Do you have any ideas for luring back idle racecars?
We could uses some HELP!!!
Please give we some ideas. They are the ones who make the fields full and then the FAN’s come. We would love some imput!!!
Bobby Diehl:huepfen024:
seems like a catch 22…
…cause Bobby needs fans to show up to pay the drivers, drivers need the pay to show up with their cars.
This goes for most FL asphalt tracks from what I’ve seen… but the fact is, atleast for SLM, you won’t break even or get close to doing so unless you finish top 3… and if you buy practice tires you’ll probably still be in the whole with third. It gets hard on the budget teams come out to compete against the guys with more $ backing them and more experience to boot. It’s takes alot to go to the race track knowing you’re probably gonna lose $500 or more! Racing is fun but how often would/could you go spend $500 or more for one night of fun lol.
If you add the fuel costs etc for those big righ haulers , even some of the big $ guys don’t wanna travel too far to try and clear $100 profit for a win…especially with the economy the way it is right now. Some can and will…but as you see at the tracks not many are, atleast here in FL. Everbody is different but it’s simple math really…Racers go where the $ is. Just look at the big races up north, big payouts, huge fields with big names, and packed grandstands!
More $ = more cars. More cars = more fans. More fans = more $. Who’s gonna take the first step? lol.
That’s my 2 cents…but I probably should have saved them for this weekend lol.
Sean
[QUOTE=SLMnum8;17837]…cause Bobby needs fans to show up to pay the drivers, drivers need the pay to show up with their cars.
This goes for most FL asphalt tracks from what I’ve seen… but the fact is, atleast for SLM, you won’t break even or get close to doing so unless you finish top 3… and if you buy practice tires you’ll probably still be in the whole with third. It gets hard on the budget teams come out to compete against the guys with more $ backing them and more experience to boot. It’s takes alot to go to the race track knowing you’re probably gonna lose $500 or more! Racing is fun but how often would/could you go spend $500 or more for one night of fun lol.
If you add the fuel costs etc for those big righ haulers , even some of the big $ guys don’t wanna travel too far to try and clear $100 profit for a win…especially with the economy the way it is right now. Some can and will…but as you see at the tracks not many are, atleast here in FL. Everbody is different but it’s simple math really…Racers go where the $ is. Just look at the big races up north, big payouts, huge fields with big names, and packed grandstands!
More $ = more cars. More cars = more fans. More fans = more $. Who’s gonna take the first step? lol.
That’s my 2 cents…but I probably should have saved them for this weekend lol.
Sean[/QUOTE]
Sean,
you bring up a good point of spending money to go racing, but i ask why are you spending that much money. Do you really need 4 new tires to practice, 4 new tires to race and a huge transporter? I pull my racecar on an open trailer, if i get a bigger rig will my racecar go faster? I doubt it. People seem to copy what the big guys are doing thinking that they need to do it as well. What would happen if you went to the races and didnt buy new tires??? Concentrate on your setup a little more and i bet you can get pretty close times compared to new tires on the older tires. Is racing expensive? Of course it is. But people need to start looking at themselves for answers to the problem of spending money at the track. Hell, I have said this before and will say it again, I ran the same left front tire for 17 races this season. Still managed to get 7 wins. By doing that instead of a new tire every week, i saved myself about $1800. It seems like racing has become a sport about who can outspend everyone else. Its going to take one low-dollar operation to come in and turn everything upside down, maybe thats what I am here for.
Caleb
[B][I]Maybe and only maybe, somes promoters will finally get it after reading about it six thousands times:
Common sets of rules.
Rock hard tires.
Limited practice time.
Cut the race laps.
Just look at that new Dirt Super Late Model series which started this year in Fla how fast it grew. 40+ cars almost everywhere they went. Now heat races are interesting and means something.They have expensive race cars too that had to travel everywhere. But Dirt Super Late have common set of rules, do not use 6 to 8 tires per event, have almost no practice time, do not have 150 laps races everyweek and so on.
Maybe the asphalt short track should put aside the Na$car game and play their own. Maybe they should quit trying to have their own little Daytona 500 and blow the fans away by trying to match their(na$car) kind of event.
Andr?[/I][/B]
I wonder if " rock hard " 8 inch tires really are the answer or the problem . I’ve always been curious to know where the 8 inch tires came from . Why not 7 inch ? Or 9 inch ? Why are 8 inch tires the perfect width ? If price weren’t an issue , wouldn’t 14 inch wide tires give the fans a better show? Lots more passing . Not so much slipping and sliding . Far fewer cautions for one car spins .
What makes me wonder about this is the fact that 12 or 14 or even wider tires were the norm in short track racing for decades , and still are in some series . And i for one think the wider tires give the drivers much more control , and the ability to make moves they wouldn’t be able to on 8 inch tires . And that means a better show for the fans .
The obvious downside is cost , but if tracks demanded wider tires the manufacturers would have to make them . In fact the wider tires already exist and are ready to go . And competition among the race tire producers would bring the prices down . And if there were no such thing as a track tire , racers would not have to pay a middleman for tires , thereby reducing the wide tire prices even further .
I wonder if " rock hard " 8 inch tires really are the answer or the problem .
[B][I]Whichever, but can we agree on the fact that something has to be done to get rid of the ‘‘field destructive’’ cost of tires at EACH & EVERY events in order to be competitive.
So beside running a tire that would lasts, or running on a cushion of air, which the technology is not available yet, I do not see what can be done beside running very hard tire, like IMCA(just to name one) successfully does since decades.
Thanks for reading,
Andr?[/I][/B]
[QUOTE=calres22;17873]Sean,
you bring up a good point of spending money to go racing, but i ask why are you spending that much money. Do you really need 4 new tires to practice, 4 new tires to race and a huge transporter? I pull my racecar on an open trailer, if i get a bigger rig will my racecar go faster? I doubt it. People seem to copy what the big guys are doing thinking that they need to do it as well. What would happen if you went to the races and didnt buy new tires??? Concentrate on your setup a little more and i bet you can get pretty close times compared to new tires on the older tires. Is racing expensive? Of course it is. But people need to start looking at themselves for answers to the problem of spending money at the track. Hell, I have said this before and will say it again, I ran the same left front tire for 17 races this season. Still managed to get 7 wins. By doing that instead of a new tire every week, i saved myself about $1800. It seems like racing has become a sport about who can outspend everyone else. Its going to take one low-dollar operation to come in and turn everything upside down, maybe thats what I am here for.
Caleb[/QUOTE]
I’m not trying to speak for every class…just for us as a Super Late Model team running 100 lap races or more. We don’t outspend many lol so if that’s the competition than we lose. I’d love to see a SLM win a 100 lap race on 100+ lap old tires…without doping lol. They would def be my new hero!
Tire prices have always been an issue and still are , even with the supposedly affordable 8 inch tires . But rather than going to 7 inch , or to DOT tires , maybe the answer is to go the other direction . The prices for wider tires can be kept under control if the will is there . And allowing the racers to purchase their tires from sources other than the tracks would be a good start . Going through the tracks official tire outlet just means one more entity gets to charge a fee . Tire stamps are a perfect example . They really only exist because they make additional money for the tracks .
Track owners and promotors need to leave tire purchases up to the racers instead of forcing them to purchase tires from the tracks . Decide what tire brand is legal , put it in the rule book , and let the racers buy their own tire . Cutting out one more middle man can only help the price .
Hard tires
AJ14 the idea behind the rock hard 8 inch tire is that they last a long time with-out speed falling off and they also take the advantage of a high dollar motor away because you can’t hook up all the power that some of the guys are paying this engine builders for. Let the super lates run what they want, I guess with those big haulers and 15,000 and 20,000 motors, they can afford to buy lots of tires and they can try to out dollar each other, BUT for limited lates on down the classes, put them on some rock hard 8 inch tires and watch the field of cars start to grow…Seen it, I know it works…
You were reading my mind:aktion033:
Does anyone remember the days of the Leo Musgrave memorial? It was the only special race of the year at sunshine speedway for the late models. Now it seems like every week is a “special” race. Drop the races down to 25-30 laps, run heats and car counts will rise. Less spent on fuel and tires. Then when you do have the special race, it is special and something to look forward to.
Wide tires can also last a good long while without significant drop off depending on the compound and manufacturer . Heres the solution to keeping those big motors from hooking up . The rule book . 8 inch tires are used as a crutch to keep from having to spend money to compete . The answer is to make a rule book that works . Very specific and carefully thought out engine specs that are enforced . Then you can allow much wider tires to allow the drivers to put on a better show ( fewer single car spins , passing on the outside , etc . ) And of course controling the cost of the wider tires is important .
[B][I]I’m sure big tires can be made to work, BUT at the IMCA National, in Boone, Iowa this year, more than 360 Modifieds showed up for the event,… 8 inches tires & no motor rules.
Take what you want out of it, but it’s hard to beat. Any more proof needed???
Andr?[/I][/B]
Caleb, when you race against teams who outspend you (especially on tires) you have to do the same if you want to win. We practice on the tires from the last race and buy only new ones to race on. If I can get a sponsor for that night we will buy 4 tires to practice on. Usually I spend a minium of $850 to run a 100 lap race. This includes 4 tires, enty fee, pit pass for 4, and 10 gallons of fuel. I would like to see shorter races that may reduce costs but if the big guys buy tires every night we may have to do the same to get the win. But shorter races could end in better results depending on who starts where. We have run Citrus and they get a good number of supers every race. I wish we could find out their secret. Of course we are not racing to make a living but as a hobby it can get expensive. Mike (Sean’s Dad)