probably why the stands are not full at lot local tracks . now i’m not talking about lakeland and some of the bigger larger tracks . and some of them are thinking of going to dirt . dirt is more exciting more cars more passing more side by side racing lot of times 3 wide look around stands are full people are not sitting they are standing . and at local asphalt tracks they are wore out and one lane follow leader racing same guy wins ever week
probably has his motor built by track inspector or it’s his uncle or something go to race track look over in grand stands if there are only 30 people there then there is a problem … now not all small local tracks are wore out and only have 4or five cars races in that class
who wants to go to races and watch 10 classes of cars race with 100 restarts and get over at 2am support your local race track but if you fall asleep while you are there find another track to go to or if it takes an hour to get two cars off track that has spun out 10 times don’t go back
Dirt isn’t the answer to all that is wrong with short tracks in Fl. A lot of it is the owners of th tracks. One short track that is turning around is Auburndale. And the ONLY reason for that is the new owners CARE about the drivers and the fans. They are back to over 100 cars a week. OWM and Lates are back. Big money races for the Sportsmen and Mini’s from time to time. Yes they have a way to go, but they are TRYING to make it work. And you can’t always say that about some of the other owners. And frankly I have just never warmed up to dirt.:smilie_bett:
you’re right Rick… dirt isnt the answer to the florida short track problem. at least not all of them. i do think it will work well for Mike PETERS up in Ocala… for years people have been giving advice etc… some are listening, some are not… i love going to an occasional dirt track race but if all the tracks went to dirt and there was no asphalt racing…i would hardly ever go… dirt is fun and ok but it is definately not the answer to all of our problems. one problem for sure is that people cant afford racing when we have such a bad economy. gas, tires, entries, admissions,i do believe we have become too high tech and i wish we could go back to trailering cars and allowing drivers(owners) to build the car any way they want and race it. the fun of the competition is not just driving but building the car so that yours is the fastest! dont these people realize how many cars can be built for the cost of one of these haulers? just saving the money needed for gas and tires alone would be a huge savings. i do believe its too late to go backwards tho so we need to change with the times. i just hope we dont go the way of drive in movie theaters. im babbling. have a happy, fun, and safe day…what do i know?
carolwicks(OZ)
My personnal struggles with racing is expenses. I know we are not in it to make money but when I started tires were 65, gas for truck, 1.40 gal, race fuel 4.00 gal, competitive motor 2000, pay to win 500. Now tires 140, gas for truck 3.15, race fuel 7.75 competitive motor 5000, pay to win 500. Now you do the math but I think we all know what I’m saying here. And I’m not blaming the track owners for the pay out. They have to make money or they can’t give us a place to race. Just as it is a struggle for us, it is for them as well. The fuel is a killer for me I live in tallahassee and the closest track to me is over 100 miles. We all are just having to deal with the state that the economy. I would love to run every week but just can’t afford to. I used to be able to race for 125 a night now it’s 250 That cuts it to 2 times a month and not always then. As for the dirt issue I have run both the biggest advantige is you save on tires I run at north florida speedway way and I have 75 laps on a set of new rear tires and you can still see the marks where the tits were can’t say that on asphalt. Personally I love them both I just love to race. That’s just my two cents.
Enough blame to spread around
There are a lot of fingers getting pointed when it comes to blaming someone or something for the decline of fans in the stands. The sad truth is that everyone is to blame. Costs are one thing, and costs are a big reason for less racers, less fans, and less racetracks too. But the biggest reason that I see is society itself.
Take a look at the decline in the movie industry. Why has this happened? Because there are too many distractions, that’s why. We can now entertain ourselves with 500 TV channels, video games, the internet, ipods, cell phones, etc. The need to get up and go do something for entertainment is just about gone in our society today. We get entertained at the click of a button, and anything that requires effort falls short. Why go to the race track when we can watch a wide choice of movies at home? Why go to the track when we can pretend we are Tony Stewart (or which ever driver we desire to be) with our ultra realistic NASCAR video game? Why go to the track when we can turn on Speed Channel and watch racing related stuff 24/7? Too many people have gotten too danged lazy to go out and enjoy a night at the track, and the younger generation is not getting exposed to racing except by what they see on TV. They see stock car racing as “old fashioned”. And today’s kids are far harder to impress than kids from our generation. With what kids are exposed to on TV and in the media, not much gets their attention and thrills them anymore.
NASCAR may be hot right now, but even that is in decline if you look at the numbers. NASCAR has it’s own problems now that it has chosen to take the same “over regulation road” that killed Indy racing and made it boring. But as for the local tracks, the locals now have easier ways to get entertained. That’s the bottom line as I see it.
Re: Carol Wicks
No,I’m sorry Carol racing on dirt makes you a better driver.As proven time and time again dirt drivers have an easier time adapting to racing on pavement…
huh? help me cameltoe…
i couldnt answer that if i wanted to. i have never raced anything professionally so i cant even argue that point. what did i say to make you write your comment. i love dirt racing…its a blast. i just prefer asphalt…habit i guess. 
dirt looks alot harder to me but i dont know. just trying to handle the car on a slick surface seems to be harder. then there is the visibility after a few laps… isnt the track temp different… it also seems like they do more 2-3 in a row racing. i am clueless but im sure as heck willing to learn so please feel free to educate me.
carolwicks