Could Eldora do something like this and fix relationship with local drivers and fans?

[HoosierDirtFan]

Like the ideas but not sure if Tony, Roger, or Eldora could give a rats blank about either fans or drivers. JMO

Link to article - below.
https://www.dirtunlimited.com/post/a...l-drivers-fans

[play4kps]

Its sad to say, but honestly I dont think they care what the people around there think, They kept things kind of the same as long as Earl was alive, when he passed, thats when it all changed.

[WisWildManFan]

the problem you guys have that live around eldora is your location to other tracks. Get in the car and drive somewhere else once in a while. It would be like living by bristol and being upset they only get 2 nascar weekends a year. Times have changed local car counts are down across the nation and so are local fans. Cry me a river about Eldora's schedule. If you want to see local racing move somewhere else and then complain about not getting the WoO sprints, USAC divisions, the 2 biggest races in a DLM season.

[Chadly329]

Agreed WisWildManFan, in the "upper" Midwest we have to drive/travel to tracks to see racing. I'm sorry but no Love lost for these people when it comes to Eldora's Schedule for them. We all travel 2-5hrs for good late model racing. So to the Eldora Locals....Welcome to our World.

[jensenracing18]

^^ agree 100% on the last 2 post

[dirtracer12m]

Listen, I'm a local (consider Eldora my home track less than 30 min away), but I think trying to throw the blame at Stewart and Slack for ruining the schedule is misplaced at best. This is a different world we live in these days compared to when Earl was alive and owned the track. Car counts are down nearly everywhere across all divisions now compared to back then and there are infinitely more entertainment options these days compared to back then. I bet if somebody had a way to look at track schedules back then vs now I doubt you'd find many if any that run more races today vs then.

My day job is in the business world so I tend to look at things from that angle. That mock schedule posted above would do absolutely nothing for the track's bottom line. Most of the dates, all the author did was add a 3rd and sometimes 4th division to an existing show. Sorry but 4 divisions is a TERRIBLE idea at any track. Even 3 is a stretch. Nobody wants to be there all night. And sorry to the stock or mod people, but you guys being added to the World of Outlaws and USAC weekend isn't going to sell more tickets. Not enough to pay for your purse anyways. The track has already stated in the past the UMP Nationals lost money every year so I hardly see that coming back either.

The bottom line is Eldora is not a charity. The place is a business and I'm sure they run the races that make money and don't run the races that lose money. If Earl was alive today I highly doubt it'd be any different. He wouldn't be holding a bunch of extra races that lost money just because he was a nice guy and felt sorry for those drivers. You can tell yourself that all you want but that wouldn't be happening.

Sorry for the long post but I continue to see these silly stories written that basically bash the place for being business savvy. I love going there and want to be able to keep going there for many years to come. So in a time when it seems a lot of tracks struggle to even keep their doors open I have a hard time arguing about what Eldora is doing because they're one of the few tracks who seem to be thriving.

[Tireguy17]

^^ GREAT POST! ^^

I consider myself lucky to live 2 hours from Cedar Lake Speedway, and 5-6 hours from other tracks that run Crown Jewel events for late models and sprint cars. After driving 15 hours to Eldora for the Dream our group wished we were 7-8 from it so we could goto more events there. I understand we need weekly races to produce weekly racers, to produce future national racers. There are a cross-section of tracks in the US that do well financially at running a schedule that is all weekly races and a couple specials. This is not for tracks like Eldora, they are now on this planet to host successful big time events. And I'm ok with that.

[fryefan]

Its sad to say, but honestly I dont think they care what the people around there think, They kept things kind of the same as long as Earl was alive, when he passed, thats when it all changed.

And the majority of the changes that have been made are positive. Overall, things are a lot better now than when Tony Stewart bought the track.

[Jim11h]

Schedule used was basically copy of 10yr ago schedule without a couple 360, mods, & stocks shows. Eldora been fading to specials only track for years even when earl had it.

[Rocal145]

I was almost done with this site(not really but kind of) but the above posters give me hope lol. Eldora is the holy land of dirt racing and if there is anywhere in the WORLD that should be a special event only it is ELDORA. The analogies are endless but the first that comes to my mind is the Olympics. The best in the world compete in big events year around to ultimately end up in the most electric venue their sport has to offer. Truly the proving grounds. Sure a few guys run the johnny appleseed/blates/LR2 races but it's obvious running those races don't provide much advantage to the jewels. Nothing would damage the prestige of the Big E than doubling the schedule with 1/3 capacity crowds. I'm sorry for the locals but too much of a good thing takes away from what makes it actually good. Quit trying to change everything and be thankful for what you got.

[latemodelman]

To be honest with all of you. Do you know why the World 100 had 200 cars a year and why the Dream had 140 a year? Its because at least 40 to 50 cars ran there every dang time there was a late model show. Also same reason why they had 150 mods for the UMP Nationals. If you make a track a specials only then you get just touring guys and the way the touring is going you might have maybe 50 drivers who tour. Also when you run USAC and mods and stocks you normally get the mods and stocks families who pay the $25 or so to get in and you have one hell of a crowd. Plus the mods and stocks pay $30 for a pit pass. Then look at the concessions and shirts and stuff.

[WisWildManFan]

i personally would rather see 80-100 of the best cars in the country than 200 with half the field having no shot at winning. I would have to drive to 8-10 different tracks to see the schedule that eldora offers in a year... all of which would be a min of 1.5 hour drive one way.

[Escobar]

The bottom line is Eldora is not a charity. The place is a business and I'm sure they run the races that make money and don't run the races that lose money. If Earl was alive today I highly doubt it'd be any different. He wouldn't be holding a bunch of extra races that lost money just because he was a nice guy and felt sorry for those drivers. You can tell yourself that all you want but that wouldn't be happening.

BINGO! 12m gets the square.

[hucktyson]

This thread is lunacy. Eldora is owned and run by businessmen. They know their numbers , we don’t. If running weekly made them money they would run weekly. But clearly it doesn’t

[WisWildManFan]

this is the best place to see how people would do something with the fictional money we don't have lol

[JabberJaws83]

To be honest with all of you. Do you know why the World 100 had 200 cars a year and why the Dream had 140 a year? Its because at least 40 to 50 cars ran there every dang time there was a late model show. Also same reason why they had 150 mods for the UMP Nationals. If you make a track a specials only then you get just touring guys and the way the touring is going you might have maybe 50 drivers who tour. Also when you run USAC and mods and stocks you normally get the mods and stocks families who pay the $25 or so to get in and you have one hell of a crowd. Plus the mods and stocks pay $30 for a pit pass. Then look at the concessions and shirts and stuff.

The fact that the Dream and the World no longer draw that number of cars has zero to do with the rest of the Eldora schedule.

[bullring]

I'd much rather have a track that ran specials only, and top notch ones at that, than have a track that ran weekly and went out of business.

[dirtracer12m]

Schedule used was basically copy of 10yr ago schedule without a couple 360, mods, & stocks shows. Eldora been fading to specials only track for years even when earl had it.

Curiosity got the best of me last night. I have a ton of old Mid Americans and other racing papers that I've saved over the years so I looked for some old Eldora schedules. In 1998 Eldora had 37 race nights on the schedule. In 2004 Earls last year there were 26 race nights on the schedule. So you were pretty spot on, this consolidation and move to special events started long before the ownership change. Since that point a few more races dropped off since then to the point now where it's pretty much all specials with the exception of the season opener and the family nights. So maybe at this point what you see is what you get on the schedule going forward. Time will tell. One thing is for sure. Earl was a brilliant business man. And Tony is no dummy either. I'm going to say those guys probably knew/know what they're doing with the schedule.

Also on a somewhat related note about this just being a different era compared to back then I will share this. I went to the Four Crown last weekend at Eldora. Was a really nice weather night so tried to get my neighbor to go out there with me but he didn't want to miss the Ohio State game which was being played at the same time. How many more sporting events are held in prime time on national TV now vs back then? The exponential amount of entertainment options these days can't be ignored when having discussions like this.

[Kromulous]

Eldora is a gold mine.

Even back in the old days, ive heard stories from guys that we're there helping Earl.

Weekly shows, or even Regional Shows that pay 10k or so would diminish the luster of the place now days.

Let it be.

If T. Stewart were inclined, build another track close, and run it weekly, something smaller and less of an effort to operate on a weekly basis.

[mcarter815]

The specials only model has worked for some tracks here in Iowa. Tipton couldn't get enough cars to maintain a weekly program but now that they are running a few specials a year they pack them in. The same is true for West Liberty. You always want a few weekly tracks in any area, but too many weekly tracks reduce the car counts. A few weekly tracks with the rest being specials only is the ideal situation in today's world.