Belle Clair in 2011....Lets give ideas on what to change

Bathrooms should be Job #1. The new fans won't be back if the facilities aren't upgraded, the Fair Board shoud have built Bathrooms/Showers on the property years ago. Fair Exhibitors can use them also,just like Highlands... :>
 
cookie cutters

Progress for sure, the cars are faster and faster each year but each year they look more and more alike. They just don't seem to have any character. I've said it before and I'll say it again, take the #'s off and paint them the same color and even the owners would have to look real hard to see which car was theirs. I think maybe that'
s the reason the vintage class is growing so fast. I think last year the smallest car count they had was probably 16 or 17 and next year their smallest turn out will probably be at least 20 with as many as 30 possible on some nights. And these cars are really racing rather hard. I just hope they can control their growth in a positive way.
I have wondered many times what would be the response if someone were to put an old coupe body or something really unique on a modified or a late model. I'm sure everyone will agree, it would get a lot of attention. I'm just asking, would this even be possible and/or legal?? If-If-If---it was a quality car, I bet it would be easier than normal to get sponsorship and it would be a fan favorite.
I'm truly sorry for it, because I'm a big fan, but I believe the tracks are hurting because the cars are to much like cookie cutters. At least part of the reason. Hope I'm wrong because I don't see anything changing in this area.
 
smaldirt28 said:
Ok somethings have been talked about already in a previous thread about what to do to improve the racing for the racers and the fans in 2011. Lets have this topic as a serious discussion. Lets hear from fans and racers on what they would like to see. No bashing others if ya dont like a idea. Everyone has there opinions so let them be heard. Lets hear opinions from the grandstands to the race cars and rules of the track. This may all help a certain person or AARA make a more successful 2011.

Grandstands: Lower the admission to $10.00. Yeah we know its $12.00 now and yeah it is only $2.00 but $2.00 to some people is a difference between going and not going. If this does bring in more people by lowering the admission it would probably all even out in the end between having more people and more concessions being sold.

Late Models and Modifieds. Here there isnt really too much you can do. These classes are based off UMP national rules. The Late Model car count this year was pretty decent. The mods on the other hand were down. But they are down everywhere not just belleville.

Sportsmans: Open the rules up. Yeah it may be more money for some of the allied guys at first but they got all winter to get them ready. Have sportsmans national rules. The highland guys are limited to just highland on a weekly basis. Atleast the AARA cars have pevely if they choose to run there. I am sure if ya opened up the rules then you would see some highland cars showing up weekly or every so often atleast. Yeah there may be alittle more tech involved but i think most would rather have a little more tech if it ment more cars. When i said open the rules too i didnt mean for it to sound unlimited. But make them close to highland rules. Do away with the cubic inch max of 360 and make it 400 max or so with you weight adjustments. And dont have a 11:1 compression rule. The nationals rules seem to be pretty fair so why not give it a try on weekly basis?

Pure Stocks: They usually had a decent car count but not always. This is a class though that i dont know how much i would change. They seem to be pretty good right now and dont want to see them get out of hand.

Pro 4's: Open to any ideas bc i have no clue......LOL

Some may not agree with this but set 2 payouts. 14 cars or less will be this payout and 14 or more will be this payout. It helps the promotor so they dont get shafted and lose alot of money. Some racers may not agree with me. But the way i look at it is the less they lose on a night the less chance they have of shutting down like we have this year.
And i would rather race for a little less than not race at all. I dont mean a drastic pay cut either but make it a little less on nights the car count is lower than normal.

General rules or race program: Double file restarts. Belleville is a small track and once we go single file in the feature last place is 1/2 to 3/4 of a lap down when we go green.

Bring back the dashes and get rid of the dice. Seems like alot of fans missed the dashes this year. Did that affect the fan base? Possibly. The got cut short on races. Or just do a dash for LM, Mods, and Sportsmans. And then maybe rotate each week between the pure stocks and the pro 4's unless we are doing good on time that evening and run them all.

Pill Draw at the beginning of the night. Get rid of the bingo ball cages and get match books and a bucket like highland does. Takes out any speculation of being rigged. Many people look for the best pills before spinning and have a technique to try and get a good one. That doesnt mean they will but there is a chance. Atleast the matchbooks you cant see anything so reach in and what ya get is what ya get.

When someone is taken out clear as day park the car that took them out and give the innocent person there spot back. Why send someone to the back for something they had no control over? If it wasnt seen good by the official then send both to the back. You will have unhappy fans and racers either way you do it but atleast you can be fair most of the time in them calls.

Scale the top 3 in the heats and the top 5 in the feature. Cuts down on time waiting for cars to scale which in turn will make up for time to run dashes. You can probably save 20-30 min a night by not having to wait for all the cars to scale. In that time you can almost run all the dashes.

Get rid of PIG IN A POKE concessions!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I dont think i need to explain myself there. Why jack them prices up so much other than being greedy? $2.50 for a large fountain soda? Give me a break! So much room for improvement there. Lower prices will bring more people to the concessions and they will buy more at a lower price. Think about it people it isnt rocket science.

Ok well there are some ideas off the top of my head. Please add to them on your thoughts and opinions on what could change to bring in more cars and fans to help make this track successful once again.
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The track and fans will be back big when the car count is raised. Every car or driver has a following of fans, We has 12 fans there to watch a certain Sportsman driver whenever he raced. The weeks he didn't race due to a bent rear end and hot temps, that following went from 12 to 6. You have to realize you're not the only game in town.I enjoy the Pevely track and it's facilities that are wheelchair accessible, but I prefer to watch my favorite driver and only go to Pevely when he raced there this year. You can have a cubic inch modification if you buy a crate. Which brings up another question, wh's going to be allowed to work on there crates?
 
How about wheelchair seating on the front stretch. Maybe in turn 1, take a few feet of section out at the bottom. And have security keep people from standing in front of someone in a wheel chair or scooter on both sides. J/M/O
 
Belleville needs new stands,bathrooms,fence,walls redone,allied gone,better food,cheaper beer,better racing,bigger fan count, and the list goes on... say goodbye to belle vegas if they dont do the changes that matter!!!!!!!!
 
Well according to the last post, the place is in such disaray that they might as well close now. Thanks for the advice dirtboy, or should I say tricityboy. Belle-clair has character, yes some things need changed. However some need to be left alone. As far as the stands go, I would rather sit in them then the wobbly stands a TCS. The racing is still great. Of course with you asking for cheaper beer prices I doubt you even remember you are at the races(to drunk to remember). This post is beyond helpful. Thank god for free speech. Every idiot can type, and this post is proof. Do not know where belle vegas is. But I go to Belle-Clair speedway. Hope we are talking about the same place.
 
(TWISTED SHIFTER) You might like the stands,but the older people have a hard time getting around them.Yes the place is in disaray cause nobody will fix the place up..Maybe someday someone will come along and save the place. So you are the idiot for not seeing the need for major face lift..When your track is closed dont be crying about they should have done this and that...
 
hey dirt boy have you been to been to belleclaire or you just want to bad mouth it for infio the fairgrounds was painted a couple of years the biggest improvement had als already been done by bringing in Donnie H belle claires bad night of racing is ten times better than many tracks can possibly muster
 
dirtboy said:
Belleville needs new stands,bathrooms,fence,walls redone,allied gone,better food,cheaper beer,better racing,bigger fan count, and the list goes on... say goodbye to belle vegas if they dont do the changes that matter!!!!!!!!
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you make an idiot look smart geesh
 
Went there about five times this year and might go more once the coffee shop is built on the place!!!!!
 
jpugh said:
Don't need a third day for racing in this area. Can't support two days let alone on Sunday. Besides Friday has been Belle Clair's day for year and year. No change needed here. Tradition!!
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I totally agree, just check out all the oldtimers in the back stands and sitting at the picnic tables before the races and talking with old buddies, about last weeks races!!
They won't be at Tri CITY DOING THE SAME THEY'D JUST MEET AT SOME TAVERN AND TALK ABOUT THE REMEMBER WHEN THE RACES STARTED AT DEAD STILL. oR WHEN THE OLD DRIVERS TOLD THE YOUNG ONES YOU HAVE TO RUN YOUR CAR INTO A TREE A FEW TIMES SO IT CORNERS BETTER??
 
Belle-clair

Don't forget that Belle-Clair could be one of the best Midget tracks around! I still haven't been there for Midgets,thats my own fault.:cool:
 
Unbiased opinion here....went to Belleville last night they raced. Had a great time! Racing was close. Officiating was good. Food was decent. Bringing Don H in was a great choice. It could use improvements but i dont see why it cant run a great show week in and week out. I seen the video of the midgets there. One word.....WOW!!
 
One of the unique things about Belleclair is the roof over the stands. I don't know of any other local track that has that feature. As much as Dirtboy tries to be humorous, he is right. The bathrooms are horrible and hard to get in and out of. If I remember right there's only one door that's used for both entering and exiting. Last year I was there once towards the end of the season. This was the first time I went back in at least 10 years. It was like time had stood still, nothing really obvious changed. The attendance was low and it took FOREVER to get through the concession lines. I like the place and hope it survives, but it might be like the run down St. Louis malls that have all but shuttered. People are just not going to them anymore. Pevely has made lot's of improvements over the last few years and Tri City has made major improvements over the winter. A bad sign for Belleclair was having to close early last year and not finishing out the saeson. Most likely this years car count and attendance will tell if the track will survive. Oh... and I missed the beer guy in the stands.
 
Highland also has a roof over the stands, all but the ends like Belleville.
I never paid much attention if Belleville has them but if they don't maybe they could add those big ceiling fans like other tracks have, they sure make a differance in summer.
 
I don't go for the fancy tracks I go for the RACING IMAGINE I can think of a few fancy tracks that are sitting idle right now belle claires down fall last year was not the facilites if it was then how did the track last this long some of the racing there the last couple of year was better than many tracks if there bad nights had better racing thansome of the fancy tracks DONNIE H will do just this year
 
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