Maybe Tenney and Keeler can get a Late Model. That would make it 7 cars. We have 2 ladies and 3 guys now. Just wondering what the new sex count would be? :huepfen024:
I’m just a fan but,
if the track I attend goes to features only, I WILL NOT GO BACK! I drive a little over 2 hours one way and having features only would really suck! I too am not a fan of heat races with only 8-10 cars but at least I have gotten my moneys worth when the night is over! Back in the early days of Thundercross, we had 9 divisions of cars but every week at least two of those divisions were not on the program. I don’t recall any bad racing nights either because they NEVER left two “big” divisions of on the same night. We had 116 registered cars in the pure stock division and saw many nights that we had 3 heats with 18-20 cars in each. Our heats didn’t mean anything BUT top 3 did get paid. When I say they didn’t mean anything, they were not any part of points for the year but to us the fans, they were important and many times heats were as good as features! Heats are also important to the drivers as they are the ones paying to put on a show for us and they also need to get their moneys worth! I just wish someone could come up with a quick fix for the racing scene but don’t see it happening in the near future. I just don’t believe that doing away with heats is the answer. Frasson, you said a mouthful. If tracks go to features only then we the fans should expect admission to be cut in half!
Heat races aren’t typically used in this state to set feature line-ups . So unless they pay good money , which they don’t , the feature only idea should be a win - win for fans and drivers . No heats means far smaller tire bill , far smaller fuel bill , and much less damage to the car , both real and potential .
For the fans , they get a much quicker show , no 3 or 4 car heat races ( only thing worse than that is a 3 or 4 car heat race with a caution every other lap ) more cars running the feature ( not having lost any in the heats ) , and a total show that lasts maybe 3 hours tops . Because thats the new reality . Old line race fans look at a 4 or 5 hour night at the races as the norm . I don’t feel i’ve gotten my fix if i’m walking out to the parking lot earlier than 11:30 . But the new generation of fan , and potential fan , compare races to any other entertainment . Movies don’t last 5 hours . Not even 3 hours . The age old ways of short track racing just aren’t working . Mostly because they haven’t evolved with the rest of entertainment and sports . But we have to change the show , and that means some older fans , and even some racers are going to be offended . But if it doesn’t change , we all know what the alternative is . Race track land works just as well for strip malls .
Over the last couple of years, I’ve noticed on nights where we have given away tickets and got some new faces in the stands, that many are departing by 10PM or even earlier… Even last week, I saw a lot of folks get up and go after the Modified race and it was only 9:30… Our “regular” faces were still sitting there when things got over at 10:08 wondering where the closest bar was…
The old Orlando Raceway didn’t start the races until 8:30! Two classes (3 after the Early Model six-cylinders were added in 1965)… Two heats, a consi and a feature in each class and always done by 11… The late start time plus the fact some bozos in DC hadn’t invented daylight saving time yet meant rainouts were very rare in those days…