This was posted on the track’s Facebook page awhile ago and thought I would post it on here too… Please no OSW bashing - if you want to do that, start another thread - just need some good input here:
Good afternoon everyone…
After getting a little feedback about yesterday’s race we want a bit more feedback if you attended or wanted to be there but could not. We are getting close to some of the hottest months Florida has and it seems people are interested in Sunday shows anyway.
What are everyone thoughts? As drivers and fans, would you brave the heat of a June/July/August summer Sunday to come out? This is not about payouts, classes, etc. this is just a general question regarding the time of the year and day of the week so if at all possible lets keep it at that.
Thanks, Donnie & the OSW staff…
I had good intentions, and came close to going. The reasons I did not are listed below:
>NASCAR racing is on Sunday
>Sunday follows Saturday night. That means some went to a race the evening before, and are unlikely to go. I did not feel well in general, but have done my share of drankin’ on Saturday nights, and Sunday at the races is less likely for those that were out Sat night. On the other hand, the racetracks that serve beer on Sat night have it covered.
>Church. Most services are about 11, out around 12:30, and you are dressed in your fancy clothes.
>Heat. I more likely to go to the beach if I want to just be a sweaty mess. And they have girls in bikinis.
Overall, I would vote for Friday evenings.
ps–Any other night is followed by a workday which will cut back on some % of the crowd (regardless of what Jacques sez!).
well I left early to hot sitting in the sun and not enough cars in the upper classes.I know for a fact that 4 E-mods didn’t show because of Donnie’s remarks on face book have a great season what ever track you race at . well they are!! at other tracks. I guess that’s the way he talks to the drifters and they put up with it . people have to work on Mondays it will be hard to get any good classes to show up to race. now if ozzy wants to build a over hang on the stands for shade that would do it for the fans … that’s not going to happen so they better stick with Friday nights .and buy some light bulbs.
Not so much on the having to work on Monday. But, summer days are brutal. SUNDAY shows are a great idea for spring and fall. Even in winter down there it warms up enough for a good crowd. I was at Martinsville yesterday. Sunny and 50 deg. Perfect for a day race.
I would go to more Sunday shows but it be nice if they were later in the afternoon or evening when it would be a bit cooler and I would bring some sun block next time too.
[QUOTE=shorttrackcar1;157349]now if ozzy wants to build a over hang on the stands for shade that would do it for the fans … that’s not going to happen so they better stick with Friday nights .and buy some light bulbs.[/QUOTE]You have to keep in mind which way that track is facing: south. So an overhang on the grandstands (spectator side) won’t do any good at all.
Florida tracks might be wiser to simply take June, July and August off. Track seasons are already too long going from March to November. The summer months are too hot and have almost daily showers. As for Sundays has to be a night race which may cost you families (school night). Heat alone eliminates a day race. Another factor is that most racers will have already raced somewhere else on Fri. or Sat. Somehow Orlando needs to network with New Smyrna and Citrus to see if they can create enough classes to run alternately with each other. In the end it is a shame Orlando has gotten where it is since they have a very racy track with no bad seats in the house.
You can make an argument that any day/night is good or bad…and for the most part each “side” is right. Point being; you can’t please all the people all the time. I’ve seen tracks run regular events on Wed and Thurs and they were successful.
The key is consistency; pick a day/time and stick with it! Then spend time and money to tell people what day/time your races are. Finally, stop worrying about the crowd!!! The crowds will come when there are enough cars in the pits. I was there Sunday and if there had been 3000 people in attendance; 90% of them would NOT return (and pay to do it) to watch a 4 car heat race and a 7 car feature.
On a side note, the place looks better, lots of new paint…just not sure black was the best option for the bleachers. We are in the “Sunshine State” right?
Anyway, my two cents. Oh and from the, “In case you care” department; I have been a series and a track promoter in the past. So I have knowledge on what to do and what (usually) works. See, told you that you wouldn’t care.
In the 60’s I raced at Blanket Hill Speedway in western Pa. They ran
Sunday evenings. The pits were packed. Late comers had a hard time finding a pit space and there were no space eating enclosed trailers.
Blanket Hill was out in the boonies between Kittaning and Indiana, ¶
Back then, I didn’t attend church regularly so that wasn’t a problem
then. Fridays has always been my favorite venue for OSW. Just need
the right combination of circumstances to bring the old girl back to '80s
and '90s glory. OSW went all out Sunday and not enough backed the
their effort. So sad.
Maybe OSW would benefit from running a shorter schedule later on in the year. Do something like a September through March Schedule. Then they could Sunday afternoons and have decent weather for the ?season?. And they wouldn?t be in direct competition with every other track the whole year. I bet the crowds would grow throughout the season as the other track stop running every week.
pretty crazy that the main concern here is what day and time to run. I can think of a million other things that are more pressing with this track… been said more times than needed for anyone that has any common sense. Its getting old… playing that an effort is being made when we have seen and heard the same crap for years with pretty much no results.
[QUOTE=scott bertram;157624]pretty crazy that the main concern here is what day and time to run. I can think of a million other things that are more pressing with this track…
doesn’t matter what day or time it is.[/QUOTE]
VSP and Putnam have publicly stated that the light bill is about $750-1000 for a single night race,Most likely the reason OSW is trying to get feedback for sunday afternoon shows.
I don’t mean to bash, but if they don’t improve the show, I’m not going any day. Now if they had a good show of three to four classes with 16 or so cars per class and ran Sunday afternoons during the Fall and Winter, I’d be there no questions asked.
Oh and big cars, not bandaleros and stuff, no offense to those guys.
[QUOTE=Roger Mashburn;157767]I don’t mean to bash, but if they don’t improve the show, I’m not going any day. Now if they had a good show of three to four classes with 16 or so cars per class and ran Sunday afternoons during the Fall and Winter, I’d be there no questions asked.
Oh and big cars, not bandaleros and stuff, no offense to those guys.[/QUOTE]
Roger, not many places in FL you are gonna find that kind of car count across each class right now.
well until they post a schedule and stick with it nothing will ever happen. racer do have a life and plan ahead for races not just when osw decides they feel like putting on a race . the only people they need to talk to about what day to race on is the racer . because with no cars there is no show . if ozzy wants to do oval racing the first thing he needs to do is replace Donnie what does he do anyway during the week ? they need to find someone with oval racing back ground to run it. good luck with that nobody would want that job at osw now .
No one will be able to do anything as a gm at OSW. I don’t know Donnie from anyone else but I do know that ozzy will not put $ into the stock car scene regardless who the gm is. He only likes drags (insert pic of chick with dick here)
