Kentucky lake bluegrass nationals
- Thread starter big swigg
- Start date
That place will never change. Can't believe people keep showing up to watch the freight train dust bowl. It has been that way every since they built that place. Nice facility but until they change the configuration of the track it will never change. Who ever named it THE MISTAKE BY THE LAKE was dead on..........
[BCOLOR=#f9f9f9]Recap of my night at Ky Lake... Got there around 2:30.. I did not want to get there to early due to the fact that I knew it would be a late night. Hot laps was supposed to start at 3:00. Hot laps get started around 3:30. They qualified every single class they ran which was never said on website or internet anywhere. Late Models, Crates, Mods & Super Street. They was supposed to have drivers meeting at 4:30. It was 5:00 which was still ok and close to being on time. Then the fiasco started.. They did not start qualifying until almost 6:00. They kept saying on the PA that if any car is broke after hot laps and is not going to race please turn the transponders in. Not sure if they did not have enough transponders or what? We waited and waited and waited and finally they qualified the street stocks. There was fans buzzing at this point and very upset especially with the wait and now with qualifying every class. This took an hour for qualifying. The program they handed out at gate said heat races will start at 5:00. Not even close. Heat races started around 7:15. This is no joke there was 4-5 minutes between every heat race. Not sure why cars was not lined up before hand but this part was absolutely ridculous. Then they kept saying modifed drivers please check the lineup board heat races have changed so the heat race picture I posted was the 1st one and they changed that. Heat races finally got over around 9:30. Now i'm thinking crap how long will it be now for the feature races to start?? I finally decided I needed something to drink to wash down this dust. I get to concession line and they have 2 windows open trying to serve 3000++ fans. COME ON MAN!!! We waited in line from 9:30 until 10:15. They ran the entire street stock race with multiple cautions and the Late models were on there parade lap before I got a drink and once I got up there I looked at there prices and they wanted $5.00 for a single cheeseburger. another COME ON MAN!!!! I just got a $2.50 bottle of Sierra Mist. They waited on the late model feature for over 20 minutes and they kept sating we are waitng on you late model guys again on the PA.. I'm sorry but that's the tracks fault. You guys are the ones running the show. If they're not up there go without them. Absolutely ridiculous to wait this long. Have the next class in staging as soon as the feature in front of them takes the track. So much dead time all night long in between qualifying, heat races & features.Then the train race began...... . It was so dusty I have no idea how these drivers could see anything.They finally finished the late model feature around 10:45 and had 2 features left Crates & Mods.. During the mod feature Kyle Strickler was trying to find another racing line because everyone was dive bombing the bottom and no one was advancing much unless the car in front of you messed up and pushed which there was alot of that. This is no joke at 1 point of the race I'm sitting at the flag stand and strickler came out of turn 4 running the high side all the way down the front stretch into turn 1 and you could not see turns 1 & 2 due to the dust. He ran that line for 8 laps just trying to make something work but the fans could not see if he was having any luck due to all the dust. I was actually concerned at that point for the drivers. There was 7 cautions in the 1st 4 laps of the feature. Never been apart of anything like this before. cars getting tore up with sheet metal hanging off of them Not sure if it was rough driving or the fact that they could not see. Mevert absolutley took the shaft in the feature. 4 laps to go under caution and they do a double file restart with Mevert in the front row by himself with mathison on the bottom in 2nd. They go into turn 1 and mathison just runs right through Mevert spinning both of them out. They send both of them to the back which was a ridiculous call.. NOBODY had anything for Mevert once again. He was checking out before the caution. The feature finally ended at midnight... That's 9 hours we were at this crap hole of a track..I hope the track made a ton of money because they lost alot of fans last night. The common thing I heard was I was giving the track another chance and it's not any better than it has been in the past. They have to get someone down there that knows how to run a show or this track wont last long. On a positive note it was great listening to Billy Egeler last night. He does a great job..[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=#f9f9f9]With all that being said. All you fans that complain on here about local St Louis tracks running a crappy show. Go to Kentucky lake 1 time and you will feel so blessed to have the St Louis area tracks. Can't wait to get to Tri City Friday night to watch a show ran smoothly[/BCOLOR]
Just a reminder. This was only the 2nd or 3rd night of racing since they opened with new owners.
While it sounds like a ridiculous night and some changes are needed, I would give them a chance before completely writing it off and not attending.
Btw, thanks for all the updates.
While it sounds like a ridiculous night and some changes are needed, I would give them a chance before completely writing it off and not attending.
Btw, thanks for all the updates.
Hard Lefts
Active Member
Good post. From all the whining you'd think they were there til 3am. Midnight is not bad for a new operation IMO. Glad we have another track open!
When u start at 3:00 pm it is bad... So if it was a normal show and they started with hot laps at 6:00 it would have gotten over at 3:00... It's pretty easy to sit back and think it was not bad getting over at midnight when you wasn't even there.. I can promise you they lost a lot of fans on this one. No control at all over there show.. Ask anyone that was there or involved.
sparkmaker115
New Member
[QUOTE="big swigg, post:
I for one am just glad these guys are trying, and stepped up and offered some good payout. Sure it wasn't perfect, but it was their 3rd race ever , and first of that magnitude. Food prices!! Man, have you been to the movies lately.... $5 burger ain't bad, a small drink cost that much and popcorn is $10 at the movies
But I thought the racing was good. Lots of side by side racing and passing in the mod race, pretty exciting finish in the crates , and other than Moyer checking out , the late model race was pretty good. Yea it was dusty, but it is. DIRT track. I'll go back
I for one am just glad these guys are trying, and stepped up and offered some good payout. Sure it wasn't perfect, but it was their 3rd race ever , and first of that magnitude. Food prices!! Man, have you been to the movies lately.... $5 burger ain't bad, a small drink cost that much and popcorn is $10 at the movies
But I thought the racing was good. Lots of side by side racing and passing in the mod race, pretty exciting finish in the crates , and other than Moyer checking out , the late model race was pretty good. Yea it was dusty, but it is. DIRT track. I'll go back
STRNGRTHANDIRT
Member
I wonder if they watered the track before Saturday. They should have been watering daily the week before. Isn't the track manager someone they hired that used to work for NASCAR? I'm just wondering if that's part of the problem? Probably never even been to a dirt track and thinks you just throw a little water down, open the gates and race. Also, looks like he brought NASCAR concession prices with him. Five bucks for a cheeseburger???
STRNGRTHANDIRT
Member
Might want to make it soon, don't think they will be open much longer especially if the dr. across I-24 has his way.
Hard Lefts
Active Member
Sounds like you guys should've opened it back up as much as you all apparently know about running a track. I'm sure it didn't go exactly how they planned it but maybe y'all should exercise some humility and realize that EVERYTHING looks easier than it actually is and there's A LOT you probably aren't aware of. I applaud klms for taking on such a task and look forward to going back and seeing improvement.
Tom Turner
Tom Turner
Yes, the dust was bad. Yes, the track was rough in a few spots. Yes, some of the food is overpriced. It's funny that people are complaining about these problems because 1) You have to be idiotic to think that any track in the nation could have hot laps at 3 in the afternoon on a 80 degree day and it not get dusty with the ammount of laps that was ran on the track. You could water it for 7 days straight and the wind and sun still would have dried it out by hot lap time. 2) If you're not smart enough to eat before you go to a race track, football game, basketball game, concert, etc, you deserve to pay the high prices for it. I went to a concert this past Thursday in Bowling Green and a 12oz beer was $6 and a hamburger was $7 but no one was complaining about that? The track was racy though, and the Modifieds showcased this. 3-4 wide throughout the race with guys coming from deep in the field towards the front. Yeah the show was ran slow at times, but this was their third race... EVER. We're part of a sport that is full of whiners that will complain no matter if everything about the track and event is perfect. It's a proven fact by now that you are not going to make everyone happy with anything in life, so the race track is no different. You have to applaud them for having a show like this right out of the gate. Harp on about the STL tracks, but when they have a big show like this all in one night let me know... Because odds are it will never happen. That was the largest crowd I have ever seen at KLMS so hopefully they came out ahead on this show and can have something else along the lines of this race sometime this fall.
biker6403
dirt tracks 4 ever
Well said,especially #2!!!!!.....Some people aren't happy unless they are bitching!..
I guess I can say the stl tracks spoil me.. Very well ran.. I guess we will just have to wait and see how ky lake pans out.. Will I go back to ky lake and give them the benefit of the doubt this time? Probably, but if there's a show in St. Louis area comparable to ky lake I will pick stl any day.. No comparison.. When I say stl area I mean tri city & I-55... Class tracks!! Maybe ky lake will get there one of these days. I will still complain on the prices. No reason for that at all..
Like they say you get 1 Chance to make a 1st impression.. Lets see how it turns out from here..
Like they say you get 1 Chance to make a 1st impression.. Lets see how it turns out from here..
I have been going to dirt tracks since I was 10 years old, that is 48 years a fan. I have been to Tri City and I-55 when it took forever to get the show in. I have been to both, as well as Belle-Clair and Batesville, when it has been so dusty it was horrible, when the tracks have rutted up or came apart tearing cars up. I have been to other tracks when it was so muddy, from over watering, it was a joke. But, I still go, I still want to see each track get better, to survive, to keep the racing tradition and competition alive. None get it just right all the time.
I was at KLMS Saturday, ate before we went, took a cooler and snacks in as you are allowed, avoiding the long lines at the concession. (My wife gets credit for that planning ahead, not me). You see, we love racing. My dad loved it, and my boys have and still do compete. For us, it's almost a family tradition addiction. All the good as well as all the bad of the sport. Give KLMS's new owners a chance to get better, just like we have all the other tracks we have all gone to in the past. The tracks in the StL area now offer some of the best competition and conditions you will find anywhere.
I don't think you will ever see one track in the St. Louis area offer so many classes such large purses for a single night's program though, I don't seem to remember one in the past.
We had a good time, dust, delay, and all. And to be honest, it helps when your car wins.
I was at KLMS Saturday, ate before we went, took a cooler and snacks in as you are allowed, avoiding the long lines at the concession. (My wife gets credit for that planning ahead, not me). You see, we love racing. My dad loved it, and my boys have and still do compete. For us, it's almost a family tradition addiction. All the good as well as all the bad of the sport. Give KLMS's new owners a chance to get better, just like we have all the other tracks we have all gone to in the past. The tracks in the StL area now offer some of the best competition and conditions you will find anywhere.
I don't think you will ever see one track in the St. Louis area offer so many classes such large purses for a single night's program though, I don't seem to remember one in the past.
We had a good time, dust, delay, and all. And to be honest, it helps when your car wins.
