To all of you Florida racers.....

[Rusty the 50/50 Guy]

THis is a very serious question! As you know I am now out in Monroe LA with a brand new track. My challenge...bring somthing EXCITING to the table that will make race fans come from EVERYWHERE to see and race!

So what kind of race would make cars come from ...let's just say Florida, New York, Iowa and California.

We have a clean slate here, let's see what kind of picture we can paint.

oppppps almost forgot....

[AJ14]

Any race that offers $ 10,000 to win and $500 to start , no entry fee . Plus an open tire rule .
Of course hooking up with a viable touring series or two would help . I really see a lot of interest in the lower classes starting to develop . Not as sexy as Super Lates , but affordable for more people . That means higher car counts . Selling the fans on a street stock or limited late model show might be tuff though .
And asphalt open wheel cars usually put on a great show . The USAC cars at Orlando for instance . There are asphalt sprints and midgets all over the country looking for places to race .

[Boneman]

Mix and match any of the following components:

teenage drivers with rich daddys
single cylinder engines
stacker trailers
Auction the best motors to the highest bidder, then forbid them to be inspected at the track.
Design in an aero advantage for the teams that can afford wind tunnel time.
Use expensive track tires, and change brands every 3 races
track rental available for weeks at a time
no weight rule to encourage titanium parts
conflicting dates with other series

Kidding aside, I'll try to give it some thought and come up with something more realistic.

[Edm]

$$$ isnt that what all the drivers bitch and moan about?
Prestige still works for older tracks and memorial races.

Personally I would like to see a track try the "bracket idea" with a decent payout. Open rules, the only tech would be safety and really good scorers.
Break out times with small tolerance for driver improvement but anything over ???? would equal a dq or bump up to the next time bracket. I really think this could equalize the competition and make for great shows for the fans. I forget whos idea this was, maybe Jerrys but I like it.

How about the countries largest sportsman race?

[andre]

If you are really serious about doing a long term deal, I would take a look at what ACT does in the North East. It works, even the Oxford 250 is run under these rules now and it's 25,000$ to win + 100$ per lap led, so you can cash in 50,000$ on that day.

http://www.thunderroadspeedbowl.com/

http://www.acttour.com/

[raceman16]

street stock race

rusty if you want an exciting race then call frank kimmel he has around 95 cars just icthing to race somewhere

[JackTripper]

I think this one is pretty easy - a big payout.

Of the late model drivers I talk to that don't leave the state much these days it's because of simple economics. But if you paid $25,000 to win I think you would get all the big names from across the country and probably a boat load of fans.

[Boneman]

Wnat to try something that hasn't run in that area for 30 years? Something that has universal appeal because the cars are bad fast, scary to watch and exciting even when standing still? Bring back the super-modifieds!

They ran in Texas and along the gulf coast in the 70's, but kind of fizzled out in that region as far as I know. Recently, a track in NC tried running Supers in a race they billed as the "East-West Challenge" or something like that. I understand the first year went great, but the car count was off for the second edition.

Problems: there will be virtually no local cars. Presently they run in the upper mid-west: MI, OH, etc.. In NY and the northeast, and in CA, UT. No one would be close BUT you would have a show with tremendous nostalgic appeal ("back after 30 years!") AND still present the badest of the badest.

[Frasson118]

EDM wrote - "How about the countries largest sportsman race?"

Under what rules? There are 14 different versions of what a "Sportsman" is, in Florida alone!


Tripper wrote - "I think you would get all the big names from across the country and probably a boat load of fans".

This would have worked when there was Trickle, Miller, Senneker, Hanley, Ridley, Balough, Eddy, etc... Who exactly are the "big" names now? Honestly, because of the splintering of rules (which I blame almost entirely on Nascar with thier Perimeter cars, and the ASA rules, which can ONLY be used exclusively with the ASA), there really ARE no "big" names left. Not trying to be a wise-ass about it, but really, who's considered a "big" name in SLM racing anymore?


In Rusty's case, it's going to be pretty difficult to create a BIG race in Louisiana, mainly for the fact that there aren't many places to draw asphalt racing out-of-towners from. The closest hot-bed of SLM's to Monroe would probably be Pensacola... Texas has pretty well dried up, Iowa and Missouri seem more like crate areas, NY is too far, and our Florida racers have been pretty reluctant to leave their own backyards (Anderson, Choquette and a very few others would be an exception). Hell, only 2 Central Florida cars, justin Drawdy & Jason Vail, bothered to go 30 miles into Georgia for a $20K to win show.... how many you think are gonna drive all the way to Monroe for that money?

It may be a crazy idea, but then again, maybe not... how about a very large purse for the Dirt Late Models to run the Asphalt. They are expecting a boatload of cars for a regional SUPR race, without even attracting the likes of Bloomquist, Moyer, Pearson Jr, etc...

BUT, these guys (and a hundred more) will try almost anything for a very large paying event. Batesville AK had a $100,000 to win Modified race, and Bloomquist won in a division that he normally wouldn't compete in. Dirt racers, and most importantly to Rusty, the Dirt FANS will travel to anywhere that thier favorite Dirt racers are going to be.

The area has the cars, the big-name stars will come from ALL over, and so will the fans. The place would be PACKED. Not to mention the opportunity to turn this into a once-a-year Classic.

[billy badd]

Rusty, you're a smart man, be like Ocala and dirt the track. You're in the middle of dirt. Pay a good purse, and with your promotional abilities, you'll do just fine. Good luck. billy

[Front Stretch]

DIRT! Enough said!!!!!!!!!!!!

[JackTripper]

I've got to say - I'm quite taken with Frasson's idea. I think that's fairly genius. Run a pavement race with WoO Dirt LM rules and pay a huge purse...I think you could sell out the track and have a waiting list a mile long. Hell, make it a 2 day event with consis and qualifying races.

[SeminoleWind]

3 words, "The Bandelero Nationals".

[Edm]

EDM wrote - "How about the countries largest sportsman race?"

Under what rules? There are 14 different versions of what a "Sportsman" is, in Florida alone!

Lol, I guess you missed the sarcasm.

[Frasson118]

I totally did Ed... Sorry 'bout that!