this sat. 10-4 open practice. new tires are in. and fuel will be availible!
[B][SIZE=“4”]Attention all drivers this Saturday from 10am to 4pm will be the first official all day practice prior to opening night Saturday, February 19th.
So, bring out those new cars and test them for only $15.00 per person and no charge for the car.
Tires & Fuel will also be available for purchase then.
See you all Saturday.[/SIZE][/B]
<Sigh…>
What happened to the days when the Florida tracks would open their seasons after Speedweeks? The 19th is the last night of the World Series, correct?
I’d be interested to see how many fans and cars will be at DeSoto, instead of going to see the show across I-4 at New Smyrna.
[SIZE=“5”]DeSoto opening night has been the night before the Daytona 500 for the last 10 years.[/SIZE]
…which shows two things:
- shows you how much attention I’ve paid to DeSoto since we quit running there ten-fifteen years ago;
and
B) Why?? You know race fans will be in Daytona/New Smyrna/Barberville for Speedweeks. By running that Saturday night, you make them make a choice. Go to DeSoto to see “Pro 4 Challenge 75-Bombers-Magic4s-BUSES-Pure Stocks”, or go up the road to see the best drivers in the country, in divisions that they won’t see anywhere else except at Speedweeks (NASCAR Tour Modifieds, big-block D.I.R.T. Modifieds, World of Outlaw Late Models and Sprints, ACT, out-of-state drivers and cars, etc.).
If I was still in Florida…my a$$'d be at New Smyrna on Friday night for the Richie Evans race, and at Volusia for the end of the D.I.R.T. Nationals. Not at the local track (which will be running the same divisions all year long).
Why do the tracks in Florida do this to themselves?? <Sigh…>
Jimmy,
Don’t forget the USAC finals at Ocala that night also.
Citrus is also running a show including super lates on the 19th.
[QUOTE=jacko241;64694]Citrus is also running a show including super lates on the 19th.[/QUOTE]Sheesh. Wonder how many cars - and fans - they’ll get…
cant we all just get along! good grief… wanna know who will be there? those who are not interested in going across the state. there’s enough fans and cars to go around! blah blah blah… and we all lived happily ever after.
Yeah, we can all get along - as as everyone works together. What happened to that “big deal” about “all Florida tracks working together” this year, huh? Looks like it’s a “one-track series”, and killed off another series that had the right idea. And the problem is, there ain’t enough fans and cars to “go aorund”. Look at the car counts the last few years - maybe even as far back as ten years ago.
Y’all wanna run a buncha little-car classes, with little car count and barely anybody in the stands, go ahead. If I was still down there, and I said it before, me and my $$$ would be going to New Smyrna and Volusia.
If DeSoto went back to a Friday night show - like they did when they first opened years ago - they could probably draw the fans and cars from Punta Gorda and Inverness.
A bunch!
There won’t be 50,000 people at Daytona, and everyone around citrus county will go to their local race rather than drive to Volusia or New Smyrna.
Benny, I wouldn’t say that. I’ll be at Ocala. I think it’s tough for a local track to run a local program when they are going up against “special” races. Florida fans will only get this one chance to see the USAC cars on dirt this year. Other than a WoO Late Model race at Ocala in March, this is the only chance they get to see the top late model racers in the country. This is the last chance they will have to see the 410 sprint cars on dirt this year, unless something special is booked. All of these shows will have great car counts. This will be the only chance fans will get to see the tour modifieds at NSS, even if it appears the car counts are down. So there is something special for everyone. Why go to a regular Saturday night program when you can go to a once a year special program at a nearby track.
Jimmy, I don’t think this is a matter of tracks not working together. For as long as I can remember, racers from all over the country come to race at Florida tracks during speedweeks. Some of the Florida tracks depend on the money they make during speedweeks to get them through the racing season. I think the issues at Volusia make that clear. So the tracks need to schedule on top of each other. As a rule they don’t schedule the same type of racing on top of each other, although East Bay and Ocala did have a conflict with the sprint cars. I do hope the tracks will work together for the regular season, although I’m going to be a little skeptical.
$50 in gas, 3 hour drive and not everybody is a sprint car fan. The biggest thing is there are probably a handful of race fans down here that havent got a clue what is running in Ocala or any other track that are over 100 miles away…
Rick, my comments re: Ocala were in response to Benny’s comments about Citrus. However, race fans down there should know what is running just a few miles away. You’ll be competing with East Bay and Hendry locally. Granted, you’re the closest asphalt track running in the area. So the devoted asphalt fan that doesn’t care for dirt or want to travel at all will probably go to your show. Or stay home and watch TV and stay warm. I might do that if I had a choice. LOL
Just using SLM as an example, there are lots of good cars that could be at NSS for the World Series that aren’t. Wayne Anderson, Jeff Choquette, Darryl Shelnut, Steve Doerer, Herb Neumann, and lots of others. Some of these guys will probably chose to race closer to home, so they may be at Citrus to start their season. Some may have other reasons for not coming. We actually preentered the World Series, but underestimated how long it would take to finish our car. We may have it done by midweek.