XR Super Series - race at Texas looks to be moving due to bad soil test.

[HoosierDirtFan]

Barry Braun
3h
TEXAS: The 2022 racing season at the Texas Motor Speedway Dirt Track has been canceled, all events. The Texas Dirt Nationals will be moved.

The soil test of the track returned with unacceptable results for racing. We will spend the summer resurfacing the track in preparation for a return in 2023. A formal press announcement will come soon.

[dirtcrazy4u]

First time for an excuse like that. I think a lug nut on the water truck was starting to come loose personally.

[Rajflyboy]

Oh lord. What the hell? OSHA or something?

[Barbecueboy]

Soil test??? …….that one not passing the sniff test.

[Rajflyboy]

No it definitely doesn’t pass the smell test

[cjsracing]

XR also changed the Stuart race from 4 days to 2 days.

[Tireguy17]

Is it really that hard to believe? We have all been to a race where it was a dumpster fire night/weekend and thought to ourselves “this surface is junk (or wore out)”

[MasterSbilt_Racer]

I've never heard a soil test used on a dirt track to see if it's going to work. Eldora, the crown jewel of tracks didn't even do that and Ray Charles could see the new dirt wasn't attached to the old dirt.

[dirtcrazy4u]

Well I think the hand writing is on the wall on this one. They kept throwing money at this deal waiting for it to stick. Venue after venue had little fan support. With the way things are presently I feel the money behind XR is having second thoughts.

[GrocMax]

They've had issues with drainage (tunnel area especially turn two low) and dirt for years, its not inconceivable. They ran a monday night weekly series last year,its not like they aren't trying. Probably dumped too much calcium carb or other quick fixes on it over the years.

[ZERO25]

Surely not Blue Ridge.......they wouldnt know Columbias finest from calcium carbonate!

Being that I have done nearly 5,000 soil and tissue samples, I would really like to know what substance caused it to fail!

[Dirt Clod]

Interesting moving this race to Kokomo, which is basically an open wheel based crowd. Kokomo has cut their schedule back so much it's basically a special events track now. How many fans do you need to make a Monday night $20,000 to win and Tuesday night $40,000 to win profitable, both at the track and purchasing the streaming?

[mccreadiefan39]

Interesting moving this race to Kokomo, which is basically an open wheel based crowd. Kokomo has cut their schedule back so much it's basically a special events track now. How many fans do you need to make a Monday night $20,000 to win and Tuesday night $40,000 to win profitable, both at the track and purchasing the streaming?


The XR business model is based off of streaming and back gate. The total purse for the two nights combined is $250,000 which means to break even for September they would need 6,258 subscribers. Everything you hear around the sport is that XR subscriber numbers are much larger than that. Anyone who comes through the front gate is really just a bonus, as far as the tracks that host XR events I'm not sure what percentage they get.

[GrocMax]

I seriously doubt it was a 'failed' chemical test, more like physical properties testing, like how much water it will hold, % of this n that vs known good dirt.

[dirtSLMracing]

I seriously doubt it was a 'failed' chemical test, more like physical properties testing, like how much water it will hold, % of this n that vs known good dirt.

That is correct. Clay is a generic word for red dirt often used on a dirt track. The percent of minerals and other properties vary which makes certain clay better for racing. Good clay for racing and bad clay for racing is still called clay.

Sort of like if I sent 5 people out to buy a plain white, long sleeve dress shirt, size XL,Van Heusen brand all 5 would be almost identical. If I sent 5 people out to buy a shirt probably would have 5 completely different looks but still would be called shirts.

[MasterSbilt_Racer]

That is correct. Clay is a generic word for red dirt often used on a dirt track. The percent of minerals and other properties vary which makes certain clay better for racing. Good clay for racing and bad clay for racing is still called clay.

Sort of like if I sent 5 people out to buy a plain white, long sleeve dress shirt, size XL,Van Heusen brand all 5 would be almost identical. If I sent 5 people out to buy a shirt probably would have 5 completely different looks but still would be called shirts.

And we race on all 5 shirts all summer long.

[dirtSLMracing]

And we race on all 5 shirts all summer long.

I was a track official at a dirt track for 8 years up until a couple years ago. Track brought in new clay when someone was moving land locally for a new business and wanted to get rid of some clay.

First couple nights it was raced on it would come up in sheets.. looked sort of like 4x8 plywood peeling up. Called a guy that knows about the makeup of soil/clay.. maybe sent him a sample I can't remember that part. His answer was to get that stuff off the track, it will never bond the way needed to race on.

[Barbecueboy]

Surely not Blue Ridge.......they wouldnt know Columbias finest from calcium carbonate!

Being that I have done nearly 5,000 soil and tissue samples, I would really like to know what substance caused it to fail!

Not enough azzindaseats was the reason the soil test failed I believe.

[MasterSbilt_Racer]

Not enough azzindaseats was the reason the soil test failed I believe.

I think so too.

[GrocMax]

XR race, crowd don't matter, right?

[SLIDING SIDEWAYS]

That is correct. Clay is a generic word for red dirt often used on a dirt track. The percent of minerals and other properties vary which makes certain clay better for racing. Good clay for racing and bad clay for racing is still called clay.

Sort of like if I sent 5 people out to buy a plain white, long sleeve dress shirt, size XL,Van Heusen brand all 5 would be almost identical. If I sent 5 people out to buy a shirt probably would have 5 completely different looks but still would be called shirts.

Interesting info here

[MasterSbilt_Racer]

Clay color depends on the minerals in it. It can be red, grey, black, blue, etc. The stuff in Iowa isn't even clay, I don't think. Different parts of the country have different stuff and everyone learns how to use it.

[Barbecueboy]

XR race, crowd don't matter, right?

If that’s true, they should just charge them a gate fee to irace it and stream that…..would save everyone a bunch of money.

I don’t believe for a second that live attendance or lack of it has not impacted their ambitious schedule. Good businesses pivot and adapt, this is what they appear to be doing……I like the series fwtw.

[Josh Bayko]

It’s more likely it was cancelled because the crowds at their races have been terrible.

[dirtSLMracing]

Weird thing.. after the Bristol race I questioned how they paid the bills with that pitiful crowd. I was told they didnt need fans there because of online viewers.

Now they cancelled because of no fans at the race?

Make up your mind.. gee whiz.

[Highside Hustler25]

I never did get any interest in this series because none of the venues are close enough for me until they added Kokomo.
So what has me confused is why is there a problem with attendance at these events? I've seen huge crowds around here and the events I've seen on FloSports have been record crowds. What's this XR series doing wrong?

[Minny Lakes]

The tracks are too big. Big tracks=boring. It's possible there was 2 tracks bigger than Bristol.

[MasterSbilt_Racer]

I never did get any interest in this series because none of the venues are close enough for me until they added Kokomo.
So what has me confused is why is there a problem with attendance at these events? I've seen huge crowds around here and the events I've seen on FloSports have been record crowds. What's this XR series doing wrong?

Big tracks, poor awareness of their events, probably other issues

[MadDad Racing]

Need to get Ole' Eric Jacobson on this. Wasnt he a soil tester guy. Used to race Bloomer cars a few good yrs ago..

[zyoung25]

That place literally ate tires last year. Maybe that's what they mean it failed the soil test 😂

[AllenK]

Kokomo is a good track,but I wish the TMS date would've gone to Devil's Bowl Speedway in Mesquite. Put Factory Stocks on the card,or b-mods and you would have a good show and a crowd also. Would also make a good Castrol race also.

[Barbecueboy]

Need to get Ole' Eric Jacobson on this. Wasnt he a soil tester guy. Used to race Bloomer cars a few good yrs ago..

The “ earth shaker” is a cool dude…..miss seeing them run. I was thinking his business was more about pest control, fumigation etc for farming…..strawberries, fruits etc.

[foxfire2dirtracing]

Eric is a strawberry (and now hemp also) farmer.
Multi million dollar business.

[huskerdirt]

Weird thing.. after the Bristol race I questioned how they paid the bills with that pitiful crowd. I was told they didnt need fans there because of online viewers.

Now they cancelled because of no fans at the race?

Make up your mind.. gee whiz.

It never said they cancelled a race because of the pitiful crowd it’s just assumptions on others part.

People serious under estimate the online subs. Somewhere I saw it was figured up to be about 6500 subs to cover the purse for the XR races. I would not be shocked if XR had that many if not more. Who knows how many Flo has but I’m guessing it’s probably 10x more.

5 years ago….. nobody was really buying PPVs. Now all those people are buying streaming subs to their favorite outlets.

[billetbirdcage]

During a flo streamed race, they had 20K people/accounts watching. Not signed up but actually watching that one race.

[Barbecueboy]

Thanks fox, I remembered it had something to do with the strawberries out west and them running the soil fume sticker on the car at some point…..that year at east bay was very fuzzy.

[FlatTire]

From what I heard, the trucking costs to get the new dirt for TMS was too high. They'll wait for diesel dump trucks to be replaced with Biden's electric dump trucks and resurface the track for far less money. :-)

[foxfire2dirtracing]

BBQ

You are very correct- Eric was/is involved in soil fumigation in California. I think it was primarily for the strawberry farms and floral industry.
At one time he operated out of the Bloomquist compound but when he actually quit racing- he had a shop just outside of Oak Tidge, Tn in nearby Clinton. He traveled a lot of airline miles between California and the racing on our side of the United States. He could be a little wild at times behind the wheel- but was exciting to watch and not afraid to smash the gas peddle.
I can’t remember exactly why he gave it up- maybe age/ and location of bussiness/family just wore on him. Sometimes the thrill just leaves you.

The strawberry business name: Well-Pick-Berries

[foxfire2dirtracing]

Eric is CFO of Soil Fume
and corporate secretary for :Jacobson Pacific Nursery- probably just no time to race. He was a very successful business person when he did race- appears that he is doing very-very well these days still!

[Barbecueboy]

Great to hear, I’ve liked him since the first time we met him down south at east bay that year……one of the best nicknames ever.