Forum: HoseHeads Sprint Car General Forum (go)
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5. Allstars scheduled and WoO weekday show a possibility thanks to the new regime at Selinsgrove, not to mention it won't be housing development anytime soon!

4. Port continues to improve an already great facility that provides some of the best HALF MILE 410 racing in the country!

3. Lincoln churning out the areas premier 410/358 racing week in week out and the greatest open pit bbq at any Pa track.

2. Fred Rahmer and the Path!

1. Susky got new clay, seating, guard rails and will finally shine like we all knew it could!

Just messing around here guys, I tried really hard not to say anything that anyone could take offense to, I figured with the constant "my track is better than your track" banter on here it would be nice to read some of the good things going on in the Pa Sprint scene as a whole. The Susquehanna thing is the best to me, as good as the racing is on a corn field surface, I can't wait to see a smooth properly groomed Susky, gonna be sick.

The improvements to Selinsgrove and Susky will out even more pressure on the Grove to step up their game. There are only so many fan dollars to go around and let's face it, without the Outlaw shows, the grove bottom line would likely be in the red as is. 

No doubt, I hope Susky resets the bar for all tracks, nothing wrong with a lil competition to keep everyone on there toes, kinda like Schatz right now, get faster or get passed by the 15,

Nice to see something positive on here for once. I agree on all Points Staggerlee. I think 2016 is shaping up to be a truly special season in Central Pa. For years, Williams Grove & Lincoln kinda set the bar and all the other tracks were left in the dust. Then Selinsgrove found success with the 358 programs but a decade later, found itself in the midst of hard times again. Meanwhile, Port got the much needed attention it deserves thanks to Steve O'Neal and his management team meanwhile, Williams Grove has suffered under Pinky ever since. And now with Mike Heffner, Alan Kreitzer and Steve Inch (my favorite announcer in Pa. Hopefully he stays behind the mic) stepping in and taking over Selinsgrove, Scott Gobrecht buying Susky and Rahmer doing good things at Path Valley, in addition to Steve O'Neal continuing to elevate the game at Port Royal and Lincoln doing what Lincoln has been doing (being awesome) for many decades now, Central Pa has probably never been in better shape as far as track management is concerned. The weakest link is definitely Williams Grove but how bad is that? No doubt things have really taken a downward turn since Morgan Hughes passed away but that said, its STILL better than the vast majority of tracks out there. Hopefully with all of the other tracks under such excellent management, that will put the pressure on Williams Grove to elevate its game a bit and get back to being the flagship track in Central Pa like it should be. But even if they maintain the status quo, we're still in great shape in Central Pa. Im sure they probably don't read this board but I'd like to thank Mike Heffner, Alan Kreitzer and Steve Inch for stepping up and keeping the the fastest track in Central Pa alive. I'd also like to thank Scott Gobrecht and Kolten Gouse for what they're doing to Susky which I consider Central Pa's raciest track. Also thanks to O'Neal for the continuing the good work that he and his people are doing at Port. It's amazing to think back to what Port was just 5 years ago compared to now. Like I said in another post, February 27, 2016 can't get here soon enough. Can't wait to kick things off at Lincoln.

Some well said comments here , which is nice to hear . Yes, we have  alot to be thankful for here in Central Pa , our tracks , our promoters, the fact that our tracks are as close as they are .Most fans aren't as lucky to have so many tracks this close to see some great racing . And yes , I truly hope by other tracks stepping up there game that others will follow suit . Also one additional note of info that Susquehanna and Port Royal will have improved lighting.  Selinsgrove is considering what they can do for the first year until they get off the ground running within there new first budget.

the grove is still a nicer facility than every other track mentioned and the reg fri night 410/358 program has better cars at a better price than every other track all year...i dont get what everyone complains about...are the food prices too expensive? sure...bfd...oh and they shoot off fireworks on holiday weekends and outlaws shows...how awful!

Williamsgrove is the most famous track in Pa, it has something that can not be bought or sold, a rich history and unique track that is like no other in the world, you will never hear anyone say "this track reminds me of Williamsgrove " and if your a Sprintcar fan anywhere in the world you know about Williamsgrove. Unfortunately you can only ride that inertia for so long. I love Williamsgrove but the steady decline in regular show fans is happening for a reason. I don't claim to know what they need to do to fix it but I believe it's pretty obvious they need to do something to put fans and in the seats. Selinsgrove was packing the stands on a weekly basis when Charlie was making a buzz at the track, there was always new clay every year, a new scoreboard, TV's with live scoring and timing near the concessions, taller guard rails with Selinsgrove Speedway painted on, widened the turns, every year it was like " Wow, what can they do this year to make it even better?" Kinda like how Port Royal has been for the past few seasons. Then it seemed like Charlie lost his passion and it became a job, the new clay stopped coming, weeds growing in front of the guard rails, as a fan you got the sense that no one cared anymore, then the fans stopped caring and started going elsewhere and if you attended any of the regular shows there this year the stands were mostly empty. My point is, when someone at Williamsgrove gets that passion back and starts to care about the track and its history and takes some pride in the place the fans will return, hell Pa had written Port Royal off, the place flat out sucked, 5 years later it's better than it's ever been and guess what the fans came back. I'm the first to say I don't care about the facility as long as the racing is good, but I gotta be honest, I already know I'm going to Susky more this year because someone finally gives a shit about the place and is willing to bring it into the 21st century, we can only hope the same happens at Williamsgrove.

You hit on something there. I think the biggest problem with Williams Grove isn't the facilities. They're just fine. It isn't the surface because its good most of the time too. They miss it sometimes but so does everyone else, even Fred Putney and he's one of the all time great track preppers. The problem with Williams Grove is a PR issue. First off, the bogus cancellations over the years has cost them quite a few season ticket sales, including myself. I'm there every Friday but I refuse to buy a season ticket and reason #1 for that is the fact that from the outside looking in, they can't wait to cancel a regular Friday night show. I forget which week it was but it was this past season. They had a thunderstorm come through and drop a decent amount of rain but it was gone by 3:15 PM and clear skies were forecasted the rest the evening yet they cancelled. It rained but not a huge amount. With a start time of 7:30, they should've EASILY been able to have the track ready even if it meant they had to be delayed a half hour or so. That kind of shit right there has driven a lot of people away. The other thing is how they argue with and then subsequently blocking people on Twitter and Facebook. Whoever runs their social media needs canned ASAP.  I know the first thing I'd want to do when someone sends me a nasty tweet would be to chew their asses out and tell them to go f__k themselves but when you represent a business, you can't do that. In fact, you shouldn't even reply to the nasty stuff but it would be wise to take into account what those people are saying and see if there's anything you can be doing better. Especially if you get a lot of complaints about the same thing. One other problem I see is one that I can't quite put my finger on as far as the root cause or how it can be fixed but there's aa general lack of excitement surrounding the place. It seems like the fans and the teams just don't get pumped up about the place like they used to. I still enjoy going but I gotta admit, unless the WoO or the All Stars are in town, the highlight of my weekend is Saturday at Port Royal or Lincoln and Sunday if Susky, Path Valley or someone else is running a special show. The Grove is the one I least look forward to. That's a tricky issue and I hope someone smarter than me who is associated with the Speedway can do something to generate that buzz again that used to surround Friday nights at The Grove.

The Groves reputation has taken a hit lately.  I'll gladly spend my $ anywhere other than Williams Grove.

Wait, they did pave the pits...and raise camping fees.

_

 
 
 
They don't even know how to spell sprint car 
much less chromoly...http://www.ycmco.com

All these things are good but the main issues I see are follow the leader races & loss of teams due to expenses.

I don't know anything about track prep, so I'm not blaming anyone. Seems like racing got more competitive at the Grove after mid Summer Nats. Is it just a weather thing?

Costs? Don't know what to do about that, either...

But I'll make the 5 hr. drive to Pennsyltucky a few times next summer.....Posse sweeping Outlaws at mid summer Nats & Rico sweeping USAC midgets were highlites of summer racing for me