Will they survive??

Plus that breeds a whole new generation of race fans. That's how I started out - running around, getting dirty. . . .
 
T.nie you said that we are just local boys that don't stand to win the big money just because were small town boys right. Well I know of one local boy Tom Seets that has a good chance of winnig $50,000.00. I don't know about anyone else but thats big money to me.
 
More thoughts....

As Millsey stated, SFCR does do a $5 night on the same Sat. of every month(3rd, I believe). But Millsey also stated that he "is constantly giving away tickets", AT THE TRACK.

I am talking about throwing that statement into the radio advertising they do and buying ads placed next to the Kerasotes theatre ads that say something to people who have lost interest in the sport or who have never gone before. THEY WON'T just show up, there has to be a "want" for them to- you have to give it to them! Check this out:

Come out and see the LOCAL STARS and HEROES battle it out, wheel to wheel, on the 1/3 mile St. Francois County Raceway! ADULT TICKET PRICES $8.00, KIDS 12 and under FREE (accompanied by an adult). FAN APPRECIATION NIGHT (3rd Saturday of month) ADULTS $5-Kids 12 and under (accompanied by an adult)FREE!

Classes of cars include:
Outlaw Sprintcars- 410 cubic inches of screaming V8 power propel these cars to speeds in excess of 100mph around the 1/3 mi dirt oval!
IMCA modifieds- Open wheel excitement in highly modified racecars!
Hobby stocks- Some of the best doorhandle-to doorhandle racing with images of some of Detroits finest creations!
600cc Minisprints (a.k.a.- Multi's) Miniature versions of the sprintcars, powered by 600cc MULTI cylinder motorcycle engines. Small in size, but not in speed.

Want to do something fun with the family Saturday night? Skip the Movie and come catch some excitement with us!



* Then hand them a program when they get there.

* Let them see the cars ALL come out to run in the track.

* Give them something to do- with a section in the program called QUALIFYING. This builds up the night and keeps their attention( cause I'm tellin' you after that qualifying session in the sprints, "insert your favorite, or the fastest qualifier" is GOING TO win tonight)!

* Let them "meet" the driver in victory lane after the TROPHY DASH! WHERE DID THAT GO? And WHY? And as they currently do for the feature. I think that ALL self starting classes should start their features by being introduced on the front straight before the race begins. It lets everyone know who's driving a particular car.

*Encourage last weeks winners or anyone willing to show their cars in the parking lot outside the front entrance before the night starts(maybe they could be excused from MUDDING THE TRACK on that night) Keep it to one or two cars from each class, and have these drivers there to "meet and greet" the fans entering the track.

* Last, but not least-"Whatever happened to the guy that rolled over cars and jumped over helicopters in the infield during intermission?" DOWNTIME IS A KILLER, I am a die-hard fan but I even get bored sitting there waiting on the show to get going again.

Again, sorry for the book! :D
 
No. What I said was that if your not running in the Big Leagues, like Winston Cup, Busch, WoO or soemthing of that nature, then your paying to go racing, plain and simple, and not to expect to make money, because you wont. 50 grand? Peanuts. Compare that to the cost of running a full season, buying a car, etc, all of the expenses. Heck, Tom and his car owner had better win that just to break even. If they do win it, it only means they had one good year, but it wont cover the amount of money they have invested in racing, not by a long shot.

And yeah, where did that stunt guy go who used to keep everyone crapping themselves wondering if he would kill himself or not? I miss that guy, I wanted to be that guy when I was a kid.
 
Dirtsurfer, the reason they eliminated the "interviews" and even most of the dashes was simply because of time. I think anyone who goes to SFCR can now say the show gets done at a MUCH better time than we use to get done at. I remember those 1:30 a.m. shows just to finish racing. There were a couple of nights this year when we got done at 10:30... That was a time I NEVER thought would have been possible running four classes.

Getting the show in at a decent hour was a priority adjustment just a couple of years ago. That at least has been accomplished in style...

I miss the qualifications for the sprints. And I think in certain shows you might very well see it here again, but on regular night shows because of time they are a thing of the past.

I want to talk with Larry and Gary about bringing back some of our old promotions again. I've not been as involved with things as much as I had been in the past, so I'm going to get the finger out of my butt and put some things together again.

Remember the driver autograph sessions with the fans. Bringing the drivers up before the races and letting them sign some goodies for not only the kids but for the adults as well... This was free and went over great... I want to go back and do some of our other past promotions as well (some I don't want to mention here). So stayed tuned race fans... SFCR has got some things coming up special for you all...
 
Don't forget about the fans in the pits. We like promotional stuff too! We get bummed when we see all those frisbees and t-shirts get thrown out across the way. Also, our kids would like to be considered for drawings, too. SFCR used to have prize drawings using the kids' ticket numbers. Well, those poor little tikes don't get those tickets in the pits, so they aren't included.
 
I have a 11 year old that does not want to go to SFCR anymore now that he is too old for the playground. Could they possible get a draw for this age group? Hot wheel races, bicycle races, age appropriate playground equipment, or something?
Mrs. Chumbly
 
Do you know what I did every Sat. at SFCR when I was a toddler. I'd catch some mud out of the air and sit down in the stands and make clay sprintcars and race them on my seat all night long. Wow that was the good ol days. I even started bringing my on toothpicks for axles and wing supports. I'd make my Dean Adams Sr. and Jr., Jim Riley, Rick Pinel, Ron Milton, Thurman..etc. I'd have them all lined up on those bleachers. Man I loved being a kid at the races. I think I'm going to start bringing my toothpicks again to kill time between races.:D :D
 
You know, when I think about the races at SFCR from when I was a kid the first name that pops into my mind is Tubby Black.... Now, some 30 years later, Tubby is still there racing... I don't think people realize just what a treasure Tubby really is... He was a hero of mine as a child and to have him still here running strong is mind-boggling to me....

Thanks for all you've done Tubby....

You're loyal and devoted fan...

Millsey
 
I think DirtSurfer has some good ideas.I think track should do radio adds also, you know the old "SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY!!!! BEEEE THERRRRRE!!!!"

And t.nie, if the promoter dont pay the big boys ( late models , mods ,ect. ) he dont have a show, if he dont have a show you dont have a place to run your hornet!
 
Sorry Sean, but you're wrong...

First of all, SFCR does all kinds of radio ads and so does I-55. Some of the smaller tracks don't simply because they don't have the extra revenue (they feel).

And as far as the Hornets not having a track to run on if it wasn't for the Late Models, let me inform you of something... That trend is going exactly the opposite... If it wasn't for the Hornets the owners/promoters couldn't afford the Late Models. You see Sean, T.Nie pays the exact same pit pass amount as Ed Dixon. Now, between those two, who do you think is getting paid more by the promoter. And if you think there are so many more people who paid to get in for Ed to make up the difference for T.Nie, well, you are wrong there also. T.Nie's family and friends pay the same amount to get into the stands and the pits. The difference: Ed races for $1,000+ and T.Nie races for a damn trophy. Check out that difference.
 
Don't forget about the fan that is not associated with a car, that fan is there to see the top couple of classes. Some tracks also have really good racing in multiple classes.

Every car and every class is important, we are all in this together, pitting headliner against filler is not going to help any of us.
 
Everty time I race at Highland, there are at least 6-8 people who come to watch (people who wouldnt otherwise go, and sometimes more than that.) Plus, I can usually count on at least one person to go in the pits with me as well. So, my car being tore up and not being able to race at Highland is costing that track around $100 a sat night. But, the car count has still gone up and attrition is part of the game. So what if I'm not there? Somebody else just comes along and takes my place. Dont matter if I race or not, there will still be a show regardless, and in the big picture one guy, no matter who that guy is, doesnt make a difference. Dale Earnhardt is dead, God Bless him, but NASCAR is bigger than ever.
 
Originally posted by openwheelfan
This is just a thought if anyone would like to comment about it. Would it help if someone stepped up and developed a racing series to include all the tracks who would like to participate, almost like ump but just between missouri and ill. Like call it the missouri illonois racing association(mira). Where you would have set rules for sprints, late models, and modifieds and run whatever the stock class the tracks want to run. Like the missouri illonois clash this past week where four diffrent tracks were involved. I dont know if it would work but its something i thougt about for years why these two sister states track promoters get together sit down and say how can we work together to try to make these tracks better and get the racers and fans more involved. I know its one of those situations where you have to look out for your own back but hey sometimes teamwork always works out for the best. Hey but what do i know just my thought.
Click to expand...

The Mo / Il clash is a fine example of what can be accomplished when tracks and promoters work together. Although this year's series was killed by the weather, in past years it has been wildly successful.

In the early 90's, I was involved with the "Triple Track" series. Every weekend, Late Model, Modified and Street Stock (today called sportsman) racers would compete at Godfrey, I-55 and St Charles Speedways. It worked well at first, ut after the first year it began to fall apart. Too many egoes were involved to make it work properly (not racers- a key promoter wanting the other track operators to bow to their way of doing things.) But I think it could work again. How about this... a Thursday through Sunday circuit featuring Late Models, Modifieds, Sportsman and RAMS. I'm thinking a weekend discount pass for racers, crew and fans alike if they will commit to the full weekend. There would have to be a TV highlights show, similar to the "This Week on DIRT show on Empire Sports, and sponsorship for all classes to guarantee a decent payout for all classes. And instead of crowning a champ based on cumulative points, work on a Competition Performance Index, implemented slightly differently than NASCAR's method. Anyone else game enough to give it a try?
 
That would be a great idea, but I doubt the promotors would do it. What tracks would we be talking though???
 
Another thought...

Another MAJOR problem I have seen over the past 14-15 years is the amount of times a good honest racer has been told that "If you don't like it leave" "Load it up if you're not happy here".

Big mistake on the promoters behalf. T.Nie you are right, one man don't make the show. However, when that one man who gets pissed off by this kind of treatment, talks to his fellow driver buddies and gets them to walk with him, it does make a problem!

When something like this happens, it doesn't just knock out the cars involved. It also takes the groups of fans away who came to exclusively watch these two or three or more drivers.

When it REALLY hurts is when they left over someone tearing up their equipment. Reason is that driver may make a few waves in the class due to the promoter not stepping in and doing something, until it has happened several times and alot of people (fans and drivers/crews) are mad and moving on to another track or just leaving the sport.

If they are going to "PROMOTE" their race track, they need to talk with their drivers as much as they do to the press and VIP's. They also need to be keeping up with what is happening on the track, too. They need to make sure that the officials are not showing favortism(or looking the other way) when something is happening, they also need to insure that there is equality in the calls being made. And last but not least, when under the pressure of dealing with a questioning driver, they need to take the time to listen to what the problems with his racetrack are.

You can't make everyone happy all the time, but if you are going to be a successful promoter you had better be trying to. Nothing will work to make the track a success if you don't have good talent working for you, alot of drivers racing for your money, and a good crowd of spectators to pay for it.

And for the record, I don't think anyone should have to race for just a damn trophy(even though some choose to do so). They are putting on a show too, they should be getting paid. It might have to be in a perfect world, but the promoter should be selling enough seats and pit passes to be able to pay all the racers. -JMO-
 
just an observance, 5 class of cars at Granite,4 classes at SFCR,4 classes at I-55 so on and so forth, Most tracks used to get by with 2 classes 3 at the most,you was done by 10 or 10:30 and the pay was fairly decent for the times and most of all the stands where packed!!!!!!!! And what ever happened to your spouse and kids get in free with your car entry ?????
Ahhhhh the days when all ya needed was a pickup truck,a tow bar, a lincoln 225 welder and a cuttin torch............
 
SORRY MILLSEY, BUT YOUR WRONG.....

YOUR GONNA TELL ME THAT A HORNET DRIVER IS GONNA BRING IN AS MANY FANS AS DIXON, KORTE, MARTIN , MELVIN OR ENGLISH? SORRY BUT YOU'RE WRONG!

NOT TRYING TO BE A SMART A** MILLSEY ,
BUT WHAT HAPPENED TO THE BIG RACE AT FREDERICKTOWN? NO BIG NAMES THATS WHAT!! A BUNCH OF NO- NAMERS. (NO OFFENSE I OWN A HORNET ALSO) MY POINT BEING YOU WONT PUT PEOPLE IN THE STANDS WITHOUT "THE BIG BOYS"!!!!

JUST MY OPPINION
 
I dont think the turnout would have been nearly as poor if I had been there........lol, no, really, I think the fact that the show was cancelled and rescheduled twice hurt the fan turnout more than anything. If it had gone ahead as originally scheduled, as a side attraction during the Azalea Festival weekend, then the turnout would have been considerably better.

And Sean, not one of those hotshots goes to TCS, yet they still do pretty good. Explain that then. I think its just a fact of life that as times change, the demand changes. In So Mo, the demand for dirt track racing is at a low point, who knows why without really doint some serious research. By contrast, Highland, Btown, TCS, do pretty well for themselves, and its only this year that Korte has decided the Xtreme series is not worth it, and stays local. The presence of any of these guys doesnt make a huge impact, if it did, then theres no doubt the promoters would pay "appearance" money to them just for showing up, to get them to show up, in fact. But, that doesnt happen. That in itself has to be the clearest indicator that your name wont do much for you at the local dirt track, I mean, for goodness sake, Tony Stewart came to TCS to race a MIDGET, I went and couldnt believe how small the crowd was, and that was the WC champion there to race. I found it hard to believe that in a catchment area as big as St. Louis so few people actually made the effort to go and see him. That was a surprise, certainly to me.


(this post was edited for accuracy at the prompting of the following poster, who is the area's foremost authority on these things. t.nie would like to apologize for any offense caused by the mistaken use of "sprint car" in reference to the USAC MIDGET races held recently at TCS. t.nie will now go and whip himself mercilessly for the next hour in atonement for his transgression.)
 
Tony Stewart came to TCS to drive a MIDGET not a sprint car. C'mon T-nie quit whinin and get your facts straight.
 
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