25 cars at OSW?

[Todd McCreary]

If you care to make a dare, I'll make a bet with you. Now you sit down on that stump boy and I'll tell you what - Free admission will fill the grandstands.

you lose.

Rusty was trying that back in 2007 and had virtually no success. certainly, there was no repeat business off of it.



does this make me the devil or Johnny? i forget how the verse goes.




The track has never had a budget to advertise in the Orlando area


also not true.

i've been hearing ads on 96.5 and 95.9 ( when it was a rock/roll station, i don't listen to it now that it's the "Espn on Espn" station ) for years now for the circle track.

also, the track has been showing up on the cover of the yellow pages down here in Indian River county for years.

you can complain about the way they spend their money or how much/little they spend.

you can't say they don't have a budget.



maybe I'll just lease the track when it closes and prove free admission will fill the grandstands, increase concession sales, build car counts, and bring in sponsorship for the track and drivers. Then I can say I TOLD YOU SO !


please do so.

[Winger]

Blah-Blah-Blah-

If OSW invested a few dollars in purse money, would that make drivers show up ? I doubt it. Most drivers want to race in front of packed grandstands and sponsors want all the exposure they can get.

The track can not have decent payouts with empty seats and the track can not have decent payouts with free admission grandstands. So, we might as well forget about making a living racing at short tracks - that day has come and gone a long time ago.

Most drivers are racing for fun and these guys and gals are what is keeping short track racing alive.

In this ecomomy, people are looking for things to do that are free. OSW could use the bad ecomomy as a reason to offer the free admission.

If you care to make a dare, I'll make a bet with you. Now you sit down on that stump boy and I'll tell you what - Free admission will fill the grandstands.

I don't really think the majority of racers care whether they race in front of a huge crowd or none at all. They just want to race. There use to be a time when guys could bring their cars to an open field somewhere and race each other with no spectators. They didn't have any purse either, except for some side bets. That probably still goes on in parts of this country.
I personally think one of the worse things you can do is to bring new spectators in to see a lousy show. You will never get them back. Remember that first impressions are the most important. They will only go on to tell others about the show. Wait till you have a decent show to bring them in. Let them tell their friends about that. You may be right that you may fill the grandstands once. (I wouldn't bet on it though.) If they come in to see only 25 cars put on a boring show, you have potentially lost a couple thousand new fans. Is it possible that has already happened at OSW?
What's my suggestion for improving OSW? One suggestion is to not put the cart before the horse. Don't try to get spectators till you have a show. Other things have been mentioned many times by myself and others. Fair unbiased tech, rules that are in line with other Florida tracks and enforced. Fewer classes so the driver base is not broken up so much. ie: 100 drivers split into 8 classes is about 12 drivers per class. 100 split into 4 classes is 25 per class. The show is better already and it hasn't cost the track anything. It will cost some drivers something but they're not showing up now. Have tire rules in line with other tracks and don't require tires and fuel to have to be bought from your track. Actually, I think it might be an advantage to not require a particular brand. Perhaps a tire that punches the durometer at a certain level, regardless of brand, would entice more cars to come. And finally, I would change Orlando's show to Sunday early evening. Eliminate the hassle for the owners and fans trying to get home from work and then fighting the traffic to get to the track in time to race. Not to mention practice. I've heard that this won't work in Florida, but no one has convinced me why it won't. I'd also try to race more in the winter months and draw the snowbirds in, rather than try to bring them fans out in the heat. Heck, the snowbirds are in other parts of the country watching some good racing in comfortable conditions. I say that about all the tracks in Florida. There are some other things that I've mentioned in other places. I won't get into them now. Just my 2 cents worth but it's actually worth more than 2 cents. Let's see, how much would it cost to implement these suggestions?

[UREZ2PASS]

Dirt -

There may be something to that - but it would be a risky investment in todays economy.

[UREZ2PASS]

I agree with alot of what has been said about the negative apects of free grandstand admission. It would take effort from drivers to market themselves and the track, fair tech, and a commitment from the track to do whatever it takes financially to attract racecars. They would need to have a headline show that is fast and competitive racecars - and everything would need to take place at once in order to have a chance at prospering. Something as daring as free grandstand admission might not work in stages. I still don't think the track has anything to loose. They will make up ticket sales losses at the concession stand. They might even sell ALOT of beer.

Maybe a start would be to give free grandstand passes to drivers that will make an effort to show their racecars out in public. That can't hurt.

[UREZ2PASS]

885 views - there is an interest in this discussion.

[straight up]

i think you are kinda missing my point . its not so much about making money , its more about fair treatment and realistic payouts . if the racer doesnt get something back at the end of the nite to help him race next week , eventually the well runs dry . the majority of your racers dont have rich daddys or big sponsors funding their racing . just hard working guys trying to survive . for instance , lets use the sportsman for example . citrus pays $450 to win and pays back thru field decent . fascar pays $200 to win and doesnt pay back well . and we are talking about a half mile which costs more to race on than a three eights mile . and i believe auburndales payout is even higher than citrus . so , if those tracks can do it sucessfully so can fascar . and obviously the majority of racers have spoken because they are gone to other tracks that appreciate their racers or have just quit . then theres the constant rule and tire changes which is another story altogether .

[ancrdave]

I talked to two of our regular fans (husband & wife) at Auburndale Saturday who went to Orlando on Friday night because of the $5 admission charge offered them for bringing their Aub. rain check. One of them spun the wheel and ended up getting in free, so it only cost them $5 to get in... They spent the night in a motel not wanting a long drive home... They told me they were very disappointed in the show and would NEVER GO BACK. These are two DIE-HARD race fans who now have crossed OSW off their list... Had there been more cars and a decent show, they probably would have made the trip again in the future. They were adamant about the fact that they DID NOT HAVE A GOOD TIME. Also said the motel money was wasted since they got out of the track so early, they could have simply driven home and been there just after midnight. When die-hard fans don't want to give a track the benefit of the doubt, what are first-time or casual race fans going to do???
I think I'm gonna have to start agreeing with my buddy Old Yeller and several others who say the only way the track can ever improve is for it to be sold or leased to someone else. The place has got to have a fresh re-birth. Carl does a fantastic job with the drag strip and all Robert has to do is take his rent money... I have heard that there are several people interested in leasing the track, so why not lease it and let somebody else deal with the headaches? I feel really bad for my friend Rick Bristol because he has poured his heart and soul into the place. A lesser man would have given up long ago.

[UREZ2PASS]

Yes, Rick B is doing alot of good things for OSW. I hope he continues his quest, He's only been at it a short while, if he keeps at it, he should prevail when the economy improves. That is , unless his hands are tied behind his back.

If I had the dough - I would lease the track, have free grandstand admission to the weekly shows, and have a profit sharing plan to drivers that raced at my track.

Profit sharing plan - Here's something I've been leading up to - Driver's have the opportunity for return on investment. For simplicity - the racecars that take the checkered flag would be included in the profit sharing for that race night. Drivers that do promotions during the week also have some incentives. The concession stand will make substantial revenue if the grandstands are full. The more drivers, the more back gate revenue. There would still be the standard payouts. Of course, this business plan would require honesty from the managers and open books for the drivers to see at any time.

[oldyeller]

what announcer dave said.

EZ2PASS, I agree that, say for a grand re-opening week, or even a month, free admission, if publicized, would certainly jump-start the crowd. Todd, I guess we listen to different radio stations. I have never heard an ad for Orlando except for crash-a-rama and for the PRI shows, and i have never seen a print ad. New Smyrna, sure, all the time. But not OSW.

A senior, and I mean VERY senior, NASCAR exec told me six weeks ago that yes, it is kind of embarassing that NASCAR has no sactioned weekly short track in Florida. He said they were interested in New Smyrna. That makes sense because an even more senior exec, Lesa France Kennedy's kid Ben, races at only those two tracks. Would NASCAR santion help? Rusty said it didn't do much for Monroe. So I dunno. NASCAR takes money from tracks, they don't invest money unless they own them. And they sold all their short tracks, like Tucson.

Finally, and tell me if I'm wrong, Jacksonville and Lakeland closed to be developed, and haven't been, the reason being that the EPA didn't like what they found in the infield (not surprising for Jacksonville, as they sprayed oil on the track to keep dust down.) If that's true, I can only imagine what fluids have leaked into OSW soil, from all the Crash A Ramas. So if it is only good as a race track, and not really developable as, say, housing, that seems like even more a reason for Robert to try and find a partner.

[Rick Williamson]

Carol!

do u think orlando would do alot better with car and fan count if they raced saturday? i think so....everyone works on friday and fans and drivers alike would have a hard time making it to a friday night where i think they could do better on a saturday...
carol

To watch 3 to 6 cars race in a class, for FREE, ON FRIDAY NIGHT OR SATURDAY NIGHT SUCK any way you put it.

[Boneman]

If only someone had an idea for a different and entertaining race format that could jump-start the racers interest in our local tracks. HINT! HINT! There is one out there floating around that I sincerely hope the track managers embrace. No, its not a cure-all, but it is something interesting, and the tracks could pull it off successfully. Who knows, it could be the start of a chain of successes.

Its long past time to push the panic button.

PS, I am on vacation out of the country, and am amazed that I remain interested in the goings-on regarding our little racing world, and am connected via the wonder that is the internet.

[Cara]

Challenge! If you want the cars back then let us run whatever racing tires we have. Open it up to all drivers at every track and see how many come.

[al_tere_go_05]

Go to dirt,a SHORT track w banking cant go wrong.u will draw a good amount of cars from eastbay vcs and ocala.the news will spread,its something New
Its dead if it dont change.................

I like your thinking. Race on weekends and sell watermelons and potatos during the week. that will definately help the track make money. I can see how it might bring local people but do you really think that someone is really goung to come from ocala to buy a watermelon? im sure there is a watermelon stand closer to ocala.

Challenge! If you want the cars back then let us run whatever racing tires we have. Open it up to all drivers at every track and see how many come.

CHALLENGE! bring your car

[Jane]

Let's get honest now. If a stranger to SpeedWorld read this thread, why would they even want to come and race at the track?? They know there is no car count, fan count, and the payouts aren't great so why would they even come right now? There is no excitement to even make a new car come right now.

Yes, things aren't great for SpeedWorld but I am not sure how much this helps build things any better right now. Orlando is a great track to run, always has been a fun track, bull ring. But you have already told people that the payouts are less than any other track, they have no cars, they have no fans and that isn't helping anything either. Yes, honesty is best but there has to be something good to make people want to come.

I know a few of you do honestly care about Orlando and don't want to see it gone. Those are the ones who will try their best to get more cars there and fans because they love the track. Just not sure what this does to help get new people there right now.

We need some excitement, someone to say why they love Orlando and what is special about the track not just complaints about the tires, the payouts, etc., etc., etc. Doesn't anyone have something good to say????

[UREZ2PASS]

Challenge bring your car - brings something to mind. Fascar brought back the modifieds and cut the schedule of the e-mods in half. NSS had 4 modifieds last weekend - the e-mods had more cars than that - Where's all the modified drivers that had tears in their eyes when Fascar dumped them ?

Challenge - get your modifieds back out there before you get dumped again.