Random rants from my couch

[Joe]

I think it sucks that the city tore down Birmingham International Raceway. Birmingham sucks.

If the same thing happens to Fairgrounds Speedway in Nashville, it will certainly be a sad day.

I wish I lived closer to Bowman Gray Stadium. That place is truly on a level by itself.

The new Radio Shack ad campaign also sucks.

ESPN's coverage of NASCAR is terrible. Too many tight/in car shots. Jerry Punch needs to go away.

60 Minutes is a great show.

Athens is great, but the two dirt tracks I've been to here have not impressed me. I don't like getting a lot of dirt in my ears.

Any track that qualifies with no inversion is foolish. That's a big problem.

Qualify or run heat races. Don't do both. That's just wasting my time.

I can't believe Tiger Woods got beat by a guy named Yang today.

NASCAR is losing me more by the day. I don't know how much more I can stand.

Georgia has stew instead of baked beans that they serve with their BBQ. Why?

Racing is just as bad in Georgia -- as far as car count is concerned -- as it is in Florida. The system is broken and the economy is bad. Somebody do something different.

[Boneman]

The last 5 times my racecar has left the garage, I have either been rained out or rained on.

What Florida tracks are "on the bubble"? I can think of three, and it would be terrible to lose any of them.

This weekend, it looks like there will be hurricanes in the vacinity, so I can't wait for fall.

In only 3 months, we'll all be bundled up by a fire barrel, watching the Governor's Cup at NSS.

Wouldn't it be great if all the rich, high profile racers got in the habit of collecting and saving short tracks?

I heard 3 crazy racing rumors this weekend. I think the least believable is that Rusty Marcus wants to return to OSW.

[racnphotos68]

Don't hold out on us, what were the other two rumors?

[Boneman]

Aside from the fact that I think it is untrue, posting the Rusty rumor won't hurt anyone or cause problems. One of the others would be hurtful and cause distrust. For that reason, I can't repeat it.

Crazy rumor #3 was told to me in confidence, so I can't repeat that one either.

However, to satisfy your craving for news, try this sizzling story on for size... Since arena football has been cancelled in Orlando, the entire Predators cheerleading/dance team has moved to Sebastien, and are all dating Todd McCreary! Finally, an internet rumor that you can believe!

[AJ14]

Joe , regarding your last statement about Florida racing being broken and somebody please fix it . Kevin Finney posted a great list of the things tracks should be doing . Since then i haven't heard any asphalt track even talking about implementing those suggestions much less actually doing anything . I'll tell you who the likely track is to try some or all of the Bowman Gray ideas , Bronson , and maybe Citrus . From what i've read they seem to be open to new ideas . I'm afraid the rest are determined to try to wait it out and prove the old ways are the best .

[ancrdave]

Some of my observations rumors etc...

I definately cannot drive a go kart...

If anyone wondered why there was a delay in starting the races Saturday at Volusia, all they had to do was try and walk across the track... It was like walking across dirt covered in glue...

No one seemed to really mind the delay... Sort of like being a kid on Christmas morning and having to go to church before you could come home and open your presents... It's always worth the wait...

The long delay gave me a chance to talk to a lot of people in the pits, some I knew and some who I met for the first time... It is unreal how many of these folks are fed up with asphalt racing and the tracks right now and I was surprised how many said favoritism and bad tech were the reasons they are staying away...

Saw Bruce Thompson for the first time in many years. Bruce used to drive the #84 Modified at OSW and Jim Passino brought him out Saturday... It was the first time Bruce had been to the races in a couple of years... He has recently been diagnosed with bone cancer in his shoulder, so please pray for him... Was fun reliving some old memories with him...

Johnny Collins can flat drive a race car...

and so can Jeff Matthews...

Met Matthew Schell for the first time... Nice guy and he goes out and wins his first Thunder Stock feature to boot!!

Good to see David Pollen, Jr. again... Told me his folks are moving to Alabama but he's staying right here in Florida...

Street Stock driver Jim Smith runs car #11 because his favorite driver has always been David Rogers...

I'm pretty sure Rusty Marcus will land at Rockingham since he is leaving Monroe... I think it will be a good fit for him...

And I though it was awesome that a young fellow from South Korea whupped ol' Tiger yesterday... That was some pretty good golf and fun to watch...

[georgep]

Old Fart is now awake

My rants for the South:
1. Why ain't someone just take the bull by the horns and make some changes to ATTRACT fans and DRIVERS not just try and make money off of them.
2. What will it take for the pavements promoters to see that whatever some dirt tracks are doing is WORKING, look at the car count.
3. With NASCAR being in Florida why are there no NASCAR TRACKS? (I do not like them but it is a good question).
4. In SC some tracks have gone Fast track and DIRT and they are coming back to life what is stopping Florida?
5. By giving a name to a series does not make it anything but a tax write off. It takes more than a "HANDLE" to be a success Example: FMSA is drawing more cars than most of the local classes at tracks they visit. Recent 50 lap modified headliner had 9 cars.
My Rants for racing in general
1. Fans, owners and drivers are NOT MADE OF MONEY get some sponsors to absorb your costs and stop taking it from them.
2. Old days you went to a race because it was exciting, fun and never knew what would happen. Today you go because there is nothing else to do OR yo are friends of a driver.
3. We ran in the 1960's for $150.00 to win and $10.00 for for tow money. Today you race for $150.00 to win, NO TOW MONEY and it costs you an entry fee.
4. WHY do the tracks north of the Mason Dixon line STILL have enough cars in a TOUGH economy to require (3) heat races a B Main and A Main and a lot of the tracks BELOW that line just run Features or 4 car heat races to set the line up for their 10 car A Main.
I could keep going but you must get the idea by now.
I am going to NC where at the track we will be at the LARGEST CLASS other than the Mini Sprints will be the Vintage at 6 cars. Pits are STILL $25.00 and the stands are $12.00. There TOTAL CAR COUNT was 19 cars NOT COUNTING the mini sprints. Does any of this wring a bell to some?
All I can say is FIX THE PAVEMENT SOME HOW it is BROKEN.

[Old Sunshine Fan]

Hey Aj

Joe , regarding your last statement about Florida racing being broken and somebody please fix it . Kevin Finney posted a great list of the things tracks should be doing . Since then i haven't heard any asphalt track even talking about implementing those suggestions much less actually doing anything . I'll tell you who the likely track is to try some or all of the Bowman Gray ideas , Bronson , and maybe Citrus . From what i've read they seem to be open to new ideas . I'm afraid the rest are determined to try to wait it out and prove the old ways are the best .

My Money is on Mike and Angie (OCALA), those two have no problem with stepping out of the box and trying new things to improve racing.
I realize many issues are like walking the tight rope, dealing with drivers/owners/fans and all the other entitiies involved with a race track.
Bowman Gray has it going on for sure.. been there several tilmes and was overly impressed (cept that damn cole slaw on the burgers).
Again, my money is on OCALA to do things to make it more exciting and get butts in the seats.

[AJ14]

Ocala really is the premiere short track in Florida right now . And with a couple of exceptions , Mike is the only track owner who reads these posts to get new ideas .

[Frasson118]

Dirt fans are much more patient than Asphalt fans. VSP started over 2-1/2 hours late, and not one single complaint was heard by me.

Nascar has completely lost me. The racing sucks, the prices are ridiculous, and the wrong drivers are in them. They seem to think getting Indy car guys into the series is something to pat themselves on the back for. When Nascar starts putting Steve Kinser, Earl Pearson Jr, David Steele or Ben Rowe in, and tossing aside guys like David Gilliand, Patrick Carpentier, Sam Hornish, Paul Menard, and Scott Speed... I might be able to stay awake those 4 hours each Sunday.

As much as I don't like Nascar, I AM impressed by Marcos Ambrose.

As much as New Smyrna Speeway would like to return the Governors Cup race to the importance it once had, they aren't doing anthing about it being a prestigeous race. It's "just another" long-distance race, that will be won by someone from Florida starting in the top 5. It won't be a big deal until they can find a way to attract drivers like Bubba Pollard, Augie Grill, Eddie Hoffman, Johanna Long, or Scott Hantz. These guys aren't afraid to travel to a track they have a shot at winning.... at NSS, they DON'T.

My 2 favorite classes, Dirt LM's and Sprints (don't matter dirt/asphalt or winged/non-wing), both look like crap on TV for the most part. I don't blame the divisions, I blame the TV producers. Do we really need ENDLESS in-car-camera shots, starting in turn 1, lap 1? Watching these things on TV hardly makes me want to run out and buy tickets. Yet, seeing them LIVE is an adrenaline rush that I get from very few sources.

Florida REALLY needs a Glen Donnelly type of person to take control of Asphalt racing in Florida. All the current people of influence are trying their best to bury each other, while drowning themselves at the same time.

I am completely tired of "the economy" being blamed for lousy car counts and over-priced tickets. That is NOT the problem. The sooner that gets figured out, the better chance of finding a pulse at the end of the year.

I always thought a Track Promoter was supposed to Promote his TRACK. Too many guys only like to promote themselves. Large fonts, bouncing thingy's, and over-hyped events do NOTHING for a guy that just wants to see a decent race at a fair price. Neither do Promoters that can't keep their mouth shut, and their hands off of people. I was asked NOT to patronize a particular track... and John.... don't worry... I haven't!

One thing that make an event a "biggie" to me, is the amount of people camping out for it. Events like the World 100, Super Dirt Week, Knoxville Nationals, Copper World Classic.... all have people who make a 4 day weekend out of it. They schedule vacation time, buy tickets in advance, have their favorite places to camp, and the seats they grab every year. And they look forward to seeing the same fans year after year. The closest I've seen here, is the top row, turn 1 grandstands at East Bay for the 360 Nationals. Every year for the last 8 or so, I see the exact same people, tell a years worth of lies & stories to each other... and every year I can't WAIT to see these folks again (Billy Badd is one of them). Governors Cup weekend "could" be like that, but there isn't enough going on to attract people to come early, stay late, and come back next year.

My last observation.... I have too many observations! I could fill a lot of pages, piss off a lot of people, not make one damned bit of difference in the way things are run in FL, and STILL show up almost anywhere, at any time to see a race. And the coolest part of that is, I always find a friend or make a new one every time I go!

Even with all its problems, I'm still proud to be involved with the "greatest sport on earth!" ..... See, it can be said, without it being yelled, or glittered up with bouncy junk.

[leftfield]

I couldn't agree more frass, it still amazes me that we do not have 3 owners of asphalt tracks, that cannot put aside their differences, and figure out away to bring back the real Triple crown. That was one weekend that race fans from all over Florida circled their calendar.

[ronabneysr]

don't most of time dirt tracks have packed stands

and full field of cars didn't volusia have 33 late models the other night and and then ran double features and had 31 in that race


i like asphalt and dirt but
how come dirt cars can run side ways 3and 4 wide with out running into each

other most of time


and on asphalt if two cars go into corner two foot beside each other some body runs over the other one or the one behind that one runs over both of them and then it takes ten minutes to restart race and clean up mess

next if you win the race how come at some tracks you are still in hole when you go to pay out window

is that why there are more cars sitting in garages onjack stands than they use to be no matter how much money you got some time you just got to wake up and say ,,,, did i really do that - did i really spend that much money


is it really as much fun as it use to be or am i just getting smarter

and then i say shut up and race what else would you waste your money on some day - some day :

[1wildfastgirl24]

The long delay gave me a chance to talk to a lot of people in the pits, some I knew and some who I met for the first time

Met Matthew Schell for the first time... Nice guy and he goes out and wins his first Thunder Stock feature to boot!!

It was nice seeing you again saturday.....the video is great .
Yes Matthew Schell is a really great guy,who can also drive the wheels off a racecar....that is actualy his second win,Randy finished second behind him the night he won his first win .
Looking forward to seeing everyone again at VSP on the 29th

[Kerrmintor]

Why does Nascar go 10-12 laps under a yellow after a car has spun and hit nothing? Thats not racing.

What is wrong with green flag pitstops? That is racing

Lucky Dog should be on a menu at a hot dog stand and not in Nascar

We pay to watch them race, not parade around under yellow waiting for everyone to complete their pit stops.

I believe the Truck series is much better racing.

Why do local tracks have so much trouble getting the cars in line, give em one chance to get in line or go to the back and then park em for the night, they will comply better and faster the next week.

What happened to my favorite channel "Speed", its turning into a reality freakshow channel.

Why could you buy tickets to Bristol Speedway last week and possibly today, "Wake up Nascar".

Johnny Collins racing hard against Mark Whitener is way more exciting than watching Bush vs Vickers.

Just my thoughts

[mizechris]

Isn't any better up North

I agree with alot if not all of this. Here is what I think.
1. NASCAR doesn't care about any short tracks right now. They are to busy trying to bail there ass out.
2. Economy does suck.
3. ENTRY FEES BLOW AND HAVE NO PLACE IN WEEKLY RACING.
4. Weekly shows should only cost 10 bucks and kids 15 and under get in free. (reason,look at 2)
5. Drivers get jipped the second they walk through the gate.

I could make this up to over 100 if ya want. My 15 and under theory. Kids go with parents till they can drive. Make it cheap for parents to get in. Concession sales will boom. Drivers get jipped all the way around right now. Pit passes going up, tires wear out in a week, and the STUPID ENTRY FEE. Keep pits at 20 or 25 no higher. Entry fee is driving away the driver. Tires, tracks should look at a tire for longevity for the driver instead of thinking it is another profit stream. More drivers can save more will race. Quit making it 2000 to win. Look at 2nd place in some of these. 2 grand to win and then you see 400 for 2nd. and 100 to start. What the heck is wrong with 250 to start and 1 grand to win? You need them backmarkers just as much as the front runners. Let's face reality here. Ashphalt racing has had it made in years past. They opened and drivers and people came. Isn't that way anymore. Time to get off there ASS'S and try a new way. Easy for us to say on here. But some of this has been proven.