Forum: Northern California Sprint Car (go)
Moderators: StuDeedooo

Thanks to George and Scott at Hanford for taking the time to talk to me about the new King of the West series. And as always, thanks to Gary Thomas for helping to put things together.

http://www.examiner.com/sprint-midget-car-racing-in-national/new-ownership-looks-to-reinvigorate-sprint-car-racing-california

What are your thoughts on the biggest challenges that the series facing in its first year? I'm curious to see how much the tow money winds up impacting driver's commitments to make races outside of their home tracks.

National Sprint Car & Midget Examiner
http://tinyurl.com/r4opgk

Great read! heres the Link

http://www.examiner.com/sprint-midget-car-racing-in-national/new-ownership-looks-to-reinvigorate-sprint-car-racing-california

Thanks - I was having trouble getting the link to work.

More than anything else, I was glad to hear a promoter/series official admit that it was potentially going to take several years for their track/series to become profitable. I've seen too many promoters take over a track or series with little margin for error in terms of operating costs. Things take time to build, especially in this market and economic environment. Coming in and not having the capital to absorb losses is a recipe for disaster. I certainly hope that the new King of the West organizers are willing to back up their statements that they are willing to take some financial hits now to lay the foundation for success for years to come.

The ability to see the long-term is not something most promoters have - or have the luxury of following through with.

National Sprint Car & Midget Examiner
http://tinyurl.com/r4opgk

Probably the most well thought out, intelligent, reasonable, realistic post ever made on this board. Well said.

“We can’t come in and look like another Saturday night show to the fan,” Hague said. “Why does somebody want to come back if they say ‘Well, that was not much different than I saw last Saturday when they ran the 360s’?”

I didn't take it as a "shot" at other tracks, but an honest assessment of what touring organization has to do in order to be successful. Back in the 1980s and (to some extent) the 1990s, when NARC or GSC came to a track, it was a major event. People who wouldn't always come to see the weekly races would come to see when a touring series came to their track. They knew that they were going to see a lot more cars than a typical weekly show, some stars that otherwise didn't race in their area and get something beyond what they would get on a typical Saturday night.

I think it's hard to argue that the last few years of the Golden State Challenge lost that. In many cases, tracks would draw the same or even less cars for a GSC show than they might for their regular, weekly 360 race. And I think that's what George Hague is trying to get at there - the onus is on the series promoter to make their race into something special to justify track promoters bringing them on-board and (in the case of the new series model) pay the purse.

In a perfect world, it's a win-win: new fans come out to see the "big boys" race, and become fans because of what they see and start to come out to weekly races. Both sides need each other, and I think finally promoters on all sides of the equation in California are starting to understand that. (The fact that the promoters at Hanford and Tulare talk on a weekly basis about things is pretty mind-blowing if you remember where things were just a few years ago.)

If was a track promoter who ran a weekly 360 series, I'd love that a series promoter I was working with was making a commitment to bring something to the fans beyond what I might be able to provide on a weekly basis. Of course, the proof is in the pudding about if they will do it or can sustain it throughout the next few years, but that's a different question.

National Sprint Car & Midget Examiner
http://tinyurl.com/r4opgk

Nice Article....I hope that George, Dan, and the KWS series are successful and can carry out a three or five year plan.

I was a crewman on a 410 when NARC and the GSC were the big deal...and I hope that they can return the series to prominence again.

Get the cars out, get the fans out - success breeds success!

Chuck.....