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Topic: Early season usac/cra thoughts...
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March 20, 2012 at
05:16:36 PM
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It's only one race into the season but being out at the opener brought a few things to mind...
Nic Faas: domination is the word to describe his opening night performance with a ntr and sweeping the show, we saw this kind of speed out of him late last year but can the kid and the alexanders keep up when the surface starts to go black during the summer months..
Ryan Bernal: impressive is the word for his performance, though only seeing the Perris clay for the second in his young sprintcar career. he took a new ride and a unfamiliar car to a second place finish on opening night. Question is will he run the full schedule and can he find the same magic in the seat of the blue 18 on march 31st.
Matt Mitchell: descent would be the word for Matt, he had a good night bringing the #37 home with a 3rd place finish. Though fighting oil pressure problems all night but the Parker power plant ran strong come feature time. A good battle with him Bernal and Spencer for the runner up spot was the best battle on the track with 5 to go. Question is can Mitchell be patient enough to bring home solid finishes all year and keep the 37 off the hook. If he can do this he will be in the thick of the points battle once again come nov.
Mike Spencer: rough would be the word for Mike, though he ended up salvaging a 4th place on the narrow Perris clay it didn't come easy for him at all. The night started with a lifter problem early in the night forcing him to swap his Shaver power plant out with a freshy or time trials. Mike we out or one at the end and still qualified in the top 10, but new rules kept him from starting any better than 14th. Spencer is still the favorite for the title, but this year might be toughest field he has battled in quite a few years.
Cory Kruseman: snug would be the word for Cory K, Bringing home the yellow number 7 in 5th. Cory started from the front row but struggled to keep the front wheels on the ground all night. Reports say that they think they had a left rear shock problem or possibly a bar going bad but Cory put a wheelie show on for the fans and nursed it home. Rumors are the 7 won't be back on the 31st due to having to pit outside the infield.
Brody Roa: learning, though qualifying strong and running inside the top 5 for the first 10 or so laps the young buck faded at the end. Brody showed great speed and could be a contender for podiums come later in the year.
David Cardey: struggle, what has come to be a Perris only showing for the riverside native, David timed well but has struggled to find the speed of years past.
Josh Ford: questionable, questionable if he can regain the speed and confidence he once had a Perris, maybe just a few to many laps around the small Ventura bowl ring.
Other noteables:
Jake Swanson: in the Tony Jones racing 41 looked good his first night out.
Austin Williams: had a good run going till it ended up upside down in turn three, look for 3 new spike chassis out of the John Jory stable in coming weeks.
Missing:
Rickie Gaunt, look for Gaunt to make his season debut possibly March 31st
Ronnie Gardner: rumor has it he will make his 2012 season debut in the Cheaney 42 on the 31st.
March 31st power rankings:
1. Nic Faas
2. Ryan Bernal
3. Matt Mitchell
4. Mike Spencer
5. Cory Kruseman
Sincerely, a crazed fan in the stands.
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March 20, 2012 at
06:25:56 PM
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Well, yes Nic Faas, look very good. And will be up front, At some of the shows. The( Kid )Ryan Bernal, is the one to keep and eye on. The way he Drives the car, and makes it look so easy, to step up in to the 410,s. and with the West Coast 360 this year, in the 73X, out of Josh Ford Camp, And in the sit of the Blue 18, 410, out of Santa Maria,, Hang on gang, This kid is one of the best sprint car drivers, to come out of California, in a very long time. So the older boys, Better watch out.... He will be giving you guys hell, Big time..this coming year...... ...And if you go back about 20 years .. A young man did the same thing, /and now he is one of the top stock car drivers, of all time. in the 24 car....... . Thummms
Plus look at what he has done in 3 or 4 years....... 32 win,s and still a very young man 18,,,,,, in racing.
I,ll put my money on him,,,, this year....
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March 20, 2012 at
06:59:22 PM
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If it is indeed true that they are going to start pitting us outside of the track,then there is going to be more delays in running the races and nothing but a pain in the ass for the teams,having to drag spare tires and parts from all the way back there into the infield and walking a bunch of extra miles to be able to look at the track throughout the night.As usual the people putting on the show get screwed the most and by the way who is the rocket scientist that came up with this brilliant idea in the first place!!!
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March 20, 2012 at
07:14:19 PM
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That is a pretty good summary for a crazed fan. I am glad Ronnie Gardner will be back behind the wheel, he is a great kid from a great family. Jake Swanson did do a fine job in the Henry/Jones #41. I look for only good things to come from Jake. The pits are not the same without Super Rickie. I hope he and Dave Miller join the fray soon.
I would be surprised if teams stay away from The PAS because of the pit situation. It is just different and if it puts a few more butts in the seats, then I am all for it. Will it be a challenge...yes. It will take a great deal of planning on the part of teams and those that plan will shine. It will be a nice change to see new faces wondering through the pits.
See you on the 31st.
Brett
www.brodyroa.com
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March 20, 2012 at
07:19:07 PM
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This message was edited on
March 20, 2012 at
07:27:48 PM by turn4rob
Reply to:
Posted By: CRA91 on March 20 2012 at 06:59:22 PM
If it is indeed true that they are going to start pitting us outside of the track,then there is going to be more delays in running the races and nothing but a pain in the ass for the teams,having to drag spare tires and parts from all the way back there into the infield and walking a bunch of extra miles to be able to look at the track throughout the night.As usual the people putting on the show get screwed the most and by the way who is the rocket scientist that came up with this brilliant idea in the first place!!!
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couldn't agree more Terry,keep the pits in the infield,if the idea is more fan access then open the pit until say 3or4 o'clock.
if the pits are outside where is the work area are they going to put in a different exit gate,and who will buy a pit pass if the pits are open to all?
ROB
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March 20, 2012 at
07:36:05 PM
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This message was edited on
March 20, 2012 at
07:51:15 PM by CRA91
Reply to:
Posted By: turn4rob on March 20 2012 at 07:19:07 PM
couldn't agree more Terry,keep the pits in the infield,if the idea is more fan access then open the pit until say 3or4 o'clock.
if the pits are outside where is the work area are they going to put in a different exit gate,and who will buy a pit pass if the pits are open to all?
ROB
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Exactly,the problem is not every team has 4 to 6 guys to be able to dedicate a person to watch the track and to just getting spares ready,some of us have only a couple of guys to not only clean the car but also do all of the needed work from race to race plus get spares ready and be able to get a quick look at the track when we have a couple minutes.This will just add more bs to the teams with a smaller crew.
And also more people to potentially get injured in the pits that aren't used to having to pay attention to what is going on around them,it's bad enough as it is.And especially if they have had a few to many alcoholic beverages throughout the evening.
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March 20, 2012 at
07:53:49 PM
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Reply to:
Posted By: CRA91 on March 20 2012 at 06:59:22 PM
If it is indeed true that they are going to start pitting us outside of the track,then there is going to be more delays in running the races and nothing but a pain in the ass for the teams,having to drag spare tires and parts from all the way back there into the infield and walking a bunch of extra miles to be able to look at the track throughout the night.As usual the people putting on the show get screwed the most and by the way who is the rocket scientist that came up with this brilliant idea in the first place!!!
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Agree the pits thing might create a lot of difficulty for the teams. What spares do you bring to the infield? What tire do you bring to the infield? But yes, a better fan experience, but at what cost? I would say the shows will run longer.
No mention of the Moosemobile? Top 5 last year? Top 10 the past 5 years? Who's the driver? Will the car even be out this year? Would be sad if one of the biggest supporters of sprint car racing we not out besides the first race of the season.
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March 20, 2012 at
08:13:49 PM
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Reply to:
Posted By: powhaushb on March 20 2012 at 07:53:49 PM
Agree the pits thing might create a lot of difficulty for the teams. What spares do you bring to the infield? What tire do you bring to the infield? But yes, a better fan experience, but at what cost? I would say the shows will run longer.
No mention of the Moosemobile? Top 5 last year? Top 10 the past 5 years? Who's the driver? Will the car even be out this year? Would be sad if one of the biggest supporters of sprint car racing we not out besides the first race of the season.
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I've heard that Casey Shuman will drive the #92 in some races this year,but how often I don't know.Tom and Laurie come on this site so maybe they will shed some light on what their plans are for the season for you.
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March 20, 2012 at
09:00:05 PM
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Now guys...we have to do something to get fans more involved. If it takes pitting outside...so be it. I worked with Bill Rose at the outlaw race. Everything went just fine. People were out of the way and the show went quickly. Sure I understand CRA is not outlaws as most teams do not have a mule and other toys to take spares.
Oh the hottest driver to come out of Cali in the last few years would be Kyle Larson.
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March 20, 2012 at
09:30:25 PM
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This message was edited on
March 20, 2012 at
09:45:59 PM by dirtface
Reply to:
Posted By: turn4rob on March 20 2012 at 07:19:07 PM
couldn't agree more Terry,keep the pits in the infield,if the idea is more fan access then open the pit until say 3or4 o'clock.
if the pits are outside where is the work area are they going to put in a different exit gate,and who will buy a pit pass if the pits are open to all?
ROB
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I'm with you on this one . When I walk into the pas one of the cool things was seeing all the haulers in the infield and watching the teams getting those bad ass sprints cars ready for a night of racing . Then dusk comes and the track lights start filtering in and the lamps on the back of the haulers help light up the infield , then you see them pushing the cars up the ramp into the push off area and you just get a feeling and it makes me sit up in my seat a brings a smile to my face. The pits should be in the infield. That's a part of the PAS . Guess there is a new group to challenge . Ryan , Brody, nic, auston , Cody, Matt , jake, Ronnie, and of course the champ. If this is a part of what we have to look forward to we're in for some great years ahead of us. We are very fortunate to have as much skill as we do in our USAC/CRA series. Moving the pits outside is like putting ralphie in turn 4 and rob in the ralphie section it just don't work.
We need more sprint car racing at our home track.
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March 20, 2012 at
09:42:46 PM
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I am surprised that a veteran crew chief and a veteran super fan would be such naysayers before it has even been tried. I think the WoO show went pretty smoothly. I would imagine most of the top CRA teams have been thinking on how to make this work since February 25th.
We just saw 410 sprint cars almost die in Southern California, so anything we can do to help attendance, and in the end Donnie K, is critical.
JMO
Brett
www.brodyroa.com
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March 20, 2012 at
10:17:06 PM
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Brett,
It has been done before when the infield was to muddy to put haulers inside and I recall it made for a long evening of moving cars back and forth across the track,hence a lot of down time for the fans,which isn't a good way to bring in new fans when they have to sit around for 5 or 6 hours to run a 3 hour race and since we're running multiple divisions and already cutting curfew close are we going to start having features cut short due to time restraints because of down time to move cars across the track? At least now when one race is on track the next division can be lined up and ready to go as soon as the race before them is over without any down time.
I fully agree that we need to get more people interested in our sport,but I don't think this is the way to do it.Another thing I thought of is,and I'd like to think that this is one thing you shouldn't have to worry about at the races but unfortunately I've seen it happen way to many times is, when we are all down in the infield during the main event who is going to be keeping an eye on all of our equipement to make sure that someone isn't out there helping themselves to peoples wallets and smaller parts or anything that could be stuffed in a backpack? Not saying this going to happen but it is possible.
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March 20, 2012 at
10:35:11 PM
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I'm for the haulers in the infield, it looks barren and boring with just the minisprint trailers in there. And as a fan you feel detached from the show when you see the cars pushed around from the back gate only to disappear again when their race is over. I agree w/CRA91 that is drags out the show. When they built Perris one of the smart things that was done was lowering the pits so the haulers don't obstruct the view. And new fans get a much better perspective of the goings on which IMO adds to their interest. Sorry guys-I don't see this as progress.
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March 20, 2012 at
10:57:18 PM
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The USAC/CRA folks were there watching the WoO show and taking notes of what worked and what didn't. The WoO teams cooperated and it went realitively smoothly. It was much different than the year we had all the rain before the Oval Nationals. I hope our officials put out some information before the 31st. Terry, you are right there are dirtbags waiting to take advantage everywhere and I have been thinking about how to minimize the possibility of theft. Donnie may be 100% wrong on this one, but we have to support him. Personally, Brody's sponsors and supporters I have spoken to about this are pretty excited about having access to him during the night. Again, JMO.
Brett
www.brodyroa.com
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March 20, 2012 at
11:32:46 PM
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This message was edited on
March 20, 2012 at
11:34:08 PM by ScottDaloisio
This is being attempted to make the racing experience more fan friendly. In turn that may persuade fans to come more often and attract new fans as well. Attracting new fans
is a huge problem in the oval track industry. Our (not just The PAS, but all of oval track racing) crowds are growing older and older and we need to attract new fans to so the sport and the tracks can survive.
One can stand still or one can try to think outside of the box that has contained oval track racing for far to long. Like to believe it or not, the fact is short track oval racing is on life support all over the country. That was clearly evidenced in Southern California over this past winter with three tracks closing. And, there are others in the state that are on extremely thin ice. Rather than stand pat and becoming one of those, we are trying to move forward.
NHRA has had an open pit for years. Supercross and Traxxas do the same. Their fan base is far younger than what we have in open wheel racing. We HAVE to attract younger fans like that and more fans in general just to keep this sport alive. Fan interaction with the drivers
and teams will help this immensely. Especially with the younger set. They will relate very well with the young crop of drivers we currently have in this series.
Pitting outside will be a HUGE money making opportunity for the teams. Fans who would do not go into the pits after the races never meet the drivers and they never see the cars close up. With the pits outside, fans will be able to meet and observe. Roughly 20% of the crowd
heads down to the pits after the races. They buy shirts, caps etc from the teams. Once again roughly 20%. With the pits outside the other 80% of the fans will have access to the teams as well and they will all have more money in their pockets at that time! Teams always want to make more money and that is very understandable. This is a great opportunity to take in a lot more merchandise dollars. It is a no brainer. In addition, people who normally leave as soon as the races are over will be able to walk up and hand a driver or owner $20.00, $50.00 or whatever when they turn in a good performance or bust a part. It will also be a sensational way for teams to expose their sponsors to many MORE fans.
Terry mentioned the times the pits were outside. Yes, that took longer, but one of times was the Oval Nationals and the other was a Sprint/Midget combined show. There were a lot more cars at those shows and nobody could go anywhere in the pits except the corners. Unless
we have heavy rains, that is not going to be the case at these shows. And, only USAC/CRA will be pitting outside. The Lightning Sprints and the Seniors will be pitting in the infield.
So, there will be a lot less cars coming from the outside pit at these shows and there will be a lot more room for them once they come inside. As far as stuff getting stolen, teams need to lock their stuff up and we do have security.
We had the pits on the outside at the World of Outlaws show earlier this month. The show ran as smooth as silk. The fans loved it and so did the teams who were selling much more merchandise than they would have had the pits been outside. There is no reason for it not to be the same at USAC/CRA show.
It is 2012. What worked in attracting and maintaining fans to oval track racing 20 or 30 years
ago does not necessarily work anymore. We cannot afford to stand pat. It is time to take advantage of every opportunity afforded to not only keep this sport alive, but to also, hopefully, help it grow in the future. We have a lot of great teams and people in this series. Most are very fan friendly. They will prosper. It should work out to everyone's advantage to take this opportunity and run with it. Doing nothing, but standing still is going to bring an early death to this sport.
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March 21, 2012 at
09:20:02 AM
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I hate to disagree with my ol bud Turn4 but this is a no brainer, one of the big deals with nhra is fan participation walking around in the pits and connecting with certian teams, then when the cars come out on the track they have someone to watch and cheer for. All the old timers know the race teams but new fans do not have a clue who or what to watch when the race is going on, and the kids get excited when they have an autograph and can connect with a certian driver. The fact that alot more team merchandise will be sold is a bonus to the teams and they need to be prepared. This will only add to the racing experience imho.
Grady
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March 21, 2012 at
10:39:43 AM
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So is the work area going to be moved over to the turn 1/2 area to be closer to the haulers?
The pits are on he outside at Ventura, Santa Maria and most all of the other tracks. I think that the moving the cars off the track at the end of the race will be a challenge since not all teams have mules with enough grunt to push the cars up the slope. How many mules will Jack Jory have to bring just in case all three of his cars end up in the same heat.
Also, I think that this is a conspiracy against the Turn 4 Mob. Since the pits are being moved clear on the other side of the track. Heh, heh, heh.
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March 21, 2012 at
11:34:46 AM
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This message was edited on
March 21, 2012 at
11:35:52 AM by turn4rob
Grady,as you well know I have no brain lol
my only concern is keeping the show moving,hopefully it wont be an issue,but lets give it a shot.
Scott,this is a ? not a gripe,is the PAS doing anything else to get the under 30 crowd through the front gate?all the fan friendly stuff in the world wont do any good if they don't even know the PAS exsists.
Harry,all those other tracks have easy entrance and exits from the track to the pits,BTW change that scarey picture.
ROB
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March 21, 2012 at
11:56:57 AM
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Reply to:
Posted By: turn4rob on March 21 2012 at 11:34:46 AM
Grady,as you well know I have no brain lol
my only concern is keeping the show moving,hopefully it wont be an issue,but lets give it a shot.
Scott,this is a ? not a gripe,is the PAS doing anything else to get the under 30 crowd through the front gate?all the fan friendly stuff in the world wont do any good if they don't even know the PAS exsists.
Harry,all those other tracks have easy entrance and exits from the track to the pits,BTW change that scarey picture.
ROB
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Rob, I would love to change the photo. But something in the software fails every time I have tried. I have successfully changed it with Gmail, Yahoo, Facebook and Gocomics. Every time I have tried to change it here it gives me a failure message and a bunch of software mumbo jumbo. So I will try again and this time it will make a liar out of me and post up my new and attractive image.
This Friday I am going to be a traitor to the cause and go to Auto Club Speedway. My tickets were paid for by the nice folks at AAA. If you are a AAA member, go to the local AAA office and pick up a voucher for two tickets.
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March 21, 2012 at
03:13:15 PM
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Unfortunately or fortunately, depending which side of the fence you are on, some red tape has gotten involved. Pit deal may or may not happen. Don is headed out of town tomorrow so we will probably not know until early next week.
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