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

I just don't think Sunday works anymore. Pretty much all of the drivers have jobs they have to go to on Monday morning. Hopefully a lot of teams come down from Grand Forks, then they can head back Saturday night or Sunday morning. Same deal with fans, I live in Sioux Falls but rarely go to Husets because I have to be to work by 7 am. I'll start going more often next year. 

Personally, I'm excited about the changes. The new lights have been installed, the new scoreboard is up and it's huge. I hope he pays the support classes out too, they usually put a lot of butts in the seats.

I am curious how the attendance will be for the gold cup after the nationals with those crazy ticket prices 

Looks like the NSL is running on 2 Saturday's next year out @ Huset's/Badlands

From Badlands Motor Speedway website

SPECIAL EVENTS

Brennan also announced several special events for next season including the famed World of Outlaws for a two-day show on July 2-3, three stops for the National Sprint League (May 21, July 23, Sept. 4)

I voiced my opinion on their facebook page last night, i pulled no puches about anything. the racers will benefit yes. but the fans will suffer. Now i am glad that the racers will get more money but i said that for 30 dollars for a weekend which now u go for 15 to see the same classes race, not gonna happen,. Then you have to figure in eating there gas money, peuople do not have that much money to do that.

then guess what i got a pm on facebook from Tom Savage asking why i was so negative. told him it was all smoke and mirrors, amd i would rather driver 4 hours to knoxville and spend 15 bucks to get in, and see 80 to 90 sprint cars race there than drive the 43 miles to the shit hole. Told him the only way i would go is if i had free VIP booth tickets. then i would have to think about it instread of going to Jackson.

Everyone beware it is not what it seems.

After listening to the press conference, something doesn't add up (or everyone from about 5th place back gets the same $$.

He stated that the purse on Saturday Night will be $30,000 for 3 classes (410's, 305's and stock cars).

States it's $5000 to win for 410's and $1000 to win for 305's with $700 to start 410's and $100 to start 305's and purse is based on 22 cars in each class.

If everyone gets $700 from 2nd to 22nd in the 410 feature, that makes it $19,700 of the $30,000 when you add the winners share.  If 305's do the same, that's $3100 (he didn't talk about the purse for the stocks, but I would guess it's about the same as the 305's).

Sunday purse is $20,000 according to the Press Conference (3 classes).

Seems like the #'s don't add up to me, but I hope it works well for Sioux Falls area fans and drivers alike.

Not a huge fan of raising general admission prices to $20 for adults on Saturdays, and the season ticket prices he spouted off seem way out of range....but maybe that's just me....

I watched the press conference in it's entirety and I have to admit I'm impressed.  I grew up in Knoxville.  There isn't a bigger sprint car fan or bigger supporter of Knoxville than me.  I don't understand how anyone can think this is a bad thing for sprint car racing unless they are selfishly worried about how this hurts Knoxville.  Which it will slightly.  But that folks is Knoxville's fault.  But my post isn't about bashing Knoxville.

This guy has a vision, a business plan, and most importantly he knows how to market entertainment and make money doing it.  I'm not saying his business model will work in a niche sport like sprint car racing but a couple things he's doing are innovative.

1) He said he's paying out $1M in purse money for all of the race events in the year.  He announced his season ticket packages, which in many cases are reasonable and justifiable to many people.  Even if he sells only half of his announced 1800 reserved season packages, he just made enough money to pay for the entire $1M annual purse fund without selling any other tickets.  Everything else just became gravy.  And if this guy markets like I think he does, I give him a better shot than not of selling 1000 season passes.  I saw real press at this conference...which means he's hitting Sioux Falls hard.  I'll bet he can find 1000 well to do race fans, business owners, or socialites in that area to hit that mark.  Most will write it off as business expense.  Others will justify it as die hard fans.  To others it is pocket change so who cares.

2) You can tell by his press conference he is building an attraction.  Not just a sprint car track, but an entertainment destination to serve the public in that area.  I hate to break it to you folks, but that is how you market to new fans or casual fans.  Using his connections and the concert industry to promote and expand his venue is smart business sense.  He has famous friends and investors.  The upgrades sound very fan friendly.  Maybe the racing product won't justify the cost, maybe it will.  But by starting with the purses, he will lure a few drivers away from Knoxville, some from Minnesota,  some from Nebraska, but more likely many from North Dakota to make the trip which should enhance the racing.  If the Badlands brand grows, so will car counts, so will attendence.  But based on this guys track record and what I've seen I give him a better chance of success than failure.

As for Knoxville, I hate to say it, but yes, if I'm a driver in that area, the prospect of running Badlands for more money and less travel expense, less motor expense, etc makes more sense than Knoxville.  AND I can throw a 360 in and run Sunday.  What the guy is doing is good for drivers in that area and good for fans in that area.  If it is successful and grows it's good for all of sprint car racing.  The only possible loser is Knoxville Raceway and Knoxville fans... which I'm one of them.  But you can't blame this guy for that.  Business is business.  Maybe someday Knoxville Raceway will actually hire a businessman to run their business.  

good points Jamie.

As a car owner (or former, been a while since I've seen an IRA show), what are your thoughts on the purse $$.  Do the #'s add up?  By my math, it's great for the winner, but the 2nd-10th place finishers may actually be taking a pay cut, while 11th through 22nd see their purse $$ increase.

Is it a good deal for Sioux Falls?  YES, it is.  Lots more population in the general vicinity will help them tremendously as well.

Is Chuck a smart businessman?  Obviously he is, or his other business ventures would have failed miserably by now.

Will it hurt Knoxville?  Hard to say at this point, I'd say we won't know until year 2 or 3 for sure.

As a casual observer, I'd say the cars Knoxville needs to worry about losing are:  BWW 82, McCarl 24 (a majority of his sponsors are from that area), McCarl 17a (ditto), Dobmeier (makes more sense for him due to travel/sponsors), Lunsta car (will it be TK again in 2016?), Davey Heskin (might not be much difference in drivetime though, not sure), Tatnell (he lives in MN, but car owner is based in Knoxville as are the sponsors). 

The ? mark in my mind is the NSL.  Do they still have multiple races at Knoxville in 2016?  Does Chuck really have inked contracts already or is he just spouting off before anything happens?  Time will tell.

Brennan must have signed contracts.  The 2016 schedule is out.
http://badlandsmotorspeedway.com/tickets-events/2016-schedule/

We also need to remember it pays $1000 for quick time, $400 for 2nd, $300 for 3rd, $200 for 4th, and $100 for 5th.

Also a point fund that pays $8000 to the winning driver and $8000 to the car owner.

I would say he is putting his money where his mouth is.

http://badlandsmotorspeedway.com/

Did anyone see the ticket prices for the big shows?

Keep It Real

Don't believe everything you see on the internet. He may be penciling in his own dates hoping they stick (wouldnt be one bit surprised). I'll believe it when the NSL sends next years schedule out through a press release.

As for Husets stealing Heskins? Come on Vande no way! Knoxville is his track. He typically runs better at Knoxville than any other track.

Yes, I believe the schedule for next year unless someone from NSL or World Of Outlaws says otherwise.

I must have missed that, in that case it definitely must pay start $$ for 2nd through 22nd.  Chuck stated the Saturday Night purse was $30,000 and Sunday's purse is $20,000 making it a $50,000 purse for the weekend.

As I stated above, $5000 to win and $700 for 2nd through 22nd = $19,700 and $1000 to win with $100 for 2nd through 22nd on 305's = $3100, same goes for the stock car class that night $3100 in purse $$$.  Take your $2000 for time trials and those 4 things add up to $27,900.  That means there is only $2100 left for payouts better than start $$ for any positions in the features.

And if there isn't a full field, the winner gets all the rest of the purse $$ (according to Chuck in his press conference), so if only 15 cars show up, the winner gets $9900, but everyone else gets the advertised payout.  Glad he's paying the $ out and not pocketing it, but reward EVERYONE that showed up, not just the winner if you have a short field (maybe that will increase your car counts as the season wears on). 

$60 ticket for Gold Cup prelims? $75 ticket for Gold Cup Main Event?

I think it's great that this guy wants to put a bunch of money into the track and pay the drivers. I hope it's incredibly successful. But it doesn't seem to be based in anything making economic sense.

The only way Knoxville can pay the purse it does is because of the enormous profit it makes Nationals-week. To match that purse weekly  and expect to make money seems like a risk.

Guys all the info is on his website. You can get season tickets for $600. You can get the $800 package that includes the gold cup and all the concerts, etc. That's a pretty good deal. The full payouts are on there as well and they pay back through the field pretty good. It looks like a pretty damn good deal to me.

I have seen a lot of good comments on this subject. What we all need to do is step back from a fans point of view and look at it from the business point of view. This isn't really about how it is going to make the sport as a whole better, which is fine. Badlands is doing what is best for their business. If they can make it thrive in the Souix Falls market then all the power to them. They owe Knoxville nothing. I think it is great that people are willing to try something new. I am not sure I agree with everything they are doing but they didn't ask me and I have nothing invested. Like Jamie, I am a die hard at Knoxville but as I have said on here before Knoxville needs a kick in the pants. A lot of the people think the racing world should revolve around Knoxville. They are doing some good things and yes they have the Nationals but why should the racing world revolve around a place that is so stuck in doing things " the way we have always done it" and claim to lose money on a weekly basis. Badlands is stirring the pot which is always good because it keeps people thinking. In my opinion, which doesn't mean much, Knoxville's next hire for promotor is crucial. Stickel worked very hard to get sponsors involved but the weekly fan feels neglected (justified or not). They need to hire somebody willing to think outside the box every now and then, and the fairboard needs to let them do that. If all these tracks that have been talked about on here can thrive in their own markets, it will spill over and make the whole sport better. 

IT IS NOT $5,000 to win and then 700 from 2nd thru 22nd!!!

Here is the real 410 payout:
Qualifying: $1000, $400, $300, $200, $100
Feature: $5000, $2500, $2000, $1500, $1250, $1000, $950, $900, $850, $825, (11-15): $800, (16-22) $700

Saturday Purse:
$27,675 for 410's (including extra $2,000 for qualifying)
$4,000 each for 305's and Street stocks

Sunday Purse:
$11.950 for 360's
$3,225 for micro's
$2,825 for hobby stocks

Total weekend = $37,675 + $18000 = $55675

Will he be able to sustain this? Who knows, only time will tell, but next year should be very awesome for the fans/drivers. I can’t see how anyone in their right mind can’t see that this is the best thing to happen to this sport in a long time.

Looking at the proposed (subject to change) payouts on the Badlands website, something is definitely fishy to me.

Chuck stated that the purse for the weekend was $50,000 with $30,000 on Saturday and $20,000 on Sunday (Chuck said it in the Press Conference, go back and listen if you need to).

The purse they have on their website shows $35675 for Saturday and $18000 for Sunday.  So which is it?  Is it $30,000 in purse or $35675 in purse $$.  is it $18000 or $20000? 

It seems to me like Chuck likes to talk a big game, so how could he not tout the fact that the purse on Saturday was nearly $36000?  Usually he overstates what he's going to do it seems like (like the Gold Cup being the biggest event in the Nation for example in his first press conference).

My guess would be that with a purse like Chuck is proposing to work, he will have to have ~2250 adults in attendance every Saturday to bring in $45,000 at the gate (cover the purse and advertising) and then sell enough concessions to pay the electric, payroll, water, insurance, etc. and then use his concerts to make the real money during the year.

I hope it pays off for him (and his investors) and the racers and fans don't get screwed over.  One thing I know for sure, one of his investors isn't interested in losing $$ (Paul Stanley from KISS), he and Gene don't do anything that doesn't make them $$$.

$40 for an outlaw show, people are pissed when they had to pay $35! don't see kids pricing so im assuming all is 40, so to take a family of 4 is $160! hopefully he doesnt charge for parking otherwise it will be like paying for a mini vacation to go to a 1 night 24 car outlaw show.