i just got back from driveing 120 miles round trip from polk county to orlando speedworld wow that place is sad the only good race was the owm race they had 15 cars at start of race after lap 4 they had 6. all other class LLM had 6 car sportsman had 5 car strickly stocks had 5 cars and ledgens had 6 cars. that might have been the worst race i have been to in 25yrs the on track staff would take 5to7 laps to line all cars up for a restart come on with only 6 cars in each class its not that hard people butt over all we did have fun drinking and tonight we will be at a real race track please let me know if you have seen worse than this ty.
Downright pathetic. 37 cars in 5 divisions is horrible (avg. 6.166 per class).
When is someone gonna wake up and cover the place with dirt? It seems to be their only hope. OSW can’t handle losing money on such a consistent basis. No offense to Rick, or Rusty before him, but face it guys… the support IS NOT THERE.
That place would make an awesome dirt track with it’s length and banking. It has the potential to be the most exciting dirt track in the area!
true
somebody call bubba and tony lets go drit racing guys.
Not a joke, just a bad night. No question about it, that was the worst night of the year IMHO. Even though there were some good individual performances, overall the show was weak and the car count was too small. There is no sense promoting the show until the product improves.
There was also an exceptionally bad call that DQ’d a race winner. I am sure THAT will provide some KARNAC fodder as the week goes along.
Oh well, on to next week. I gotta get my stuff finished.
I agree with F118 totally. Great idea. Just make the rules compatible with the other dirt tracks. billy
I have raced at Speedworld for 20 years. In the early 1990’s we thought the car count was bad, we didn’t realize how good we had it. I race at Orlando because I work on Saturday nights at another track. I am as much a race fan as I am an official, that’s why I work very hard to try to be a good official. If Orlando closes, that will pretty much end my racing career. No one races for the money but the car should pay it’s own way on a nightly basis. I don’t know what the answer is, I wish I did. I think part of the reason why Fascar has such a low car count is due to how they have treated their races for many years. That is why I wanted to become an official in the first place. I saw how people were treated unfairly and I thought that I could make a difference by caring when someone had a problem. As far as making the place a dirt track, when you bring in the equipment to spread the dirt, just level it, make it a golf course or something. Not trying to be negative, but not everyone is a dirt fan. It is what it is, too little too late.
ted ur right
ted that is so true i am 25yrs old i have been in racing all my life in FL and GA i came to orlando last night to see you and sean bass run what i seen is good drivers with no good on track staff i have only raced maybe 5 times in my life butt i have watch and been a flag man here and there for 7 yrs i look up to people like you rex guy / don norone / and the late bill martino/ thanks to people like you you guys make this a fun sport and i would like to say ty very much.
A Ittle History Here on OSW–
You guys, a bad night at OSW seems to be the norm, and has almost always been that way.
Twenty-six (26) years ogo I visited OSW for the first time for a Friday night show, and it was simply awful. Completely dead, empty grandstands, empty pits, 3/4 cars in each of the 4 classes, and a dreadful night of stock car racing. It couldn’t have been worse, and I thought to myself that it can only get better. So I went to New Smyrna Speedway the next night, and guess what; it even was worse than the night before.
OSW did regain super-strong status in the mid-80’s, with Don Nerone at the helm. Man, did he have that place rocking and rolling. Huge fields, packed grandstands, and a pulse which it never had. The greatest of Friday night shows.
Then, in the late 80’s, FASCAR purchased OSW, kicked Don Nerone and Roby Helm out, and started to present the FASCAR promotions. Don and Roby took their Friday show and subsequently opened up a long-shuttered 1/4 mile Lakeland Speedway. And had that place rocking and rolling on Friday nights; packed grandstands and pits.
It was then that I hated FASCAR more than cancer, wrapped around hitler, and stuffed inside of a root-canal job. I’m over it now.
Since then, Orlando Speedworld has had some moderate success, namely Rusty Marcus at the helm. In his tenure, Rusty almost, almost had the track back to it’s glory days, but was cut just shy of it. The track actually had a pulse, and it was alive again. Festive times for everyone.
And New Smyrna Speedway? Same old empty pits and grandstands, except for SpeedWeeks, and the early 1990’s, when OUTSIDE promoters clicked-off a Super Eight/Ten Super Late Model Series.
FASCAR owns both New Smyrna and Orlando Raceways, and it just seems that the owners have never wanted to really promote big shows, or fill the stands and pits, and it never has, and probably never will. Both of the Raceways are top-notch facilities all the way around. But setting the Sunshine State on fire with Friday and Saturday night Big Shows of short track stock car racing just doesn’t seem to be to goal, and I don’t know why. I havn’t seen any Raceway begging for a FASCAR sanctioning, nor willing to pay the franchising fee to carry the FASCAR logo, unless they want a sure ticket to demise. It’s the oddest thing, I think, that local short track stock car racing isn’t at their top of theit priorities. Because it isn’t, and I would know after 26 years of witnessing their shows. They seem to employ some of the nicest people around, salt of the earth, and they work very hard, I’m sure. But at the very top is an oppressive thumb that squishes the very life out of them, and the product of local successful short track stock car racing and promoting.
But what the heck do I know, just throwing out some history about these two fine Raceways. There has got to be better days ahead for these two tracks, and I don’t want to watch another 26 years of pathetic shows to prove myself wrong. I kid myself into thinking that next week it will be better.
r.
Dirt is not the answer.
cover the track with dirt? so we could have a dirt track that has the same problems as it has now?
I agree with F118 totally. Great idea. Just make the rules compatible with the other dirt tracks. the rules arnt compatable with all other asphalt tracks. do you really think it would change if it were dirt?
they had 15 cars at start of race after lap 4 they had 6. you must not be too good at counting.
and tonight we will be at a real race track and what track might that be?
Man it just kills me reading these posts. Mostly because they are right. I dont know if dirt is the answer but I do know losing Rusty didn’t help either.
Rick seems to be a nice guy but he doesn’t have the people skills that Rusty has. However I do like some of his ideas for some of the races but lets hope he can start getting some cars in. At a normal track there should be 15-20 strictly stocks out there every week. With all of the junk yards in Bithlo there should be 30-40. I don’t understand it.
Of course on speed last night right before the race started they were airing a 300 lap 4 cyl enduro, I think somewhere in Nc or Sc and they only had 35 cars.
Memories…??
Tampa (Golden Gate) on Fridays and St. Pete (Sunshine) on Saturdays used to draw about the same fans, cars, and drivers. How 'bout 35-40 (Super) Late Models on a weekly basis for a regular 25-lap feature that paid $800-$1,000 to win? Over 200 cars in the pits every week in about six regular divisions, plus extras when they added Sprint Cars and Super Sixes that ran on alternate weekends. I remember five or six heat races of Street Stock/Bomber/Strictly Stock type cars.
Problem is…at least from my end…it’s a Friday night track. There’s really only one way into SpeedWorld, and that’s coming from East SR 50. Coming FROM Orlando, it’s almost impossible to get there. It takes me more than an hour to get there in Friday-afternoon/after-work traffic from the attractions/Kissimmee/Disney area, and it’s less than 45 miles. Coming from I-95/east SR 50, it’s not near as bad. Even the toll roads coming from downtown Orlando (408/528/417) are packed.
But - I would think that being the only track between New Smyrna and well…the Keys…that there would be more cars towing from Brevard/Indian River, and possibly St. Lucie counties - unless you wanted to go run dirt. Once Hialeah closed, I think a lot of asphalt drivers just sold all of their equipment. Too far to get to Orlando from south Florida, and too far to get to Punta Gorda.
As far as the Strictly Stocks go…I agree that there should be more cars out there, what with all the junkyards out there on 50. But if I’m going to SpeedWorld, I’m not going to watch the Strictlys…I want to see the Super Late Models and Modifieds…
Last Friday’s car count at Ocala wasn’t that great, either, dirt or not. Maybe Mother’s Day weekend had something to do with it.
How about alternating Saturday nights between Orlando and New Smyrna? Heck, it’s Florida, you still could run up to 25 bi-weekly shows, per track, per season. I know alot of drivers would not compete at both tracks, but it would give the drivers an extra week to prepare their cars and accumulate enough cash to race. It would also prevent the “tweener” fans, between Orlando and New Smyrna from having to choose between the two tracks. How many fans are attending both Orlando on Friday and New Smyrna on Saturday anyways.
The way of life today, is very different from the 70’s and 80’s. We all work longer hours, drive longer commutes, many families are single parent households or have children from other marraiges. This makes it very hard to coordinate leisure or spectating activities, particularly on a Friday night in a congested urban environment like Orlando.
As far as the racers, everytime you go to the track, you LOSE money, so racing at 2 tracks per week is just not a practical option for most.
I also don’t think that “going dirt” is a magical solution. It may be a stimulus for a year or so, but there is no reason why asphalt tracks cannot succeed in the long term.
What difference would it make if they both ran on Saturday? How many cars or fans go to both tracks anyway. the new and better way was to seperate the classes so they could run both tracks, of the classes that race both tracks on the same week how many do both? If you look at the weekly results most cars run one or the other. That way the people who can’t make Fridays might make Saturdays I say give it a shot can’t be any worse than it is now. It seems the big complaint from the racers is that the purses suck (same complaint as long as I can remember in any kind of racing) this is easy for me to say but open up the wallet for a few weeks and see if it brings more cars if you want to keep the tracks alive you have to try something.
I guess the point of my post was the travel time from the west side of Orange county. It ain’t easy to get out to SR 50 in Bithlo from this side of town. Hell, the country radio station in Lakeland is playing ads for SpeedWorld and New Smyrna. I haven’t heard ONE SINGLE ad on ANY Orlando local station yet, but I hear 'em all the time on the Lakeland station? What gives? Is it the ad rates that the Lakeland station has, vs the Orlando local stations? This is a fairly well-populated area (Orlando metro), but yet the track can’t pull any cars or fans. I never see anything on the local TV channels, either. Used to be that WESH-2 Sunday night Sports News would show some highlights of Orlando and New Smyrna. Haven’t seen any of that in a long time, either.
I have never heard anyone address this question. Why don’t they race Sunday afternoons? I don’t know what other opinions are but I don’t see anything wrong with it.
It isn’t Orlando’s fault, but for those of us who live west, toll roads are the only real way to get there, and if i tow my open trailer, i’m out $16 in tolls. that’s not gonna bankrupt me, but it’s kind of a tiebreaker if im deciding where to go.
crasharama crowds have, for years, proven that people know the track exists, and how to get there. one of the central problems is that the racing just isnt that good… the track is notoriously one-groove, the main reason the PRI managment lost interest in that annual race. repaving would help but would cost a fortune, traction compound has to be water-based, and only lasts until the first hard rain. bombers and legends can pass, but for faster classes, you seldom see side-by-side racing. that’s a central reason why mike and angie dirt-tracked ocala, and last friday, there were several races where the leaders were side by side for laps.
would that work in orlando? dunno. orange county next door never caught on and eventually died, tho is was indeed a much smaller track. but a lot of people will think: dirt track at that address was tried, and failed.
for a city the size of orlando not to be able to produce more than 300 or 400 race fans for a weekly show, ever a mediocre one, is inexplicable. racers at other tracks seem to bring more friends and family to the grandstands… maybe just my perception, and even if its true, i dont know how to fix it. half the crowd at citrus seem to be friends and family.
i dont want to lose orlando, but i dont know what to do – in the worst economy in my lifetime – to get more people and cars there. if i had to guess, i’d say: $5 gate, $3 coke-and-hot dog combo. try to get with a radio station and any other media to co-op advertising… give us some spots, and you can be our official station, and help with contests – listener contests (win a ride in a race car, a petty experience, whatever).
with ocala dirt, every pavement race car in the state of florida is available friday nights. how to get them to come to orlando? i dunno.
but i do think there’s a big gap in orlando’s lineup: a class below super stocks, which cost almost as much as sportsman cars to run up front, and above strictly stocks… V-8 Camaros, Monte Carlos, maybe some newer V-6 cars – a class where the cars actually look a little like race cars, instead of junkyard refugees, but with stock motors that dont have to make super stock horsepower.
just my 2 cents worth. i aint married to any of it if you have a better idea.
well
if they have low car count at both tracks and the same person or persons are the owner of both tracks then there has to be a reason that they do nothing to improve. Lets see what are some of the things that they keep doing over and over and over. Run the same nights, keep running the same classes over and over, recycling the same local people to run and work the tracks when if they wanted to improve and make money they could bring someone from up north (they know how to do everything better, in this case they might) with new ideas. Might be that someone needs a big tax write off.
The problem with running on Sunday afternoon is the HEAT!!! 97 degrees in East Orlando today. Then the rainy season will come. Have you ever been at Orlando during a thunder storm? You become a lighting target!
I have lived here for 20 years and have been rained out many of Friday nights.