Great News About Desota

[elmer]

I agree with both of you guys. You have to have a 4 cyl bommer class and a 8 cyl bommer class. And put them on street tires so the working man can afford to race. Now that you have a tech man that will enforce the rules put forth.

[77NovaRacer]

I agree with both of you guys. You have to have a 4 cyl bommer class and a 8 cyl bommer class. And put them on street tires so the working man can afford to race. Now that you have a tech man that will enforce the rules put forth.

This right here! This is what the track needs !

[Lucky6]

Rules

Just thinking maybe the track could of asked 1 bomber like Rob or Petty and 1 street stock with the fabricated body like B Vandevender, also a sportsman like Michael Attwood, maybe even an old pure stock like Darren Ellis to the meeting Saturday, not to run just so whoever shows up seeing them might bring some light to the rules sometimes seeing things all together may just show the differences of who should be combined or not.

As you will see that the Sportsman class and the Street Stock class will be the two closes in body types and engine and suspension. I am finding it very hard to believe that the two guys that are now running Desoto Critter and Cope that as long as they have been in racing and around all of these class don't know this already. That scares me just alittle bit.

[Matt Albee]

Matt, you made the statement that cars didn't stop they moved up. Really then you have fell and hit your damn head. I can't tell you how many bombers no longer run because of rule changes and the cost of moving up. Go faster maybe but having fun is the key for many who race in the lower classes. Being able to compete at that level is draining on the wallet enough. Making them spend even $25 more dollars a week to try and complete will kill the car count and the show as you put it. this has already been proven over the last few years. Don't combine the classes. if you can afford to move up then do so. If not then give them a chance to race and have fun and still put on a show for the fans.

Are you sure about that??? No one has moved up from Bomber or Pure Stock classes??? I find that a little hard to believe. And more to the point, how could we consider the entry level classes to be entry level if no one ever moves up to faster classes?
The entry level classes, no matter what you call them, do not bring in fans. Entry level classes are not going to induce sponsors to buy track billboards and races. And that's a sad and hard fact. Lower level classes need to be combined with the faster cars so that heat races never have 5 or 6 cars in them. And that goes for Sportsman classes as well. It's been discussed on boards for years, and a number of good ideas have been offered. The best ones have to do with grouping the cars together based on their lap times, not on the cars.
If anyone has any real evidence that entry level classes are what the fans come to see, by all means share it. And if that evidence doesn't exist, then it's time to combine the classes.

[flvideo]

Matt! I have been at Desoto most of the last 30 years and the Bombers, pure stocks, street stocks, Sportsman, and mini stocks have had their following over the years by fans and sponsors. I have scoured the landscape for sponsors and have come up with some good ones for lower classes. What I have found is that the potentiel sponsors want to be involved with a class of cars that get a lot of attention on the track and I can't speak for other tracks but Desoto has always had good hard racing in these lower classes and has attracted a large fan base. The back bone classes or the lower classes as you call them are the glue that holds the track together. The Traveling classes or the upper classes are the icing on the cake. In Feb I have been involved with racing 61 years and if I have learned anything from my experience is that first you have to take care of the drivers, no matter what class they race in, and when they are happy they put on a whale of a show and the people will come. I heard a few people express frustration with having meet and greets on the front stretch as being a waste of time. Thats what will attract sponsors for the drivers and the track. When the fans can put a face on the drivers they see racing and see the sponsors on their car its a win win situation. I have heard others say the front stretch interviews are a waste but thats the same situation. You give the drivers and their sponsors their minute in the lime light! Sorry I didn't set out to wright a book but I love our sport and I want to see it succeed!

[Matt Albee]

I've been going to Desoto since the Stimus days, it's my home track, and i've seen more than my share of lower class races. But I've never seen a huge turnout in cars or fans for any lower class races. I've never heard the fans clamoring for more Bomber races.
Not that a big turnout isn't possible, look at the giant car and fan turnout at NFS a few months ago for the Corbin Memorial. Lower class cars were the main feature. But the reason for that turnout was a hell of a lot of marketing, and an excellent purse.
And meaning no disrespect to any racer, but if the World of Outlaws late models had been racing that night too, the fans would have chosen to go to the hamburger stand during the lower class show.
I don't say the lower classes don't put on good races, I don't say the lower classes should be done away with. I'm saying that the classes need to combined to give the fans a show. Should that happen, I have no doubt that some of the racers who prefer to be big fish in a small pond will refuse to race with and against faster cars. But if done correctly, the result will be a place for every single car to race against cars that are similar in speed. Trucks can come back out of the shop and race because they'll all be lumped in with the Sportsman and probably the Street Stocks and their performance will be fairly equal. And the fans will have a weekly show that features 40 or 50 stock cars split up into heats and " everybody runs " features.

[flvideo]

I have worked at Desoto since the original owners, Gene and Stanley, were there. For years and years we averaged probably 20 to 25 cars in each class. And very seldom had traveling classes and the stands were filled with fans every week. Thru the Stimus days I worked directly for Stimus. we did a TV show. Tom filled the stands with tremendous marketing and give aways every week. He also added 2000 seats or so to the stands and filled them all. But at the end of the day the track went under. Dewayne musik I think was the longest owner of Desoto to date and he never catered to the big cars even though we had them occasionally the bACKbONEbONE CLASSES SUPPORTED THE TRACK FOR THE MOST PART. Durned cap lock! And we didn't combine classes as I can remember. If the drivers are happy they will attract more drivers and its contagious! When you get hooked on racing its the whole shot, the smell, the sound and the site. I must agree that most fans don't want to watch 3 or 4 cars race for 20 laps but if the Drivers are taken care of they won't have to. As far as moving up in class it an individual decision based on what you can afford. When I raced I race early models and never went anywhere else. I couldn't afford anything else. My parts house was Brownies junk yard. I wasn't competitive but I had a blast. Thats what is important. I may have fogotten but I don't think we had a purse jut little trophy's.

[Lucky6]

Lower Class

Wow Matt, you say you have been coming for years and have never heard of a lower class doing anything or creating a stir. Well where were you in 2005 and even 06 when the bombers averaged between 24 to 28 cars each week and became the talk in the state. Bomber fans would call the track just to see if they were racing. Where were you then. That's what I thought. Ask Rick Anges about the bombers during that time he will tell you the stories.

Oh and as the class progressed to having racing springs, shocks, and motor changes in 2007/08 the class went to crap 28 cars down to maybe 10 on a good night. That's what changes did to that class and the drivers. It was brought up then about combining the then Pure Stocks and Bombers and they didn't want to do it then. To much money to change things.

[Imhere]

instead of making guys change things on the car why not handicap with lead? If a guy is spanking everyone or you want to move up or down, add or subtract weight till cars are equal. cheap easy and will make a good show

[Matt Albee]

Wow Matt, you say you have been coming for years and have never heard of a lower class doing anything or creating a stir. Well where were you in 2005 and even 06 when the bombers averaged between 24 to 28 cars each week and became the talk in the state. Bomber fans would call the track just to see if they were racing. Where were you then. That's what I thought. Ask Rick Anges about the bombers during that time he will tell you the stories.

Oh and as the class progressed to having racing springs, shocks, and motor changes in 2007/08 the class went to crap 28 cars down to maybe 10 on a good night. That's what changes did to that class and the drivers. It was brought up then about combining the then Pure Stocks and Bombers and they didn't want to do it then. To much money to change things.

Who could forget the Bomber class at Desoto being the talk of Florida. I remember the owners of Five Flags were close to dropping all lates and super lates and just going with the wildly popular Bomber class. I even heard that NSS considered cancelling all Super Lates and NASCAR mods during Speedweeks in 2006 so they could answer the thousands of fan requests for Bomber races. If they hadn't already committed to the Supers and Mods they might very well have done it. I heard that thousands of fans from all over Florida boycotted NSS because the Bombers were snubbed and that most of those fans never returned to NSS.
Back to the subject at hand. When the classes are finally combined, the rules should also reflect new and import cars rather than 30 year old antiques. It's going to be hard to draw in younger fans if they've never even heard of many of the models being raced.

[flvideo]

Matt watch these 2 races and You tell me why they need to be combined! Its just ludicrous.

http://youtu.be/md1F201DrJQ

[Pun33]

combining screws everyone
eliminate classes with less than 5 cars for 3 weeks in a row, the owners are free to move up, move down or move out
easy fix

next issue?

[luke81]

combining screws everyone
eliminate classes with less than 5 cars for 3 weeks in a row, the owners are free to move up, move down or move out
easy fix

next issue?

I don't think it's that simple. Then you screw the people who have spent the money for the cars. It's not the racer's problem to fill the pits, it's the track's job. Tracks in Florida seem to forget that.

[Matt Albee]

Matt watch these 2 races and You tell me why they need to be combined! Its just ludicrous.

http://youtu.be/md1F201DrJQ

Thanks for the videos Bob. I was in the stands on the backstretch.
The classes need to be combined because tracks have to appear to have a big field of cars. And while we sometimes see a 14 or 16 car field, we often get a 5 or 6 car field. That doesn't give fans the bang for their buck. They can get a better show for less money in many other venues.
And virtually every car in those videos was manufactured 30 to 40 years ago.
We can spin this in many directions, but there are no fans in the stands and it's because they aren't getting their monies worth at the stock car track. The classes aren't what brings fans on a steady basis. It's lots of cars in each race , all night long, every race night.

[RandyS]

Been watching this debate (if you can call it that lol), and here is my 2 cents...

NO ONE is addressing the biggest problem the "lower" classes have and that is too many races in a year. 30 to 40 races a year is way too many. That is why Matt a racer cant afford a mere $1000 in your book to upgrade his car. Do you even know how much it costs the average person to go racing weekly? Around $200 if nothing major breaks or gets wrecked, times 40 thats $8000!!

Tracks need to look at a better format like "Racing Leagues". Mini Leagues. Shorter periods. Year long championships for a "Hobby" are over.

They need to look at new ideas like "Index Racing". No rules just time restrictions.

Updated rules to include EFI. Open up computers and let the best programer win.

It is not 1970 anymore.

The promoter that figures this out first will win. The rest will just continue to do what they are doing and NOTHING will change.

It will take some big ones to buck the system and do something new and exciting.