Now here's an interesting rumor

[zerofor]

the solution is simple

At one time guys raced they're bootlegging cars to have fun and make a little"legal" money.Other guys came home from world war two to find they're jobs had went bye bye to they're previous place of employment being converted to a military factory and not yet being converted back.So all we have to do is bring back prohibition and start another world war and STOCK CAR RACING SHALL THRIVE ONCE AGAIN !!!!! See if you can top that drifters.

[Phil Jacques]

You can't compare racing up there to down here. Up there, they are couped up 6 months out of the year with lots of time to rebuild the car and or save their money to attend races. Down here the weather is better most of the time so you have to compete with everything else there is to do outside. Not to say things like fair tech or common rules isn't universal, of course it is. I think those are the things that is making racing stronger and stronger up here at 5 Flags, Mobile, Montgomery and Opp. But many things are apples to oranges.

Many things are most certainly apples to oranges, I agree. But the simple things are very easily overlooked. One of those is fair tech. Wasn't there an explosion here earlier this year about a tech issue by someone who was asked to tech something different than everyone else? As I always said and Scott echoes this. Tech everyone equally and thoroughly. That way no one feels targeted. Common rules are 6 of 1 and a half dozen of the other. We don't have common rules through all tracks. There are shared divisions like SK and Late Models at a few tracks but every track has it's differences just like down there. But up here, we definitely focus on the racers biggest expenses. Fuel and Tires. That keeps guys on the track more often and results in bigger car counts. This is kind of what Scott has been trying to do with the whole tire deal. Cut down a little cost for the racers and allow them to race more and they will. Racers want to race, not sit at home. If they can afford to race more, they definitely will. The tire people and tracks may see it as a loss, but if you get more cars more often you will make up the loss and end up making more in the long run. It's not something that gets fixed overnight but I am very excited to see what the 750 does for the racing down there. I bet the weekly average per track running that tire climbs by at least 2 cars per division this year.

And yes, we are couped up for 6 months here. But many go race elsewhere. Indoor races, Turkey Derby, New Smyrna. Not everyone shuts down in October. A lot of guys race well into January traveling. You are going to see a bunch of our locals making the trek down there this week to race with you guys. I can't wait to watch it all on FansChoice.TV. It should be a great week, for the first time in a while I want to be there but unfortunately snowstorms and missed work nixed that.

[Phil Jacques]

At one time guys raced they're bootlegging cars to have fun and make a little"legal" money.Other guys came home from world war two to find they're jobs had went bye bye to they're previous place of employment being converted to a military factory and not yet being converted back.So all we have to do is bring back prohibition and start another world war and STOCK CAR RACING SHALL THRIVE ONCE AGAIN !!!!! See if you can top that drifters.

Why must it be a competition. No one is trying to top anyone. Everyone has their interested and enjoys something different. Bring it all together like Donnie is trying to do with the March event at OSW and I bet you could have a good event. Guess we will wait and see.

[kendo]

Tracks up here don't operate 1 night a week and we have a much larger following of cars and fans than there SEEMS to be down south. Thompson has a Road Course, Oval, Golf Course, Banquet hall and a few other things they use for income, not to mention the Hoenig family has a very successful construction company and a majority of the electricity on the facility is produced through large diesel generators which helps cut down some of the overhead. The road course operates almost daily from May to October so they have massive income from club racing, sanctioned races, racing schools, private rentals. We only have 7 events on the oval at Thompson these days.

Stafford operates multiple nights a week as well as having a large banquet hall as well, in addition the facility is paid off so overhead is rather low there too. They also do numerous private test session rentals at the track for income.

Waterford has car shows, thrill shows, oval racing and income from Connecticut Power and Light for use of their property as a Staging Area for trucks and equipment during large weather events.

Seekonk runs their oval program, thrill shows and car shows.

I can not speak for any tracks north of MA as I do not frequent them, but all these tracks have various ways of bringing in money.

And then you have the NY dirt tracks,where folks just go there for 1 reason,and that is to race.
I love both dirt and asphalt racing.Both are a good product.The problem down here is that the majority of promoters don't know how or are not willing/capable of selling their product for whatever reason.
A good promoter will get others (sponsors) to pay the bills for them to create a good show,attracting a good fan base.That leads to big yearly special events where the big $$ is made...If you are a good promoter you don't need to put on some schlock drifting event at your oval to make ends meet.

[kendo]

You can't compare racing up there to down here. Up there, they are couped up 6 months out of the year with lots of time to rebuild the car and or save their money to attend races. .

Spent many nights working on the car on the trailer,in the dark,in 30 degree wheather,sometimes even in the snow....You will never convince me that they have an advantage

[Phil Jacques]

And then you have the NY dirt tracks,where folks just go there for 1 reason,and that is to race.
I love both dirt and asphalt racing.Both are a good product.The problem down here is that the majority of promoters don't know how or are not willing/capable of selling their product for whatever reason.
A good promoter will get others (sponsors) to pay the bills for them to create a good show,attracting a good fan base.That leads to big yearly special events where the big $$ is made...If you are a good promoter you don't need to put on some schlock drifting event at your oval to make ends meet.

I definitely agree with some of this. Prime example is Thompson Speedway here. We have SUNOCO modifieds, Xtramart Limited Sportsmans, MONSTER Energy Mini Stocks, and I think the Late Models even have a division sponsor. Having sponsors is a huge advantage for the tracks able to do that. The Speedbowl's backstraight is loaded with billboards, as is Stafford Motor Speedway and Seekonk Speedway. Sponsors offset a lot of costs for the track and promoter and help them pass that savings over to the fans to get them in the stands all while continuing to pull a small to moderate profit.

I will disagree though that you don't have to try new things to attract new crowds such as drift demos etc. Attracting new faces is the future of this sport. As I mentioned before, look at the two pictures that Linda posted of the Desoto crowd this weekend. While that is a fantastic crowd, 2 things worry me. #1, the general age of the crowd. There are very few younger than 40ish years old in that picture. While that is not really old by any means, what happens if that trend continues in 20 or 30 years? Where do the new fans come from? We have to open up gateways to bring new people in who might not normally come in. Now, no... You aren't going to bring in 500 new fans and expect them all to come back. But if you bring in 500 new fans and get 100 to return, and say they bring a friend or two and some of them get hooked. Its a repeating cycle. It's all about opportunity and if people do not have the opportunity to experience this sport, even if it's by chance because they came for something else, they may not ever come. Without fans, there are no racers in the future because let's face it, all of us started out at some point as a fan for the most part. You're not going to get a 70 year old guy sitting there going "damn I should try this". We have to draw in a younger crowd and if that means trying things like bands on the midway or dollar beers or drift demos and thrill shows etc. Well, then so be it.

[Phil Jacques]

Spent many nights working on the car on the trailer,in the dark,in 30 degree wheather,sometimes even in the snow....You will never convince me that they have an advantage

30? That would have been nice this weekend when I was picking my car up from the chassis shop lol! It was 5, and snowing and I ran out of propane in the shop. After 15 minutes, I couldn't feel my face. But, we do it because we love the sport, right? lol!

[scottgarrity07]

On some level, I agree with you, Phil. But if 500 drifting fans attend a race at OSW in March and the usual 5 car fields and 30 other people show up, how impressed will they be? Do you think they will find that show exciting? Do you think they will be clamoring to come back? I've said it once I'll say it a million times, YOU BUILD THE SHOW FROM THE BACK GATE. Unless you want the status quo, things have to change and someone has to take a risk. Desoto and New Smyrna have started the ball rolling. Treat the racers fair, make them feel they are appreciated, do what you can to lower their costs and pay a descent purse. Do these things and you will build your car counts. When you have strong (16-25 car) fields in EVERY class you will have the makings of a SHOW. If it's hard to pass spend the money and lay down traction treatment (it works). Now that you have a show get AND take care of the fans. If you have a show you can advertise it effectively many different ways and get the ball rolling at the front gate.Yes clean bathrooms, good reasonably priced food,and an upkept facility are important. But more important, a tight-running, fast-moving show emceed by TWO knowledgeable AND ENTERTAINING announcers who can engage in a conversation people want to listen to (not just dry information). Put a guy in the pits and infield with a wireless mic. Talk to guys who are out of the race (as well as the winners). Capture the emotion of EVERYTHING going on. Make sure the racers keep their cars looking good (not that hard to do). And for god's sake get the show over by 10 p.m.. Do this and you will draw a crowd. Draw a crowd and selling the sponsorship for the track becomes realistic (and for racer's too, boosting the car count even more). This is not rocket science BUT you have to take the risk. I bet you that this is what the successful dirt tracks are mostly doing. A track that does this well is Stafford Motor Speedway. Oh yeah, a good website helps. Check this out: www.staffordspeedway.com and remember they won't start racing until late April. I haven't looked but I am willing to bet the last story on there is less than a week old. Moral of the story, build a show THEN try and get some fans (new, old, drifters, cub scouts, whoever...)

[jacko241]

I think what Lurkin said has a lot to do with it. Florida provides too much competition for the entertainment dollar, whether it be the racer's or the spectators. Living my entire life in Florida, I was surprised when i read in my Lefthander catalog that the track that Wayne Lensing owns in Wisconsin, Dells Raceway Park, only races May thru August!!

[OldSchool+]

"On some level, I agree with you, Phil. But if 500 drifting fans attend a race at OSW in March and the usual 5 car fields and 30 other people show up, how impressed will they be? Do you think they will find that show exciting? Do you think they will be clamoring to come back? I've said it once I'll say it a million times, YOU BUILD THE SHOW FROM THE BACK GATE. Unless you want the status quo, things have to change and someone has to take a risk. Desoto and New Smyrna have started the ball rolling. Treat the racers fair, make them feel they are appreciated, do what you can to lower their costs and pay a descent purse. Do these things and you will build your car counts. When you have strong (16-25 car) fields in EVERY class you will have the makings of a SHOW."--Scott Garrity

But, like, the drifters are sideways, brau!

[OldSchool+]

Juuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuust kidding, am down with all that, of course.

Horse before the cart, and so on...

Still, let's give them credit for trying, it's better than grass growing up through the cracks.

And hail, I cannot remember jack, the dual show may have been suggested on KARNAC.

[Phil Jacques]

On some level, I agree with you, Phil. But if 500 drifting fans attend a race at OSW in March and the usual 5 car fields and 30 other people show up, how impressed will they be? Do you think they will find that show exciting? Do you think they will be clamoring to come back? I've said it once I'll say it a million times, YOU BUILD THE SHOW FROM THE BACK GATE. Unless you want the status quo, things have to change and someone has to take a risk. Desoto and New Smyrna have started the ball rolling. Treat the racers fair, make them feel they are appreciated, do what you can to lower their costs and pay a descent purse. Do these things and you will build your car counts. When you have strong (16-25 car) fields in EVERY class you will have the makings of a SHOW. If it's hard to pass spend the money and lay down traction treatment (it works). Now that you have a show get AND take care of the fans. If you have a show you can advertise it effectively many different ways and get the ball rolling at the front gate.Yes clean bathrooms, good reasonably priced food,and an upkept facility are important. But more important, a tight-running, fast-moving show emceed by TWO knowledgeable AND ENTERTAINING announcers who can engage in a conversation people want to listen to (not just dry information). Put a guy in the pits and infield with a wireless mic. Talk to guys who are out of the race (as well as the winners). Capture the emotion of EVERYTHING going on. Make sure the racers keep their cars looking good (not that hard to do). And for god's sake get the show over by 10 p.m.. Do this and you will draw a crowd. Draw a crowd and selling the sponsorship for the track becomes realistic (and for racer's too, boosting the car count even more). This is not rocket science BUT you have to take the risk. I bet you that this is what the successful dirt tracks are mostly doing. A track that does this well is Stafford Motor Speedway. Oh yeah, a good website helps. Check this out: www.staffordspeedway.com and remember they won't start racing until late April. I haven't looked but I am willing to bet the last story on there is less than a week old. Moral of the story, build a show THEN try and get some fans (new, old, drifters, cub scouts, whoever...)

I agree, but I am merely suggesting ways to help. I was barely even touching the surface as honestly you are also. There is so much more that needs to be done including what you have said and beyond. The discussion could go on for months about it easily.

Florida racing is on an upswing and that is great to see, just gotta keep the train rolling!

[zerofor]

In this day and age it shouldnt be

Why must it be a competition. No one is trying to top anyone. Everyone has their interested and enjoys something different. Bring it all together like Donnie is trying to do with the March event at OSW and I bet you could have a good event. Guess we will wait and see.

In fact if it keeps a tracks gates open let them race squirrels.If it is what the younger kids want give them their own night of it.But the long and short of it is are you a stock car track with other events or a motorsports complex?I believe you can still have a thriving stock car track but not if you continue to follow a formula that has been FAILING for quite a while much like 3 Palms Speedway is currently doing.