We all have the ability to make a diffence

[Illtsate32]

All about parenting if you are involved with your kids you can restrict their social media involvement if not then ya they'll be a walking zombie on their phone 24/7...

[Jim11h]

Who cares, their there and spending money and maybe one or two will become a fan or more.

9 divisions, wow! What's difference between 602 & 604 the normal fan has no clue. Look race and sound same. Shame promoters don't get it. 4 classes and you wanna race then you'll spend to play in one of them. Fans will be happier cause show went fast and smooth.

[ride height]

9 classes? That’s insane. If we see 5 advertised...we look elsewhere. 4 is plenty. A big boy class of some kind...a Crate...a sportsman and maybe some 4cyl buzz Bomb deal....that’s plenty. 9 classes?....who does that!?

[Late_Model_Mark]

Most every week I have the luxury of having guests come to our track, Talladega. Some get tix for the night, some get that and pit passes. Some get the previous 2 plus get to hang in the tower if they like. Most like to be outside to feel the action. In 2019 I was fortunate to bring in about 20 or so first timers, some returned, some did not due to other activities.

If I do my job behind the mic right, I try to explain in lay mans terms the difference between the Limiteds, 604 and 602 cars. Explaining engine packages, car rules and so on. You can tell the pitch of the engime difference between a super and a 604 or 602.

The weekly divisions besides the Supers are extra crucial these days for the show and both gates. Our Modifieds have put the best races of 2019.

I always ask our regular weekly fan to bring a newbie and/or spread the word. Most find our $10.00 admission shows to be ultra reasonable. Ten smackers, bring in your own cooler and enjoy.


Thanks to Dirt Crow for bringing folks to TST.

Late Model Mark
TST Announcer

[dirtcrazy4u]

I will ask this. When we were 16 we would go to the races on Friday nights with are girlfriends and about a dozen other guys. Saturday and Sunday nights 3 or 4 of us would head for are favorite dirt track. My question is, what kids do that today ? What group of 16, 17 year old kids meet up at the local racetrack ? We had are street cars that we all worked on to street race the next guy that came along. We knew what it was to change oil and filter. A water pump or head gasket. Unless a kid is in vo-tech today he has no idea of the proud feeling we had showing off are newest addition to are tool boxes. Ya, find me that 16 or 17 yr old today.

[t4g2]

my nephew and his friends love to go to the races. They are 17 and my youngest nephew 14 wants to go to every race.

[dirt crow]

Went to a party once and a race broke out.

I wish they'd run one support class during Lucas at East Bay. I know your seeing pretty much the best of the best there is except maybe 2-3 guys. It does seem like alot to spend for a couple hrs but there was definitely no shortage of people last year and the year before.

East Bay usually brings your diehard fans that doesn’t mind paying 30-40 to get in. And your right, no shortage of fans. I love the place. And really love that the show is over by 10 my time (central).

[Rocky]

I just tell them that they can go to a live sporting event for 10 bucks and bring their own beer. Most people I tell that go at least once. Some of them come back.

We have 4 classes usually, unless it's a Sprint Car or Super 4 night. Then there's 5. Late Model, Sportsman, Street Stock, FWD 4 cyl they call it stock 4. The other track is 6 I think usually but I only go there to race and only a few times a season, so I don't really know what they put out there before us.

[3 wide]

These promoters could make a huge difference if they would quit running 8 9 an even 10 classes an get the races over with an work there race track.

[TS FAN]

The internet has also made a difference. Many times younger people are not willing to wait through an evening of several classes, many cautions, track maintenance etc. Action now is one of the problems. I have been attending races since I was three yrs OLD in 1949. LOL
Before the( make it happen now era), we would think nothing of staying at the races until they were over, knowing that there were going to be times of delays, too many cautions etc etc. Even rain delays. Patience and attending races are a must and while I still see many young people at the races, it is a new era, and auto racing will adjust and has to some degree, but the old ways obviously are gone forever. On a good note, the smart phones helps pass the time./smile

[Clayton_Wetters]

These promoters could make a huge difference if they would quit running 8 9 an even 10 classes an get the races over with an work there race track.

They have found out that they make more money doing it. Even if they lose a few spectators over it.

[Madcat]

I think thats great, but Ive noticed for the World 100 and the Dream lately, they have focused more on the party and less on the racing, which sadly is a recipe for death.

I have to disagree here. The world isn’t nearly the party it used to be. At least not around us in camp or grandstands.

Actually we’ll probably bring the whole family this year after seeing how mild last year was, and it just keeps getting more mild.

We couldn’t believe how different things have continued to get regarding lack of partying and late nights.
Heck we had the whole family at the dream and not one complaint. Our 4 year old twins and 6 year old came today Eldora twice last year, Attica once, and would’ve gone to more but we had too many trips they would have had to miss class for and we won’t do that at these ages.

We don’t have a lot of the fancy tech stuff others do but our kids are outside digging for treasure and dinosaur bones in our dirt pile every single day in the summers. Driving golf carts around Speedy and our property, and learning to track animals as of this fall.

It’s all about priorities and parenting. Our priorities are our kids knowing that video games aren’t the only thing in life and have never been part of ours.

Dirt tack racing is. My wife’s been to many races and even some WVMS for one of the last big races there. Our kids will go all summer this year and we will ensure it’s something they grow to love and make it family events.

[nc mudcat]

They have found out that they make more money doing it. Even if they lose a few spectators over it.

Yep. It has followed the course of go-kart racing. 3 fans in the stands is fine if there are 200 karts in the pits with 3 or 4 people with each one. The back gate pays the purse, the bills and whatever else. Concessions are the icing on the cake. Do we need fans at all? Apparently not, if we are even talking about a track having 9 classes on one night.

[3 wide]

Hey late model mark of tst you all still racing till 3 o'clock in the morning down there had a friend of mine one a feature down there toward the end of the summer he told me they protested him he told them he wasn't tearing down he said 3 o'clock in the morning I'm going home.you wouldn't know anything about that would you.

[waaac77]

Remember the good old days when racing was so much better and they only ran 3 or 4 classes

[fastford]

Hey late model mark of tst you all still racing till 3 o'clock in the morning down there had a friend of mine one a feature down there toward the end of the summer he told me they protested him he told them he wasn't tearing down he said 3 o'clock in the morning I'm going home.you wouldn't know anything about that would you.

the only time i can remember remember racing till that late was 8 years ago after a long rain delay , and i dont even think mark was there yet , with the advent of the race receiver , i dont remember even going to mid night , most of the time around 11 , but there is a fluke ever now and then as with any track...and i dont care if the sun is coming up , if I won the race , and my stuff was RIGHT , i would be tearing down , JMO.....

[WisWildManFan]

everybody's good ole days are behind them, never hear anyone say remember them bad ole days lol Less manufacturing jobs in america makes less young adults interested in cars as a whole. You either have the motorsports bug or you don't. It's much easier to take someone who already likes nascar, drag racing, indy cars, or cars in general. You won't convert someone who has no interest to begin with. I was at a race track a few weeks old because my dad raced. Also with a dirt race you never know what your'e going to get. Took a friend to a lucas race at lasalle maybe 5 years ago and walked in and track was glazed over in hot laps. They looked like they were going 30 mph down the straights. I bragged up how good it would be with the national guys there and it sucked, i was embarrassed. He's never wanted to go back.

[play4kps]

I think most here are missing the point with 8 or 9 support classes, in a lot of cases thats the only way the track can draw 50 or more cars. That stinks, but its facts. We used to have a paved track in Xenia, Ohio named KilKare and the ran 6 classes and was lucky if there was 35 cars there. Ill never forget the 1st time I went there and heard the announcer say about the modifieds, we have a whole heap of them here this week. They had 6, and averaged 5-7 what they called late models, limited at best. Ill never forget having a friend from out of town visiting and begging to go to that track because it was NASCAR sanctioned, he told a guy at the gate as we were leaving, it looks like Nascar would sanction a bucket of sh*t to make a buck, priceless.

[fastford]

we went to the huge ford swap meet and drags for several years back in the 90s at Xenia , always had a great time and maybe it was because it was always at the same time kilkare had there season ending race , but there was always a huge crowd and a pile of cars there on Saturday night......

[RiffRaf67]

I used to goto Kilkare every saturday in the mid 90s before I caught the dirt bug. Nothing but fond memories of the drag strip there