Another one bites the dust...

[Mark Keeler]

http://www.mansfieldnewsjournal.com/...NTPAGECAROUSEL

[Jimmy McKinley]

There goes the last good REAL NA$CAR short track race and track. I LOVED when the Truck series started and they were running Mesa Marin, Saugus, Tucson, Evergreen, Portland, and all them other REAL short tracks. When the Truck series headed to Daytona, I told my brother, "there's the end of that...(good series on the short tracks)." It's like when they pulled Myrtle Beach, South Boston, Hickory, and all them other weekly-type tracks off the Busch schedules years ago - it killed the series (the actual racing).

[BJ Cavin]

Originally the trucks served as a sort of continuation (some thought of it as an excuse) for NASCAR to continue racing at historic short tracks like Myrtle Beach, Hickory, and others. The Busch Series moved up to bigger tracks while the trucks raced mostly at the smaller to medium sized tracks. But gradually over time the trucks gained popularity and advanced to bigger and faster venues and became just like all of the rest of the NASCAR series. A lot of these tracks still had success with the Hooters Series, ARCA, and others, even after NASCAR's truck series moved on, but those series are no longer viable options for them now. That means those big events that allowed some of those those facilities to operate at a loss for the remainder of the season were gone, and that spelled the end for some of them.

All of us should be watching what happens in Detroit and in Washington DC very closely, because if the big three are forced out of racing, even for a year or two, it could start a chain reaction that could padlock tracks of every size and description. Already there is a huge shortage of racing series that can come in and make a huge amount of cash for a track like some that were mentioned, and the loss of Detroit money will spell the end for alot more, and possibly could cripple NASCAR as well. The shockwave sent down the racing food chain could be fatal by the time it gets to our backyards.

Just my honest opinion....Not that it matters....

[AJ14]

The CTS at Daytona is always a pretty good good show , but i agree that the trucks should have stayed exclusively on the short tracks .
If the manufacturers pull out of racing , it won't mean the end . Manufacturers have pulled out of racing completely several times in the past and NASCAR went along just fine . If the current manufacturers pull out , NASCAR would be smart to open up the fields to any make that wants to run . Allow Cadillac , Buick , Mercury , Pontiac etc . and other foreign makes as well . Instead of three companies doing all of the marketing , let five or ten companies come in and spend far less each but the same or more overall .

[chassisdude]

Mansfield speedway

I'm sad and hurt to see that race track close. My son ran there for three years in a late model and I flew up three or four times a year to watch and help on the car, and everytime I was there and even when I would check the finishes for the races I wasn't there for, they had a full field of late models. I mean every week between 21 and 28 late models to race for $800 to win. Down here the purse is always much higher and there is no car count except for special shows. I'm sad cuz it was a great track to race at and to watch a race. I'm hurt that here in Florida the tracks can't pull full fields of cars even though they pay a lot better than Mansfield did. I'm so afraid the sport I love is on the way out and that is really terrible.

[Mark Keeler]

Let me ask a question (on BJ's post)... this could prove me to be extremely naive, or just have another way of looking at it...

If the big three drop their support of NASCAR along with other corporate dollars, wouldn't that mean that some of the "driver development" programs and diversity pipe dreams will fall by the wayside?

Couldn't it mean a boost to local short track racing like it used to be... people racing because they love to race, and not just looking to "buy" a ride in the upper three tiers?

It's kind of hard to explain what I mean, but, instead of a Kid (or his/her Parents) buying their way from a Quarter Midget straight into a Super Late Model (with a pipe dream of NASCAR stardom), wouldn't they be more apt to stick it out, save a little money and race because they love it and maybe slowly progress through the ranks in which they are comfortable, instead of feeling that if they're not making it as a headline SLM name by age 15 that there is no point?

And corporate sponsor's that like to attract the racing crowd, yet can't afford millions of dollars for NASCAR Sponsorship may be more apt to spend a few grand to help out a local short track, or local racer or division...

Now I have had a little Captain (Morgan's) tonight, but I've had this twisted way of looking at things for a little while now... like I said, it could be an alternative point of view, or just my naivety showing, but either way, I'd like to hear other peoples points of view on the matter.

Is there even the slightest chance that this struggling economy could actually help Short Track Racing instead of just hurting it?

[BJ Cavin]

Good point! I don't think we will see NASCAR fail, but I think we might see it back up a decade or two. By that I mean a serious reduction in teams, and a serious reduction in cars as well. And I think sponsors who are still willing to spend the money, are going to focus that money at a level where it will buy maximum exposure. That means that a company that now sponsors cars on many levels might limit that sponsorship to the top, or drop it altogether.

And with a limited amount of sponsorship cash to spread araound, it might mean that mommy and daddy are going to have the foot the bill alone for junior to drive his/her way to the big time. We know from experience how many parents already are willing to do this, so the new problem may be a further limitation of spaces at the top levels of the sport. Fewer teams and fewer cars equals a lot less racing seats to sit in, right? So, in other words, more competition for fewer opportunities, plus fewer options for development opportunities along the way. If you ask me, it means that money will talk even louder than it does right now!

As for the local level, I think the main pain for tracks is going to be racers who can no longer afford to race as much, and fans who can no longer afford to be at the track every weekend to watch. And in the case of the racers, a lack of available sponsorships at the regional or local level could spell trouble for some. Throw in some nasty Florida summertime weather and the family might choose to spend those limited dollars for a family excursion at a venue where a rainout is not a possibility. If a family can afford to go out once every two weeks, and the threat of thunderstorms is there, why wouldn't they go to the movies or out for pizza instead?

And I believe that businesses are tightening their hold on their profits and thinking twice before investing in sponsorship opportunities. That could spell trouble for the tracks even more than it could for the racers. Sorry, but that signage along the backstretch may not be in some businesses budgets in 2009. Also, that sponsorship of the big race might be in jeopardy as well, so where will the purse money come from?

The end result of all of it might well be that some people who would be eager to get out and try to make a fast track to the top, might look at the situation and see the opportinuties drop and the competition become far tougher because of it. And I feel that some will either decide to wait out this mess, or opt for something else entirely. Something that was damned tempting last year may be too risky for the cost this year, so less racers.

Again, that's how I see it, and you know what they say about opinions.

[andre]

Currently, the Chili Bowl office has been flooded with 269 entries, putting last year's record mark of 274 competitors in jeopardy.

Is the Chili Bowl held in the same US of A?????

Seriously, we all can cry our heart out about the economy or get our sh... in gear and work around it.... become creative. We have all seen people being put down by all kind of bad luck, being hurt, cancer, loosing everything to hurricane, tornado, flood, etc., and come back of it much stronger that they were before.

So, it's all up to us to decide what the next X years is going to be like.

As far as racing is concerned, it will have to adapt, and it can be done, but definitly not by crying all over it. Evaluate, roll up your sleeves and GO....

Short track racers and promoters have been known to be tough through adversity, time to prove it.

From the *cold of Trois Rivières, Québec,

Nice Hollidays to everybody,

André

* it's minus 20*Celsius right now.