is central ky racing about history!!!!

[96aok]

with jct. city now being close for the next three weeks and bluegrass speedway closed is central kentucky late model racing on it"s death bed!!!!! i like open wheel racing but late model is what i really enjoy watching. i know money is tight and people are tring to buy school supplies right now, mybe it's just a bump in the road and things may get better soon. i hope. if you owned a track, what would you do to attact new fans. lower prices, kids night, let people bring in small coolers, etc...... jct city thanks for tring and hope for a good turn out in three weeks.

[BMR]

Everything has more than doubled in the last 20 years (fuel, pit passes, engines, shocks, tires,etc) EXCEPT for the prize winnings........I don't see ANY track is making a good solid go of it at this point in time. Seems to be a standard at some of the tracks I see in raising the admission prices to keep their revenue the same as in the past. Richmond actually had DROPPED their prices for a pit pass a couple of weeks ago for the $7500 Butterball show, ( I was pleasantly surprised...$35) and that place was packed. Now, if that trends keeps up and more tracks catch on to it, it might make a good comeback. JMO

[HomerD]

Not a large car count at Burnside last evening and Richmond was closed. Dying, possibly. maybe tracks in central Ky are doomed only to host large events.

[bleedsbluer2]

Not a large car count at Burnside last evening and Richmond was closed. Dying, possibly. maybe tracks in central Ky are doomed only to host large events.

to many tracks race on saturday night would be nice to see ponderosa friday,richmond saturday,lake cumberland sunday every week all work together and get the smaller support classes like sportsman and 4 cylinder to race all 3 tracks for bonus money

[StraightCircles]

the Fri/Sat/Sun theory doesnt work. They tried it in Western Ky and the lower division cars only raced once a week... even with bonus money up they wouldnt race twice, much less the third night. Wasn't a one time shot, either was tried for a few weekends.

Its a good theory but the economy is only supporting lower division drivers and 65% of fans the opportunity to go only once a week.

[HEAVY DUTY]

It costs too much to get in for race fans to go very often. Racetracks are competing against movie theaters ,TV and high school sports.The front gate counts have went down because of the cost so the tracks raise the price at the back gate to try and make up for it. Now the back gate is suffering because of the car count dropping.The car counts mare dropping because of what it cost to be competitive verses how much you can win.Maybe 10% of the racers at the racetrack can actually afford what they are doing. The rest beg, borrow, run up there credit card or do something illegal to try and support their race car. The tracks are loosing money, the racers are loosing money, the costs continue to rise, and everybody is afraid to try anything different.You cant make a living racing a dirt car anymore. You have to win to just break even after you already have your equipment.If the rules are not changed, racing is a short timer. You cannot run the same cars at a local track and a traveling series.The traveling series pay as much to start as the local track pays to win. They dont run nascar cup cars at the nascar weekly events for a reason. If the cars were cheaper to race, the racetracks wouldnt have to pay as much nor charge so much to get in and there might be more people come to the racetracks. High dollar rigs and enclosed trailers hurt racing because nobody sees the cars going down the road anymore to peak their interest. If we unhook the cars by limiting the tires ( Size and compound) get rid of the aerodynamics, then a low dollar engine package would be competitive. Put a weight rule on the front tires that would make the aluminum motors weigh the same on the front wheels as an iron motor, get rid of the need for 1000 dollar a piece shocks and 10 dollar a gallon fuel. I could go on for days, but I will stop now.JMO

[dirtdocter]

I've been going to dirt races for 50 years and haven't seen the low car counts we are now Tseeing. I am really in favor of crate or low cost engines but they are next to impossible to enforce. Guess we will have to hang in there and see how all this shakes out. Thanks to the Ponderosa bunch for trying to keep the place open. I really like going to the races there. Will support you as long as you're there

[ajr31]

Here's an idea, maybe race fans can help by introducing new fans to our sport. If you plan on going to Richmond or Burnside on the 18th or to Ponderosa on the 24th bring a friend who has never been to the races. They could be like most of us and get hooked on their first taste. But big picture it's all about making racing more affordable and getting the car counts back up because people aren't going to keep coming out to see 12-15 cars in each class.

[doublehracefab]

It costs too much to get in for race fans to go very often. Racetracks are competing against movie theaters ,TV and high school sports.The front gate counts have went down because of the cost so the tracks raise the price at the back gate to try and make up for it. Now the back gate is suffering because of the car count dropping.The car counts mare dropping because of what it cost to be competitive verses how much you can win.Maybe 10% of the racers at the racetrack can actually afford what they are doing. The rest beg, borrow, run up there credit card or do something illegal to try and support their race car. The tracks are loosing money, the racers are loosing money, the costs continue to rise, and everybody is afraid to try anything different.You cant make a living racing a dirt car anymore. You have to win to just break even after you already have your equipment.If the rules are not changed, racing is a short timer. You cannot run the same cars at a local track and a traveling series.The traveling series pay as much to start as the local track pays to win. They dont run nascar cup cars at the nascar weekly events for a reason. If the cars were cheaper to race, the racetracks wouldnt have to pay as much nor charge so much to get in and there might be more people come to the racetracks. High dollar rigs and enclosed trailers hurt racing because nobody sees the cars going down the road anymore to peak their interest. If we unhook the cars by limiting the tires ( Size and compound) get rid of the aerodynamics, then a low dollar engine package would be competitive. Put a weight rule on the front tires that would make the aluminum motors weigh the same on the front wheels as an iron motor, get rid of the need for 1000 dollar a piece shocks and 10 dollar a gallon fuel. I could go on for days, but I will stop now.JMOWell said Donnie the cost of racing is way out of hand.

[hoodpin]

racing costs are out of control. I wasnt really a fan of crate late models, but I went to Brownstown last Sat night and seen one of the best races all year. Barber,Reed, and Godsey all had a shot at it. with good racing like that I can watch crates. just wanna see some racing!!

[Pro21]

Get yo butt to ponderosa for some history Aug. 24...colston paving 60/$7500 to win...puh pow

[chillyrick]

....welcome to MY world fellows (see above)

[HEAVY DUTY]

....welcome to MY world fellows (see above)

Hopefully, that wont happen. Atomic was a great place back in the day. It got bought by the wrong people. Maybe the racetracks around here can learn from history and make changes to help rather than digging their grave deeper all the time.A track cannot stay open running 2 or 3 big shows and then shutting down the rest of the time. They need to look at where the money is paid out verses how much money is brought in. 2/3 of the purse goes to the late models at most tracks. Do they bring in 2/3 of the money unless it is a big show.If you run a big show every week, is it still a special show to the average fan? Big races need to be something different, with different cars and drivers than the normal crowd. People pack the truck pulls at the fair, because it only happens once a year.If they had them every week, the only people who would go would be the ones involved with the trucks. The tracks have got to get more involvement in the lower classes that dont get paid alot, and dont cost alot to race. I love to watch super lates as good as the next guy, but they have evolved into a money pit that cannot be sustained, and the modifieds arent far behind. The tracks have got to put new people in the stands that havnt been there before. Advertising on 4m and other racing websites doesnt get to those people. If they show up to watch a race one week when the weather is good and the track is shut down, they will assume the track isnt running anymore and will never go back. If they do show up and the bathrooms have sewage 3 inches deep running out of the bathrooms or the porta potties havent been cleaned out in a month, and the bleachers are falling thru, are they gonna come back? It costs a lot of money to fix all the bleachers, but they arent but 10% full, so why not fix 10% to start with and block the rest off. Why would a racer go hit the same rock sticking out of the track tearing his stuff up and gashing his tires, when 20 minutes and a sledge hammer would have fixed the problem. Promoters have to work to get fans and cars. There is more to promoting a track than opening the gate on race night.

[bleedsbluer2]

Hopefully, that wont happen. Atomic was a great place back in the day. It got bought by the wrong people. Maybe the racetracks around here can learn from history and make changes to help rather than digging their grave deeper all the time.A track cannot stay open running 2 or 3 big shows and then shutting down the rest of the time. They need to look at where the money is paid out verses how much money is brought in. 2/3 of the purse goes to the late models at most tracks. Do they bring in 2/3 of the money unless it is a big show.If you run a big show every week, is it still a special show to the average fan? Big races need to be something different, with different cars and drivers than the normal crowd. People pack the truck pulls at the fair, because it only happens once a year.If they had them every week, the only people who would go would be the ones involved with the trucks. The tracks have got to get more involvement in the lower classes that dont get paid alot, and dont cost alot to race. I love to watch super lates as good as the next guy, but they have evolved into a money pit that cannot be sustained, and the modifieds arent far behind. The tracks have got to put new people in the stands that havnt been there before. Advertising on 4m and other racing websites doesnt get to those people. If they show up to watch a race one week when the weather is good and the track is shut down, they will assume the track isnt running anymore and will never go back. If they do show up and the bathrooms have sewage 3 inches deep running out of the bathrooms or the porta potties havent been cleaned out in a month, and the bleachers are falling thru, are they gonna come back? It costs a lot of money to fix all the bleachers, but they arent but 10% full, so why not fix 10% to start with and block the rest off. Why would a racer go hit the same rock sticking out of the track tearing his stuff up and gashing his tires, when 20 minutes and a sledge hammer would have fixed the problem. Promoters have to work to get fans and cars. There is more to promoting a track than opening the gate on race night.

hmmm just wondering what track your getting at i have a good idea when you mention the restrooms and stands

[HomerD]

Hopefully, that wont happen. Atomic was a great place back in the day. It got bought by the wrong people. Maybe the racetracks around here can learn from history and make changes to help rather than digging their grave deeper all the time.A track cannot stay open running 2 or 3 big shows and then shutting down the rest of the time. They need to look at where the money is paid out verses how much money is brought in. 2/3 of the purse goes to the late models at most tracks. Do they bring in 2/3 of the money unless it is a big show.If you run a big show every week, is it still a special show to the average fan? Big races need to be something different, with different cars and drivers than the normal crowd. People pack the truck pulls at the fair, because it only happens once a year.If they had them every week, the only people who would go would be the ones involved with the trucks. The tracks have got to get more involvement in the lower classes that dont get paid alot, and dont cost alot to race. I love to watch super lates as good as the next guy, but they have evolved into a money pit that cannot be sustained, and the modifieds arent far behind. The tracks have got to put new people in the stands that havnt been there before. Advertising on 4m and other racing websites doesnt get to those people. If they show up to watch a race one week when the weather is good and the track is shut down, they will assume the track isnt running anymore and will never go back. If they do show up and the bathrooms have sewage 3 inches deep running out of the bathrooms or the porta potties havent been cleaned out in a month, and the bleachers are falling thru, are they gonna come back? It costs a lot of money to fix all the bleachers, but they arent but 10% full, so why not fix 10% to start with and block the rest off. Why would a racer go hit the same rock sticking out of the track tearing his stuff up and gashing his tires, when 20 minutes and a sledge hammer would have fixed the problem. Promoters have to work to get fans and cars. There is more to promoting a track than opening the gate on race night.

Excellent post

[HEAVY DUTY]

hmmm just wondering what track your getting at i have a good idea when you mention the restrooms and stands
No need to name names. I just thought a few suggestions might make the track promoters think about some of the things that might help them get cars and people. I want to see them all be successful.Most promoters have been racers, and think like racers. They need to think like the average person who doesnt go to the race track every week. The average person is who they need in the grandstands to pay the bills. Racers and hardcore people are gonna be there and know what is goin on anyway. If you wanna get women to the track that arent involved with a car, you better have clean restrooms, good concessions, comfortable and safe bleachers and not have dust that gets in there makeup. There are lots of tracks with substandard bathroom facilities. There are lots of tracks that have bleachers that are splintering.When the average person goes to a movie, the popcorn is usually hot,the facilities are better than a dirty portajohn, they dont get splinters sittin on the seats and it cost less to get in. That is what the racetracks are up against. They have to entertain not just race.

[MOD434]

Geez Donnie , I swear I been to a track very similar to what you're describing .............jus can't put my finger on it like you can't either . LOL Please think long and hard about your own facility track promoters and take the steps that Donnie speaks of to attract more fans because we all know them dam women gotta give us guys permission to visit your fine facility or not . ha ha

[bleedsbluer2]

No need to name names. I just thought a few suggestions might make the track promoters think about some of the things that might help them get cars and people. I want to see them all be successful.Most promoters have been racers, and think like racers. They need to think like the average person who doesnt go to the race track every week. The average person is who they need in the grandstands to pay the bills. Racers and hardcore people are gonna be there and know what is goin on anyway. If you wanna get women to the track that arent involved with a car, you better have clean restrooms, good concessions, comfortable and safe bleachers and not have dust that gets in there makeup. There are lots of tracks with substandard bathroom facilities. There are lots of tracks that have bleachers that are splintering.When the average person goes to a movie, the popcorn is usually hot,the facilities are better than a dirty portajohn, they dont get splinters sittin on the seats and it cost less to get in. That is what the racetracks are up against. They have to entertain not just race.

donnie you ever been to 191 some reason what your saying and what ive seen up there dont comprehend that place is packed every saturday night they have porta potties they cooked their burgers and dogs outside on grill and serve it the way it should be stands that seat maybe 75 folks the rest of the people are everywhere on hills on rocks on dirt ground and trust me dirty as hell you look like a colored folk when you leave but that place is packed the reason 10 bucks to get in no matter how much they pay out

[HEAVY DUTY]

donnie you ever been to 191 some reason what your saying and what ive seen up there dont comprehend that place is packed every saturday night they have porta potties they cooked their burgers and dogs outside on grill and serve it the way it should be stands that seat maybe 75 folks the rest of the people are everywhere on hills on rocks on dirt ground and trust me dirty as hell you look like a colored folk when you leave but that place is packed the reason 10 bucks to get in no matter how much they pay out
10dollars to get in, and 40 4cyl cars. That is what gets the local people involved. Most late model teams travel a distance and race where the money is and bring just a few people with them. The lower classes are usually local people that have their family and freinds go with them, which puts a lot of people in the stands. 191 really tries hard to get their lower classes. How many big late model or modified races have they had since opening 3 or 4 years ago? ( 2 or 3 I think) They pay really well for the weekly shows and charge a fair price to get in. The bathroom and concession deal there is because of the county laws making it nearly impossible for them to comply, so they havnt built the bathrooms yet, but I would venture to say that the portapotties are cleaned out every week. They dont have alot of other things to do in the immediate area, like malls, restaraunts, and movie theaters.

[Ben_Diesel]

I have two more things to add. If promoters want fans to continue coming, they're going to have to learn to prep the tracks. Only been able to catch one race this year and was very disappointed at the track prep as soon as I walked through the gate. They had an excellent field of cars, but I only seen maybe three cars passed all night. And the dust was probably as bad as I had ever seen there. The other thing is, don't drag out the show all night. The paticular race I went to didn't get heats started to around 10. At 20 mins after 1, they were half way through the late model feature. I had to be at work at 6 am, so needless to say, I didn't stick around for the rest of the show.

[t3r3e3]

I have two more things to add. If promoters want fans to continue coming, they're going to have to learn to prep the tracks. Only been able to catch one race this year and was very disappointed at the track prep as soon as I walked through the gate. They had an excellent field of cars, but I only seen maybe three cars passed all night. And the dust was probably as bad as I had ever seen there. The other thing is, don't drag out the show all night. The paticular race I went to didn't get heats started to around 10. At 20 mins after 1, they were half way through the late model feature. I had to be at work at 6 am, so needless to say, I didn't stick around for the rest of the show.

I'm guessing you went to the last special at Southern Ohio...

[jawbreaker]

Hopefully, that wont happen. Atomic was a great place back in the day. It got bought by the wrong people. Maybe the racetracks around here can learn from history and make changes to help rather than digging their grave deeper all the time.A track cannot stay open running 2 or 3 big shows and then shutting down the rest of the time. They need to look at where the money is paid out verses how much money is brought in. 2/3 of the purse goes to the late models at most tracks. Do they bring in 2/3 of the money unless it is a big show.If you run a big show every week, is it still a special show to the average fan? Big races need to be something different, with different cars and drivers than the normal crowd. People pack the truck pulls at the fair, because it only happens once a year.If they had them every week, the only people who would go would be the ones involved with the trucks. The tracks have got to get more involvement in the lower classes that dont get paid alot, and dont cost alot to race. I love to watch super lates as good as the next guy, but they have evolved into a money pit that cannot be sustained, and the modifieds arent far behind. The tracks have got to put new people in the stands that havnt been there before. Advertising on 4m and other racing websites doesnt get to those people. If they show up to watch a race one week when the weather is good and the track is shut down, they will assume the track isnt running anymore and will never go back. If they do show up and the bathrooms have sewage 3 inches deep running out of the bathrooms or the porta potties havent been cleaned out in a month, and the bleachers are falling thru, are they gonna come back? It costs a lot of money to fix all the bleachers, but they arent but 10% full, so why not fix 10% to start with and block the rest off. Why would a racer go hit the same rock sticking out of the track tearing his stuff up and gashing his tires, when 20 minutes and a sledge hammer would have fixed the problem. Promoters have to work to get fans and cars. There is more to promoting a track than opening the gate on race night.

WOW!!! Well Spoken!!!!