You will not fix racing, especially in this state. Simple demographics. The good old boys are aging and broke,new people haven’t come in, and there are way too many tracks running way too many dates. It’s just not going to happen, no matter how good intended these threads are.
Took a rare vacation with my son a while back. Toward the end of the trip I expressed regret that it was nearing the end.
“It ain’t over til it’s over” he replied. I remembered that…
There is at least one track that is trying to grow it’s own local fields.
How long will they support only a few cars per class until they consolidate?
And one would think that the cost to field the car–any car–would enter into the equation when doing so.
To your point, the racing money does seem to be spread on the thin side right now.
OS, consolidation would certainly be a step in the right direction. As far as money goes, with what it costs to race at any level, I am surprised there are still as many people doing it as there are. Weft, I think in the long term you are probably right. On a side note, there are 274 cars spread over 6 groups signed up for the SCCA race I am running at Daytona next weekend. We all paid an entry fee of somewhere between $200-$300 to race for a trophy. Please don’t think these are are all high dollar entries. Many of the cars are old Pintos and Gremlins, and other things like that, pulled on open trailers behind a sedan. By the way, you can come watch for an admission of $5.00, and there will be a big party in the Fanzone Saturday afternoon with a live band!
So Jacko doing the math that’s an average of 45 cars per class all paying 2-300 bucks a piece to win a trophy. So what in your estimation motivates a guy to do that in obviously bigger numbers than guys running pretty much any division on a circle track? Because if so DAARA found the solution a long time ago since they race for trophies also.
And maybe that’s exactly it.DAARA and SCCA are clubs.USAC,ARCA are two more well known clubs although they race for more than trophies. Several race tracks I can think of in the Midwest formed clubs when they either opened or converted from dirt to blacktop,motorcycles to cars etc.Probably more in an effort to get drivers to talk other drivers into it than anything else.Now I’m talking a different time.But this happened in the 1940s and 1950s so if clubs racing for trophy’s work now and clubs racing for money then both worked they’re has to be an in between that should work.
04-- We will wait for Jacko’s first hand reply.
I think it is because at the end of the day, month, and year, it is cheaper to race SCCA and you get more track time. The prize money is a moot point, and the tech is a whole different deal, and more predictable.
That said, why do sooooooooo many cars show up at Showtime? Partially for Robert’s sparkling words of wisdom. Partially for Danielle’s sangria.
But I would suggest it is mostly because it is the roughest place with the most cars, and therefore the hardest to win at. The mental reward (fix?) is great.
And that remains the advantage, with all of it’s flaws, of short track racing.
It would be interesting to know what it costs to rent Biflo for a Saturday night.
But as long as there are tracks paying, why go to run for nothing?
UNLESS, it was with a field of 30 like minded peers.
And although the arrows point in that direction, we ain’t quite there yet.
Another thing is fans of NASCAR will tell you they hate cookie cutter race tracks.Then don’t come to a weekly track in Florida because you have cookie cutter race programs.First off everybody in the pool on Saturday night.The calendar only knows one day a week here.The same race divisions at every track in the state pretty much with the six and eight car divisions having pretty much the same count from track to track. Heats and features if not features only.Never a pursuit race,crack the whip or if you are only going to run features in the faster classes how about running a six car six lap helmet dash once in a while.Make your track stand apart a little.Does everything have to be the same?
I would suggest that if there are only a few cars and they mostly cannot pass it doesn’t much matter what the format is.
And two heat races with half a field–of a total of six–is worse than no heat races, imo.
To your point, I think Auburndale’s cone and a total invert is about as good as it is going to get in the artificial excitment dept.
Finally, to each their own, and I know that up north they like other nights of the week, but I would not attend.
Still always comes back to–you either gots cars that run close and you have a decent show… or you don’t.
Well all of this sounds good.
The first thing is to have a promoter that can sell the idea.
Sell tickets in a soft market
get the old racers back to the tracks
have promotions that get young new racers playing in your venue
attract local sponsors with a love for the sport
Make the shows events. give the fan something to go home talking about.
keep a clean venue and look like this is the kind of place you would like to spend your money at
All the talk about motor and car rules don’t mean anything. It is important to have good people and rules but this tread is not going to save anything.
The racer has a car that he could not afford the first time he built it and telling him to start over wont work in this world.
I know most of you think im nuts but I have done it a few times. Only you can fix it.
Go to ur locale track and race and if you cant do that then help another racer and buy a ticket…
well there you go now wind it up…
don62
I can only speak for myself, but my answer is I race for fun. I know I am not going to be a professional. I know I am not going to make a living at it. I find road racing more fun for the buck spent. Big fields, lots of cars to race against of equal speeds, legendary race tracks where we reach speeds in certain classes of over 190mph. The tech is focused on safety, so I am sure not all the cars are equal, but you are racing for a trophy and fun. The end of the first day, there is always a big social event with beer and snacks. I have experience in both disciplines, and without question the atmosphere at road racing events is much more friendly than at short track races. I understand when short track racing started, people were racing for grocery money, so it was very gritty and tough. Those days are long gone, and it appears many of the people still race with the same attitude. I think many people today just don’t want to deal with that.
All true, but…
I would suggest that SCCA types and Short Track folks are a different breed of cat.
That is, the purse/venue isn’t the sole reason for the difference in gestalt, or atmosphere, in each form of racing.
Further believe that if they make the choice, the Stock car guys can put on clean t-shirts and their best behavior and go sports car racing.
The other direction? The IMSA crowd was pretty cranked up over Ricky Taylor’s (clean, imo) pass at Daytona in Feb.
Am not sure they are ready for Wayne Anderson.
And that is exactly what I have suspected for some time now as to why DAARA can bring more cars to a track sometimes than the track has as a whole.Less tech,less pressure more about the fun and social side of it.So when is somebody going to step up form a club and rent an available track?( Bronson for one is available for rent per their website)
[QUOTE=OldSchool+;174494]All true, but…
I would suggest that SCCA types and Short Track folks are a different breed of cat.
That is, the purse/venue isn’t the sole reason for the difference in gestalt, or atmosphere, in each form of racing.
Further believe that if they make the choice, the Stock car guys can put on clean t-shirts and their best behavior and go sports car racing.
The other direction? The IMSA crowd was pretty cranked up over Ricky Taylor’s (clean, imo) pass at Daytona in Feb.
Am not sure they are ready for Wayne Anderson.[/QUOTE]
I am not really sure I know what your point is. My point is that I think there are less people that want to race like they tend to at Saturday night short track events, hence the reason there are less people racing there, and tracks are closing. You are correct that the the stock car guys can go sporty car racing, and lots of them do. I am pretty sure we have more ex-short trackers than the short tracks have ex-road racers. I think Zerofor is on the right track.
You might be surprised at the number of guys who have went oval track racing after they had previously done the SCCA stuff. I knew of quite a few in Ohio long ago and I know in the NASCAR ranks it has been common for some of the bigger names (and a few others) to wander over the SCCA way.I think its far more common then say an ex drag racer to go oval or road course racing.I think its a natural curiosity to wonder about some of the other forms of racing once you have experienced another for awhile.
The point certainly was not to disparage anyone, just that it may be more apples and oranges than it appears.
And clearly I contradict myself, Joe, since I have seen you wheeling a modified at NSS and you know you will see me at Daytona.
All that aside and back to the original topic, clearly if track owners want to stay in control of the deal, larger fields of happy racers are necessary.
You mean it’s better to race clean and have a brew after the race, than to race with a guy who is 5 beers deep before the race as well as having to deal with getting into pit brawls and terrible track management? I have no clue why this is failing:anim_pound:
Weft:
Here are some of my assumptions, perhaps invalid assumptions, but assumptions nonetheless:
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Track Owners & Promoters are trying to do the best they can.
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Track Owners & Promoters and maybe even car owners will read this thread and it may spark a thought or two, perhaps better thoughts than my own.
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Things will improve.
Otherwise, y’know, why bother typing…?
If you have encountered negative things at a given track, it may be time for another venue for at least a while. I have frequented different tracks at different periods of time along the way.
I am sure there are plenty. I myself started on dirt tracks, and dreamed of racing on the big speedways, and SCCA was an affordable way for a 21 year old kid who knew nothing about racing to try it.
LOL, I hope that really doesn’t happen often!