thoughts on 2026 season....

[MRM]

Chatham I agree with both of your points. The same 6 or 7 drivers win all the big races, and yes there needs to be a defined off season for the fans and teams. Take a break after the World Finals, have The Gateway Nationals in early January (AFTER THE HOLIDAYS), move the Wild West Shootout to the end of January, drop the Sunshine Nationals, then start up again full bore at Volusia in February for Speedweeks. I know this is wishful thinking, and it probably will never happen because of streaming, but for the overall health of the sport, this should be seriously considered. This would leave both the fans and teams fresh and ready to go for the next season.......

I've been a proponent of those changes for a while.

[chathamracefan]

Trying to stay a fan of dirt late model racing, but your points are well said. Same 6 or 7 drivers keep winning. Every time I get a pit pass, dirt late models look so radical. Left rear fenders rounded off for aero, each front fender is different, and lord knows how many other advantages the big money teams have. I'm more of a fan of the MARS, Northern All Star regional series and Summer Nationals where it seems the racing is more balanced. Also lucky to live in the Indy area where USAC open wheel divisions invert the top 6 in each race, so you are guaranteed to see drivers have to race their way to the front to get their times back.

MARS series is fun to watch. The balance of competition is so much better than on the national scene at the moment. Yes the top guys (Feger, Unzicker) win the most but the wins & up front runners seem to be spread around pretty well. And they go to some great tracks. The Saturday show at Fairbury was an excellent race. I attended that one & watched Dport & Spoon on streaming. All were good solid races.

[TBSprintFan]

After 56 years, I have had enough of watching local racing and just watch the Super Late Models either on Flo (which is so easy to rewind, pause and fast forward, so I can get a evening watched in very little time by not watching the support classes or commercials) or DirtVision. I still will travel to watch either Lucas Oil, WoO's and Eldora to watch Super Late Models for at least 10+ shows a year. Just got tired of watching local racing that lasts over 4+ hours and that has hornets and sling shots and how many classes of modifieds. Then you have drivers complain of the cost that show up with toter's, huge enclosed trailers, new cars every year, have cars in a couple or more classes or spend more money in a lower class than a higher class just so they think they are a real champion lol. I know racers have to start somewhere, but they are their own worst enemy when it comes to costs.

[4Barrel]

I’ve gone the opposite way of just watching the big shows. I have started going to the local track with my dad who is getting older and watching some of my family race. It’s more about who is with me watching than it is who it is we’re watching.

[baltimore]

Last night I drove two hours to see a race in person I could have watched on Flo (IRA@141). My wife likes winged sprints so it was a date night treat for her. I was glad we went because nothing replaces the noise and the dust and mud crumbles landing in your lap. I can't watch my TV with the volume on max and put earplugs in to try and duplicate it while viewing through safety glasses. It turned out to be a very good show for the 410s and we really like visiting that track.

But, between the gas prices (I put in $65), ticket prices ($45 for both of us), food and beverages for both of us ($57), I probably spent very close, if not more than my annual Flo subscription for this one trip. So I will pick and choose a bit more and probably not spend too much on races I can stream. I'll go to some local and regional shows that won't show up on streaming.

hope you got lucky wink wink

[Driver50x]

Watching streaming on TV is great, but no where near as good as being there in person in my book.

Unfortunately, my home track, East Bay, is nothing but a memory now.