Just wondering

[Darren]

why in America with so many radio talk host every day telling us about what is wrong with our government and yet no one seems to listen or take the time to do anything. Then I look at this board and read things like the posts about the mini stocks canceled at CMP and people come on and try to keep the race going. There are so many smart ideas being channeled out from this web site yet racing as we knew it is going away. Just like the talk hosts no one is paying mind. History is a very wonderful thing, maybe we could use it to save racing. Maybe we just need to find out WWOD.

[carolwicks]

because...

in truth we are lazy... in order to make leadership really listen, you have to do something to get their attention... writing on message boards is basically a way to let go of some steam but its words floating in space.
as for the government... mass letters to senators & congressmen, letters to the President...VOTING OUT THE USELESS ONES ! (which is most of them). we have to remember that we are the boss and the government works for us! so we have a say but we have to SAY it...
in the time it takes to post a message Obama, a track owner, anyone of power & the senate need to read, we could write a letter and send it to them..... but one thing that is really important is to be polite and respectful and stick to the point. i would walk away from someone who was rude to me... i would not listen no matter what they say. but i can take criticism if it is said politely and merits attention.
just my opinion...
we can use the voting, letters, boycotts, masses of orderly people...but we dont... we just complain to each other.
carol aka oz

[Rick Williamson]

Washington doesn't care what you know or think. UNLESS AND UNTILL those people that stay there their whole lives are REMOVED! People keep voting them back in. So we are getting what we deserve.

[Old Sunshine Fan]

An Old Man (Not Ocala76 or FENTON) Once Said:

"If you continue doing what you have always done, you will get what you have always gotten"

Nuff said

OSF:

[Todd McCreary]

in order to make leadership really listen, you have to do something to get their attention.

ermm, in most cases it's not possible to force their attention.

actually getting in front of them and talking at them often doesn't get you anything better than called stupid. and when they sit there and tell you that we need to more of the stuff that hasn't stopped the disaster yet because we just haven't done enough? there's no talking to them. the only thing you can do is get rid of them.

[AJ14]

Todds right , most track owners aren't really interested in what the fans and competitors have to say . Thats not true of all of them of course , look at what Tony is doing at Bronson and Mike at Ocala , but overall they don't care to hear opinions from the masses .
The solution might be to get some of the ideas that pop up on this board directly into the hands of the track owners . Some of them , like Mike Peters , do read these boards and give direct consideration to ideas that get posted . Doesn't mean he will read them , slap himself on the forehead , and say " thats brilliant , why didn't i think of that " . But at least you can be assured that he reads them . I doubt that some track owners read these boards at all , too much negativity as Carol would say , so the best idea would be to find e-mail addresses that get to the owners or the management and send them these ideas on a personal basis . If you don't know they've read it , you don't know that they've ignored it . Get it to them directly , and then you'll know for sure whether you're being ignored or not .

[AJ14]

And yes , we do need to know what WWOD , What Would Orlando Do

[carolwicks]

yep... but....

these posts are pretty much saying what i said... but we still have not accomplished a single thing... if each one of us asked 10 people to write their congressman and express their wants or not wants, (snicker) and they each send it to 10 more...before you know it, there will be millions involved. THEN and only then, we will have done something worthwhile.
we should try it with one single little thing.... like equal taxes for everyone...that way the rich get taxed the same as the poor. if they make $80K a yr. and they pay a certain % then the guy who makes $20 at the same % doesnt get screwed... and NO write offs for ANYONE... then its fair. why should a rich guy get to write off lunch at Carrabas with his friends and call it a business lunch and the poor guy can barely afford to feed his family and NOT write it off... doesnt seem right. why should someone write off a weekend on his boat with "business associates"? you want to have a meeting...have it in your office.
im babbling again... sorry. my mind just races when i think of all we can do... i just wasted 15 minutes...lol
carol aka OZ

[carolwicks]

emails...

most of the tracks have websites and contact info which usually includes a phone # and email address...
its also easy to get the email address of a congressman etc.
OSF... i love that quote...
if Americans dont get off their butts and do something, then things will not change...
oz

[Darren]

ok,

for example. How many times have people said on this board that tracks run way too many classes with hardly no car count and no people filling the stands. However, years ago (history here folks) a track would have two, no more then three classes, great car count and full stands. There is a track owner in Tenn. (2 tracks) does not cater to his drivers, treats them fair and doesn't have big pay outs. Yet he is doing quite well. Could it be that the people in FL are getting to high class and expecting to much of a return for a hobby.

[OLD STYLE RACER 2]

No, It's probably because of what you wrote about him. He " does not cater..." and most importantly [ in my opinion ] "treats them fair".

[Todd McCreary]

these posts are pretty much saying what i said.

no, they aren't. they're saying exactly the opposite of what you've said.

i've talked to numerous people at various tracks. practically the only time i've ever seen anything get done is when i've gone off on them in front of a crowd. even then it takes time, and that's assuming it doesn't get me ejected.

more specifically, last fall FASCAR spent an entire week holding rules meetings for every single class they run and asking for suggestions. how many people can say that any suggestions got followed through on? how many of the things that the track said was going to happen actually came through?

just because you only talk on the board doesn't mean the rest of us haven't been trying.



Could it be that the people in FL are getting to high class and expecting to much of a return for a hobby.

have you seen the payouts for dirt? have you compared the payouts for northern tracks compared to most of what Fla does?

i mean, look at New Paris Indiana:
http://www.newparisspeedway.com/
they're going to run a $20,000 Late Model race and a $2009 Mini-Stock race the same night. and this is a podunk little 1/4 mile south of Goshen Indiana that pulls almost no one from South Bend or Fort Wayne ( the two 'big' towns in the 'area', the Fort is some 65 miles away ).


your example is exactly backwards. many of the Fla asphalt tracks pay very poorly and, gosh, they have small fields. Volusia only runs a few classes and they try to pay out and back and they're running 20+ car fields.

i would agree that it might be possible for a very well run track to survive low payouts. but they've got to have everything else going like clockwork to maintain fields in a situation like that.

speaking of lack of return on the hobby; payouts were as high or higher in many cases 20 years ago. every expense involved in racing has gone through the roof, rewards have flatlined. you connect the dots.

[rhinoracing11]

Vcs makes a scheldule,sticks to it.Some big races threw out the year.There was more Late Model cars for a regular Sat night show 1 week before NSS
show on Thurs Night.Dirt is the way to go.

[Darren]

checked out the website

for New Paris Speedway. 4 classes, all look afordable, even the late model class. Could not find what weekly payout is per class. Might not be any more then in Florida, unless you know what they are. On the $20,000.00 late model race and $2009.00 mini stock race something about 50 mini stocks. A good, better yet, great promoter could put those two races on anywhere. Just get as many sponsors and charge so much. However, someone that is a go getter and not worry about how much time and work it takes. Check out the racing schedule. They start in April ends in Sept. Sometimes I think starting in Feb. or early March and ending in Nov. can be to long and adds to the cost and burns out the racer and fans. When we go to Ohio, close to Sharon Speedway, you will see racing results on the local news, newspaper and when they have thier banquet they will have a local tv news crew there and something in the newspaper.

[Todd McCreary]

Could not find what weekly payout is per class.

i don't see it posted either. all i can say is, they had it posted last year and it was WAY over what gets paid down here.