Maximum number of classes ? Weekly show.

[Fast Wheels]

When Don Martin ran Lernerville, they ran 6 classes with heats and features and finished in around 3-3.5 hours. No intermission. No driver interviews. Just racing all night.

Good management can run a 5-6 division program in a reasonable amount of time, but it doesn't seem to exist much anymore.

[J&Jsteel_fan]

I've been really enjoying watching WoO sprints on Dirtvision as they have at most 1 support class, sometimes none.

During UMP Summernationals it was painful to watch on nights with 5 support classes.

Dirtvision really needs a push notification for heats and features so we can take care of house chores during the rest of the events.

[BTExpress]

My tolerance has changed over the years as I got older. The younger me didnt care if a race went to midnight or 1am, even with an hour or two hour ride home. Now after 40 years of race chasing, I am not a fan with more than a few divisions. I am willing to pay a couple of extra bucks if it means less divisions. I am fortunate that most of the tracks I attend in Central Pa usually only run two divisions for a regular show. Port Royal sometimes runs three. Heck I struggle when I am home and see a DLM race from the south on Flo with five or six divisions. I rarely watch the whole race, even from the comfort of my Lazy Boy, not sure how you guys in the south do it.....

[chathamracefan]

Weekly show 4 classes is best. This assumes the 4 classes draw enough to put on solid racing. I’ve noticed a trend in recent years of a track having 6 classes with each class drawing low double digits or less. Those are painful.

A good 4 class show where all classes have enough cars for 2 solid heats is perfect. Perfect setup imo

LM
AMod
BMod or sportsman
Stock car or street stock

Sadly few places have a legit open late model weekly class these days.

[EvelB7]

My tolerance has changed over the years as I got older. The younger me didnt care if a race went to midnight or 1am, even with an hour or two hour ride home. Now after 40 years of race chasing, I am not a fan with more than a few divisions. I am willing to pay a couple of extra bucks if it means less divisions. I am fortunate that most of the tracks I attend in Central Pa usually only run two divisions for a regular show. Port Royal sometimes runs three. Heck I struggle when I am home and see a DLM race from the south on Flo with five or six divisions. I rarely watch the whole race, even from the comfort of my Lazy Boy, not sure how you guys in the south do it.....

Doing it less and less......Mentality is the fan count is down, we need to try and get more back gate money- now the fan count goes down even less, a never ending death spiral for a track. One track seemed headed in right direction; nearest track to them closed down due to issues we have discussed- the first track now added extra divisions to grab the low car count classes the second track had. We will see how this picture unfolds but I am guessing once the dust settles they will be struggling too. Do not understand the lack of attention put onto running an efficient show to draw a crowd....

[BTExpress]

There is a reason that the National touring series seem to draw well at the gate despite the increased admission costs and the economy. Whether it is the LOLMS, WOOLMS, HL or the WoO's they all run stand alone shows with maybe one support division. Generally they are efficiently run and streaming does not seem to affect the crowds. As a fan you know you will be in and out in a timely manner. It is a new world, fans do not want to be held hostage for 5 or 6 hours anymore.The old time diehards are dying off. Most new fans are willing to pay a higher admission price for that privilege. More tracks should try this approach for their weekly races. They might be pleasantly surprised to see their attendance increase. Start on time, run an efficient show and gets folks out in a three hour window.

[chathamracefan]

There is a reason that the National touring series seem to draw well at the gate despite the increased admission costs and the economy. Whether it is the LOLMS, WOOLMS, HL or the WoO's they all run stand alone shows with maybe one support division. Generally they are efficiently run and streaming does not seem to affect the crowds. As a fan you know you will be in and out in a timely manner. It is a new world, fans do not want to be held hostage for 5 or 6 hours anymore.The old time diehards are dying off. Most new fans are willing to pay a higher admission price for that privilege. More tracks should try this approach for their weekly races. They might be pleasantly surprised to see their attendance increase. Start on time, run an efficient show and gets folks out in a three hour window.

This is part of it for sure. Also you are seeing the "best of the best" when you go to a touring show. Another factor is the local class shows have turned into multiple classes of cars that look exactly the same. Some places run open LM & crate LM, then A Mod & B Mod. Figure out a sensible way to run all those cars in 1 class & you have 2 healthy classes instead of 4 classes drawing 10 cars each. In the old days, the 4 classes were distinctly different in terms of cost, speed, etc. A guy could get into a street stock on a budget & be at least competitive in his class. If he was good he moves up. Now the cars/rules are such that it seems the same guy wins most classes every week (at least from my review of results).

30 years ago it was worth traveling an hour plus to watch a good weekly show. That is a very rare occurrence for me these days. Most all of my track visits are on a night when there is a regional/national class involved. I can still hit a lot in central IL between MARS, MOWA sprints & some of the other regionals even before WoO or Lucas come around.