Forum: HoseHeads Sprint Car General Forum (go)
Moderators: dirtonly  /  dmantx  /  hosehead

WRG/WoO has fired the first shot by stating that the sprint car teams will only be allowed to have their t-shirt/souvenir trailers at a few selected shows next year. Other than that, the teams will have to sell their wares either from their haulers or in the WoO trailer.

Here is our return volley.

Just go to: http://www.sprintcarz.com/ResourcesFUN/cannon/maincannon.html

Follow the simple instructions and mail the letter to the address of your choice. Personally, I'm mailing mine to Campbell's team for hand-delivery.

All this will cost you is a postage stamp and 5 minutes from your busy day.

Please, help out the teams that put on the shows we all enjoy so much.

I am lucky enough to work at one of the best tracks 
anywhere.

just wondering. has anyone heard just how dirt was proposing to go about aquiring the items they would sell if in fact that were to happen, and what the teams would get out of it. was dirt planning on buying stuff at a "whole sale" price directly from the teams and then selling it to fans, or was dirt proposing that teams supply dirt with items that dirt would then sell and give the teams back a pre-determined percentage? all of the contracted teams this year had to agree to supplying dirt with items at a "whole sale" price for dirt to sell. dirt would buy those items from the teams and then sell them out of a dirt funded trailer for the same price the teams were selling them. would the team items that dirt would put in a trailer to sell be prominently displayed or would they be secondary to any woo merchandise on display? would there be any cost overhead for the teams to pay for a trailer that dirt would use or would that cost be the soul responsibility of dirt.

i believe that these racing series are making enough money off of their name drivers and teams already.

steve kinser, donny schatz, joey saldana, t-mac,dude,dollansky,pitman,hannagan,shaffer,haudenshild,meyers,solwald. these are all names that feed the families of dirt/wrg on a daily basis. while it is true that wrg/woo supplies the venues for these teams they have to realize they are not the show. they think they can make money by taking over the merchandise sales for the teams. the truth is no one is going to do a better job of promoting and selling their stuff than the teams and their families. that is what keeps the families and close friends together on the road is the opportunity to make some money while they follow their racing son or husband. to help pay their own way so to speak. after some time dirt will find that they can not keep the stock on hand that is required to satisfy the fans. or to be able to chit-chat with the fans like the wives and girlfriends do. does a person at the dirt trailer know what haud or joey or steve had for dinner? do they know how the family is doing? do they know what little side trip plans on off days they might have planned or might have done. of course not. and that is where most of the sales come from is fans hanging out and chit-chatting and looking at stuff and the wives and girlfriends having some time to devote to them. all dirt can offer is a production line sales outlet. after a while the sales will fall off and no one will be making any money.the fans don't want a "clinical" place to buy stuff. they enjoy personal attention and a little gossip. my opinion is that wrg/woo should worry about putting on the races and signing tracks and getting sponsers and let the people who are making them money make some for them selves with out getting it DIRTied up.

p.s. i forgot to mention that as of the contract signing that occured in 2005 for the 2006 season some teams that signed with dirt agreed to five year contracts and recieved signing bonuses based on that. at least that is the info i got at the time and have not heard any different so if that is misinformation that is my bad. my point is that it seems that some of the teams may still be under contract with dirt till say 2010.

If teams dont agree than how can this happen

Seems to me that, if indeed this is the case, a simple boycott by all of the teams at one or two races will make the point. The WoO cannot run a race without the support of all of the traveling teams. And it seems to me that I've heard of four or five teams dropping off of the tour in 2008 already.

If the teams stick together, present a unified front to the WoO, they will be able to overcome this situation. The WoO will have a really hard time getting promoters to sanction a race if no one shows up to race with them. But I'm betting that the major teams will continue to race, and the secondary teams(10c Campbell, 1X Hannagan, and the like) will get the short end of the stick.

Chuck.....

as far as i know, since it was mandatory to give dirt the option of buying items from teams to be sold by dirt in 2007 to even be a contract team, teams have already given up some of their exclusivity to sell. if teams do not agree or a compromise can not be made or if dirt does not change it's mind i guess a stumbling block will have been reached. the out come of which would be unknown at this time.

team wright-one........

How do you spell your driver's name ?

Well, I lost my father Max Sweeney at Ascot and Manzanita ended my brothers career as he landed out of the ballpark and people who witnessed it said he was lucky to be alive. I have lived my life as a infant, teenager and adult around sprint car racing. I was a working woman and retired at AT&T which I started when I graduated from high school and I continue to support the fans and families devoted to the sport of sprint car racing. I have enjoyed the fans that come to say hi and mention my dad and brother it makes me feel proud to be married to Jac and I just wish my dad Max was here to be a witness. I wish the WoO appreciated what we do, but I guess they don't and it's sad. I have choosen this life for me and it's really dangerous, but it's what I love and what Jac loves. The demise of the trailers would be a step backwards and progress is what it needs to be in it's own. I do not understand their decision's. I sold shirts for Jason Sowald out of my trailer I contributed towards the guys who where not able to have a trailer and asked nothing in return (no percentage) .

So please write to them and let DIRT know how you feel. I for one know what they are doing is wrong and us wives & husbands will stick together on this one. Thank you fans for the fuel going up & down the road as drivers do not recieve tow money to get to the next race.

BTW: I will be at the hauler in the infield at Perris and Manzy selling shirts in the pits cause we could not afford to send the motorhome out with the trailer. So stop by and just say hi or give me a letter so I could pass it on to the DIRT org. and let the know how you feel.

Sincerely, Patty

incorrectly, as i tend to spell most things. but i bet i spell it better than he does at times. lol ( i bet i hear from maxi for that remark!)

good looking out!

maxi, are you on the road now? will you be at tulare?

No! I am with the kids at home so feel free to help sell shirts for me out of the hauler in the pits as I loaded it up knowing I would not be able to afford the trip back to Cali for the third time for only 2 shows with my motorhome & trailer.

what kind of a cut do i get? hey, i have an idea. i could bring my own trailer and sell your stuff out of it. (ha,ha!)

if i am lucky i will get to go to perris. i think rick and jr will be going to manzy and perris. take care.

p.s. note to dirt if you are listening: see how easy that was. the trick is you have to make it their idea! now go ahead, you try it. be sure to get back to me on how that works for you.

you don't even have to be bright to know what DIRT is trying to do is very, very wrong.

But at the same time I think it was all to be expected. No matter what side of the tracks you are on.......DIRT is in critical financial trouble. And DIRT will make drivers and fans take the hit before their organization does. DIRT made moves trying to monopolize sprint car racing - invested a lot of money on that notion.......but found out that people enjoy their local and regional racing for 10-15 bucks much more than they did WoO for 40$. How can you look at the WoO as 20-25 drivers right now. It's 2 with a few intangibles any night. Schatz and Saldana have more resources available to them than anyone else. The argument that the series being back down to 8-10 full time drivers is null and void because of the trouble that local sprint car racing is in. Before long - WoO will only race in the local racing "hot spots". A series like that has no clout with me. sorry I'm goin in mutiple directions here..........point is DIRT WILL throw their financial burden on anyone but themselves. Really DIRT needs to just go away. No split like last year or anything. Just them go out and then someone else start over fresh and NOT IN DEBT. I would rather see Tony Stewart and Kasey Kahne runnin that national 410 series than fielding race teams. I think their contribution to sprint car racing would be much more positive than what it is now.

But as we all know - the race teams really do control all of this. Nodust hit it right on.......Dirt needs them more than they need DIRT. If DIRT is ok with having a traveling circus that criss crosses the nation aimlessly (from one side to the other with just 7 or 8 races) and only featuring the top 7 or 8 teams.........then by all means knock yourself out. Because DIRT also needs fans much much more than race fans need DIRT too. Minus WoO we all will still get to see good sprint car racing.............

I see good races all year between local tracks here in Oklahoma and surrounding areas - and ascs and stuff. I'm not even 500 miles within a WoO race anytime during the year - and I still enjoy the hell out of watchin sprint car racing - I see 4 or 5 good races for what it cost to see 1 Donny SChatz show - I mean 1 WoO race. 410 racing in general isn't THAT much better than 360's (unless they take the wings off - sprint bandits at Creek County were awesome!). I see evidence of that every time I go to Knoxville. Ironically by all accounts I've heard - the 360 nationals were better than the 410 nationals last year and this year.

How much would could a wouldchuck chuck if a 
wouldchuck could chuck would

While there is a "rule" in the WoO rule book and the drivers have all signed contracts, it seems to me that a sharp lawyer would have a field day addressing the "right to work" issues here. And boycotting, especially while making no "...disparaging remarks or negative statements..." is punishable how?

And if what Patti says is true about the tow money no longer being paid to the drivers, well then, didn't DIRT/WRG change the contract? Again, I don't know if they did, but......Contracts go both ways.

And if ALL of the teams choose not to race at a scheduled venue due to this issue, well just what can the WoO do to them? The teams are the show - no teams, no show. It is as simple as that; but as I said, the teams MUST stick together. A partial boycott will not work - it'd be like the NST/WoO all over again. Solidarity is paramount here among the WoO teams.

Chuck.....

not sure if the rules have much clout if the contract has been broken...maybe Faster Pussycat can bring some legal expertise to the thread?

are things as ugly inside as they appear from the fan's prespective?

Lincoln 1845 ft/.35 mile T1=118MPH 
Eldora 2287 ft/.43mile T3=135MPH
Port 2716 ft/.51 mile T3=TBD
Grove 2792 ft/.53 mile T3=135MPH
Selinsgrove 2847 ft/.54 mile T1=136MPH
"I didn't move to PA from El Paso in search of better 
weather." Van May

A wise man once said, and I quote...

"The wheels on the bus go round and round, round and round, round and round..."

"not taking or causing to be taken any action that could impugn or otherwise cast dispersion on WoO"

Sharp and lawyer...oxymoron or not? I don't know how sharp I am, I could only afford Purdue and it was the '80s, but a boycott, strike, work slow down...seems as if a "sharp lawyer" could make an arguement that not only has said stoppage/slow down impugned and cast dispersion on WRG/DIRT/WoO, but also affected its ability to realize anticipated profits, function as intended...

There is a veritable plethora of legal precedent/case law to support WRG/DIRT's anticipated retaliatory stance.

The "right to work" issue, peripheral at best. Especially given the none too distant NST debacle that met its demise due to what again....an under abundance of the aforementioned "solidarity". Year two of the National Sprint Tour was in fact set...oh for God's sake...

"The wheels on the bus go round and round, round and round, round and round..."

"As long as I can have a fast boat, a margarita 
machine and can light my hair on fire, I'll be just 
fine."

Jason Giambi

All bull shit aside, this f - ing breaks my heart!!!

I loved Fred like one of my own and truly believe that he was destined for greatness with a dream of a "driver based", national series....

"As long as I can have a fast boat, a margarita 
machine and can light my hair on fire, I'll be just 
fine."

Jason Giambi

Sharp and lawyer...oxymoron or not? I don't know how sharp I am, I could only afford Purdue and it was the '80s, but a boycott, strike, work slow down...seems as if a "sharp lawyer" could make an arguement that not only has said stoppage/slow down impugned and cast dispersion on WRG/DIRT/WoO, but also affected its ability to realize anticipated profits, function as intended...

saying this with humor intended, if the company is losing money on every show, and a profit is not to be expected, rather a loss, does that mean that if the drivers boycott, they will each be paid extra to make up for the anticipated loss? lol

Save your butt, get a colon screening TODAY

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Duane Davis

Laser Engraving 
641-751-7777
101 N Center
Marshalltown, Iowa 

what patty was relating to was that the tow money is for the owners not the drivers. she is saying that drivers do not get tow money for their motorhomes ect. tow money is intended for the owner. i say intended because some owners and drivers my have an agreement between each other to share tow money or something like that. and yes tow money is still being paid.

which conduct shall include but not be limited to, not taking or causing to be taken any action that could impugn or otherwise cast dispersion on WoO or the sport of motor racing,

that is the area i had highlighted. and that is the area of the rule that i thought could be possibly brought up as a deterent or as a cause of breech of contract. as far as the right to work deal i am not sure how that would work as dirt is not taking away their rights to make money, just dictating HOW that money will be made so to speak. they are not stoppng them from selling, as they can still sell out of their haulers and from tables next to motorhomes in the campground i would suspect. now i do not know if suppling dirt with stuff to sell if no merchandise trailers are allowed would be mandatory or voluntary. as i have said before dirt has already mandated that teams make stuff available for dirt to buy and then sell on their own.

Interesting point...

I'd love to see what their total cost of sales, direct and indirect expenses, officer salaries, income from operations (just a simple P&L Statement)...looks like in comparisson to their projections.

If they're operating under the premise of anticipated negative cash flow...how the hell does that work??? Duane, you may be on to something!

WRG/DIRT/WoO Mission Statement

"We may lose money on each show individually, but we'll make up for it in volume"

"As long as I can have a fast boat, a margarita 
machine and can light my hair on fire, I'll be just 
fine."

Jason Giambi