing if you cant afford it dont do it why sit here and complain on how much tires are or payout. Racing isnt cheap never has been never will be it's simple!!

Obviously money is no object for you but for the average guy paying $400 plus for tires each week to race for $600 to win is a losing situation from the start. Either you are lucky and have money to burn or you have a sponsor and you never had to pay your own way. Sure racing is expensive but to know you will tow to a track and after all expenses you must pay even if you win the feature you lost money for the weekend, and this is not counting initial cost of building or buying a car and motor, crash damage amd weekly maintenance. Dirtracer there is no reason why a guy shouldn't be able to come close to breaking even at the end of the night of racing, (with no car or motor damage) on most nights. All I have been saying is a hard tire will even the field, last a lot longer, saving the team a lot of money, bring more cars to the track and in turn more fans in the stands.

[Don Nerone]

"bad economy" is just a cheap excuse for lazy promoters. Many tracks are doing just fine.

Also.... Chassisdude.... you're trying to make a point with a guy that used to BE a tire dealer. And his son still is. You're on the right track, but when the tracks figured out THEY could profit from tire & fuel sales, they put the screws to the racers. Not-so-long ago, a minimum tire & fuel purchase was unheard of, along with Entry Fees and Pit Slab fees. Racetracks are gouging the racers that support them. This problem is also MUCH worse at asphalt tracks than it is at dirt tracks.

Yep Jerry a track owner promoter race fan and car tire dealer fule sales ans cooked a few hot dogs for many years but we know u had a racing forklift once.
You talk like the tracks are raking in the cash.. They are throwing out the cash just like the racer. All of us are in the same boat and ned to row in the same direction.


Yep jerry i know i cant spell and u can!!

Don62

[victory10]

I am moving to Florida this weekend & I have to say as someone who has been involved in racing the last 40 years as a former track employee with knowledge & experience in all areas of track operations, a racer who has had to fund out of pocket with no budget as well as have had fortunate years with big sponsors. When I spent several weeks looking for houses & checking out all the tracks in Florida, I was BLOWN AWAY when I seen the mandatory fuel purchase rules as well as the extremely high prices for fuel, tires and some tracks pit pass & fan admission prices. At all the tracks I race at or go to, I have never seen the mandatory/minimum purchase stuff & fuel is MAX $7 a gallon, Tires are alot cheaper then they are down here, tracks are coming up with lots of creative gate specials for fans & the purses are MUCH better from top to bottom.

Also, FYI for up north (Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin) the majority of the tracks up north that do try to charge entry fees, have higher fuel costs & tire costs, are the tracks that are hurting the most, are in danger of closing or have closed. the ones who have seen things differently & have actually accepted the inevitable. They have worked to keep the exspense for the racer down as much as they could as well as dropping the gate & concession prices mixed with special nights of group discounts. These are the ones getting more cars/fans, doing very well with no signs or need of considering closing. Making a SMALL, FAIR profit on tires, fuel, food, and such is fine as it is a business & its impossible to run a business by simply breaking even. I have never had an issue with track owners making a little money or profit as whether they are old school and just love racing or all business, its part of being an owning a business is to make profit not just break even. However, the ones gouging or being greedy are the ones I dont feel sorry & in my opinion, nor do they when it fails because they simply needed to take off the blinders & see that changes are needed before its too late.

The fact is, what does work & what does keep em coming is to be able to go race with at least a "CHANCE" of breaking even or maybe even making a little bit every now and then & it goes the same for the fans....If they cannot take the family out on saturday night for less then what thier entertainment budget allows, which is alot less then it used to be, then they simply decide to stay home, cookout or do something that thier budget can afford. The other thing alot of the tracks are or have done is went to bi-weekly races for the higher classes as well as not having as many outside special series type events. They still have them but just not as much as they used to. Really it boils down to looking at one way or the other....is it better to have 1000-1200 fans in the stands at $10 a head or 250-300 at $15.00 a head? Is it better to have 100 cars in the pits because you sell fuel & tires cheaper, wave entry & slab fees or have 50 because you feel you have to make a killing off of all those things? Numbers dont lie and the math is pretty simple.

In todays economy, the whole "less equals more" concept is what truly works the best. The owners or promoters who see this as well as the ones who start doing all the can to never send a car home for not making the exact rules & instead work to allow any car to race with weight penalties or whatever that makes it fair for everyone. this type of thought process will also be the ones who prosper from the ones who dont.

[victory10]

BTW, I agree on alot of this stock type stuff being required a bit crazy in the rules when simply allowing aftermarket (made for racing) parts in several areas is safer & cheaper for some things. One, of many, good examples would be the clutch rule as by the time you buy all the right stuff for the 10 inch deal, its as exspensive as a good racing clutch. simple weight infractions can almost always solve things but not rediculous penalties like 100 pounds. The sportsman class is and always has been my favorite class but I opted to sell mine up north as it wasnt even close when I read & seen all the stock type rules as well as the purse all over the state. Best of luck however as I would love to see the series succeed, get all the kinks worked out with the series officials & racers as well as see the tracks all adopt the same set of rules. When/if that happens I will noyt hesitate to build one, run the series & class all over for sure once its all sorted out & gets through the normal and typical growing pains. Until then I am going to just run my car as a Pro Late & keep a close eye on things. again, best of luck to the series & drivers running it.