Old DeSoto Stuff...

[Rick Anges]

I came across this. If you have anything from DeSoto past or present post it here.

[Rick Anges]

[Rick Anges]

How it began..

[Jeff42442]

1981 Program from Desoto

[sport603]

Cool stuff, I was at the Knievel jump.

[BVS40FL]

How it began ?

So it started as a dirt track for tractor pulls , huh ?

[Matt Albee]

I don't understand the first post, the Spiderman ad. Giveaways galore, Spiderman in the house, best dressed crew award, win a race car for a $1 ticket. Someone should have told Tom that promotion like that isn't necessary, all you have to do to be a success in race track promotion is unlock the gate on race night and allow people to come race and spectate at your track.
Anybody see ANYTHING on that ad that couldn't be duplicated or even improved upon by any track owner truly wanting to increase business?

[Jimmy McKinley]

1) Billy Gill in our car leads Tricky Dicky in a Hanley chassis machine and Dave Pletcher in the Mitton Electric #21. 1980 (the second season the track was open).

2) Jimmy Cope in his first year (1979) in a Late Model ride after driving the JoTo's Pizza Sportsman car. Car was owned by Bob Kirk and crew-chiefed by Jim McKinley (my dad), and we towed all the way from Vero Beach, FL every *FRIDAY* night to run at DeSoto. That's my dad on the far right of the picture.

3) A 1986 ad for a NASCAR All-American Challenge Series race, the Goody's 125, with Winston Cup superstars Rusty Wallace and Neil Bonnett making an appearance.

4) The legend hisself - Dick Trickle towed down from Wisconsin for the 1984 Florida Triple Crown weekend - Friday, a 50-lapper at DeSoto; Saturday, the Gulf Coast Classic 100 at Sunshine; and back to Bradenton on Sunday for the Coca-Cola 200.

5) Junior Purcell, in our car, gets a Florida Pro win at DeSoto Speedway in 1990. For some reason, I wanna say that this was the very first Florida Pro race - and it wasn't a pretty win....LOL...

[petermmg]

I don't understand the first post, the Spiderman ad. Giveaways galore, Spiderman in the house, best dressed crew award, win a race car for a $1 ticket. Someone should have told Tom that promotion like that isn't necessary, all you have to do to be a success in race track promotion is unlock the gate on race night and allow people to come race and spectate at your track.
Anybody see ANYTHING on that ad that couldn't be duplicated or even improved upon by any track owner truly wanting to increase business?

Matt. I am new to this forum and wonder if you are serious when you say that all a promoter has to do to be successful is unlock the gate on a race night. Maybe I am getting old and lost my sense of humor. But if you really think it's that easy, just look at all of the tracks that have gone out of business or changed promoters in the past. Some examples: Punta Gorda Speedway (multiple times) Desoto, Orlando Speed World, Lakeland, St Augustine, Clewiston dirt track (multiple times), Sunshine, Okeechobee dirt track, Vero Beach, Palm Beach Fairgrouds, Ft. Myers, Hialeah, Miami Hollywood, Florida City, Tampa State Fairgrounds, Lake City and Jacksonville among others. And that is only tracks here in Florida. I am sure that some of these promoters had no clue as to what they were doing but many were successfull businessmen in other fields. Anyone can make a SMALL fortune in the race track promotion business. Just be sure that you start with a BIG one.

[Osmosis Jones]

Don't worry, Peter....

He's just being facetious.

Good natured sarcasm runs rampant on this here forum and if you stick around long enough you'll figure out who you can laugh with and/or laugh at.

Stimus was a hell of a promoter who really knew nothing about racing. His gift was for reading people and knowing what would get them excited enough about something to want to spend their hard earned money on it.

I've said before if one of these promoters could somehow "channel" Stimus' promotional genius they could write their own ticket. But to this day I don't know of anyone who has sat down and asked somebody...what did he do that put capacity crowds in the stands and race cars on every slab( and then some) in the pits. What was his formula?


Like how many licks it takes to reach the center of a Tootsie Roll Lollipop....

...the world may never know.


Osmo

[Matt Albee]

I was attempting to be humorous. Promoting ( if it can even be called that now days ) consists of putting a couple of posts on racing message boards and maybe facebook. And if any off that should actually manage to draw someone to the track, there is nothing there to make them want to come back again next week. I've been a regular at Desoto for a long time and i've seen what puts fans in the seats and cars on the track. And i've been to many other tracks that can't seem to give the fans or racers any reason to support them.
Read the Spiderman ad carefully and ask yourself what keeps any track from duplicating everything in that add. The answer is effort. The promoter, or track owner, or marketing guy would actually have to do something besides just opening the gate and waiting for the crowd to show up.
Stimus didn't understand racing very well but he sure understood promoting a product.

[petermmg]

I was attempting to be humorous. Promoting ( if it can even be called that now days ) consists of putting a couple of posts on racing message boards and maybe facebook. And if any off that should actually manage to draw someone to the track, there is nothing there to make them want to come back again next week. I've been a regular at Desoto for a long time and i've seen what puts fans in the seats and cars on the track. And i've been to many other tracks that can't seem to give the fans or racers any reason to support them.
Read the Spiderman ad carefully and ask yourself what keeps any track from duplicating everything in that add. The answer is effort. The promoter, or track owner, or marketing guy would actually have to do something besides just opening the gate and waiting for the crowd to show up.
Stimus didn't understand racing very well but he sure understood promoting a product.

Oh boy! I look like a dope. that was pretty funny now that I know you were joking. Thanks. We all could use some humor these days

[Scotty67]

While on the topic of old Desoto Speedway history, does anybody else know who won the first late model championship at the track? Just as a clue, its not one of the popular names from that era, but still pretty good. He beat a fellow by the name of lovelady by 5 points for it. Just as proof, Ive got the trophy available to me.

Thanks for posting that old stuff, i grew up at that track during the Stimus days. I remember going there every Saturday from 1988-1991, just to see the late models. Ive got so many programs from there, I'll try to get them up in the next few days. Again, thanks for the memories.

[flvideo]

In my wildest dreams!

I would never have imagined the phone call I just got. Tom Stimus's Grand son, Josh. He wants to get video from Tom's days at Desoto. Can anyone find a date on that Spiderman poster? I will try and find video from that night to post on here.

[Jimmy McKinley]

Can anyone find a date on that Spiderman poster? I will try and find video from that night to post on here.

May 20 - 1988, I'd assume. The date is listed just above the classes on that poster.