$1000 to win Open Sportsman this Saturday 6/25

[Gomerpyle]

AT THUNDER MOUNTAIN SPEEDWAY!!!!!

[Gomerpyle]

Perfect weather this Saturday too........as of right now.

[Gomerpyle]

 

[DarwinsBeagle]

So one of the three classes that look identical to the casual fan has a $1,000 to win race?  How will the fans be able to distinguish it from the other two "classes" that look just like it?

[Gomerpyle]

Their the faster of the 3 classes that look the same....plus Leon will tell you which if you can't tell. Hope this helps.

[Danica]

So one of the three classes that look identical to the casual fan has a $1,000 to win race?  How will the fans be able to distinguish it from the other two "classes" that look just like it?

You can ask me too. I know everything about racing except how to drive.

[DarwinsBeagle]

Thanks for the help.  Hopefully you get lots of casual or first-time attendees this weekend so that Leon can explain to them the difference between the three classes that look identical.  Make sure that you cover them in dust too.  And keep them there for 5+ hours.

Then everyone can get on here and wonder why no one shows up at the local dirt track anymore.

[Gomerpyle]

No one shows up at dirt races anymore?? By the looks of Thunder Mountain's pits and grandstands, somebody is showing up. Races start at 7pm and were usually done between 10:30 and 11 and that's with 7 to 8 classes. If you notice, once racing starts, there is always a racecar on the track. Believe me, nobody wants the races to get over with faster then Karl does. Especially with all the hours he and his son puts in up there all week. Plus the Fans that go to Thunder Mountain like the fact that there is "at least" 4 PREMIUM classes to watch.......even though some "look" look the same.

[DarwinsBeagle]

Calm down.  My gripe is more of a critique of the current status of dirt tracking.  I just happened to hijack your thread and vent there...though all the lookalike classes is still ridiculous to me.

To me, there are 4 key components to get casual or new fans to become regular fans:

1.  Highly informed announcer that clearly states what is going on and why...each and every time.  How many cars and how many heats will be run for each class?  How many laps?  How do cars qualify for feature?  What is the difference between the classes.  Name and number of each driver in the race (the casual fan does not care about the engine builder, chassis and 58 sponsors individually listed for the first 2 cars then the rest is inaudible because the field went green.  There is a time and place to list all that other crap.  Announcing the line-up under pace laps is NOT that time).  When I first moved to the Southern Tier around 2000, Leon was on his game.  The best announcer that I had ever heard up to that point.

2.  Dust - have little to none.  Don't give me that "you are going to a dirt track" crap.  You will not get the Abercrombie & Fitch wearing, MTV watching toolbag back if you cover him and his girlfriend in dust.  NYS tracks have truly gone the way of the dusty, dryslick hellhole (usually and largely through lazy track prep...the downforce and tires on the "premier" classes of today is an argument for another day).

3.  Start on time, every time and run the show off in 3-4 hours.  Intermissions suck.  Every.  Stinking.  Time.

4.  Classes of cars that look different from one another, so that the new fan can tell them apart.  Nothing frustrates anyone new to anything more than not knowing what the hell is going on.  See point #1 above, as it goes hand in hand with this.  Lately I have been paying attention to race night operations at every track I go to.  Usually, if I was a person showing up for the first time, I would have no idea what the hell was going on.  I only know what is going on because I have nearly 45 years of spectating, racing and being pitside experience.

This is going to cause the typical "you need intermission to perform track maintenance", "it's dirt, you're at a dirt track", "driver's need intermission to work on their cars", blah, blah, blah.  Find a solution.  Fact is, the hardcore racer and fan will not keep local dirt track racing alive.  It will only thrive by constantly bringing in new blood.  The 4 items above are key in that (in my humble opinion).

Amen.  Rant over.

[Gomerpyle]

I take it you have never owned a Dirt Track with more then 30 cars in your pits let alone 150. And I'am calm. My pulse in 48 beats a minute.

[DarwinsBeagle]

Whatever dude.  Neither have you, but plenty others have.

I notice that you do not take constructive criticism well.  In the professional world, where I live, one of the metrics used to review personnel is the ability to receive constructive criticism.  You would score very low on this metric.  Don't fret though, most people do not do well with it.  That is why most people get reviewed their entire working lives, while very few do the reviewing.

Good luck with the rest of the season at Thunder Mountain.  I do try to get there 1 or 2 times a year.

[Groundpounder]

Calm down.  My gripe is more of a critique of the current status of dirt tracking.  I just happened to hijack your thread and vent there...though all the lookalike classes is still ridiculous to me.

To me, there are 4 key components to get casual or new fans to become regular fans:

1.  Highly informed announcer that clearly states what is going on and why...each and every time.  How many cars and how many heats will be run for each class?  How many laps?  How do cars qualify for feature?  What is the difference between the classes.  Name and number of each driver in the race (the casual fan does not care about the engine builder, chassis and 58 sponsors individually listed for the first 2 cars then the rest is inaudible because the field went green.  There is a time and place to list all that other crap.  Announcing the line-up under pace laps is NOT that time).  When I first moved to the Southern Tier around 2000, Leon was on his game.  The best announcer that I had ever heard up to that point.

2.  Dust - have little to none.  Don't give me that "you are going to a dirt track" crap.  You will not get the Abercrombie & Fitch wearing, MTV watching toolbag back if you cover him and his girlfriend in dust.  NYS tracks have truly gone the way of the dusty, dryslick hellhole (usually and largely through lazy track prep...the downforce and tires on the "premier" classes of today is an argument for another day).

3.  Start on time, every time and run the show off in 3-4 hours.  Intermissions suck.  Every.  Stinking.  Time.

4.  Classes of cars that look different from one another, so that the new fan can tell them apart.  Nothing frustrates anyone new to anything more than not knowing what the hell is going on.  See point #1 above, as it goes hand in hand with this.  Lately I have been paying attention to race night operations at every track I go to.  Usually, if I was a person showing up for the first time, I would have no idea what the hell was going on.  I only know what is going on because I have nearly 45 years of spectating, racing and being pitside experience.

This is going to cause the typical "you need intermission to perform track maintenance", "it's dirt, you're at a dirt track", "driver's need intermission to work on their cars", blah, blah, blah.  Find a solution.  Fact is, the hardcore racer and fan will not keep local dirt track racing alive.  It will only thrive by constantly bringing in new blood.  The 4 items above are key in that (in my humble opinion).

Amen.  Rant over.

DB nailed it, except I don't think the "dusty, dryslick hellhole" phenomenon is due to laziness. My understanding is that the "premier" divisions prefer it that way, so the tracks cater to them. To hell with the (casual) fans and other classes (such as IMCA) that would be much better served by a tacky relatively dust-free surface. Any other reason given is just a lame excuse. I've been to many dirt tracks in PA, MD, and TN, plus watched others on TV or the web that are relatively dust-free, so it can be done. The tracks here just chose to be "dusty, dryslick hellholes".

Since asphalt racing around here is circling the drain, I desperately want to find a "home" on dirt, but all the tracks that are close enough to go to on a regular basis are "dusty, dryslick hellholes" (can you tell I like that line? lol). I just can't get excited about going to those. I used to attend between 60 - 70 races a year just a few short years ago. This year, I've been to a grand total of 2 so far - and one of those was in NH. The other was at Canandaigua. I left so unimpressed that night, that I haven't been able to psych myself up to go back - or to any other local "dusty, dryslick hellhole".

You can throw all the crap at me that you want about how I'm not a real race fan or whatever (keeping in mind that my dad raced, and I've been going since I was 3). But at the end of the day, I'm spending my money and my time where I want for reasons that matter to me.