100 lap super race at citrus?

[bubba]

Cmon Mike you and Tom dont know shite from shinola. Matt knows everything and everything that isnt Desoto sucks - get on board man!

I like what Desoto is doing, but their unapproved spokesperson is jading it for me. I will probably keep my streak of never having seen a show there intact.

[Matt Albee]

Mike, i don't know the exact numbers for what tires, fuel, bodies, etc cost but i'm certain you do so i'll take your word for it. I'd disagree that wages haven't gone up over the years, but not as much as we'd all like.
The increased costs of going racing can be attributed directly to the racers themselves. No one wanted to use junkyard bodies anymore when they could just order a cool looking body from 5 Star ( and pay many thousands instead of hundreds ). No one wanted to continue building their own chassis from scratch because Port would sell you the latest and greatest for a price ( a pretty big price ). No one built their own engines anymore because they could have one built for tens of thousands. Then they started the crate motor deal and wiped out the local race engine shops, but that's another story. All of this because racers always want to go faster, and they always want whatever is better and/or faster than their competitors. Now how is that the fault of the fans, or even the track promoters? Maybe they should have forced the racers to spend money wisely, but i'm not sure how they'd do that. The racers would just threaten to stay home.
And as i've said before, the long time racers are finding other things to do, and there aren't any new racers coming into the sport. So we're just supposed to throw up our hands and say oh wee, it was fun while it lasted.
Without the racers coming to the track, there's not much reason for the fans to come out. How long are the tracks going to last? None of this is the fan's fault, but guess who who loses out.

[Matt Albee]

Cmon Mike you and Tom dont know shite from shinola. Matt knows everything and everything that isnt Desoto sucks - get on board man!

I like what Desoto is doing, but their unapproved spokesperson is jading it for me. I will probably keep my streak of never having seen a show there intact.

Keep that streak going, that'll show em!

[Matt Albee]

As to the purses not rising, i agree. It's been discussed here many times. I've seen purses just recently that i know were the same in the 80s. Makes very little sense. But the track owners would tell you that the fans aren't coming out so the purses can't be increased. I'd say they're right about that, but i also say that the average short track is badly lacking in advertising and marketing. More sponsors mean more money, yey many tracks have few local and no national companies on board. Why? Go to any HS football game or minor league ball park and you see virtually every local business and many national ones participating. The tracks have to work harder to market to those very same companies that support the ball park.
Then the money comes in, a larger market is reached, and both ticket sales and billboard/race sponsorship goes up.
Sounds hard? Probably is. But as long as ball parks are doing it successfully, along with a lot of short tracks across the country, then it's obviously do able.

[Mike Bresnahan]

Matt I think you should go buy a team or build one from the ground up. Go find a young racer with raw talent that could benefit from an open check book and all your expertise and bring him or her up through the ranks... Or if that's too big of a jump, start small by sponsoring a driver that's struggling. All the little league teams have sponsors so if you don't have your own company I'm sure you could easily find one willing to write a check.

Heck, I'll bet if you buy tires for Tom (remember he'll need two sets, one for practice night on Friday and one for the race) he will bring his car to Desoto and maybe even let me drive it. As a car owner Tom has won more races than you have been to and as a driver I've got a decent resume' with a few championships on it. I think we can make you proud. What ya say?

[Matt Albee]

What makes you think i haven't done all/or part of the above? Or for that matter that i'm not currently doing all/or part of the above?
I don't think buying Tom some tires would get him out of his recliner. But i hope he continues to bring his 2 cars to the track, any track. Racing needs his support.
Have a good time at the concert and drive safe Mike, we'l be at the race track.

[bubba]

What makes you think i haven't done all/or part of the above? Or for that matter that i'm not currently doing all/or part of the above?
.

Well are you or aren't you? - the two people you are chastising and arguing with have done and still do when they can.

Spill the beans and let us know the foundation for all of the opinions we are given. Give yourself some credibility in what you are trying to argue - otherwise its like the blind man trying to tell me the sun is purple - I know its green!

[Matt Albee]

Naw, internet forums aren't for bean spilling. And you know as well as i do that opinions don't require foundations and usually don't have any.
You did get the color of the sun correct though.

[ocalaisback3]

Makes you wonder why East Bay and Volusia management never comes in here and write and they seems to b the 2 tracks doing the best in Fla, with regular local weekly racing featuring regular weekly classes, with a greater event once in a while. Does that sound familiar? Sounds like the way it use to b.........when the sport was in good shape.

Actually Wendy from VSP only reports on FB in between arguing with Bubba at BRP and seemly pissing a few drivers and wives off. East Bay just semms to keep to themselves which works out great for them.

[Old Racer]

Popcorn Eater

Matt, If you ever want to own a few cars and show us how to do it , Please come AHEAD. All of the guys before mention and including myself have spent tons of money for years doing what we love and will still do it wether its racing or whatever we decide to do. I would like to invite you to come with your family and friends and be a part of a Late Model race at a track of your choice with us and I will pay for for it. I have raced against Tom and Mike for years as a driver and now owner of cars and know these guys are true racers. If you would like to feel the whole experience and truly see what it takes , PM me and I will make sure you get to be apart of it from start to finish and we will reevaluate your thoughts once the weekend is over. Im willing and waiting for your response . If you find that you dont like my cars Im willing to contact Tom or Mike and see if they will agree to have you and again I will pay for it. Bring it ! Remember to pm me either way

[Old Racer]

Lets us know

Ok , Its 11:46 Thursday night and we are headed for bed . Matt we will be up at 5:30 to go to to our day jobs and leave Friday at 2:00 PM so we can head for OSW with three cars . Sat we will head for NSS with two different complete different classes of cars from south Fla. after we return home and reload . Please pm me and come get the real feeling of racing life before you spat of anymore crap.

[rick knecht]

Hey Matt you there?No commet?lol. Them two guys have spent some big money to entertain the fans .and Im sure there self..Ive been lucky to make a good living by people just like them in Racing. But if promoters keep up there No Compete clause .Me and fans like you are Doomed...If you think riding around is fun,great but racing is about competition and lots of cars that haul a$$. and put on a show.So go ahead and tell how I,m wrong too
.

[Matt Albee]

I can't help but notice that racers and track owners never, ever think they're the problem. In hundreds of threads on this site i've seen discussions and suggestions by fans on what they want to see and what they feel should be changed or improved. And in the end, a track owner or racer chimes in to let us know that we couldn't possibly know what we're talking about because racing is way too deep and complicated for fans to really understand.
Old Racer, thanks for the offer, didn't check the site last night so i missed your post. I'm at Desoto every week. And over the years i've been to NSS, OSW, Lakeland, Showtime, Five Flags,the old Jax Raceway, Auburndale, Port Charlotte, and Citrus " The Track That Don't Require Much Motor Or Car ". I've also been to Putnam and VSP. So i know what good racing looks liike and i know what bad racing looks like.
Short track racing in Florida is in the dumps, and i've seen every possible excuse from racers and track owners for the big decline. They continue to do it their way, yet the car count and fan count keep dropping. But if neither of them are to blame for where we are, then i guess it's just that we fans don't know what we're talking about.

[Roadtrip]

There you go, Matt. You have Mikey driving for you, you gonna win some races.

[Frasson118]

I could cut down on racers expenses with 1 simple rule..... NO PRACTICE DAYS.

For every lap turned in practice, there's one lap less that they will be racing.

Of course, promoters won't give that up because its a good profit center without having to pay a nickel of it back.

Racers won't give it up because they want all the opportunity they can get to dial their car into the bottom groove.

Now we've got 20 cars that all follow each other around at a high rate of speed. Not actually RACING, per se, as they all handle TOO good to get passed.

So we as fans get to see a very fast field of identical cars, doing equal speeds, among cars that spent half of their budget to make it this way.

Then, after the budget is shot, and they DIDN'T get that call from Hendricks, they will complain about the cost of the sport & sell out.

This is one if the MANY reasons that dirt is thriving in comparison. Very rarely are their practice days, only 5-8 laps of practice (on used tires, not a set of stickers they will be throwing out after practice), minimal amount of racing fuel, no need for hotels or the need to be at the track 8 hours before race time...

BAN PRACTICE, and you will see more cars show up on RACE nights.