Ok, this might be a little long but here goes, and yes, seeing as I lived in tampabay for 23 years and still own a house in Clearwater I qualify for this thread.
So we gotta use Orlando huh? No problem. First we’re gonna pave the entrance road from the front gate all the way to the pits, and we’re installing Musco Lighting.We’re gonna have some real food, not that watered down crap all these tracks have now. All that unused space on the backside of the pits just became pits, more gravel,concrete and plenty of Musco lights. There will be a separate walkway to pitside so the fans don’t have to contend with hauler traffic.
Pits are tight so we’re gonna park classes together, no more of that spread everywhere crap. We gonna race’em legal boys so get your $hit together,remember, I worked at three different engine shops and two different chassis/racecar shops in Florida, I know who’s cheating and how, I also know where to look for everything, and I do mean everything, so you late models, get those traction controls outta there before I confiscate’em!!. We gonna hire a few good tech guys,we’re also going to make it hurt if you get caught with something. We’re going to bring these cars back to a reasonable cost, from late models all the way down to bombers! Ok, on with my show.
Saturday night shows from March till November, then we switch to Sunday afternoons. I like Jimmys idea as far as cost to get in. Come early, fans only allowed in the pit area until the first practice is called, drivers, you need to accommodate the fans during this period, if you’ve ever been to Bowman Gray you’ll know what I’m talking about, and it works.
I’d like to have some kind of program like Stimus had at Desoto, get the fans involved, give away prizes each week, no, not diamond rings, cruises or new cars but something other than t-shirts and hats. I know we need a family section since we will be selling beer, but in my case we will have 2 bouncers on the premises to handle any problem people or kids, screw up and it’ll cost ya!!
Classes and races as follows:
Super Late Models, no watered down crap at my track, 1st and 3rd saturday of every month, 125 laps, $3500 to win, if more than 25 cars enter the purse increases all the way back thru the field. The car finishing last gets 4 new American Racers the next race. Thats right, American Racer( Mcreary) NO GOODYEARS!!! Remember, keep’em legal, I’ll be walking the pits with a stamp, if I stamp you, we go to teardown, I’ll give you gasket money if I tear ya down.
Three times a year, gotta work the schedule with the northern tracks, we will have the outlaw super late models from up north, we going to make it a $15000 to win show!
Sprintcars at Orlando are off the hook!! So we’ll look at having them once a month, I’d like to look at the Florida rules, silver crown and Extreem Sprints and compare them so we could draw a huge field. I want the baddest asphalt sprintcar show on the planet!!
Open wheels mods will run 100 lappers on the no-late model weeks, they get the same deal as the late models get for payouts, but here the clincher, I’m going to open the rules up as far as engines go but, you have to race it on pump gas, thats right boys, have at it but you gotta buy my 87 octane gas, we will check ya!!
We’ll have a 9 inch slick tire street stock class, 400 C.I. or less small blocks, all stock except, we will allow headers, none of those awful sounding damn manifolds and downfall pipes!! theses cars will lean more towards a sportsman,limited style car, aftermarket bodies allowed but keep’em looking like the car off the street. No ig cars anymore, no impalas or caprice, I want mid size street stocks, and lots of’em, so we’ll run 35 laps and pay’em $1200 to win, if this is a huge class, a month that has a 5th Saturday/Sunday we’ll give these guys free entry.
Our mini stocks will be a mod mini like Bradenton used to have, exception being my minis will be on methanol, what I’d really like to see is an outlaw style mini, with wings, lotsa lexan down the sides, wedge noses, BALLS OUT MINI MODS!!! Pay’em good because these little gems won’t be cheap to build. Say 30 laps and $1500 to win with a $10,000 race at years end.
Our Bombers will be more like what street stocks are now but they will be bone stock, small regular street tires, gotta keep these close to what everyone else has because New Years day we’re going to have a $50,000 bomber/enduro race
I’d really like to see a late model style truck back in Florida, not sure the interest is there, I remember those from several years back and they kicked a$$ the couple times I seen them.
Of course figure 8’s, I’d like to see a little more flash as far as looks for these cars so I’m thinking a little bonus in your pay window envelope if you maintain a decent looking car, and pay these guys, give’em $1000 to win, 30 laps, maybe have 2 big races for them during the year.
Here’s the rest. Book the USAC silver crown sprints and midgets, a USAR show, a UARA race, a PASS south race, a Whelen modified and late model race, maybe a K&N Pro Series east show throughout the year. Build a fun place for the familys and their kids, at least give them one place they can feel safe. Run it the right way, do what yiou promise, don’t bs the drivers, remember, we’re putting out a huge amount of cash here each week, we need drivers to attract fans, fans pay the bills, give’em good food, clean restrooms, a well lite parking lot, don’t rape’em at the gate. Give them a reason to want to come back next week, just not because it;s something to do but because it was fun, bang for the buck.
Take care of the racers, don’t stand up in the drivers meeting and act like your god because you wear an officials shirt. If you lay the rules down in black and white the first of the year, stay with those rules 365, if you need to make a change do it at the beginning of the next season. Be seen, shake hands, go talk to the drivers, be fair.
Also, 2 victories in a row draw bounties, remember those? After the 2nd consecutive win bounty goes to $500 per week until someone beats that person. Remember, if you take a driver out to collect on that bounty I will park him next to you the following week.
This is a start, overboard? I don’t think so, I would love to a program like this.
