Can Friday night racing work?

[Camaro guy]

One other point about Friday night shows: the track's food quality becomes pretty important since there usually isn't time to get home and eat before heading to the races. Ocala is one of my "home" tracks as a fan, and I never worry about not being able to get a good dinner if I go directly to the track from work. I do agree with the earlier comment about traffic being an issue for Friday night shows. It's no problem for me to get from Gainesville to Ocala, but I could imagine some other parts of Florida where traffic could be a real issue.

[Todd McCreary]

Ever been stuck in Friday night traffic in Orlando?

this is a special issue for OSW. holy crap, is traffic bad trying to go east on Colonial or University on a Friday afternoon.

[Ron McCreary]

Quality of show

In my opinion that is the worst problem at most Florida tracks.Back when we had good racing, we only had 3 or 4 classes and ALWAYS HAD INVERTED STARTS< and I don't mean the cars were upside down. I believe thats part of the reason it costs so much to race. The drivers have never learned how to read traffic and do the best job with what they have.they just pour money into their cars so they are fast enough to start up front and don't have to pass.

[Frasson118]

Some of you have posted some good examples of tracks that make "alternate" nights work.... Thunder Road, Utica-Rome, etc... I'd like to also add Williams Grove in PA. The most successful Sprint car track in the East has always been a Friday night show. It's so successful that no other area tracks DARE to even try running against them.

One of the keys to it though, is opening the pit gates late enough that all the competitors feel like they can get there by 7:00, and not already be beat by cars that have 4 hours of practice time before they even arrive. If I'm the Average Joe, working until 5:00, do you think I'm gonna load up, haul to OSW, and find that Anderson, Russell, Colangelo, etc... have been there since 10 AM, and already have (and can afford) 50 or 75 laps on the track before I even get there?

The answer is, I'm not gonna bother. Too many WON'T bother. Then you have a bad show, which equals poor attendance, which leads to polls like this one!

Open the pit gates late, 1 short practice session per class, HEAT RACES (sorry drivers, but 'features' only isn't a show worth the money to a paying fan like myself), and some type of inverted starts. If you can put on a good SHOW, people will come see it.

If there is a crappy show across the street from my house, I wouldn't bother with my time and money. BUT if it's a good show, I'd drive the 1-2 hours to a good show in a heartbeat.

It absolutely CAN work, but it has to be worth it, both to the fans AND competitors. It IS working at Ocala... it's NOT working at OSW

And blaming it all on Orlando traffic is flat-out a cheesy excuse.

How about another poll... how many OSW competitors actually have to pull through the Orlando mess on their way to the track anyways? It seems to me that most are coming from the other direction in the first place!

[Rusty the 50/50 Guy]

I remember .25 cent a gallon gas....you are not gonna find that anymore!

How long do those "spectacular" shows run "up north"? A good 3-4 month run?

Not sure why all of these northerners moved south to where the racing is horrible, I know for a fact that everything "up north" is better! Because I read it here on KARNAC all the time!

For any person that think the traffic issue is not an issue...well you know!

How many teams can take a day off on Friday to come to a race at Orlando...well I think that was answered Friday night 18! 18 Super Lates made it to a very historical race! Now if that show would have run on Saturday would there had been more? Could there have been more done to get more cars there? Probably!

You know what? A thursday show would work..for one night, maybe! That has been proven with the Mopar Sprint and Midget Classic...how full are the stands on Thursday night? In fact the first year everyone was scared becasue they thought the thing was going to be a flop due to no attendance on Thursday! On Friday night it was a HUGE success....SPECIAL SHOW, be here this night or wait for a year! See the hook???? Not we do this every Friday night so there is no need to be here because you can see it again next week.

Take Orlando to Saturday night and watch what happens!!! Will there be a few that complain? YEP will there be more that come? I say YES!

Just decided to rant a bit will go back to eating crawdads now

[andre]

How long do those "spectacular" shows run "up north"? A good 3-4 month run?

Don't worry, Rusty, there are a lot of poor show race tracks up North too and they have nobody in the stands neither. Some of them are closing too. Has nothing to do with the area. Poor shows leads to poor attendance and whatever comes with it, those tracks being in Florida, Montana, California or Maine, and anywhere in between.

[Frasson118]

" I know for a fact that everything "up north" is better! Because I read it here on KARNAC all the time!"

Rusty, Rusty, Rusty... you're smarter than this to make a comment like that. You are in the Promotion end of this business, and have access to facts and figures (RPM Workshops and newsletters, if nothing else). Take a look at the results from from these "up north" tracks, and see what we are seeing. Full fields of 3 or 4 classes of cars, large crowds, mid-week shows that have 40,50,60 cars show up with 5-7000 people in the stands...

"How long do those "spectacular" shows run "up north"? A good 3-4 month run?"...

Again, do your homework. True, the seasons ARE shorter (which many have suggested isn't such a bad idea for Florida as well), but it is still a about a 7 month season... 3 nights a week... several mid-week Series as well as large "independent" shows... the 5 day show at Syracuse... PA Speedweeks.... and on & on. The racers up there, in many cases, run 2 - 3 times as many shows as the typical Florida racer possibly could.

"18 Super Lates made it to a very historical race!"

No... 18 Super Lates made it to the 'same old, same old' show that just happened to borrow the name of a famous race. If we callled it the "World 100", would you be pulling in 200 racecars, just because the NAME was historic or traditional? There was NOTHING 'historical' about this version of the Marion Edwards Memorial... wrapping the same old Hot Dog with a Filet Mignon wrappper doesn't improve the quality of what's in the package.



Don't believe what all these "whiners" and "Yankees" have to say... look it up for yourself. It's TRUE, whether the Promoters in Florida want to believe it or not.



Rusty.... you are smarter than this!!!

[Winger]

Rusty, we got you wound up. You make some good points. Up north the season is indeed much shorter. However, you can easily race all 3 nights of a weekend. And many do. Plus you can race in the higher classes 4-6 nights a week. (The special shows that travel and race weeknights.)

I don't know why the Florida tracks find it necessary to race year round. I think it would make sense for some to take a few months off in mid-summer when it's so hot and rain is always threatening . Plus, you could get more snowbirds to come to races if they were held during the winter months. I agree the Orlando traffic is a problem and I've skipped some shows because of it. That and the toll charges for me, are nearly as much as the admission. Unfortunately, there is nothing anyone can do about that. I agree Orlando is a unique situation and Saturday or Sunday would be better for them. JMO

BTW, I moved down here for the weather not the racing. And do you really remember .25 cent a gallon gas? You must be older than I thought.

[AJ14]

Ron , you're a true racer . Most drivers ( and car owners ) don't even want to hear about inverted starts . But there is no better show for the fans than a driver working his way up from the back of the pack . For example , why do you think the announcers on the Cup broadcasts make such a big deal over one of the big names having to start from the back ? And constantly announce how many places a driver has gained .
I've heard every excuse there is for not inverting the field ( and i don't mean the first 6 cars or only certain races - i mean the complete field in every race inverted ) but as any fan who ever watched totally inverted races vs the typical Florida races will tell you , there is no comparison in the show . And there are many race tracks in the U.S. and for that matter other countries that run only inverted races and they wouldn't change .
From a fans point of view there isn't a better show . And for the drivers , car owners , and track owners who can think of reasons it wouldn't work , it already does .

[carolwicks]

Yahoooooo Yankees!!!!!

hahaha... dont you people know the civil war ended a couple years ago? and dont you know that they have been helping us financially us for a couple months ? and dont you know that NOT ALL YANKEES ARE BAD PEOPLE????????
OZZIE is a born Yank and she is 1000%er of southern short track racing. she loves da rebel rednecks, and so what of northern racing is better? they cant do it all year like the south of the border tracks can!
to me the best sight in the world is a U-Haul heading north followed by a moving truck! (it wont be me)...
Bring it on... hahaha
guess who?

[BigMac99]

In OSW's circumstance i think continuing Friday racing is the way to go. Saturdays are already saturated with racing at other tracks, and the car count is diluted as it is on Saturdays.

One of the keys to it though, is opening the pit gates late enough that all the competitors feel like they can get there by 7:00, and not already be beat by cars that have 4 hours of practice time before they even arrive. If I'm the Average Joe, working until 5:00, do you think I'm gonna load up, haul to OSW, and find that Anderson, Russell, Colangelo, etc... have been there since 10 AM, and already have (and can afford) 50 or 75 laps on the track before I even get there?

The answer is, I'm not gonna bother. Too many WON'T bother. Then you have a bad show, which equals poor attendance, which leads to polls like this one!

Open the pit gates late, 1 short practice session per class, HEAT RACES (sorry drivers, but 'features' only isn't a show worth the money to a paying fan like myself), and some type of inverted starts. If you can put on a good SHOW, people will come see it.

I definitely agree with opening the pit gates later, and i think that is a key issue. i know of many people who struggle to make it to Ocala Speedway for the 6 o' clock practice, let alone trying to make it to Orlando and through the traffic by 3 for practice (different situations i know, but i definitely think pushing back the pit gate opening helps people trying to make it to the track after work feel like they have an even shot)

However, the idea that finally motivated me to post on this board is to run heat races and invert the field for the feature. If you are going to operate that way, you need to pay money, points, or other giveaways for the heat race. I think a lot of guys (me included) feel like heats are pointless because there is no reward to run well. I'm burning up tires, fuel, and risking damage in order to run well, and my only reward is starting further back? Which leads into sandbagging, and a worse show. Personally, i would MUCH rather run in and/or watch a 30 lap feature than a 6 lap heat and a 15 lap feature, but if you absolutely need heat races, then I need some motivation to use up my equipment like that, either start the feature straight up, or pay something.

It doesn't have to be money, necessarily, as i understand the payout budget is tight enough as it is, but give the winner a tire and 2nd a free pit pass for next week, or something else that doesn't cost the track much. Another idea, although it borders on extortion, is to sell 50/50 tickets with the promise that if the pot gets high enough to pay the heat race purse, fans will get an inverted start, if the pot doesn't get high enough to pay, then the starts will be straight up. Or score "heat points" every week, and have a "heat race champion" at the end of the year and pay some money for that award. Just something to make heats worthwhile.

[Bucky Katt]

i think all have some good ideas on here. most racers want to be able to race there cars without having to work on them all the week long. But sometimes starting from the back you get torn up by a slow one and then where are you. fans deserve the best show for the money they pay and if they don't come out to see then what is the point? i like what frason118 says about no practice during the daytime. Not all can afford to do this like the big teams.

[The Ocala Speedway]

We don't have a 6:00 practice.

[Darren]

One thing

is for sure. If everyone doesn't do a little give and take to save tracks. It will come down to what George Burns would say, "say goodnight Gracie."

[BigMac99]

I'm sorry if i didn't get the practice time right, my point was just making it to the race track on time after work is tough enough with gates opening at 5 in zuber, let alone at 2 with the orlando traffic.