OK, Matt you highjacked my post. So here’s your chance to do the same to your Favorite track Desoto Speedways Brighthouse Race. $100.00 entry fee and Impound (or as you call it bend over) Tire race. Lets here what you got to say about that.
Nobody " highjacked " your post dim bulb. People are free to add their opinion to any thread on this board.
In answer to your question, i’m tired of seeing racers get ripped off.
I’ve received a little more information. It seems that Desoto, and other tracks, have seen the Showtime business model and decided to try getting their racers to pay their own purse. Actually, i think it had a lot to do with the posts from a couple of the last remaining racers in the area, saying they don’t mind paying big money to the track. Can you blame the other tracks for wanting to get in on that gravy train.
It’s been an eye opening couple of months on this site. I thought i understood short track racing, but like a lot of other fans, i can honestly say i didn’t have any idea what goes on in the background. The ever smaller fields of race cars were somewhat of a mystery, but no more. It’s plain to see why there are so many race cars parked. Pit slab rentals, special bend over races, tracks demanding that all racers use their overpriced products or they don’t race, payouts that haven’t increased in years, engine rules that don’t even make sense to the racers much less the fans, and tracks that find it easier to put on the show on the backs of the racers instead of going out and finding sponsors to pick up most or all of the purse.
Along with the slowly shrinking fields of race cars, are the rapidly shrinking number of people in the stands because the show sucks. But business goes on as usual.
Oh, and one more thing. I apologize to you Rick, what i called you in my earlier post was out of line.
“Showtime and Desoto are give us a good payout not just the top 2 cars like NSS and Pensacola. This is on their weekly race programs. Last week the 11th place car received 175.00 at Showtime on a 30 lap race. When it comes to these special programs I do not have any problem with 4 tire impound purchase. Less messing with the tires and everyone know were the tire have been…These big money races allow us to improve our cars and looks, the Modifieds that show up on the Westcoast are great looking and give the crowd a very competitive races with a lot of green flag racing. Our sponsor came out and was very impressed with the quality of the race cars and the competitiveness of the races. This only makes it easier to get product and help from them. I personally want to thank these owners for their effort and support of the Modifieds.”–50Racer
Huh.
Nice apology though…
This is one thing I will agree wholeheartedly with Albee on…
Any track owner or promoter that charges a $100 entry fee, slab fees or anything of the sort is a straight up lazy sack of shit. WE ARE YOUR SHOW. Get off your god damn lazy ass, find some sponsors to take care of the purses etc and do your job.
Are you sitting there wondering why it’s so hard to get sponsors for your track? Look at the 150 people in the stands and 35 cars in the pits and you have your answer. Is that REALLY worth a sponsors time and money? If you think it is, you don’t belong running a lemonade stand let alone a race track.
As I have said many times in the past and recently. Get your on track product to improve, be it combining some similar divisions into one larger division, adjusting some rules to save the racers money (much like this new Hoosier 750 has instantly improved the field sizes for the Sportsmans at NSS) or whatever you have to do but this is a two way street. We aren’t here to pay your bills. We are here to bring people into the stands that will pay your bills. $25-30 back gate is the MAX you should ever charge and $15 front gate for adults is the max there. If you have an entertaining product with large fields (not 7 cars per division) on track, and a good promotional staff in place, the rest will do it’s job. Having some entertaining and good announcers also goes a long way.
Here is a link to what we run for purse wise up here…
http://www.thompsonspeedway.com/sites/default/files/upload/files/Purse%20Structure%20-%202015.pdf
You know how they give us such a good purse? SPONSORS! You know why the sponsors continue to stay with the tracks here? We average 20 cars per division on the low side. Between the 4 tracks within 2 hours in southern ct, there are probably 15 or 20 cars total at the most that run multiple tracks. The rest all have dedicated one track teams. You guys have all the pieces of the puzzle down there, you just have to put them together. Something that really helps here… The tracks WORK TOGETHER! I know this is a difficult thing for FL tracks to get a grasp on, but if you guys work together and work out similar rules, non conflicting schedules for touring divisions and big shows etc, it will also make a huge difference.
But what do I know… I’m just part of one of the most successful racing communities in this country. My opinions mean nothing…
On the other hand, if a place has lots of cars with happy racers and lots of folks in the stands, seems like something must be happening in the right direction.
Certainly no need to flub with the successful tracks.
There is indeed more than one way to skin a cat (no offense, Kat).
[QUOTE=OldSchool+;157671]On the other hand, if a place has lots of cars with happy racers and lots of folks in the stands, seems like something must be happening in the right direction.
Certainly no need to flub with the successful tracks.
There is indeed more than one way to skin a cat (no offense, Kat).[/QUOTE]
If you are trying to say Florida has that, I think you dipped into the alcohol a little too much this weekend. By ANY standards with the exception of a couple big shows here and there, and some touring divisions with decent fields what you guys have is embarrassing. The funny thing is, it’s not the racers fault. It starts with the tracks. No debate for that. We do as much as we can on the budgets we have and that’s it. That’s all races in the country. The tracks aren’t doing their job, plain and simple.
I watch FB Monday mornings for Turn Five and pics from all the tracks. I rarely see what can be considered success. New Smyrna has the right idea right now and is gaining traction slowly but the other tracks need to follow ssuit. I watched this past weekends episode of Turn Five and was laughing at the crowd and field sizes. The OWM had the best field of the night.
Stop defending failure. Hold the tracks accountable and make them work harder and change. That is the ONLY way Florida will ever rebound.
Phil, Stay on the track, man.
>Albee is dissing the St Pete & Desoto business model.
>“50racer” provided testimony that the pit side of the deal is great.
>I can provide further testimony that the grandstand side of the deal is great.
Those tracks have “rebounded”.
Now go get a cannoli or something and be happy.
[QUOTE=OldSchool+;157683]Phil, Stay on the track, man.
>Albee is dissing the St Pete & Desoto business model.
>“50racer” provided testimony that the pit side of the deal is great.
>I can provide further testimony that the grandstand side of the deal is great.
Those tracks have “rebounded”.
Now go get a cannoli or something and be happy.[/QUOTE]
I don’t care what 50racer said man. For all I know, he has 6 cars, a toter home and endless racing funds. Why wouldn’t someone like that say the pit side of the deal is great. It’s not great for guys like me or Scott or anyone else who races week to week and when they can afford it. It absolutely 100% is ripping racers off when it comes to these ridiculous pit fees and slab fees. As was stated in another post, with your NASCAR license at the gate at NSS, it’s $20 for the pits. These other tracks need to come up with a membership program like that.
I have said it before and I will say it again now… IF YOU SAVE US MONEY UP FRONT WE WILL RACE MORE. In the end, that will net you more money on the back side of things. Without the racers, the tracks do not survive and it’s high time they open their eyes and realize this.
You know I agree with you and make those same points, but consistency is a funny thing!
I work at being consistent, but frequently there are exceptions. I would suggest that the expense/car count issues are for struggling venues.
The “happiness”, or more accurately, the Racer’s Assessment of whether a track is “cost effective”, that is, is the cost to financial returns coupled with the fun/rewarding factor worth pulling in for.
Similarly, my vote is with my choice of the evening, travel expenses (which are highest to St Pete) and admission cost.
By default, Phil, if the pits are pretty well loaded and the grandstands are pretty well loaded–and they are–whatever it is that the promoter is doing is…“working”.
[QUOTE=
Here is a link to what we run for purse wise up here…
http://www.thompsonspeedway.com/sites/default/files/upload/files/Purse%20Structure%20-%202015.pdf
But what do I know… I’m just part of one of the most successful racing communities in this country. My opinions mean nothing…[/QUOTE]
I think it’s funny that folks still move to Fl and they think we love to hear about how great things are/were up north…
BTW, that is a correct statement about your opinion, it’s just like mine!
Who am I to disagree?
Man, I am sorry about y’all’s opinions.
I hold my own in high regard!
(learned that type of response from David Pearson!)
[QUOTE=OldSchool+;157687]You know I agree with you and make those same points, but consistency is a funny thing!
I work at being consistent, but frequently there are exceptions. I would suggest that the expense/car count issues are for struggling venues.
The “happiness”, or more accurately, the Racer’s Assessment of whether a track is “cost effective”, that is, is the cost to financial returns coupled with the fun/rewarding factor worth pulling in for.
Similarly, my vote is with my choice of the evening, travel expenses (which are highest to St Pete) and admission cost.
By default, Phil, if the pits are pretty well loaded and the grandstands are pretty well loaded–and they are–whatever it is that the promoter is doing is…“working”.[/QUOTE]
Again, your idea of “pretty well loaded” is 200 fans and 40 cars… That is not even close to a successful show especially when those 40 cars at Desoto are split up over 7 divisions per night. 
[QUOTE=Groundpounder;157688]I think it’s funny that folks still move to Fl and they think we love to hear about how great things are/were up north…
BTW, that is a correct statement about your opinion, it’s just like mine![/QUOTE]
I lived in FL for 14 years. When I decided to start oval racing I looked around at the tracks in FL, laughed, packed my truck and moved back to CT to race.
My opinion is based on 100% factual information. If you don’t like facts then I don’t know what to tell you skip. If you happy with your sport failing miserably, by all means carry on. People like myself and Scott came to help.
“My opinion is filled with 100% factual information.”–PJ
Say that slowly out loud. I find it pretty amusing.
Not you, Phil, just that particular sentence.
[QUOTE=OldSchool+;157693]“My opinion is filled with 100% factual information.”–PJ
Say that slowly out loud. I find it pretty amusing.
Not you, Phil, just that particular sentence.[/QUOTE]
Smart ass lol should have said “based on”. My mistake. Either way, the fact of the matter stands as is.
Honestly, think about this for a second. What real vested interest do I have in FL racing other than a couple friends who can easily fend for themselves. It just so happens that I truly give a crap about FL and am tired of seeing the struggles. If the truth hurts, fix it. I’ll be sure to post pictures of the 150+ cars in our pit area and capacity crowd this coming weekend at Thompson Speedway on Monday so you can see how it should and CAN be. All it takes is a willingness to work towards the solution and everyone working together to help each other.
There’s a lot of differences AND similarities to racing here and up nawth. Some of the nawth stuff would work here, some wouldn’t. One thing I can say is that SOME track operators in FL are WAAAAAAAAAAY more willing to listen to racers and their ideas to improve things than ANY track operators in Southern New England. That being said, I think operators here, successful or not, need to stop the “shell game”. Take the entry fee out of the purse and call it a day. Same with the rediculous “slab fee”. Take that out of the purse. The net result would be the same but at least you wouldn’t feel like you are getting fleeced by paying for a spot that, many times, was made from concrete poured by a RACER many, many moons ago. Look, we all have a bottom line we’re trying to meet, let’s just try to be more honest about it. For the record though, minimum fuel purchases and tire mandates don’t bother me for big race lengths with big purses and divisions that would require that stuff anyway. Soaking and start n park examples cited.
Are you posting something that isn’t known? Like maybe there are some more successful tracks in the US?
When I race, I don’t even think about the promoter, fan count, hot dog prices, etc…not my concern. I pull in and just race for MY enjoyment… K.I.S.S.
The markets are self correcting and will seek their own levels. BTW, you can’t change anything, that’s an illusion. I am not trying to be argumentative but that’s the facts, Jack…
By saying “ANY track operators in Southern New England” I can only assume you mean the Arutes? LOL!!! They are about the only ones that don’t listen here anymore aside from the Vendetti’s but even they are coming around. They are realizing they need us to survive.
NSS seems very willing to listen as does Desoto (so hopefully they will clue in here with the ridiculous slab fees cough cough Linda are you listening?) and Showtime seems to be gaining traction from what OS says. I can not imagine any of these tracks enjoy losing money which they surely are in probably 90% the events they hold so maybe it’s time to stop beating a dead horse and try some new stuff. I see lots of potential with changes being made but I also see a lot of lazy band-aids.