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

Finally someone hit the nail on the head.  There is a reason the Short Track Nationals draws a boatload of cars, with little purse on the line until Saturday.  It is that they pay 2400 to start.  That is like winning the 360 feature event twice at most tracks.  If WG wants to make it an event that is national in draw, then pay a purse like they do for top level late model races.  Here are the purses for the US Nationals and the North/South 100.  If WG offered something like this, then they could get the other teams to consider leaving the midwest.

The fact that everyone is concerned about a NSL race at I 80 is virtually laughable to anyone who has sense.  The real issue is series like the All Stars and Renegades scheduling head up against the National Open.  Given their competition for dates, and the large number of Ohio cars, if you offer a purse that pays the equivalent of winning Fremont, you will get the cars you need to justify a split field.  You don't need guys towing in from Iowa to make that happen.

IMO: without a preregister incentive (like Australia nomination) and a tow money effort to bring in cars from parts unknown, a split field format will be a total disaster unless they let 358s tag the field for a Thursday and Friday start and park.

Lincoln 1845 ft/.35 mile T1=118MPH 
Eldora 2287 ft/.43mile T3=135MPH
Port 2716 ft/.51 mile T3=TBD
Grove 2792 ft/.53 mile T3=135MPH
Selinsgrove 2847 ft/.54 mile T1=136MPH
"I didn't move to PA from El Paso in search of better 
weather." Van May

I agree however pay does need to be increased back through the field. 

I'm guessing the shows will be $10,000 to win $700 to start Thursday and Friday and $50,000 to win, $12,000 for second, $800 to start on Saturday.

IMO, if they want to GROW teh event, they should went with $25,000 to win and made it $1500 to start (minimum) on Saturday night.  Increase the purse through the field first, then go with teh big $$$ to win later on.

I'll be surprised if there's a split field. This extra day isn't about growing the event or anything like that. Its about opening the gate one more day and getting an outlaw crowd paying $30 a head to get in. She doesn't give a shit about anything else. This is a well known fact to most of us in central pa. Unfortunately, we have seen it far too many times since she inherited the track. I hope I'm wrong and this is the first step towards taking the national open to the next level but going by what I've seen from The Grove in the last 5+ years, I'll believe it when I see it.

I would agree that this is to guarantee another Outlaw profit night, which there is nothing wrong with.

I hope they don't do split fields, but if they do, you have potential for 2 30 car fields at least. 2013 got 62 cars, many of which had no hope of qualifying. With 24 spots each night, that's 48 drivers who could make some money.

What i think they should do is what I think Knoxville does for the late models.

Everyone runs both nights, best finish lines up heats for Saturday. No time trials for Saturday, everyone is running their butts off on Thurs/Fri to get the best spot for Saturday. Heats mean something on Saturday because you'll line up straight up based on finish.

If it truely is only about the $$$$ and not growing the event, that is too bad for you PA fans.

Knoxville uses the Sprint Nationals Format for the Late Model show they run (just everyone gets to qualify both nights) and your top point night lines you up in the A, B, C or D on Saturday.   If there are only 60 cars, that format IMO, wouldn't work that well as you're only talking a C, B and A main on Saturday.  If you line the heats "straight up" by qualifying points (or times), IMO you will watch a lot of single file, no passing races on the final night (unless Schatz has bad luck 2 nights in a row and has to run the C main).

As excited as i was to hear this news, it also bums me out as well.  The track 90 percent of the time can barely hold up for a regular world of outlaws weekend, let alone adding another race that weekend.  Second, its only about her making money, for all we know, shes already banking on rain being in the forecast that weekend so she gets her money all three nights and doesnt have to run a show, i mean thats what she does on normal friday nights.  Wish that they would have made Port Royal a 2 day show and kept the Natty normal

They put new clay down and the track was perfect for the Natty Open this year. Quit your bitching 

  Simple.  DONT GO!  I live 45 minutes from the Grove and have not attended an "outlaw" show there in many years.  When I heard the amount of money that gets pissed away in saction fees just to have basically 4 or 5 good outlaw cars show up.... the hell with that.   Hell the WRG probably gets more in fees than the entire friday night purse.  Bullshit.  I'll go to Selinsgrove and watch the 360s the weekends the circus is in town.

  I think the "outlaws" and any other series should just vanish into the sunset and let the track promoters PROMOTE big paying races.  Pay the drivers and not the fat fingered mooks running it.  The drivers will follow the money.  Wasnt the Kings Royal always a "non sanctioned" event that the outlaws went to anyway?  I remember back in the 80s Selinsgrove had a couple 50K to win shows and I didnt think they were sanctioned either. 

If nobody from the midwest cares about this show why is the camping area full of campers from Ohio,Indiana,Michigan,Iowa and other states?

Last year Dollanskt and Justin Hendersonalso ran while while Brown should blame his poor showing for not making more money, he time trialed good enough for a front row in a heat but raced out of the top ten.

Lasoski has said many times this is a race he really wanted to win.

Ryan Bohike did run this year #13 and Rodney Westhafer was there, kREITZ ALMOST RAN HIS CAR IN THE FEATURE AFTER HE HAD PROBLEMS. Layton had no ride and Seigel did not run the Grove at all this year.

Speaking of kreitz and Westhafer. Westhafer announced on facebook yesterday that he and Kreitz are teaming up for 2015. Rodney will still run his own equipment and # Flying Kreitz's colors with Kreitz backing him.

Apparently you didnt attend the other races at the race track this year.  I however attended every one of them, and i would say about 5 times out of all the racing was there a good quality race.  Or remember the summer nationals?? where pittman won both nights and passed 0 cars all night long.  Must have been a perfect track, just pittman was much better than everyone else

Split field would be a disaster if weather is a factor, which it is alot in PA on Outlaw weekends.

Could you imagine running something on a daytime track? Or having to automatically push the weekend back because Thursday got rained out? Much better to let everyone qualify both nights in my opinion.

Only been there once. Guess i got lucky

You should try spending your Friday nights where I do-  at No Speedway 200 miles away. I guarantee you that the Williams Grove Speedway is a much nicer facility and has much better racing than No Speedway.

i realize that folks on a messageboard and twitter make up a very small amount of the fans that attend the races, but all i read after this years natty open was how it needed to be a 3 day show, it was such a big event and everything that goes on at the track and with the car count etc etc etc...2 months later it happens, and now it's a bad thing and the track is being greedy...

the paying fans are entitled to voice their opinion i believe, but they should also wait until what they are bithcing about actually happens

There's a sense in PA that the Grove has gone downhill recently and the owner doesn't care about the fans. To some extent this might be true, but a 3 day National Open is going to be the 2nd largest sprint car event in terms of total purse (3 days, around $200K) in the world, so they should get some credit for expanding an already awesome event.

Also, there's nothing wrong with a business doing something to make more money. They're not a non-profit charitable organization.

I am a capitalist...and encourage the Grove to make more money...the fealls I sit with even prefer to pay more at the gate if the cut out some of the bullsh!t that drags on thru the night.

I personally have no issues with paying $2 more for no fireworks - $3 more for no 358 or midgets - $5 more for no limited late models.

Lincoln 1845 ft/.35 mile T1=118MPH 
Eldora 2287 ft/.43mile T3=135MPH
Port 2716 ft/.51 mile T3=TBD
Grove 2792 ft/.53 mile T3=135MPH
Selinsgrove 2847 ft/.54 mile T1=136MPH
"I didn't move to PA from El Paso in search of better 
weather." Van May

I don't mind the 358s, but ARDC is painful to watch on a track that big.