October 29, 2008

This week Bobby Diehl from Charlotte County Motorsports Park will take his turn at the microphone. Charlotte County has been one of the brightest spots on the asphalt side of the ledger this year in Florida racing.

Race fans who have been tuning into the INSIDE FLORIDA RACING show on Monday nights lately will know that CeCe Brooks, Rob "Bonehead" Elting and myself have been spending a lot of time talking with guests about the future of our sport.

Two weeks ago, Mike Peters (owner of Ocala Speedway), Mike Cope(Bronson Motor Speedway and Rusty Marcus (GM of Orlando Speedworld) discussed in detail the issues track owner and promoters are dealing with today. LISTEN TO THAT SHOW!

On Monday October 27, North Florida Speedway Owner Phil Guadagno and DeSoto Super Speedway owner John Sarppriacone shared their thoughts with fans, and answered questions you the race fan or driver submitted to us at RealRacinUSA.com.

In future weeks we will be talking with other track owners from Florida and beyond, with promoters of other sports and entertainment, with knowledgeable fans, car owners and yes, race car drivers.  Robert Hart, the owner of FASCAR and the three tracks associated with that sacntioning body, New Smyrna Speedway, Orlando Speedworld and Columbia Motorsports Park will be our guest later on in November.

Hard economic times coupled with the continued absence of any sophistication in the marketing end of things have led many track owners, not just here in Florida but nationwide, to the point of considering what many fans would call the "unthinkable". A race track closing in a community is a hard pill for drivers and fans, but it also has an adverse effect on the local economy as well.

With the closing "Florida's Short Track Palace", USA International Speedway in Lakeland in 2008, a new chapter has been entered into. Don Nerone, the longtime Florida promoter has said often in the last few years, "Short track racing is going the way the of the Drive-in movies." That is the same sentiment we have seen expressed many years ago on the pages of KARNAC.com.

Drivers and hard core fans alike seem to feel helpless as attendance at the grandstands at several tracks in Florida reach absurd levels of emptiness. Costs for the racers of course have escalated over the last few years to the point there are now as many cars sitting in garages across the Sunshine State as there are to be found racing on Friday or Saturday night.

Over the years I have been involved in organizing and helping others organize owner and promoter meetings to discuss issues affecting racing in the State. Though there is a reasonable amount of disagreement about the effectiveness of these get-togethers, I have always felt that more communication, not less, is a better path to improving conditions.

One of the constants is trying to get race car drivers, who by and large don't really understand what the owners are trying to do, to get more involved in the promotion of the sport and their tracks.

As one long-time motorsports media personality said, "What were you thinking the first time you pulled onto the track to race?" This questions goes to the heart of the relationship between the driver and the track owner/promoter. I doubt very few drivers were thinking I am going to go racing so I can put on a show for those fans. More likely it was something on the order of "I want to experience the speed and competition" or "I think it would be a lot of fun and a big thrill for me." The emphasis is on "for me".

The promoter is trying to put on a show for spectators. Racers want to race. Fans want to forget the days to day soap-opera that is their life and be entertained. Hard-core race fanatics want to see door-banging action on the track and follow their favorite (or not-so-favorite) drivers.

If all this worked out as it should, the owner makes a profit for his labor.

That is not what is happening, and that is not what has been happening for some time now for most race track owners.

We want you the race track driver to understand, the chances are pretty good your race track is far closer to being closed than you may suspect.

We want you to get involved, listen to the owners and promoters we have on our INSIDE FLORIDA RACING show, e-mail us (feedback@realracinusa.com) call us (941-228-8359), post on the RealRacinUSA.com forum, but let us present your questions and concerns to the owners. Yes, we have had many of these promoters and owners on our shows in the past. This time we want to have a serious discussion about the real issues that they face and most importantly, their relationship with you the driver or car owner or caring fan.

If you have not ever listened to our INSIDE FLORIDA RACING show, you can listen live by going to front page of RealRacinUSA.com and hitting the listen live link. You can also download the archived version of our shows or download to your i-pod.

We can try and do our part as responsible media by bringing the owners, drivers and fans together for a community discussion of the issues, the rest is up to you.

Jack Smith
KARNAC MEDIA
REAL RACIN USA