the state of racing

I'm just going to throw this out their for conversation..... Go to four races, and the fifth one is free.
I have NO clue what a promoter has to put up with, as far as the money goes.
I think that there are more casual fans at this day and age.
Most of us on this site are "Die hards", and thats what dirt racing used to be. There are a lot of casual fans, who only go when nothing else is going on. Give them a reason to say "I'm gonna skip John Doe's BBQ, and go to the races."
I don't think there is an answer that everyone is looking for, I just hope that all our St Louis tracks can stand the test of time and come out the other end stronger.
 
Ya Dirtboy I have been saying it for a long time keep the drivers thereafter the races so the fand and most of all kids can see there drivers. I don't understand back in the day one would see the sun come up before heading home. No one stays (some) late any more. Almost every track we went to the last 2 years most drivers went home before the pits even opened for the fans. I know the boys in my family sometimes will not go because there driver will be gone before they get down there. I know buy em a pit pass but I don't think kids need to be in the pits during a race because of the risk of fire / getting run over / ect. Some pits are just to full to keep an eye on them 100%
Racin90 You are right about the cost of living vs the cost of racing. Heck we race karts and the cost of that also is not cheap by no means. it's $300 to 1,000. if we head out of town to race, each race. theres no fix all except go to the races and support them. Again I say drop a few races at each track to let the drivers race other tracks to help increase car counts. You will make your money back when they come to your track. That might help on insurance cost and other everyweekend operation expences? Hek I don't know?
 
A movie now a days is what 10.50 try a soda and pocorn and some candy another11 bucks for prescripted film that willbe on tv in couple of months so raciing is not that out of line the big problem is too many options
 
we just went to the movies for the little guys b-day present.. cost us 22 bucks for 2 adults and 1 child... plus another 12 plus bucks for a soda and popcorn.. thats not even a large, shared by 3 people... thats 34 bucks for 2 hours.. much better deal at the races...
 
I am a hardcore racing fan. So, I go ask my wife (casual fan) what is the biggest reason you do not want to go every weekend? Without any hesitation she says "the amount of time to complete a show. Some nights I dont want to set there for 6 to 7 hours." Perhaps alot of "Casual Fans" feel the same way.
 
I have been out of the St. Louis racing scene for many (12-15) years now but this blog is pretty depressing. I grew up following the SLARA midgets around with my family and Belleville, Highland, St. Charles was an every weekend thing for us unless we ran the midgets elsewhere. Anyway, sad to hear that Belleville is in trouble. I have been up here in Wisconsin for over 10 years now and I am lucky to be able to travel less than 1 hour in any direction and get to 8 short tracks, both dirt and asphalt. Some things that have been touched on in this blog have been put to work up here and they really seem to create a "fan to driver" connection, especially with kids. Free stock car rides twice a season, weekly autograph sessions held behind the stands (the drives usually give out trading card type pictures), jr. fan clubs (where a different kid can flag each race that night from their own flag stand), fireworks really draw bigger crowds up here for July 4th and Labor day shows. I am a die hard fan, I dont want to miss any hot laps and wont leave until the last checkered flag is waved, but my wife is a causual fan (at best) and often states that she doenst like going because of the programs taking way too long. This seems to be a problem everywhere. Beaver Dam Raceway is a beautiful facility up here, but with 5 classes of stock cars, the clay track is a mess before the heats are done so the amount of cautions makes the show drag on and on. Jefferson Speedway is where I choose to spend my Saturday nights. 6 classes, around 120 cars weekly, start at 7 and finish between 10:30-11:00. I wish more tracks would learn from their officials. They have 1 intermission after the heats are all ran. Besides that its non stop racing. And their fans seem to be the most loyal I have found because they have come to expect and be given that same calibur of racing each week.
The economy is a factor in seeing less folks in the stands for sure, but competing with so many other forms of family entertainment is a factor too. Its up to the promoter to get the word out about their product. Whether it be on facebook, brochures (in hotel, rest area, or truck stop lobbies) or radio/tv ads.....it comes down to them selling their brand better than the next guy.
 
RACN911 said:
I'm just going to throw this out their for conversation..... Go to four races, and the fifth one is free.
I have NO clue what a promoter has to put up with, as far as the money goes.
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This is a great idea. I work For Subway and the stamp program was a huge success. This area stopped the program about 6 years ago (because each store is franchised) and I still see some cards out there. It would be hard to get several tracks to go together on this but, a card for each track guarantees that you get a customer 4 times before you reward them. Consider selling a multipack of tickets 5 weekly events for a discounted price.

Getting kids involved keeps the pipeline of fans growing. How many times have we seen posts here that someones favorite driver was gone from the pits before they could visit? Get a few cars on display and have the drivers mingle in a designated area, before the races, so that the kids can see and talk to them. When I raced, I stayed late in the pits just in case I had a fan!
 
midget racer said:
we just went to the movies for the little guys b-day present.. cost us 22 bucks for 2 adults and 1 child... plus another 12 plus bucks for a soda and popcorn.. thats not even a large, shared by 3 people... thats 34 bucks for 2 hours.. much better deal at the races...
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I've always heard the quickest way to a man's wallet is thru his stomach.

Charge reasonable prices at the gate, serve good food at reasonable prices and most people would spend lots of money and not think twice.
 
Sell season passes for discounted prices, that way you are guaranteed income and have the money upfront. Don't try to make all of your money off of the pit gate, sell pit passes for reasonable prices, treat the driver fair, they will return and bring fans with them.
 
I love the idea of autograph sessions. Maybe get the last feature winners from each class, and/or top 3 in points from each class. I usually get to the track early on Saturday's and would gladly sign some stuff. I have looked into getting HERO cards made up for kids to have. I think Scott Kuhn could work something out to have them made and give them out to kids to have drivers sign. Keep them Highland drivers and a few big name drivers so that kids will want to come to highland to get them signed. Also love the kids flag stand idea. Sell raffle ticket and draw for the next race night!!! That would be cool!!
 
dont go the casino's alot(i have the firm belief i work too hard for my money than chance throwing it away on the slim chance i will actually make it more) but the food there is very good, is relatively cheap, because the want you to have more to gamble with. it has been suggested to lower the admission price, so more will be made up on the food and drink. sound idea, but the last 2 years the food has been horrible at belleclair. i mean real bad. been going to racetracks for 0ver 50 years, and used to bad food,(even poor food tastes better at a racetrack just because) but b/c is the worst. by far. i hope they do something about that. and please, upgrade the rest rooms, especially for the ladies.for the casual fan, one bad thing about a 'good' experience means a poor grade; that person probably wont be back. farmington has it right with their upgrades a few years back.
 
Some of the responsibility falls on us fans. When you have a family with younger children sitting by you, cool it with the profanity. You can voice your displeasure with someone or something without dropping the f-word. No family is coming back next week to the races when they witness a torrent of f-words, followed by a fist fight, then seeing the drunk gal throwing up on the side of the stands. Granted, I'm not above using profanity in my own life, but be aware of kids around you. I believe Tri-city is going to have childrens b-day parties at the track next year. How many parents will be leaving saying they had a positive experience if that nonsense happens. The sport we love that is supposed to be family friendly is not so friendly to families sometimes. Think about it....
 
midget racer said:
dont go the casino's alot(i have the firm belief i work too hard for my money than chance throwing it away on the slim chance i will actually make it more) but the food there is very good, is relatively cheap, because the want you to have more to gamble with. it has been suggested to lower the admission price, so more will be made up on the food and drink. sound idea, but the last 2 years the food has been horrible at belleclair. i mean real bad. been going to racetracks for 0ver 50 years, and used to bad food,(even poor food tastes better at a racetrack just because) but b/c is the worst. by far. i hope they do something about that. and please, upgrade the rest rooms, especially for the ladies.for the casual fan, one bad thing about a 'good' experience means a poor grade; that person probably wont be back. farmington has it right with their upgrades a few years back.
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try college food it was so bad in school one year it was only good FOR FOOD FIGHTS THAT WAS RIGHT ABOUT THE TIME ANIMAL HOUSE WAS IN THE MOVIE HOUSE
 
i think alot of it is dryslick dusty racing boring, need more of entry level class stop catering to the gm world ( i know your ripping me for this ) but who wants to watch a cookie cutter field of cars it just isnt interesting anymore ,drop a few classes and hav troghy dashes ,i still race and go to the races but not as much as i use to because it like watching reruns ,same names-same cars-same story-anyway thats my 2 cents
 
If 2 tracks want to run the same night maybe team up together and one track run the Latemodals and mods and crates and the other track run the rest of the classes then the next week flip flop tracks and keep one set of points. That will give the drivers more track time for there money and you can fit in your dashes and any other race you want to run, not to say more time to fit the fans into your program. Just a thought
 
sounds good in theory kent but the promotors won't go fo it and the fan base may suffer at both tracks some fans WON'T TRAVEL and some tteams won't go for it either
 
The "length of show" is a factor in why so many drivers are leaving and thus kids and families not getting to see the drivers after the races. When your race is over at 9:00 or 9:30, why stay the extra hour or two? We do, but I can see why others dont. I love some of these ideas about autograph sessions, group discounts (boy/girl scouts), to get younger kids involved. Here is another idea...hit some of the local schools before classes end in May with some flyers or tickets. I know BC Pro4 class brings in "extra" gate money but i think we should go back to the 4 classes per night and maybe get done by 9:30. Or, maybe try rotating the classes per night...every 5 weeks you would have a night off.


just some thoughts

Hollywood
 
A couple of years ago (we didn't do it in 2010), Belleville had autograph nights for the fans and kids. Shelly Korves, through Tribout Carnival Supply, arranged to have autograph books given to Jr. Fan Club kids when they signed up for the night. For 4 nights in August and September, one class was asked to stay on the track after their Feature race (the last race of the night), to park their cars along the front straightaway, and to meet with the fans and autograph the books for the kids. The drivers seemed to love it, fans could meet the drivers and take their own pictures with them, and put a face and personality with the car that they had been watching all year. It was a BIG success! I think we should do that again in 2011.

Belleville's and I-55's Jr. Fan Clubs are the greatest! I have worked for both over the last 10 years. Not only do the kids get a t-shirt if their name is drawn, but they get a free 8x10 photo of themselves with their favorite driver, a bag of toys, a trophy, and a ride in/on the car of their special driver. We usually draw 3-4 kids a week. I know some nights we can't do it due to weather conditions and/or trying to get the races in for UMP points, but if that is the case, we make up for it on subsequent nights by drawing a few more names and running extra cars at intermission. I've been very proud to be connected with AARA's Jr. Fan Club since 2000, as the plaques on my family room wall attest. I'm looking forward to being at my backside table again in 2011.

One other thing, I use to see ads in the St. Louis Post Dispatch for Friday night racing at Belleville, sometimes with a $2.00 coupon off admission. I know advertising is quite expensive, so maybe that isn't possible any longer.

Also, when you listen to the racing program on KMOX radio, why do they always talk about NASCAR and not empahsize the local dirt tracks very much (where it all began)? The local tracks are HERE, available for attendance, not in far away parts of the country. I think more attention should be paid to talking about our local tracks. I love it when Kenny Schrader and Kenny Wallace come home to race; they usually bring more people through the gates.

And stop knocking Belleville's track....it's probably my favorite track of all of the tracks my son Jimmy races. I love it's small, quaint atmosphere, "rustic" stands and close quarters. It's one of the last old-time, original dirt tracks around. It has character and charm!!!! It's CUTE!!!

If people say they don't want to go to the races because of the dirt, tell them it washes off with a shower afterwards! The dirt is not permanent, unless you're a racing family like we are. Besides, that dirt gives you the best facial treatments around....you don't have to buy expensive beauty products, just visit your local dirt track once a week.

Now, as to why some drivers don't hang around after the races, or leave before they're over....some have to work the next day, some have major repairs to do on their cars if they were wrecked or broke so they can race again the following night, some have very long distances to travel to get back home when they've already been working all day Friday and frankly they're tired! Some are just not in a good mood after altercations on the track. There are many reasons, and it doesn't happen every week. Many drivers like to relax a bit "in the pits" after the races before they head home, but stay too long and drink too much liquid refreshment, and that creates a whole other problem with driving home. Not everyone has a designated driver to get them and their rig home.

So I would say...more announced coupons for a few dollars off the ticket price each month (say $2.00-off coupon one night a month), more announced Jr. Fan Club specials, more food specials (like the $1.00 beer nights and $1.00 hotdog specials at Highland), more advertising in the "Get Out" section of the newspaper, more talk on the radio, and maybe more "meet the drivers" sessions after the last race of the night, on a rotating schedule.

Just some of my thoughts on the subject (you can see where Jimmy gets his tendencies, huh?)

One more thing....years ago the results were written up in the local papers and the Post....I know because I looked for them every week and clipped the Bomber's results for my scrapbooks. Why aren't these results posted anymore? Who wants to read about who got a stupid hole-in-one somewhere? I want racing results!
 
i forget what track i wuz at that did this but in the heat races it was 10 laps or ten minutes which ever comes first. I personally thought this was a brilliant idea. Sure you mite miss some great heat racing action bcz of this but it evens out on the nites where its caution after caution after caution. I also believe that the racing just isnt as exciting as it use to b and i put a lot of thought into this and the side by side fender rubbing racing that we all love to see is about over with. The cost of fixing these machines is outragous and that y ur seeing guys settle for a top 5 instead of the old fashion go for broke in make it exciting. And something else i think that would possibly help tracks out and draw car counts a lil bit is if you got a guy that is winning all the time, throw a bounty on him and promote the h#ll out of it especially in ur higher classes. One more idea b4 i quit is when tracks do the 50/50, try givin out gas cards as well instead of old T-shirts of the track that you cant get rid of im sure fans would greatly appreciate that
 
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