Forum: SCRAFAN.COM Forum (go)
Moderators: ljennings

I really wanted to attend this race in person as Tulare is my favorite track, but more than likely I will not be able to (helping someone recuperate from surgery).

So when I saw the live stream I thought I could get my fix for sprint cars this weekend. I figured I was more than 150 miles away, my garmin says 189 miles, but I guess my distance from the race track as the crow flies is 141 miles (:. I live approximately 2 1/2 to 3 hours away from the track. Any possiblity I could somehow purchase the live stream? If not, I guess I can watch the highlights on Sunday or Monday.

By the way I live in the 91320 area code.

jdfast -

Sorry - the system says approximately 144 miles straight line from the middle of the track to that location.

We were asked to provide a 150 mile radius.

Thanks for visiting the site!

Henry

The first/best response to that question is - it keeps people that might go to the track from staying home. We noted that when we did a free broadcast from some locations and no blackout was in effect people got in the habit of staying home. Eat, drink and hang out with friends at the house on a Friday or Saturday night, solid quality stream up on a projector or big screen tv --- you get the idea.

There will be a time when the blackout is no longer needed - but for now it's how some tracks and promoters allow us to bring you the streams.

We are very thankful that Chris Kearns and Don Sharp gave us the green light for this weekend.

And Family Truex worked overtime to make this happen as well. Thanks guys!

Cheers!

Half the lies they tell about me aren't true. 

If you were watching last night you saw Kyle Larson sweep the two sprint car events.

Tune in tonight starting at 6PM Pacific.

Thanks for watching.

The Live feed is having major problems with no sound and a major stream delay. Everything was fine when everybody went out to qualify and turned to shit. Anybody else having the same problem?

Sorry to read that you had problems with stream.

The feed had no issues with delay on either night. We had people monitoring the stream from several locations around the US; they reported solid performance. The sound was a bit fuzzy both nights; but better Saturday night.

If I could ask - what type of processor, operating system, browser and internet connection were you using? Also if you could try http://www.speedtest.net from the same connection you used for the stream and post it that would help sort out what happened. Please post the email address that you used to purchase and we'll take care of you.

Best,

Henry

Drama , Controversy , Rivalry 

....why was santa cruz county blacked out?

Two schools of thought on blackout and other notes....

1) Blackout helps the gate. Some folks that might be undecided about driving to a local event will not if the show is streamed live and free. In some locations weather is a concern. Stay home and plan to watch online rather than drive to track only to find a rain out.

If the event is a pay per view and no blackout - the theory runs that ticket price has to be equal to regular ticket. This is the theory one well know Ohio track is considering. No blackout - regular ticket price. The common sense notion on this model is that some folks will not go to track because they can watch at home, no gas costs, have friends over and not pay concessions.

IMHO even with 2 or more cameras there's nothing like being at the track.

Most folks that I talk to drive an average of 2 hours for a race like this weekend. A big race and many that I've talked to will drive more than 2 hours.

2) Blackout does not affect the gate. I used to subscribe to this notion. It was particularly pushed forward by streaming services that could not offer blackout and by people who enjoyed watching free events.

Evidence shows in these tough times that if we produce a solid quality stream with no blackout some percentage will not come to the track. In order to stream from these tracks we need to protect the gate.

Case in point - the weather for a big event last season was questionable. We promoted the free stream well in advance of the event. We had more watching the stream than were in the stands. While the event has seen declining attendance (it's the economy) we were stunned to see the online audience surpass the track attendance.

The big part of this streaming deal is getting the track, promoter and sanctioning body to let us do the stream. This weekend everyone agreed the stream was a good thing. Many of the tracks around the country don't want to allow streaming....it will take time. You also have to be willing to give something back to racing when you produce a stream - many of the groups that understand the technology bring a big budget mentality to streaming. It's not that expensive if you plan and use what's available.

My mission for Circletracknetwork.com is build an audience- take some part of the proceeds and give them back to the track, sponsor a race, promote the tracks and the drivers that make this sport great. You have to show a profit on an event to be able to do those things - so blackouts and pay per view will continue. The vision for Circletracknetwork.com started over 3 years ago. I believe folks will be able to see live, broadcast quality, events on our site this season. We improve each time out.

We want to start a show with some interviews and a bit of information on the sport, track and other items of interest - in 30 minutes or less - not hours of filler before an event. Instead of just the racing we want to introduce the audience to our great sport and the personalities involved. We should be doing these things now. We were sidetracked and delayed for over two months at a time when it was critical to be on the ground working to fulfill this vision.

We'll get there - I'm looking forward to the journey. Look for me at more tracks this season - I'm the guy in the blue Ken Schrader hat....

Henry-

I saw you hunched up all weekend over the monitors at the top of the grandstand. From 5:00 o'clock on each day I don't know if you even had time to go pee, they ran that show like a sprint marathon. Same for Tim and Mike, Tim countless hours standing at the tripod and Mike carrying that field camera. Mikey was deep fried at the end of each night. Thanks for the hard work. You are all three in the vanguard of the sprint car renaissance that is coming. You're working for pennies now, but your hard work will pay off for you, promoters, tracks and drivers. Digital streaming and video information will be the salvation of this sport. Anybody that watched both nights saw one of the greatest demonstrations of driving I've ever seen. Kyle Larson punished dirt, man and machine beyond the limits. What a phenom! Not to mention a half dozen other brilliant drives. Go Rico....

Mike