|
my observations over 10 days in Knoxville
No Northcote Meats concessions -- disappointed to say the least (heard the "property manager" didn't want them back because the other vendors in the HyVee lot complained that they got all the business (maybe their food was better and cheaper)
T-shirts - maybe it was just me, but I saw nothing special this year although Jason Johnson's and Sammy's looked okay.
Jeff Gordon - seemed to genuinely enjoy himself on Wednesday @ Slideways and from the sounds of it, stuck around to take in Thursday as well (not in his original plan)
Kick-It games -- HUGE SUCCESS - $100,000 raised for Children's Cancer research - way to go Drivers, Owners and Racefans
The racing - spectacular racing during the 360 Nationals and again during the 410 Nationals. Osky needs to figure out a way to "widen" out the groove on Monday and get the show over at a decent hour (the races Sunday night had 81 cars and time trials and still took less time overall
Schatz - while I'm not a fan of his, we are seeing greatness before our eyes. I remember everyone booing Steve Kinser in the 1980's and now they all cheer for him to do good. Maybe Donny has a legitamate shot to break Steve's record of 12 wins in the Nationals
Larson - he's a racer, anyone else would have withdrawn after the qualifying night instead of begging for plane rides to figure out how to get back for Friday night
Hall of Fame -- anyone that didn't at least go in and look at the Mario Andretti cars should be ashamed of themselves -- you'll never get that chance again
50/50 - wow, over $7000 on Wednesday, $9000 on Thurday, TWO prizes over $6000 on Friday and $18,000 on Saturday -- I wish I could have won just one of those and hope those that did win come back to Knoxville again and again if they were a first time attendee
CSC EVENT Staff - nice to see someone actually checking bags at the gate. Good PROACTIVE action on teh Raceway's part for fan safety (although I hear there were complaints from people that obviously have never attened a concert, a NASCAR race, or any other large event as this is STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE at pretty much every major sporting event across the country now)
Vendors - time to close up the show barn and just leave everyone out in the lots, no one wants to be in the barns it seems and it's gotten to the point where it's worthless
Car Count - seems like we lost some cars from the pre-entry list that last weekend which is too bad, hopefully we can go back to 10 car inverts either way to maybe entice some of those teams that are "on the fence" about coming
Feel Good Stories -- Cap Henry and Chad Kemenah - top 10 finishes by a couple of low-buck teams, good to see
The sort-of feel good story - Robert Bell - fan funded new tires and he loses both his 360 and 410 motor during HOT LAPS of his qualify night in each event -- Ryan Jamison from Burlington loaned him a motor for Friday but again had issues and never turned a qualifying lap. Here's hoping 2014 goes better
The Legend Cars - good race but TONY BOKHOVEN AND JOHNNY GIBSON need to announce the race and do a better job of informing the fans what is going on (it's a good cause, just because you don't like the legends doesn't mean you shouldn't do your job (announcing).
Fan Count - Front stretch seemed much more full than 2012, yet hte backstretch seemed emptier, not sure if the fan count was down, up or about the same but all in all it was a great crowd over the 4 days (Wednesday and Thursday are still teh BEST shows of the years IMO, too bad there are fans that skip those 2 days).
|
