0Your thoughs on UMP Good/Bad?? - Belle-Clair Speedway not so sure from a Facebook post I just read.

Jimmy Cummins said:
UMP has done a lot for guys in the "lower" divisions. Ask Scott Weber, Bob Dauderman, Ryan Eilers, Russell Eilers, Jon Ripperda, Troy Naegar, Brad Venhaus, Jeff Herzog, Rob Shaw, Jason Worley, Jake Hewitt, Rob Lee, etc I would say all these guys have benefitted from being a UMP member at least once in their life.

Also, please explain to me how UMP could have made nation wide rules for the sportsman class? or the bomber class?
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Jimmy, if you added up what they spent chasing those points it will be 5 times what they received.

The question I have is what has changed since the lower classes became UMP.
Have car counts went up or down?
Have the cost went up or down?
Has the payout went up or down?

The Points for Mods & Late models need to go back to your best night of the weekend, with a bonus for car count.
 
Here's a fun fact. There are about 1700 modified members. At $100 per membership ( not sure if this is correct or not) UMP takes in about $170,000 dollars in membership fees. This doesn't count weekly track fees or sponsor fees like Hoosier tire money. Are you getting your monies worth? How much are they paying out? As members and promoters this is info that you should know.
 
kreke13 said:
Here's a fun fact. There are about 1700 modified members. At $100 per membership ( not sure if this is correct or not) UMP takes in about $170,000 dollars in membership fees. This doesn't count weekly track fees or sponsor fees like Hoosier tire money. Are you getting your monies worth? How much are they paying out? As members and promoters this is info that you should know.
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Al if you would've played nice a couple weeks ago how would you feel
 
There are more promoters out there that are considering dropping Ump for next year. Belle-Clair is not the only one but, have to be quite for now. Let's see who really does it or who is all talk.

You don't need so called stars at your track. You need good competitive races and you will get the fans. In order to get more cars you need to pay them a fair shake and have cost cutting rules and enforce the rules every week. The so called stars will go where they can get their precious Ump points and I say let them.
 
Rusty, what I am saying is after the top 5, the next 15 pay the bills.

Have you ever totaled up the purses for Mods and Late Models?

Here's the deal. Between the LM purse, the Mod purse and the insurance costs, you are already north of $10,000 for one nights racing. One night. And you pay the LM winner what, at least a grand? And the Mod winner is what, $300-400 these days?

Simple math shows you that the LM winner has to draw in almost 80 people just to pay the winner out of the front gate, and the Modified winner has to draw in 30 or so just to break even on the payout. Not to mention the rest of the field.

So if you want to break even on a night's racing, you need to be looking at 1000 or more people in your stands each and every night just to cover the basic costs. Then you get to keep whatever you make on the concessions. But that's it for profit margins.

Hate to burst your bubble, but I liken you local heroes as the AAA ballplayers of stock car racing in the grand scheme of things. No one goes to see the Gateway Grizzlies to see the "stars" of the Gateway Grizzlies. The people in the stands are there because they just like watching baseball, or they have family/friends playing on the team. No one goes because any of those guys are "stars" in the broader meaning of the word.

Same holds true for any of the "stars" at the local dirt track. If any of you quit, the count in the stands doesn't fluctuate that much. You don't "make the show", you don't "draw the crowd" by yourself. People come to see racing, if Griffaw happens to be the guy on fire that night, great, they'll remember Griffaw. If Walsh happens to be kicking butt that night, they remember Walsh. But if Griffaw or Walsh don't happen to be there that night, it is nothing more than "wonder where so and so is at?" and "oh, I don't see so and so tonight" and that's it. It's a footnote in a conversation, and if you don't show up night after night, someone takes your place and get's their attention.

Bottom line though is people come to see good racing action, and a few people will take enough interest in an individual driver to buy a t-shirt. Believe me, if any of you guys were the big stars drawing the crowds and you were a big draw and could put enough butts in the stands to pay you a wage, you'd be getting paid to show up.

If it were me and I was looking to boost my profits, I'd be looking at ways to make that happen. One would be dropping a sanction that was costing me and the competitors at my track a lot of money and not really doing anything for me I couldn't do without them. And if it meant a few guys who wanted to run for points with that sanction went elsewhere, then good for me. Because it would mean other guys who didn't want to compete in that arena would come to my track instead.

No one is irreplaceable at the local dirt track level. No one. And there isn't a single driver who has so much "star power" that local tracks would do anything to keep that guy coming back every week. Certainly not to the point of losing other competitors who might show up if they didn't have to pay for a sanction membership.
 
Dirt hound, I have been beating up on UMP for years. I think that is why Sam hit me with an indefinite. Go back and review my post. You will see.
Also, I didn't start this war. Sam Driggers did!


Here's another one. Assume 1000 late model driver that use a mere 20 tires a year. Monies to UMP equals 1000X20X$27.50= $540,000
 
There are only about 350 late model drivers that have ran 10 or more events in 2014.. Of the 950 or so drivers in their point standings, 450 have ran 5 or less races.

Also, there are 1600 modified drivers in the point standings, only about 1/2 of those have run 5 or more events. Most of the others I'd say bought a temp license to race.

I'm sure your dollar amounts are skewed somewhat.
 
Also while walking around at DuQuoin yesterday, I heard talk of said UMP hater threatening to sue a local track he got injured at because they will be staying UMP.
 
Get your facts straight NO BS. If I wanted to I could sue Kiefer I55 and UMP. I have chosen not to do so. Call Ray Marler and ask him. Ray knows that I would never do such a thing.What I said was that I will not sponsor or support any race track or racer who follows UMP.

Obviously you are part of the UMP gustapo. Just keep up your bashing. Very becoming of you!

Actually there are about 975 latemodel drivers who paid UMP memberships fees at $125 per. The modified count is more like 1660 or so. My 20 tires per was just for example sake but most run more that that. It takes 8 or 9 to even start the season.
 
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Last post for me....why. Because this Thursday I am donating a kidney to a friend who has a genetic kidney disease. I need to be at my best health wise and this BS (pun intended) does nothing but raise my blood pressure. I will be off for a while for this reason. Good luck and to all you haters I will be praying for you.
 
T NIE we are just going to have to agree to disagree I think your an idiot from what I have read here an you think I'm a self proclaimed super star rich person point chaser there is a chance we are both wrong about each other so let's just leave this topic alone from Al Kreke's above post the decision has been made there will be no sanction at bellevegas in 2015 an I respect that if I was in his shoes I may feel the same way he does I hope that every thing works out great and racing continues there for many years to come all comments I have made on the subject where what I honestly thought would be best but I have been wrong numerous times hope for a speedy recovery for you and your friend Al take care my friend
 
I don't think you are some rich super star point chaser. I remember your comment "I live like a pauper and race like a king." Quite frankly I have always been impressed with how much success you have racing on a dime.

You think I am an idiot, and that's fine, you think what you like. I can assure you I'm not, and have done a few things in racing too. Not just driving and owning a car, but promoting and media and some other stuff.

My impression is you only look at things from your perspective, you don't see the big picture and saying a track doesn't need UMP to be successful just doesn't make sense to you. I also think that the positive UMP comments on this thread all came from people who benefit from it. But more comments were made saying UMP hasn't done anything for the majority. Which is the side I came down on.

Good luck in wherever you choose to race in the future.
 
Rusty just got a big head cause I believe any guy in his shoes should have...doing wht he does without the big money sponsor and all the extra equipment the big teams have and doing the winning he does he has every right to think the way he does! I know when I show up at any giving track and see the 16 car role out I know instantly that's a car the competition is gonna have to out run it to win the show! I understand his point on ump and even though as a fan I don't like the way ump is running thing's we all have to respect the team's opinion on them! We have some great running team's in the area that prolly collect some nice checks at the end of the season! Even tho they spend alot it's still gotta be nice to get some bck!
 
t.nie said:
I don't think you are some rich super star point chaser. I remember your comment "I live like a pauper and race like a king." Quite frankly I have always been impressed with how much success you have racing on a dime.

You think I am an idiot, and that's fine, you think what you like. I can assure you I'm not, and have done a few things in racing too. Not just driving and owning a car, but promoting and media and some other stuff.

My impression is you only look at things from your perspective, you don't see the big picture and saying a track doesn't need UMP to be successful just doesn't make sense to you. I also think that the positive UMP comments on this thread all came from people who benefit from it. But more comments were made saying UMP hasn't done anything for the majority. Which is the side I came down on.

Good luck in wherever you choose to race in the future.
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I 've seen you race lol and tnie look up peoria and farmer c ity that left the flock and came back and tri city is doing so much better under Kevin and UMP a 144 cars on friday regular show is nothing to sneeze at
 
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As a fan I go to watch all of the classes I have seen better racing in the street stocks and hornets then in the big boy classes. But I also know racers so with that said we need a strong assoc. to police all drivers and classes. a racer will try anything to go faster and most of the time its illegal. I don't think that if I had a car in the lower classes I would be in favor of joining ump why would I? what benefit do I get? I can't go to another track because the rules a different. I hope that if Belleville drops ump the drivers and fans would support the track I know that I will. And for those who have posted about the cost of racing and how to control it strong rules and enforcement is number 1. and a twelve step program for drivers and owners because they can't help them selves if they got money in their pocket it goes for the latest gizmo that makes the car faster. no one can convince me that they are making any money at this game. And I don't need star power to come to the races hell its a turn off to me to watch the same person win all the time.
 
dirt hound said:
I 've seen you race lol and tnie look up peoria and farmer c ity that left the flock and came back and tri city is doing so much better under Kevin and UMP a 144 cars on friday regular show is nothing to sneeze at
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I've never seen you run anything but your mouth.
 
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