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

budz..have you ever been out here to Perris? I've seen tracks from Eldora to Skagit and, for my two-cents, Perris is the finest I have ever seen.

 
I LEARNED ESP FROM MY MOM

"PUT YOUR SWEATER ON: DON'T YOU THINK I KNOW WHEN 
YOU'RE COLD?"

Too bad. I think he did a good job last year, especially Friday nite innovations.

From personal experiences I can tell you non profit boards of directors are a pain in the butt. Its often the first & only taste of power for some members, & they start playing executive. I was a founding member of a group here in Denver, & actually ended up getting blackmailed by another member. Needless to say, no longer involved. And the controversial issue that prompted such underhanded BS? Promoting cajun music dances... life or death issue, right?

I edited a previous post after re-reading it to say that MOST Fairboard members have NO Business sense. I don't feel it was fair of me to put them all under one umbrella.

There are some very good guys on the Fairboard that work very hard and are probably very disappointed to see Toby leave, and if I offended any of them, I am truly sorry.

Hopefully there will be some viable candidates in the next round of interviews and we will see Knoxville Raceway continue to thrive in years to come.

I'm sure Toby may already have "irons in the fire" as he stated multiple times this season that his goal in 2012 was to observe how things went, make small improvements and then start implementing bigger ideas in 2013. I don't think he would have left if he didn't have something cooking...

I agree with openwheelr an off shoot of the Perris people would probably improve things. I think Terry McCarl would do a great job as he knows how to put on a fine event over at Oskaloosa. That event is better than the Nationals in my book.

That would be a joke of course.

I think the place is in turmoil. Who can work with a 20 person fair board? No one unless you let them run it. This is a sad day as far as I'm concerned and I have been going to this track since 58. I have heard so many rumors about their interference with the operation that I really believe them all.

It there are 20 people on the fair board that doesn't leave too many others for the work force in that county. That is sad!

 
I LEARNED ESP FROM MY MOM

"PUT YOUR SWEATER ON: DON'T YOU THINK I KNOW WHEN 
YOU'RE COLD?"

Could have swore a few months ago it was all doom and gloom that a "fendered" guy was going to promote Knoxville.

I've been concerned about the future of Knoxville Raceway for the last 4 or 5 years now. And just when things seemed to be looking up somewhat, this happens.

I hope the powers that be can get their act together before Knoxville Raceway ends up going the way of so many former, great tracks. Despite the long and storied history of the Nationals, it could happen. Times change, and you have to change with them. The only other alternative is to become irrelevent.

I have heard people complain about the fairboard for years....but the old track keeps running, so they must be doing something right.

I'm sure it will be going for years to come, there are plenty of capable people in Marion county and beyond. I hope they get someone who will get the Nationals on TV.

I remember Marion, Ray and Cappy always had a smile on their face and very friendly. I am sure that is part of the winning weekly formula.

Just don't let some Cali developer see the property and get visions of condos! ha

 
I LEARNED ESP FROM MY MOM

"PUT YOUR SWEATER ON: DON'T YOU THINK I KNOW WHEN 
YOU'RE COLD?"

Very astute observation ........

The more I think about this the less sense it seems to make. Why does someone with the

knowledge and experience of Toby Kruse have to answer to a fairboard (most of which) have zero

knowledge of what it takes to successfully run a racing business? Also, what are the requirements

to be on the fairboard? I dont know this answer but believe I've been told you have to be a certain

age. The Knoxville Raceway will never attract a younger crowd when the average age of the real

"decision makers" is somewhere north of 55.

-Austin Rankin

You're exactly right. One of the unforunates of having a "county owned" venue. With all I've heard about the fairboard, it's beginning to feel like beating a dead horse. This isn't the first time there's been major complaints about them. There's not a really a whole lot that can be done about it.

Looking at the big picture.... sprint car racing as a whole could be better.. its too bad "the Sprint Car Capitol of the World" is only letting sport down.... all because of the good 'ol boys of the Marion county fairboard.

The fair board has put on races for years. If it wasn't for the strong weekly shows and events all these years, the Nationals wouldn't have developed as they have. It is not like sprint car racing in general made it happen. No other Sprint Car event has been able to maintain like the Nationals. Knoxville has always been "the" place. That has always included the management and the fair board and a lot lof of community involvement. The group as a whole obviously know how to make the race happen. The folks in Marion county have for years put up a bunch of money on a night in August for Sprint Car racing, they will continue, you can count on it.

Ask Frank

yessss... but what I mean is that Knoxville Raceway is supposed to be the "premier" and "prestigious" of dirt tracks.. with that comes some responsibility for the sport.

obviously money plays a huge part in this arguement and that arguement can be saved for another day. but hear me out.

*When I was a kid I saw B mains for 410s on weekly shows. Car counts are down. *attendance for the nationals has clearly dwindled for the 5-10 years *They have failed to even get the Nationals (may I remind everyone, its the biggest event in our sport) on live national television. No, I am not content with the Speed channel tape delay. *sponsorship and marketing. not good. Plastering Lucas Oil all over the track for nothing is failure. (Lucus Oil gives them TV rights no money) *and the biggest most important issue in the "big picture" is failing to incorporate new and young fans to the sport. and yet these are just a handful of marketing and promotion issues.

The economy and money arguement can only be taken so far. 30 miles away, Iowa Speedway FILLS there grandstands. $40-50 for the Truck race. There are many dirt tracks in Iowa that get just as much weekly attendance for much much lower quality non-sprint car racing. So that's why the idea builds up in my mind that sprint car racing may really be on the downfall.

we can argue all day that Knoxville Raceway, the fairboard, or any of its staff may or may not be responsible for any of those things... but I would bet that having a strong and sucessful GM/promoter (NOT county fairboard) would help take on these problems. Not just the problems at Knoxville but for sprint car racing in general. Toby Kruse was on the right track and I could see him taking the above issues straight on.

I want sprint car racing to thrive. not just make it by. if you say the weekly shows are strong. the new GM/promoter should not be content with that and make them stronger. Maybe this is just my rant and I could be out of line for speaking out... Knoxville should never settle for mediocre. It should be the best. Do the right thing Knoxville Raceway, pay to get the best GM/promoter possible and let him spread his wings to make it better.

I understand what you are saying Knoxvegas, everyone wants Sprint Car racing to grow. But my point is, the Nationals are bigger than a man, a racing organization, drivers. The management formula of why it works is this Fair board on community pride in Knoxville, plus those that love the sport. They for years have made it happen. It's the management system and tradition that makes it fly.

I remember as a kid the cars lined up from the pit gate all the way back around to hiway 14 and down the side of the road. All cars on open trailers. Pulled by cars, pickups, busses, custom trucks. There were people and racers from all over the United States just like today.

The drivers that made it into the Nationals feature became the big time names. It was as big a deal then as it is now to those that attended. All that legacy adds up to what it is now.

The only thing missing is someone needs to recreate "Shortys Steak House".

I have confidence in the people of Knoxville and Central Iowa, we will be seeing Nationals and Sprint Car racing for a long time to come.

Knoxvegas,

I'll address some of your points and ask you where the $$ is going to come from for these?

Live TV, Knoxville had to "PAY" to have Live TV once TNN went away (and from a fiscal perspective, it's a stupid decision to "PAY" to televise your event if it affects the gate crowd (which Live TV did)). NASCAR has a contract with ESPN/SPEED/ABC/FOX and gets PAID by them for TV rights (but guess what, their contract is almost up and they EXPECT the next one to be for FAR LESS $$$ than the one that is set to expire. If it was as easy as it looks, IndyCar and NHRA wouldn't be struggling with TV either (which they both do).

B mains for weekly shows (sure, I remember those too when I was kid). Back in those days the feature paid $3000 to win (which would be somewhere in the neighborhood of $7500 in todays $$). Things change, I remember the Outlaw shows ROUTINELY had a car count well over 40 at EVERY track they visited in those days, now that kind of car count is few and far between. When it costs $75000 to put a car and engine together, guys aren't going to run places where the car count is so big that a small problem means they go home with no $$. Look at Danny Smith in OH, he runs at tracks that pay $1000-1500 to win, car count and COMPETITION is far less than if he runs an All-Star Show for $4000 to win. But, even if he has a bad night, he is getting start $$ because the car count is maybe 20. Bad night at an All-Star show 50 miles away and he gets $50 tow $$ maybe. The teams and drivers and making BUSINESS DECISIONS when they decide when and where to race. If Knoxville didn't give show up points for the Outlaw Races, I'd say maybe 5 regulars would show for those because it's a BAD BUSINESS DECISION to drive all the way to Knoxville and not make the feature.

Iowa Speedway hasn't "filled" the stands except for (2) events this year (both Nationwide Races), and attendance was down noticably at both of those as well. It's not all "roses" up there either as far as fan count goes. Tickets to the main grandstand for this weekends race are still available, I wouldn't call that a sell out by any means. Perception and reality are different.

What weekly tracks are you seeing 3000 people at besides Knoxville? I can guarantee that those promotors would be salivating at the thought of 1500. (I attended a "special" at Stuart a couple weeks ago, was told by the lady sitting next to me that it was the biggest crowd of the year. CAPACITY is less than 1000, and there were just as many empty seats as filled ones. Oskaloosa has a CAPACITY of ~3000, I'd say they might fill 1 out of every 4 seats on a regular basis. DesMoines, maybe 300 people in the stands. Marshalltown gets a good crowd, but again, their seating CAPACITY is not that large. Knoxville's FRONTSTRETCH holds 17,289, Suites in the Hall of Fame hold 400, Suites on the Frontstretch hold ~ 600. With ZERO people in the stands, there can still be 1000 People in attendance. Next time you go to a race in Knoxville, count the # of people in just the section you are sitting in, even the bad crowds are more people than you think.

I will agree that more needs to be done to incorporate New "YOUNG" people into the sport. The App for Droid and iphone is a step in the right direction on that front. They need to expand that to allow people to scan a QR code as they come in to get access to LIVE video streaming and otherLIVE content to keep their attention.

I personally think that a "fan appreciation night" or $1 admission night once or twice a year would be beneficial as well (it works GREAT for the I-Cubs, Barnstormers, Energy, and the Drake Bulldogs). It's hard to justify losing $$$ one or two weekends a year, but in the long-run they make it back in concessions and by enticing those that had NEVER attended to come on $1 night and put on a good enough show that they come back again (even if it's only once per year that they come back).

Yes, I've been to Perris and it's a very nice, modern facility but it's just not as nice as Knoxville. Just my opinion.