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

okay...so sat  i go to pit gate and purchase my pit pass for louie vermeil classic like i always do...then i head to front gate to get in and grab some food and the woman taking tickets tells me NO MORE pit passes allowed in main garndstands..and that i have to pay an extra $20 to access the main grandstands!?....WTF?!...REALLY calistoga speedway???...this was not usac policy..it was the track policy....SMH...needless to say i was a bit annoyed so i went back to pit gate and asked the woman who sold me the pit pass why?...she told me it was the track that changed the policy and that if i wanted to talk to someone about it i would have to call the ticket office...FFS NOT smart IMHO calistoga speedway. if they were doin this to get more fans in the stands then they shoulda told us prior to buying the pit pass so we know wats goin on...just my .02.

“The saddest aspect of life right now is that science 
gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom.” 

I'm confused...why did you buy a pit pass then go to get in the grandstand? Are pit passes less $ than the $20 grandstand ticket? No food sold in the pits?

When I go to Knoxville I buy a pit pass then go into the pits!

Maybe he just likes to watch them work on cars or maybe he knows someone that races but likes to watch from the main grandstand. Maybe 1 of you're scenarios but not the other.

You've already paid a few dollars more just to get into the pits. Should be able to set where you damn well please.

Osky does this. Was shocked when they said you'd have to buy general admission ticket also.

This is one of the craziest things I've heard in a long time.  Up in our neck of the woods pit passes are typically around $5 more than the main gate.  A pit wristband will get you both in the pits and main grandstand.  Many drivers come up in the stands to watch the racing with family and friends or in my case take photos from a few vantage points on the grandstand side of the fence.  This practice is absurd, it's an inconvenience for many racing families and outright greedy to demand an additional $20 from someone who has already paid the higher price for a pit pass.

Stan Meissner

This is actually fairly common--most places have a limited number of seats available, and therefore only sell THAT number of tickets. If people who purchase pit passes take up seats not counted as "sold" at the ticket booth, a large crowd results in a lack of available seats.  (Having said that, MOST tracks let you purchase a reserved seat (or general admission), THEN "upgrade" to include a pit pass at the pit gate.  Many WoO events offer a FREE "upgrade" when purchasing a reserved seat in advance.)

Gibby has it. The event was huge as usual. I attended both days and the grandstands were sold out. A pit pass there is only for the pits unless there are unsold seats available. The additional fee was for standing room only.  Rico owned the place, and it was great to see Brady Bacon @ Calistoga.

Common where?

A pit pass is usually General Admission $15 PLUS THE PIT PASS $15  or 20-10  Or USAC 25-5

Sounds like BS to me.

what StanM said....it's ludicrous to ask us to pay an extra $20 to just walk in the main grandstands....i don't take up any seats and am usually there to grab some food and watch hot laps and take pics from a different perspective...

“The saddest aspect of life right now is that science 
gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom.” 

Common where large, sold out crowds are expected. I have seen it a few times.

Another thing I have seen, at some fairground type tracks, is a sanctioing body will control the pit side, while the track controls the grandstand side. Basically, they keep them seperate. They do not allow people to cross over during the event, because the money, liability and other items are sperate. 

I can see both sides of the argument. I can see the side from drivers who like to go in the stands by family, but also, if you're buying a pit pass... you should be busy in the pits. This brings up a bigger situation, in that there are alot of people in the pit area, who have no need to be. I understand you cant police something like that, but especially at an open wheel event, its becoming pretty dangerous. We had an event with the IRA a few years back, where Tony Stewart was competing in Plymouth. The pit pass was only $5 more than general admission, soooo of course half the fans thought "hey! for $5 more, we can stand in Tony's pit area!". Well, let me tell you.... with over 75 sprint cars in the pit are between IRA and MSA, it was the most dangerous thing i had ever witnessed. You have all these families, with young children in tow, walking right through the middle of the pits completely unaware of how fast these cars come through, and how little visibility they have. there were close calls all night long, due to people being in the pits, who had no reason being in there.

A simple solution would be to post a sign stating "pit pass patrons are not allowed to take seating in the grandstand area". Post this at the pit gate and the grandstand entrance. Then everybody knows the rule!

One other questionable thing. I must've have been dreaming but I could've sworn that I read on the Louie Vermeil Classic Facebook page, that Kyle Larson was going to race a Sprint and Midget on Sunday night. Anyone else read that? Of coure it's not on their page now. At the time, I didn't realize the nascar race was on Sunday night and I thought it was a real possibility that he might actually be there. What's up with that?

Ok, my apologies, I had somehow stumbled upon an article written in 2013. Damnit!

I do not remember seeing that posted anywhere.

Wow! The ignorance on this site still amazes me! I guess some people have never been to a big race with an expected sell out crowd. The entire goal of a promoter is to sell out the grandstand. I do like the idea of a pit pass upgrade, but a pit pass alone certainly doesn't entitle you to a grandstand seat or they would have to issue a seat number to every pit pass and sell that many less tickets to the grandstand. Go to the Chili Bowl and see if your pit pass gets you a seat in the grandstand. Lol

the topic is about charging extra $$$ to ACCESS main grandstand area for food,merchandise,etc......NOT a grandstand seat. i have attended EVERY trophy cup and this is NOT a problem...i can walk in and out of pit area and main grandstands...no problem and trophy cup definatley draws the same if not more of a crowd . maybe you should have read my original post before accusing some of ignorance...js.

“The saddest aspect of life right now is that science 
gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom.” 

I am old enough to remember back when you could only buy a pit pass if you were actually racing or attached to a team.  Oh, and had to be male. . . and 18. . . but I agree.  I am all for pit access being restricted to at least people that are racing instead of more spectators. . .

www.manvelmotorsports.com

I guess there is a reason they are called "Pit Passes" and not "pit and grandstand passes". Because they are a pass into the pits. In all my years at Knoxville I have never tried to use a pit pass to enter the grandstand so I do not know their policy. I have been to tracks where you could buy a combo ticket/pit pass when the pits are outside the track and then could go back and forth. But that always costs more than just a pit pass so you are paying extra for grandstand access even if you never use a seat there.

I remeber my pit guys couldn't go back and forth when racing.

If they went into stands with there put pas it was cut off,and you couldn't go back in pit's.

This was to stop people from drinking in stands then going back to work in pit's.

I remember the days at some tracks when you had to be associated with a car or push truck to be in the pits.

Cars pitted on the front straight at some tracks. The fans seem to like that.

A person would have been shocked in those days to see a modified in the pits at a sprint car race.