Kankakee county speedway

[dirtluver]

Who are the drivers Tom has run off? I think K3 does a good job. Last year was alot of rain and I still saw a lot good shows. Yes, late model car counts are down from the past. Most people just can't afford to race late models anymore. And with so many big shows every where any more. It hurts weekly tracks. I go to Lasalle, Fairbury, Farmer City every year. Good racing at all of them. But, K3 has had some of the better shows i went to. All class's run good. The PDC was the best last year...LOL...But, K3 summer nationals race was great also,

[1bbmft]

I don't want ANY track to close, We've already lost Santa Fe and Crown Point, just stating from my home in Joliet the closest dirt track is Kankakee, LaSalle and Sycamore, and LaSalle and Sycamore don't run the class I run in. I still go to LaSalle a couple times a year to watch one of my sons race, but I don't see myself going back and race. But then again Kerriann is gone and she was the problem then so I could give Tony Jr a try if they raced the class I race in. If Tom treated me like Kerrian treated me I'd be gone from Kankakee in a heart beat. Good luck to all tracks and whoever posted about the cost of a LM (I gave them up after 1988 because of costs) and with a big show almost every week at one track or another you were right on. I think soon very few tracks will run LM on a weekly basis.

[Pops15]

I've been going to K3 since it reopened and Sugar Island closed. I hate to see the track struggle.

When Smith took over the stands were packed and car counts were great...for awhile. Compare that with last season. Sure, some of the poor car counts and lousy attendance can be attributed to the economy, but mostly the blame falls on the promoter. Smith has done some outstanding things on the promotional side of the business, but he's his own worst enemy when it comes to people skills on race night.

The first thing that needs to happen for the track to be successful is for the promoter and his crew to stop pissing off racers and fans!


He needs to get a couple of wreckers.

Fans don't want to sit through a long drawn out show. There's no reason that the show can't be wrapped up by 11:00 most weeks. That might require some changes in personnel. So be it.

Yes, we all know supers are too expensive for most tracks to run weekly. Run them half of the shows, and make a concerted effort to get a good car count on the nights you do run them.

Instead of driving around on a 4 wheeler and racing a CLM maybe Smith should spend some time in the grandstands watching the show from the fan's perspective.
K3 is a tough track for a promoter but the place can be run successfully.

[ugly1]

What drivers has he run off?? Really? In the ss class alone....16 7 99 55 18 3 15g 23t 23a shark car!

[dirtyboy]

Crates, IMods and 4 bangers run for small purses.
Small purses = more money in Promoters pocket.
There's your clue, now figure out why he chased off the UMP Late Models and UMP Mods.

Trick is, how to fill the stands without running the top classes....

[Fredfred Burger]

Does anyone else hate the fact that you cannot go fast on the middle or bottom. You have to be scraping the wall in 3 and 4 to go fast. When you move down you cannot pass. It is downright stupid. We should be racing in the middle of the track not making a death run straight towards turns 1 and 3.
Dave. Don't be silly. Most other tracks arent this bad. It is by FAR worse than the other 10 or 15 tracks in the area. This track is dead to me and quite a few other people the way it is. I would rather have literally any track there than this one. It could be flat and dusty and get done at a decent time and I would be a lot happier.

[IZZOJR16]

O'connors had that place rocking back in the day, you would see the O'connor family running around literally sweating from head to toe during the races, but still hate they reconfigured it, i miss the old K1, it was a good little bullring track. K3 has always been a track troubled by promoters and keeping them because of the fair board, why I don't know but I'm assuming the board comes across too demanding.

[IZZOJR16]

I've been going to K3 since it reopened and Sugar Island closed. I hate to see the track struggle. When Smith took over the stands were packed and car counts were great...for awhile. Compare that with last season. Sure, some of the poor car counts and lousy attendance can be attributed to the economy, but mostly the blame falls on the promoter. Smith has done some outstanding things on the promotional side of the business, but he's his own worst enemy when it comes to people skills on race night. The first thing that needs to happen for the track to be successful is for the promoter and his crew to stop pissing off racers and fans! He needs to get a couple of wreckers. Fans don't want to sit through a long drawn out show. There's no reason that the show can't be wrapped up by 11:00 most weeks. That might require some changes in personnel. So be it. Yes, we all know supers are too expensive for most tracks to run weekly. Run them half of the shows, and make a concerted effort to get a good car count on the nights you do run them. Instead of driving around on a 4 wheeler and racing a CLM maybe Smith should spend some time in the grandstands watching the show from the fan's perspective. K3 is a tough track for a promoter but the place can be run successfully.

"I've been going to K3 since it reopened and Sugar Island closed." holly smokes POPS thats awesome. I use to drive by the old Sugar Island track on my way to K3 back in the day. My uncle use to tell me old urban legends about the track and how some famous drivers raced on it like Ned Jarret , Fred lorenzen, Buck Backer and so on. I agree with your post, couldn't have said it better.

[IZZOJR16]

Whatever your personal dealings with Tom have been, its not very productive to get on here and bash him and the track. Lets bash it until it goes under. With the economy the way it is, Im sure promotors will be lined up to come in. Then you all can start a new post about, I wonder if K3 will ever open again? Lets close LaSalle also, so everyone can drive 2 1/2 hrs to see a race. Ya that will help. Dave.

someone will always give K3 a try.

[1bbmft]

Crates purse is $400 to win $80 to start, that's about what other tracks are paying.
I- Mods purse $250 to win $40 to start, and they cost 1/3 of a SS and they get $300 to win and $50 to start
4 cyl pay is $100 to win not sure start pay, LaSalle is $75 to win and I think $20 to start, Sycamore is $50, $40, $30, $20, $10 and only top 5 get money.

$ for $ the 4 cyl and I-Mods are the most affordable class there is.

As for the track, The top is the way most run but I run bottom and middle and I pass a lot of cars because there usually is a little moisture there and most either pump the wall or have to lift exiting turn four and scrub off a lot of speed.

Just a thought for you that think Tom is so bad, would you like Doug Judy back!

[HoosierDirtFan]

Crates purse is $400 to win $80 to start, that's about what other tracks are paying.
I- Mods purse $250 to win $40 to start, and they cost 1/3 of a SS and they get $300 to win and $50 to start
4 cyl pay is $100 to win not sure start pay, LaSalle is $75 to win and I think $20 to start, Sycamore is $50, $40, $30, $20, $10 and only top 5 get money.

$ for $ the 4 cyl and I-Mods are the most affordable class there is.

As for the track, The top is the way most run but I run bottom and middle and I pass a lot of cars because there usually is a little moisture there and most either pump the wall or have to lift exiting turn four and scrub off a lot of speed.

Just a thought for you that think Tom is so bad, would you like Doug Judy back!

I-Mod just got more expensive with I-Mod director Roy Mitchell's new transmission rule. The class was supposed to be an affordable way to race. He just made it a good bit more expensive. I know a bunch of Indiana cars that will not be racing this year. <> They'll be lucky to get 8-10 cars (if even that) a night if all the talk I hear is correct.

ALSO no I wouldn't rather have Doug Judy back; I'd rather have Sherri Heckenast or the O'Connor family BACK!

[dirtyboy]

Crates purse is $400 to win $80 to start, that's about what other tracks are paying.
I- Mods purse $250 to win $40 to start, and they cost 1/3 of a SS and they get $300 to win and $50 to start
4 cyl pay is $100 to win not sure start pay, LaSalle is $75 to win and I think $20 to start, Sycamore is $50, $40, $30, $20, $10 and only top 5 get money.

$ for $ the 4 cyl and I-Mods are the most affordable class there is.

As for the track, The top is the way most run but I run bottom and middle and I pass a lot of cars because there usually is a little moisture there and most either pump the wall or have to lift exiting turn four and scrub off a lot of speed.

Just a thought for you that think Tom is so bad, would you like Doug Judy back!

My point is, the promoter ultimately will pay out LESS money if he doesn't run Super Late Models and UMP Mods.

The problem is, he cant fill the stands like he wants to without a good field of cars in the top classes.

It's as plain as black and white....just need to open your eyes

[ugly1]

1bbmft If you run the bottom or middle of 3 and 4 and pass cars you should be track champ!!! Course they don't run sportsmen at K3....

[ugly1]

I think all everybody is saying here is the track has gone downhill the last few years...one lane a lot of rocks....pill draw is not fair when when you reach in the bag and only ten chips in it and there is suppose to be 60.....Guys don't weigh after race and smitty lets it pass because its his car...I could go on and on....STUPID TAP OUT RULE!!!!

[Pops15]

JR16, Those were just that...urban legends. Bobby Shell, Earl Hubert, and Jim O'Connor were the big names that raced at Sugar Island Park.

Dirtyboy, you nailed it. The current promoter doesn't want the top tier classes because of the purse. That's a defeatist attitude. A PROMOTER would be doing something to attract more fans not running off the premier classes.

HDF, The Imod class WAS the best deal going for the racer on a budget. Too bad the owner of the series screwed things up with the new trans and rear end rules.

1BBMFT, no one wants Doug Judy back! It would be nice to see the current promoter do some things to improve the situation instead of the continuous spiral downward.

[1bbmft]

First off, I NEVER have said that Tom Smith is the best promoter or even in the top 10 and I've raced at LOTS of tracks with different promoters in 40 years racing at about 25 different tracks.

I don't race a Sportsman and didn't race every week by choice or I may have been the champion!, I race an I-Mod and yes I HATE the new rear end and trans rule, it has cost me $3500 for two rear ends, two gears and one trans (I had one trans) where I could have used that money for other things or money to race week to week. I know we are going to lose a couple cars from the K3 area not sure how its going to effect the guys in IN and that SUCKS. We had 22-24 I-Mods the last three nights and it was awesome to race with that many cars in a feature

Yes the car counts in ALL classes are nothing like 5 years ago when K3 used to get 15-20 LM, 25 Mods, 35-40 SS and 25 4cyl cars EVERY week. I'd like for you guys that are responding to this post and really count how many LM, SS and Mod drivers (some of the SS drivers listed by car number are only racing 2-3 times a year or not at all any where) that ran K3 REGULARLY 5-7 years ago that are still racing.

My main thing is I don't want any track to close and I'll do what ever I can to help keep K3 open as long as it's my home track, and if another track runs my class of cars for a special I'd go race there.