Lucas Oil Speedway

[Driver50x]

JMHO —--- It's not the heat or the location. Eldora proved that tonight. Night one of the Kings Royal, record heat, and Eldora is in the middle of nowhere. And the crowd was big.

History and reputation have a lot to do with it. I don’t think any racetrack could ever match the magic and mystique of Eldora Speedway. I love that place, but I can’t easily explain why. Many things go into it.

[lurker]

Just spitballing here for the sake of good conversation on 4m.


JMHO.

History and reputation have a lot to do with it. I don’t think any racetrack could ever match the magic and mystique of Eldora Speedway. I love that place, but I can’t easily explain why. Many things go into it.

I’m glad you brought those points up.


So let's set history, reputation, magic and mystique aside for one moment.


If you want, you could add Knoxville in the equation. It’s in the middle of nowhere, and the Nationals run when it's hot. And Knoxville draws a crowd. (Yet it’s not a “premier event facility” like Eldora or Wheatland in my opinion.)


That said, excluding Knoxville.


My point was Eldora and Wheatland are the two dirt track “premier event facilities” in the USofA. And both are in the middle of nowhere, and both race when it’s hot. One draws a crowd, the other doesn't.


Why?

------ but I can’t easily explain why. Many things go into it.

I can't put my finger on it either. My gut tells me you could move the World 100 from Eldora, and the Nationals from Knoxville —- move them to Wheatland, both races run the same week —-- and the place still wouldn't draw a crowd.

[Morgs153]

There must be a little something to do with the culture surrounding those facilities (Eldora and Knoxville) that do have something related to the history and reputation factor.

Right now the comparison seems that it is being made between marquee events connected to sprint car racing and dirt supers. Let's be honest, right now that isn't a fair comparison as sprints are putting on much better shows. I love late models but I find myself more and more interested in the sprint car product nowadays.

When I went to Knoxville a couple times I was impressed with how much the area embraced their connection to racing. The hotel I stayed at had posters and photos up all over the place with race cars on them (almost all sprints). They knew where their bread got buttered. When I spent time in Pella wandering around and hitting up the bakeries and butcher shops everyone in those stores were asking, "Are you in town for the races?" I ran into I guy who looked at my shirt and he explained that he was a professor at the local college and he put in time during the summer to volunteer at the Marion County Fairgrounds (Knoxville Speedway) and work at the races. There was a real vibe around those communities for racing. The people all seemed to embrace that Knoxville Speedway was not just good, but great for their economy.

Knoxville is impressive with the tower, hall of fame, museum and massive seating structures. Those seats really get filled come Nationals time. But they don't get filled in September for the late model nationals show. That show has lost a bunch of its luster in the last ten years or so. If and when I go back to Knoxville it will not likely be for the late model nationals, it will be for sprint cars. Heck, I'd drive six hours down there for one of their weekly shows and plunk down for lodging before ever going back to a so-called Crown Jewel that had to be shortened up to make drivers happy.

The Kings Royal weekend started mid-week with High Limit and now moved into the WoO portion. If you are a sprint car fan you can make Eldora a real destination vacation for almost a week. One can't deny the history of Eldora, one that took decades to nurture and develop, like with the World 100.

Remember the line from Field of Dreams? If you build it, they will come. But that hasn't happened so much for Lucas Oil Speedway and its a bit of a shame because it is such a fantastic racing facility.

Puzzling, ain't it?