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

The mid week high dollar sprint car races are great.  If all the promoters of sprint car racing would work better together perhaps the travel required could be made more manageable?  The fewer different promotoers/series should make for a cleaner schedule eventually.  Local tracks and series are the backbone of racing aren't they?  I suspect some of the racers or teams that started the HL series learned what it takes to race with the big name teams and they stopped traveling to avoid just being field fillers and not making money for filling the field. The World of Outlaws also had reduced car counts as the season wound down I believe.  Let's face it the winners and front runners likely have much bigger budgets and more experience. If the car and engine rules were to limit these aspects we might end up with what NASCAR has created with everyone racing nearly identical cars performance wise. NASCAR reminds me of IROC races (remember them?)  Tony's SRX races so far seem to have avoided this. These races are decent and they are during the week too. 

I am tired of figuring out which channel the three NASCAR series are on many weekends.  Maybe MAVTV is a good place for all of them like when they were on TNN, remember then?

Good info Duane - thanks. I hope Mr. Helms is part of this effort as Waynesfield needs to be part of Speedweek. With what sounds like the resurrection of Millstream, I have a lot of faith and hope Ohio SW will continue. As others have said, I don't think it needs a sanction to carry on.

+1

But I'm watching these developments with a wary eye.  I have a sentimental attachment to the All Stars, so I'm uneasy waiting for all the questions to be answered.

Signature here.

What if the reason why High Limit does not want Ohio Speedweek is because Larson wants Pennsylvania Speedweek. Its odd but i wouldn't rule it out. They likely add more tracks to the schedule and do not going to 1 track twice. 

A possibility but I don't see the big three(Grove, Port, Lincoln) giving up one of their dates at this point. I myself liked the old Pa speedweek of different tracks.

You guys are talking like Kyle Larson can just do anything he wants at any race track in any state. He may be able to win at any race track but he can't control the business end of them and what might be intriguing to him for a couple of years wont compare to what the all stars have been. 

Even though I may not know you, I 
care what most of you think!

What the All Stars were was an organization under Guy Webb at the brink of death until Tony Stewart saved it and brought it back to some respectability. And I would say Larson has plenty of capital and clout to take it over, where it goes from there nobody knows but going National against the Woo has never worked.

First the all stars work as a regional series when the woo guys are not racing close by. There top 5 guys can run with the outlaws and get top 10 finishes. The series biggest need is a title sponsor,  lose that and that could be a real problem.  Tony it definitely seems, since marriage, has cut back on his dirt interests. I think the drag racing deal won't last long, unless he tries a fuel car.  High Limit I would say had a impressive showing in its first year. Part of the problem there is kyle larson cannot keep winning all the races. He is the draw, he is one of the best and you have to beat the best. HL was started on the premises of giving more guys a chance of winning good money on mid week shows. The boss and Rico took most of that home. You take kyle out of the picture and how many fans are going to show up on a Tuesday night.  I think it's great that they don't run support classes, get in, get out. 

Ohio speedweeks is not what it was, the rivalry is missing it seems. They rely heavily on the all stars to make it happen, without that support it cannot continue.  Pa speedweeks because of purse money and the lore of racing in posse country gets many all stars for pa speedweeks if there is no conflicting dates. The same cannot be said for ohio speedweeks.

Courtesy of Sprint Car Ratings

THE Ohio Sprint Speedweek (often immitated, never duplicated)

____________________________________________________________________

PA speedweek

Champion: Anthony Macri

Average Car Count: 33

2Driver Count: 69

Driver Count at every race: 14

Driver Count making all features: 10

Driver Count to make at least 1 feature: 48

Driver Count with top 5: 12

Driver Count with top 10: 23

Total Money: $243,892

Lol  don't let facts get in the way of a myth 

i would hold off on all the analysis until any sale of the series actually happens.  it doesn't seem like many things that are heard during a conversation in the pits turn out to be true.  the sprint car rumor mill isn't very accurate.  everybody was supposed to be bailing on the outlaws last year especially sheldon who was a guarantee.  

i do think the all stars need an overhaul.  that's not to say tony stewart did a bad job with them.  the outlaws are awesome and are going to be tough to beat.  they're smart business people by keeping the race restrictions on their teams.  we'll see if brad and kyle try to take them head on by beefing up the all stars with more money and races or try to live along side them which is more of what the high limit series is doing.

larson should race but not collect points.  it was uncomfortable to see him get the championship ring and then say the ring was his idea.  he basically won his own ring.  

What most of you fail to understand is that Kyle's involvment is more form a promotional tool standpoint. He does not own all of High Limit. Heck, he doesn't even own half of High Limit. I'm sure Kyle is getting his due cut, but he's the attraction and attaching his name to it makes it appear it;s his money being thrown around, but it;s not.

Brad has more involvment from that side of things than Kyle does and you'll see when this stuff gets released that Brad is going to be the CEO and essentially be running the show. The money is coming form Flo and their investors....not Kyle Larson.

So while Kyle and Flo are essentially in bed togethert here (look no farther than the sponsors on his late model and sprint car), Kyle is just the attachment to get fans excited and draw interest. He's not sitting at home cutting checks, organizing schedules, planning purses, meeting with tracks and making stuff happen. They certainly have reason to listen to his input, but his involvment is much less than has been marketed and most people can figure that out.

You may be right but it sure didn't look that way when he stopped on the track to officiate a race. As far as Ohio speedweek, why not wait until something really happens?

I still don't see what's so bad about the big meanie Outlaws. They provide an opportunity to race full time, have an established cool brand, tow $ and all the perks. You can even bring along your little money printing machine (merch trailer), since race fans will literally buy anything.

So go live your romantic vagabond lifestyle, post pics of your motorcoach getting new graphics & new custom helmet paint on Instagram, wear 80 different pairs of Vans, flat bill your hat. 

Or don't. I don't really give a shit. 

This is all good stuff.  So many rumors out there.  I ignore most.

From my trusted source, the All Star sale is a done deal but cannot be announced until Sweet wins the WoO title.  It is an outright sale, not a merger.  Unfortunately, the All Stars will not exist after this happens.  Most of the equipment is being sold and all of the employees are being released.  That is also unfortunate because they seem to have a good group of people and the new director was doing a good job.  I can't remember his name.  The All Stars were well liked by tracks and fans everywhere they raced and have a long history, so this will be a sad ending for them.

For High Limit, Kyle has almost nothing to do with operations.  He is just the star power to draw people and sponsors.  Everything is being done by Sweet and Flo.  I'm hearing they plan to run a nationwide schedule and compete head to head with the Outlaws.  Somewhere around 60-70 races.  Some weekdays but mostly weekends.

Remember when High Limit was announced as a mid-week series for the teams to race for more money?  It was to help racing right?  What happened to that plan?  Now they are eliminating a 50-year old regional series and trying to eliminate with the top series in the country?  Why?

GREED, that's why.

I fear that both cannot exist using the same business model and this move is harmful to sprint car racing, starting with the elimination of the All Stars.

If what you say is true, it will be harmful until one of the 2 series folds.  Then, the remaining series will be forced to run the same exact model the Outlaws already run in order to survive running a nationwide tour.  Too bad most cannot see this fact.  

As of last weekend, no deal had been reached. There is a letter of intent on the table for High Limit to purchase the All Stars and it would be at a 75% interest, with the majority of the money coming form FloRacing.

Yes- they backdoored the All Stars and their people and there is an attempt by those invovled to essentially stop the sale. As many who have supported the series of the years form employees to sponsors are not very happy about the deal and the potential implications of the sale.

Yes- it's very much a greed deal. Flo has invested a ton of money in High Limit and mid-week racing and a buyout not only ensures they have a viable product to promote from a sprint car side of things to go along with their hughe late model invest,ent, but it narrows things down to one focus instead of two.

Yes- Brad will run the show. Brad has been working for months at securing dates and tracks, which has only further complicated the sale as many involved in day to day activities with the All STARS were caught off guard and found out of an impending sale only when hearing from their tracks scheduled about the calls being made.

There is essentially a sign here date of October 15th that if no deal is completed, they'll be starting from scratch. Many drivers are not happy with the direction and plans as it goes against everything they signed on for in the begining. We'll see what happens. But there are a lot of skeletons coming out of this whole deal that could either potentially impode it all before it even starts or just create fuirther division down the road.

If anything what you say is true , my CART/IRL prediction will ring true . Growing after a rough period for 10 years only to be broken by those at the top , which destroyed the car count and alienated the fan base . Sitting in the pits at Port Royal when the cars were pushed out for the A main on thursday was a solem but ugly feeling , I could be watching 52 years of tradition and history was down the tubes for GREED. Sad day when this annouced that many wont realize what they have encouraged and done.

The best racetracks are in the middle of nowhere

hmmmm....

The best racetracks are in the middle of nowhere

Great insight.

So you're saying it is not a done deal yet?

What I got from that is Flo is forcing Tony to sell the All Stars?  Because Flo is the main sponsor of the All Stars and own a majority of High Limit, so selling the All Stars to Flo would basically save Flo money in the long run.  Wow that's interesting.  Why doesn't Tony make Flo buy out the remaining sponsor contract and then go to DirtVision for All Star broadcasting?  That may keep the series intact.

You said that the All Star people are making an attempt to stop the sale?  Do you mean the employees themselves?  What are they doing if you don't mind me asking?  That's very noble of them actually.  It's hard to find loyal employees who actually care about something.

Also, you said that the All Star people found out about the sale from the tracks?  I heard that Sweet was calling tracks trying to get dates scheduled for 2024.  I'm assuming that he was calling the All Star tracks before the sale was close to being done?  If so, that's shady as can be.

Man, there is so much going on here.  Unbelievable.