taking down rubber--and lots of it

Brandon Paul

Brandon Paul

Free agent score guy
To think, I always thought St. Louis hadn't had a paved short track since Lake Hill--folks, that wasn't dirt tonight at MCS--that was,for all intents and purposes, pavment. :mad: I don't think you should be able to see the cars' REFLECTIONS on DIRT. The only thing blacker than the track was the storm clouds over I-70 this afternoon... :rolleyes:

No wonder Voight won--what, with all that PAVEMENT experience he's gotten from running ARCA.... :rolleyes:

Maybe MCS should spend even half as much time on track prep as they do throwing out T-shirts into the crowd--not that there's anything WRONG with working the crowd, but... Now I think I see why they only get 7-8 LMs most weeks. And please don't tell us about how great the car counts are in the other classes. A grand total of FIVE sportsman signed in. :rolleyes:

Furthermore, I know full well that this was a TWO-DAY show. But it's CERTAINLY not like you had 50-100 cars like in a BIG two-day show. :rolleyes: More like 13 LMs. We didn't have blistering heat today. Plus there were no time-trials. So what's the deal with the track being so glazed over?

The sad thing is they really seem to have great facilities out there. And the announcer does a fantastic job. So there IS potential there. :) But if you have an un-raceable track surface...I may be back sometime, but NOT if the track conditions don't improve.
 
I think the track was wonderful. It was nice and smooth and it didn't look like much got torn up. Good job guys, sorry if it takes more tallent to drive on a slick track and your not quite there yet.
 
Yes Mel Is Having Problems,but If You Wnat It Smooth It Amy Get Black As Far As The Announcing Who Was? It's A Shame With Car Count Ilike Mell And And His Track,hopefully Soonhe Can Get It Straighten Out
 
Gee first you complain about the track being too rough, when you've never been there, then you complain it's too smooth and black....lol

I'm sorry Tri-City never takes rubber but you have to have cars horse power in order to put rubber on the track...lol

I think the car count would have been better if we wouldn't have had a monsoon weekend, but that's the breaks.

I do hope the street stock car counts improves, I do know a couple of drivers that were there and are kicking themselves for leaving there cars at home.

Message to dirt hound: Me C U, l8tr, may go to bluff of poplar this end week see how counts R there.

Soonhe l8tr

John Barr
The (Hooked on phonics) Trashdog

I have the feeling I'm in big trouble....lol
 
maybe... just maybe... track prep guys are a tad reluctant to heavily water a track due to the lots and lots of rain??? think about that one for a minute. i would like to hear your reply on this one, brandon paul. i guess if they watered it a lot,and then got drenched,you would be on here complainin' about too wet of a track,too.
 
TCS has been dryslick for every show this year, except for last sat night after the monsoon week. Coincidentally, it was also the best racing all year; a guy OTHER than the pole sitter actually won the LM feature. Lots of passing, multiple grooves, 3 wide in the corners. Go figure.
 
No, midget racer, you won't soon hear me complain about a track being watered too much. You can always pack a wet track--once a track seals over, there's not much you can do it durring the course of a race night.:(

Hey Trashdog, maybe the steel blocks at Granite don't have the power of, say, Dixon, Melvin, F. Martin, etc. But they are not exactly LIMITED late models, i.e. IMCA late models with 10.5:1 compression 360 ci stamped spec head motors,either. Kenny Rumble finished in the TOP 5 of UMP points last year as I recall. Justin Anderson, Krankel,Kuhn, etc. aren't exactly cannon fodder, either.

Also, I bet some of the sportsman guys DO wish they had shown up, given that they had,what, FIVE drivers sign in?:(

I know a lot of folks on here think I have it out for MCS. Uh, no. They have a great facility, great announcer who really works the crowd well, great concessions, great track lighting, etc.:) But 13 LMs for $17 to get in, and a "dirt" track that's like pavement? And we're just supposed to stick our heads in the sand and pretend that nothing's wrong? Racingfan54,you're absolutely entitled to your opinion, but that track was NOT wonderful, j/m/o I think some folks might want to consider ripping a tearaway from their rose-colored glasses.
 
Brandon you go Tri-City???? How many years did it take for them to run real Late Models??? Talk about your rose colored glasses. I understand Tri-City is perfect now and is the new premier track in the St. Louis area and all the area big guys are tearing down the fence to run at the track.

A track that never gets black is always well lit and where the sun shines 24 hours a day, there's never a cloud a sky and cute woodland creatures play and co-exhist with man and machines.

The rest of us will just have to make do.

Hey I thought you hated the Street Stocks, that should of been the best part of the show for you....lol

John Barr
The Trashdog
 
so brandon why are they running steel blocks oh I'M SORRY FOR DIRTSLINGER 'S SAKE IRON BLOCKS BRANDON TELL US WHY GOOD OLE TCS WITH IT'S WELL LIIGHTEDF TRACK COMPLETE WITH CAR HEAD LIGHTS AIN'T THAT RIGHT TRASHDOG
 
Um, Trashdog, when did I ever claim that TCS was the premier track? :confused: Granite definitely has its problems, but at least they had 18 LMs Sat.,with 16 starting the main--MCS had how many last night? Oh yes, I think it was 13, which I believe is just the 4th night of racing that they've hit double figures. :( And they charged $17 for that baker's dozen. :eek: :mad:
 
We need to quite bashing race track (MCS) and be happy we have them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. If you dont like the track, then go somewhere else that will make you happy.... But please,enuff with bashing.......................... :rolleyes:
 
upsmanluvracin, I am not "bashing" MCS. Folks, how many times can I keep saying that they have a great FACILITY out there? But the car count is not acceptable for a track that gets UMP points, nor is a track surface that is like asphalt.:(

That track is a potential GOLD MINE. So yes, umpluvracin, I am "glad we have them":)

Ultimately, this isn't even about MCS. It's about SIMPLE MINIMUM STANDARDS that people--not to mention UMP--should have about a track. But CERTAIN people believe that no one should EVER point out a track or program's problems. I'm sorry if some prefer to remain DELUSIONAL, but I'd rather point out an OBVIOUS problem in hopes of getting it fixed. If that makes me too "negative" for some people,too bad. My interest lies in resolving the problem, NOT in being POLITICALLY CORRECT.

UMP founder Bob Memmer has often quoted the line that "Any jack!@# can kick down a door. It takes a carpenter to build a door." So, on that note, anyone have suggestions to fix the car count/track surface problem? Like I've said earlier, maybe if we thow enough ideas at the wall, something WILL stick.:)
 
MCS did take down alot of rubber, more than I've ever seen to be truthful, but it was still a very fast and driveable track. And they did't have them big ***** ruts going into turn one and going into turn three. ;)
 
Im not saying you are. Its just everytime I get on here,somebody always has something bad to say about a track or a driver.Cant we all get along and have fun????
 
maybe you should be looking at the tire compounds used by the drivers,instead of blaming the track. drivers seem to love putting the softest tires they can find on there,thus making the track take rubber. more often than not,when a track takes rubber, it gets faster!!
 
Hey brandon on another post trashdog mentioned bounties on drivers and you talked **** about that like it was supose to increase car count and was not going to help! yea its something Mell does and maybe it will add some cars ? And now you get on here and say what can be done to help ? i got an idea quite talkin **** thats one way to help. PS you ever been out of the store to see an extrem race or WoOL race gets pretty black!!!!!! and the ticket price was hire because the purse was higher even though Mell didnt have a great showing he paid out what he said for both days!!!!!!
 
Yes BP you are very good at pointing out the obvious, but since you have never driven a car you don't understand how rough that track really is. Even when it looks smooth its rough as hell. That combined with the very simple fact that Montgomery is not a St. Louis track, its out there with the other tracks that could never draw any late models, ever. Fulton gets 5-10 limited lates weekly. Jeff City tried and was never able to get a good count. Sedalia is about the only mid missouri track that can field a group of Lates. People don't want to take their 20-50,000 plus dollar car out there and destroy it. I can't remember how many times I have seen fast guys like Dixon throw it in and bounce all 4 wheels off the ground.Race on sundays(like it was supposed to be in the first place, to take St. Charles place) and you would get more cars. Rough track+slashed purse+long drive = 6-10 late models per week.
I say give it up, run late models at special shows, and bump up the money for the other classes that have kept the place in business. :)
 
Brandon Paul,

Asphalt is BLACK…. A dirt track that has taken rubber is BLACK…. That’s about where the similarities stop… Each type of track condition presents their own unique set of challenges. A blacked-up track is a condition that we have to deal with from time to time. There is more bite in a dry track once it has taken rubber, but you can’t compare it to asphalt… unless you want to discuss the color. The variance in track conditions that we race on is part of the joy and pain of dirt track racing. If ya want the same type of track all night every night may I suggest you find a paved track and go there...

That’s the first time I’ve seen MCS take that much rubber. I personally liked racin’ on it. Your perception is that there was a problem with the track Sunday night. You seemed to have noticed the weather too… Would you have suggested more water beforehand to fix the black track? As it was, I think it was just luck that kept Mother Nature from providing too much water.

You’re comments on the T-shirts taking away from track perpetration was uncalled for. When the last racecar rolled off the track on Saturday night, the track crew rolled on and started working it. They were out there for several hours just on Saturday night, they worked it quite a bit more on Sunday before the show. Does that compare to the few minutes it took to toss some T-shirts out to the crowd? This nice thing to do for the fans, in no way had a negative impact on the track conditions. It's rather foolish to ever make that suggestion.
 
I'm not sure where to even start, but here goes: Smokinjoe, Xtreme and WoO outlaw shows typically get FAR more than 13 cars at their races--of course it's going to get black if you have SEVERAL dozen cars instead of just a dozen. Plus the bigger series almost always time trial,which adds laps run on a track--MCS drew pills Sunday.

cc-28, you join a number of people who seem to share this attitude that just because someone does not race that they have NO RIGHT to complain or protest ANYTHING about a track or program. This may come as a surprise to you, but going to the races is not like going to some community or high school sports event where you can just walk in for free. Just because fans don't pay as much to get in the stands as racers do for a pit pass in NO WAY abrogates the fan's right to point out a problem. I wonder how many tracks would be open if no one showed up, bought concessions, bought racers' T-shirts, etc. But how DARE fans EVER suggest that something might not be quite kosher with a program, track, etc.

I will grant cc-28 the point about the enigma of why MCS would run on Sundays when it's supposed to be the new St. Charles--I said that from the time that they opened. But as to his point about MCS being too far away from ST. Louis, I don't think it's really that much further out to the West than the old White City track was to the northest. Yet I never recall Mid-State Raceway having such a hard time with car counts as MCS is having.

smokingjoe, I'm not raisng questions about MCS just to "talk S--t" My whole contention about MCS from the beginning has been about the problem of a track getting so few cars getting to keep the sanction. In short, then, this is not really even so much about MCS so much as it has been about UMP and the need for them to establish and enforce some MINIMUM standard of car count/pay/racing conditions, etc.

So what would I suggest to increase car counts/pay/etc?--and, YES,these proposals are J/M/O.

1.)UMP should establish what I would car a "Ticket X $75" formula. In short, a track should have to GUARANTEE the LM feature winner AT LEAST an amount equal to the price of an adult ticket X 75. In other words, If a track charged adults $10 to get in, they have to pay $750 to win--folks can do the rest of the math for themselves.

2.) as cc-28 said, run on Sunday. That one's simple.

3a.)Extend an invitation to steel block cars by paying a bonus to the highest finishing steel block car in the feature.

3b.)If they INSIST on running on Sat., make an effort to lure the IMCA guys to run at MCS by paying a bonus to the highest finishing car running a 360-inch motor, or top finisher running the IMCA spec heads, or top guy running 10.5:1 compression or less, etc.

I'm open to anyone else's suggestion--Two-or far more-- heads are better than one.:)
 
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