Will they survive??

Millsey

Millsey

New Member
I'm seeing a very disturbing trend right now with the area raceways. I think most racers are under the belief the tracks and track owners are very well off and just aren't telling the truth when it comes to the financial bottom line.

Well guess what guys, most are! There are only so many racing dollars out there to be had and there are a bunch of places to spend them at. One track almost went belly up last week, but the drivers took some big-time paycuts and rallied around the promoter to keep things going (ATPR). I really want to commend the racers at Benton for doing the right thing and helping out the best they could.

But the overall financial picture for area tracks is just not that great. It really concerns me as it should you all because every track touches numerous lives. Even some of the tracks you would swear are solid as a rock are having a tough time dealing with various factors (like weather, etc.)

I guess what I'm trying to say is please make sure you support you tracks the best you can. Get out there and race, go sit in the stands or help out in the pits. The track you save just may be your own!
 
as far as the smurf goes I just wanna race and have fun shur in the he11 ain't in it for the money!!! The rock always has my support even if I do b1tch about it sometimes
 
that is sad to hear cause there are some great racers at the benton track. but is it not my understanding that the benton track has always had problems staying open. hopefully they can stay open. and also i heard(rumors again maybe so i dont want to offend anyone) that the farmington track is in a slump as well and that the land is always for sale and also i heard gary montgomery will be selling out at the end of the year. if there is any truth maybe, but if it is sure will be sad.
 
Millsey,
First of all, my name is Jim Fischer and I drive the number 8 modified, so I am not hiding behind a user name! I am sorry to hear that Benton is having trouble again. I am glad that the drivers are trying to help but a problem with Benton all along is that other than sprint cars they never run a class more than 2-3 years before they change it. I hope they get things straightened out it is a beautiful facility.
 
Chumbly, you've got that right.. Benton is a great facility. We are going to be racing down there on June 28th and its always been one of our favorite places to race at. I don't understand why the fans in that are don't support the place better than they do. To have a track as good as that you would think they would flock to it. I'm glad to see at least the racers know they have a good thing when they see it.
 
I've wondered for years if the area would be better or worse if St. Francois Co. or ATPR went to a Friday-night schedule.

Since they now compete head-to-head on Saturdays for sprints, modifieds and street stocks, could either track attract more cars and, in turn, more fans on Fridays?
 
i wish mr.woolsey would consider going to friday nights.that is tough on his and sfcr's facility to run the same classes on the same nights.it only divides the available $,cars and fans.we will be down there sat with the mara midgets at his great facility.looking forward to it,as always.looking forward to shaking mr.woolsey's hand again.you will not find a better person on the planet. hope everything works out for him. thanks,art knepper.
 
They shouldn't have went to ump. A lot of the drivers who ran Imca mods there couldn't afford to go ump and probably quit racing do to the cost to be competitive. So, I guess if you lose the drivers you also loose fans. Also when Farmington got rained out a lot of them went to Benton.

That is a nice track and I hate to see it go under again!!

Frank Higgins
 
Benton track

It has been suggested that they change nights, okay, how about Sunday. Is it too radical of an idea for that place?? Maybe so, but its got to be better to try something, rather than go belly-up. They could bring back the UMP LMs and it would give them a place to get some Sunday points. The Sprints would get a boost from the Farmington bunch not running on that night. UMP Mods would then have a regular Sunday track for points too. I can't say for sure whether it would work or not, but its an idea.
 
This sounds like a regional problem that needs to be worked out with the tracks and the drivers. If racing will continue in a given area, the tracks really need to work together if possible to make the entertainment dollar work. There are only so many people to walk though the gates and they want a show.
The show also needs cars and that means they need to be paid to cover their expenses as well as make a little money, if possible.
The promoters also must meet expenses and hopefully make a buck or two. Hopefully, the promoters are being truthful with the drivers and I beleive most are or the gates would not open weekly.
We need to keep the racing alive and growing so work together to keep it moving and have it available to those that want it.
 
Sunday racing just may be the key

I don't know, but one of the big things that would work as a major asset for Benton if they went to a Sunday evening program is they could then work in conjunction with the other tracks.

For instance, Jacksonville has been an established Friday night sprint car track for years, SFCR on Saturday nights. This week is Missouri/Illinois Clash Week.

Wednesday was for I-55, Thursday for Godfrey, Friday for Jacksonville and Saturday for Farmington... You can see how it would fall right into line if they went on Sundays. It would work out that way several times during the year on special shows.

Plus, we don't have a lot of Sunday racing. I would LOVE to go watch the races at Benton, but with it being on Saturday I just can't go. Saturday is just so congested with so many different tracks and coming soon Poplar Bluff will be running on Saturday also.

I know late afternoon/evening races are tough on tracks, but Benton never has been known to have the smoothest, non-dusty track anyway.

It's just a thought.
 
Well in certain areas there are too many racetracks dilluting things a bit. Natural selection is a strong theory in biological science and it's a stronger one when it comes to racing. Let the weaker tracks die and the stronger tracks thrive. In St. Louis there are too many Friday and Saturday facilities. Two is the right number for Friday's and you can get away with three on Saturdays any more than that is excess and actually hurts the sport...
 
As long as we're all just speculating anyway, a few thoughts:

•_Few (maybe even zero) modifieds travel between ATPR and Malden because ATPR is UMP-sanctioned. Malden uses IMCA rules.
• Malden and Poplar Bluff will use the exact same rules and run the exact same classes (late models, mods, street stocks, cruisers), so it's widely expected that those two tracks will share the same field of cars each week. Most of them won't normally go to ATPR.
•_ATPR is drawing most of its modifieds from St. Louis, western Kentucky and southern Illinois. Its biggest competition for mods on Fridays would be Godfrey, Belleville and Paducah. None of the Fredericktown cars —_in any class — compete at ATPR.
•_Jacksonville and ATPR would compete for a few of the same sprints, but very, very few.
•_Sunday racing hasn't been tried in Southeast Missouri since Caruthersville did it for a few years back in the early 1990s. Sundays are incredibly risky, especially during the school year. A lot of ATPR's mod and sprint drivers come from an hour or 2 hours away, and I'm guessing they'd think twice about making that drive each Sunday.

Changing ATPR from a Saturday track to any other night would be risky, period —_it's been a Saturday track since it opened in 1991. Selling it to fans would really take some work and marketing, but I hope Jerry at least has it in the back of his mind as an option.
 
This is a big and serious issue in weekly racing right now. Nascar is running some saturday nite shows, bars, movie theators, ball games, concerts, and youth activities, are all cutting into the fan base at the local race tracks. Race track operators have to be promoters to get the word out and get butts in the seats. I honestly believe if the tracks pay a fair payout like I-55, KLMS and PIR, and treat every one fairly, while having a steady moving show, now long delays to rewater the track cause you didn't do it right the first time. Getting the wrecks cleaned up and the races restarted quickly, like I-55 and SFCR do so well. Most importantly treat every one fairly, favoratism will run the fans, and racers off quicker than anything, and if you take care of your racers they will bring you a crowd. I do not think cuttling the pay at a track will ever help keep it open. The tracks are always having to raise pit passes, and cosession prices on the racer, cutting his pay compounds that. The cost of parts, repairs, engines, and chassis are always increasing. If the payout does not increase with the passes and costs, alot of drivers will be forced out, and that will hurt the back gate as well as the fan base. Good announcers are an imprtant part of getting and keeping a good crowd also.

Churches have bring a friend drives for attendance and recruiting, lets get spectators and fans to start a bring a friend to the races program. Our type of racing is way more exiting than napcar, and a way better value. We are also much more accessible than there guys. If everyone could bring back some friends and family that used to attend regularly tracks would not be in trouble. This might be hard, because most of them stopped going because of how a track was doing buissiness, so invite them to the fairest tracks.

Sory about the book, just had some positive input, and didn't want to limit it as seldom as I'm positive on here.
 
My suggestion is for ATPR to consider switching to either Friday night or Sunday afternoon/evening and run a combined points system with SFCR. Each track could have their own points champion and have a combined points champion to give the drivers a little more incentive to race both places. I think this would bring more cars and fans to ATPR. I would love to be able to be able to support both ATPR and SFCR every weekend.
 
An open letter from the ATPR Promoter

Millsey: Thanks for bringing this current local track issue to the table for discussion. I been in racing all of my life both as a driver, track official, and now promoter. I have been with ATPR since the day it was built by the Earl Simpson family, and I can attest for the fact some of the best in the country has raced at this beautiful motorsports complex. I can remember back from 1991 thru 1997 those grandstands were packed each and every saturday night. In 2001 when ATP purchased the facility from the Simpson family the crowds did start coming back after the facility laid idle for three years, but in the mid summer of 2002 the crowds started declining very quickly, and was only averaging 400 fans per event in late July of last year. This year the fan base has averaged so far 510 per regular event, with the best showing on May 24th when 1,500 fans came out to witness the NCRA Outlaw Sprints. I have tried everything this year in promoting this facility in every attempt to get the fan base back up to at least on an average of 800 per night. This has been one heck of a challenge I can tell you this. The drivers have been outstanding I couldn't ask for more from them, and when those guys took it on their own to reduce the purse last saturday in the drivers meeting this is one promoter that broke down, I couldn't help it. Overall several local tracks are feeling the low attendance sickness right now and we all hope it get's better in the very near future. The question came up in this discussion would I consider running on Sunday, you bet I would if it comes to that anything is worth a try I might be surprised. In closing, I want to thank the entire racing community for all the support me and my family have received the past two weeks, when you are in a situation like this you know who your best friends are and I can tell you they are my fellow racers. God Bless and be Safe

Jerry Wolsey
Promoter
ATPR
Benton, Missouri
 
Jerry, it's great to have one of the promoters take time out to actually address one of the issues here on the board. This board's greatest value is it's honesty. If you don't want to know what people are thinking then you better not ask because they will let you know exactly how they feel.

The REAL race fan can be found RIGHT HERE every day and every night. If you want and need REAL feedback on what the racing community thinks, this is the place to go.

As a member of the racing community I honestly feel like a Sunday evening program might just be the ticket. You would be (for the most part) the only show going. It would allow others (like myself) to actually come to Benton and take in the races.

I have a question for everyone. How many of you are already tied up at a certain track on a given Saturday night? With that being the case, it just does not allow everyone to visit various tracks the way they would like. Even something like a UMP Late Model show on one Sunday night and then a sprint car show the next Sunday night would probably be a good idea. Don't flood the market (like Saturday night already is) but give them a great show on Sunday while at the same time giving them an opportunity to see a tremendous track at a time where they aren't pushed for time.

What are your thoughts??

Millsey
 
To all track promoters that may be reading this:
I sympathize with the financial situation, but we are all in it. The cost of racing keeps getting higher and higher. I don't understand when I talk to these people who race these sanctioning bodies and divisions where they have to win just to break even. I have asked Kevin Gundaker and Ed Dixon what it cost them per night to race and they both said a $1000 per night. That means you have to win to break even. And I understand that the the UMP Modifieds is basically in the same situation if you are a front running car. The economy has gotten worse folks not better. The promoters and the sanctioning bodies need to really rethink their programs. Engine claim rules are a joke! There is tremendous money being spent on these motors and nobody is claiming!! They need to come up with a set of spec rules and then you are either legal or you are not. And they need to get hard tires on these cars so they will last a little while. We have to keep the fans happy because thats what makes this all possible but we also have to keep the racers and promoters in mind too. We all have to break even or somewhat close to it. I didn't get into this to make money by no means but it just keeps getting farther and farther out of hand for everybody. I really hope some of the promoters beside Jerry and people from santioning bodies will read this.
 
I have seen on this board and several others where the fans always complain about what tracks charge to get into the weekly and special shows. I have always stated that a promoter of a race track is running a business and deserves to make a profit at it. It really is sad that in our area we have so many tracks to choose from that eventually some are going to have to close or get very creative in the class of cars they run in order to survive. The cost of racing has gotten very high and the purses required to attract drivers is getting to the point you need to sell out or draw a bunch of cars to pay it. Look at how most tracks now have some form of cruiser or wanabee that they allow to race but dont pay. This helps the bottom line.

As far as the cost of the mods I'm not really sure what needs to be changed. If you make a new engine rule now, most drivers would have to change classes because they already have the big motors. As far as making the hard tire mandatory, most drivers at I-55 run hard tires for every race already.
 
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