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Topic: Eldora Raises The Bar Again....for ineptitude!
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Page 1 of 3 of 44 replies
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April 02, 2010 at
10:40:16 PM
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The suites look awesome towering over turn four, and the new jumbo tron will be incredible. The new bleachers....great idea. The amenities are awesome, the racetrack has never been worse. Somebody forgot to work the track from October to now. I've been going out here for 40 years and they just keep amazing me how inept the are. I have never, ever, seen anything like tonight. The new clay was put down last year, and they start working on it this week, maybe in the last day or so? When we walked in, you could tell this was going to be a disaster, the track looked like loose unpacked dirt. Along the fence were large pieces of soil that had clearly never been worked in. Words cannot begin to describe how bad this was. Will this place ever be close to what it once was or are we doomed with this from now on. If I didn't care so much I wouldn't post. This track was the pinnacle of dirt track racing, now we have Monster Trucks and tractor pulls, and a perfect surface for that junk! I have gone from 25-30 visits a year to Eldora, to only 10 on my schedule this year, and now after tonight maybe none. Tony, please for the love of the sport get someone at this racetrack that has a clue, and cares about it.
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April 02, 2010 at
11:28:05 PM
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Reply to:
Posted By: TommyBahama on April 02 2010 at 10:40:16 PM
The suites look awesome towering over turn four, and the new jumbo tron will be incredible. The new bleachers....great idea. The amenities are awesome, the racetrack has never been worse. Somebody forgot to work the track from October to now. I've been going out here for 40 years and they just keep amazing me how inept the are. I have never, ever, seen anything like tonight. The new clay was put down last year, and they start working on it this week, maybe in the last day or so? When we walked in, you could tell this was going to be a disaster, the track looked like loose unpacked dirt. Along the fence were large pieces of soil that had clearly never been worked in. Words cannot begin to describe how bad this was. Will this place ever be close to what it once was or are we doomed with this from now on. If I didn't care so much I wouldn't post. This track was the pinnacle of dirt track racing, now we have Monster Trucks and tractor pulls, and a perfect surface for that junk! I have gone from 25-30 visits a year to Eldora, to only 10 on my schedule this year, and now after tonight maybe none. Tony, please for the love of the sport get someone at this racetrack that has a clue, and cares about it.
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Tony had better get a clue soon or he won't have anyone to sit in his nice grandstands. Track prep is very important and it can't begin the morning of a race, for sure. Has to be a better system than is in place now.
Rim Rider
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April 02, 2010 at
11:41:53 PM
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12/03/2004
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I thought April Fool's day was yesterday?
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April 03, 2010 at
12:15:22 AM
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12/01/2004
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Sure glad I went to Attica ,,,,my original plan was Eldora but decided on Attica. The show @ Attica was awesome! Good racing! I can't say I could do track prep myself but The track prep has been not real good since Earl sold the place..I'll bet Smoke is not very happy about this to say the least!
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April 03, 2010 at
12:19:01 AM
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02/13/2005
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Reply to:
Posted By: TommyBahama on April 02 2010 at 10:40:16 PM
The suites look awesome towering over turn four, and the new jumbo tron will be incredible. The new bleachers....great idea. The amenities are awesome, the racetrack has never been worse. Somebody forgot to work the track from October to now. I've been going out here for 40 years and they just keep amazing me how inept the are. I have never, ever, seen anything like tonight. The new clay was put down last year, and they start working on it this week, maybe in the last day or so? When we walked in, you could tell this was going to be a disaster, the track looked like loose unpacked dirt. Along the fence were large pieces of soil that had clearly never been worked in. Words cannot begin to describe how bad this was. Will this place ever be close to what it once was or are we doomed with this from now on. If I didn't care so much I wouldn't post. This track was the pinnacle of dirt track racing, now we have Monster Trucks and tractor pulls, and a perfect surface for that junk! I have gone from 25-30 visits a year to Eldora, to only 10 on my schedule this year, and now after tonight maybe none. Tony, please for the love of the sport get someone at this racetrack that has a clue, and cares about it.
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Tonight, I had a choice of where to spend my money. I could have went to Attica or Eldora. I picked Eldora for 2 reasons: 1) I haven't been there in over a year and half. 2) I wanted to watch non wing sprints. After tonight, Eldora will never get my money again. Imagine a field that has just been planted in the spring, loose topsoil and wavy and you get a great picture of what Eldora was tonight. When they watered the track, the wet "clay" (I use that term very loosely) would just peel up from the loose stuff underneath it. The dust was as bad as I have ever seen, it had to be terrifying for those guys on the track. In the end, I spent $50 on gas and food, and another $25 on a pit pass. Sure it isn't alot of money to some, but to those of us who have to pick and choose because of money and time, it is a big deal.
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April 03, 2010 at
12:28:08 AM
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There is a reason why Earl worked that track all night and all day to prepare it even more so for the first races after a long snowy winter. I can only recall a race I attended at Las Vegas dirt track that was called off for the same reason, so I can relate to how you all feel. Las Vegas did give us a refund as well as a free T shirt to help ease the pain.
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April 03, 2010 at
12:31:08 AM
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Hey ol Smoke, how bout gettin the fella that preps Limaland now.
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April 03, 2010 at
12:56:58 AM
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At Attica tonight the crew did have to do extra track prep before the races started but it was taken care of in short order with little delay. The crew did an awesome job and the racing was second to none . Hats off to the Attica crew for a great show!! I will be back next week.
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April 03, 2010 at
01:04:25 AM
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Can't wait to read Eckert's collumn about this one....
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April 03, 2010 at
01:09:53 AM
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The only complaint I heard at Attica tonight was the wait in the ticket line. I think thats every promoters dream but next week hopefully they will open a few more ticket windows!!!!!
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April 03, 2010 at
02:35:52 AM
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I had every intent to head to Eldora this weekend before I was unable to get out of work, as I have never seen a nonwing race there. Based on what I'm hearing, I'm now kinda glad I wasn't able to make it.
Member of this message board since 1997
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April 03, 2010 at
06:49:54 AM
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I have been going to Eldora since around 1962 use to have season tickets back in the 70s.Yes the present crew seems lost on track prep not sure other then for Tony to clean house.And for everyone putting Earl Baltes on a throne i have been there till almost 3.00 am for a race to finish and seen a lot a dry slick tracks but nothing like what went on last nite.Tony should see if he could get the O'conner's from Kokomo to prep or show them how.That track always has 2-3 grooves all nite most of the time.
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April 03, 2010 at
07:17:16 AM
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One sad thing about this whole episode is, they will give you credit for your ticket towards any event this year. What about the money spent on food there? I'm sure they sold a lot of food and made good money on concessions, lost a lot of money on everything else, but the point is, with my 14 year old son, we easily spent another $25 on food, plus gas, plus a night of our lives there. They should offer everyone there 50% off of every race the rest of the year, but unfortunately for some that wouldn't even be enough and I think many there last night will just write this deal off, it could be the straw that broke the camels back. I love Eldora too much not to go back ever, but it will be a while this year before I go back, to many other tracks that are putting forth a good effort to provide a good surface for the fans to see a good show and the drivers to have a good place to race.
Hello Lima, Waynesfield, Attica, Fremont, Gas City, Bloomington, Kokomo, etc. As you can see Mr Kemp, there are plenty of other choices for fans to spend their racing dollars in the worst economy in generations. If I were you, tossing and turning would be what I would be doing instead of sleeping. Last night was the public relations disaster to end all public relations disasters. Thousands saw that you really do not give a shit about the racing surface. It will be years before this debacle is forgotten.
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April 03, 2010 at
07:54:09 AM
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be careful when you say CLAY....I don't know what that was but it did not seem like clay. imagine driving on a plowed field with dust that blocks the daylight. The drivers were scared to death
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April 03, 2010 at
08:23:52 AM
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Did the dirt come from that same field in Van Wert ??? As for getting out of Eldora @ 3am in the morning you still seen the race I hope. I know it has been later than that when I got out of there but by god you (I) seen the feature(s).
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April 03, 2010 at
08:56:13 AM
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Reply to:
Posted By: jtr0681 on April 03 2010 at 07:54:09 AM
be careful when you say CLAY....I don't know what that was but it did not seem like clay. imagine driving on a plowed field with dust that blocks the daylight. The drivers were scared to death
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That was just stupid last nite!! I talked to a few people who said they had heard that there was sawdust & wood chips mixed in with the new "clay"....as fine as the dust was, it looked like just plain ol' dirt to me!!! The Mrs said Tony wouldn't keep the place the same & boy was she right!! As Hawker said on another post....they're trying to make the sport into something it's not. Eldora is catering to the TV Fan who's interest lies only in his Sun. afternoon "hero", and not into a putting on good race. We had a choice too, & I guess we picked the wrong one!!! All of the billboards, the suites, the new seats (that will only make navigating thru the place even MORE impossible!)...the fees for camping (I WILL give him credit for keeping the prices the same!!!).....none of that has helped the racing surface. Not really sure who is calling the shots down there but it's pretty obvious that they're not making quality decisions. The place has gone downhill since the powers that are there now took over. Think about this...What a first timer @ Eldora must have thought last nite? You know, the place has ALWAYS been on the "Must See list"............".yea, this was a great idea!!!!!!" Attendance in this sport relies heavy on word of mouth & it seems that less & less people are talking anything good about Eldora.
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April 03, 2010 at
10:13:38 AM
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This message was edited on
April 03, 2010 at
10:14:38 AM by leadfoot23
I have personally watched the demise of a racetrack and can tell you from firsthand experience that track prep was the root cause of the fans giving up...and when the fans don't show up, everything else begins to crumble and deteriorate. I know Eldora shouldn't be compared to a racetrack in rural NE Kansas, but I'm just saying that this situation reminds me of what I saw happen here. Every track should be allowed a mulligan every now and again, but Eldora's track prep is continuously discussed on this forum. I went to the King's Royal last year and it was my first trip to Eldora. Needless to say, I was very impressed with the facility, but track prep wasn't the best I had seen (i.e. dusty). This year when my family makes its annual trek to Ohio we have decided to go earlier in the year and take in a weekly Saturday night race at Fremont and the following Friday take in the Speedweek opener at Attica. I have a feeling I won't be disappointed at either track.
The thing Tony has in his favor is he's Tony Stewart and the track is Eldora. It will take a lot more than last night to ruin this storied facility. But if Tony doesn't address this situation swiftly and harshly (as I believe everyone reading this thread would agree needs to happen) then the current track prep crew will not understand the magnitude of the negative press Eldora will receive for the rest of this season and possibly beyond.
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April 03, 2010 at
11:27:36 AM
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Someone must have gotten an asschewing look at eldora's facebook page!! http://www.facebook.com/eldoraspeedway?v=wall Well I hope they get it right for tonight...
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April 03, 2010 at
11:41:18 AM
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Reply to:
The problem is....they tried that all that last night! if the surface is crap...its crap! no amout of water or plowing is going to fix it!
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April 03, 2010 at
11:44:40 AM
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Reply to:
Great, a sheep's foot, the biggest enemy to a dirt track...
Member of this message board since 1997
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