20 quick things that are wrong with short track racing.

[Josh Bayko]

I also seriously doubt the ones with the 200,000 dollar haulers are complaining about money as mentioned above.

It happens, and it happens often. In my experiences, the guys with the most money in their operations are the first ones to whine about how much racing costs.

[zach51]

Bloomer is a prime example. But I'm not so sure that I would considering it "whining", I think those guys just realize thats where the sport is now and you gotta pay if you want to play at the top

[W2Racing09]

I guess I am old but, I remember when drivers got in free, and only 3 people were allowed in the pits with a car. Women and children had to go to the grandstands. This was at a Nascar weekly track. Everybody who went in the pits had to wear white pants, so they could be seen by the drivers. They had a womens division, and the women came out of the stands, raced, and then went back to the stands. They had less fighting then. The tracks made it back then thru the front gate, not the back. The drivers are putting on the show, why are they having to pay for the show they are putting on. The promoters have gotten somewhat lazy by thinking, we will just charge 3 times as much to get in the pits as the stands, and not worry about putting on a show to put people in the grandstands. Do actors pay to be a star in a movie? Why are racers treated any different? We get charged 30 to 35 dollars for pit passes at a regular show around here. Then they charge us 10 more for transponders, or 5 if we use our own transponder. They charge a driver 2 pit passes if he runs 2 classes of cars. Then they have entry fees, when they have a big show. The grandstands are empty, the weeds need cut, and the tracks are pretty much unraceable, but that is all we have. I love traveling out of the area to race, but that isn't always an option. When I go other places, to a really racey, nice prepared track, I hear the drivers complaining about how bad it is there. I tell them," you should have to race where I do, you would appreciate this track more" Some of them tell me," If I had to race where you race, I would quit". Sadly, that is what is happening. People are quitting, and the promoters think it is just the economy. But what it amounts to is, racing has always, and will always cost a lot, but when it isn't as much fun as the cost, it is time to quit. If your racetrack is well prepared, not hard on equipment, and racey, the fun to cost ratio is a lot more positive, and racers will find a way to keep racing. If the tracks are one groove, hard on tires, motors and sheetmetal, the racers don't have fun, and the fun to cost ratio becomes negative, they soon quit.

The best promoter in the entire world cannot compete with all of the options for entertainment out there today. You will never see racing be as popular again as it was back then -- it is just the unfortunate truth. In my day to day life working in a big city I don't think I've ever met someone at work or otherwise who even knows where the nearest dirt track is. It is more common in the country but still more often than not people don't know or care to know. You can plaster the town with schedules, and flyers (I often see the ones for my local track all over the place) but if people don't want to pay attention they won't. I can tell you from working on the tracks side of things in the past, that tracks are not making a ton of money and more often than not they are making what little money they do off of the back gate. Letting drivers in free would mean the end of most tracks, and for the remaining tracks they would be taken from very profitable down to breaking even.

Thanks,
Jeff.

[Clayton_Wetter]

I'd say the dust has ran off more potential fans than the price. A feature race that you can't see will never have much value to a fan.

Tracks and racers need to work together instead of against each other.

My local track has so much dust and grit that I would not be surprised if that alone has not ran of nearly a thousand fans for the local shows. Yet they sellout for Lucas races anyway.

[J20in1st]

My best ideas: start on time, and start the feature no later than 9:30 or 10:00. The feature doesn't have to be the last race of the night.

Really? Please explain to me how u run the feature ahead of other races in a race show....

[flagone]

I believe that was a reference to the "headliner" division's feature.

[Hoosier]

J20in1st asks: "Please explain to me how u run the feature ahead of other races in a race show...."
.
It's like the opposite of running the feature last. For example:
7:00 Hot laps
7:30 A couple support divs. heat races
8:00 Qualifying for featured class or classes
8:30 A couple support divs. races
9:30 Headliner Feature race
10:00 Support divs. features
11:00 Lights out - see you in church tomorrow.
11:15 Results posted on 4m.net