Forum: Oklahomatidbits.com General Forum (go)
Moderators:  /  David Smith Jr

A couple years ago, you could count on a full B in both the Factory Stocks and the Champ Sprints. The latter of those was really building. Now, both have dropped dramatically and in a very short period of time. The Champ Sprint thing is particularly sad. That class was extremely competitive and the field growth was exciting. Now, well, it's a whole lot less.

I hope Lanny sees the same thing and can take some steps (purse) to correct the problem. He has done a great job of keeping us from having to watch the junkyard classes that are over-running many speedways. Here is another opportunity for him to step up and save high quality racing in OKC.

"I'd pay $15 to watch a sprint car sit still."

dont you think that high fuel prices might have something to do with the turn out? Out of town racers are struggling to make it to the local tracks much less travel 50 to 100 miles to race. Local drivers that were border line able to afford racing are having to quit just to put gas in their tanks. I really think the fuel situation is a lot more to blame than any thing.

i guess that kmossman hasn't filled up lately at the public pump, or the sfs pump. anytime that gas goes over $2.50 a gallon at the public pump there is not going to be very many drivers that are going to travel very far to race. JMO

I dont think it is the fuel prices it's just everything has gone up over the past few years ...the cost of living has skyrocketed but the average workers pay has roughly stayed the same . Our economy sucks , but there isnt much we can do about it but tough it out I guess

winners dont cry when they lose , they go back to the 
drawing board and come back for round 2 !

fuel prices....sure. But lets not forget that some champ sprints have outrageously expensive motors and they are runnin for what? 5-600$ to win. Most guys from CCS or Lawton are not going to bother gettin their sprinters dirty for 50 or 60$ to start the feature. Plus CCS and Lawton are both bullrings.....and SFS is a lot faster......couple that in with quality drivers like Chris Burns and Robert Sellers, etc., etc. and then throw in the quality of motors they are running.........the champ sprint count won't get any bigger......in fact only smaller.

Champs and Supers both run 360ci motors.......so many have just skipped the champs and went right to the supers.........but ironically Devil's Bowl is the only other track that runs Super Sprints.......but yet 5 or 6 run Champs. Also many of the best super sprint drivers run champs too so it's not like racin champ sprints is a lesser class than the super sprints.........no matter which class it is.....Sellers, Jennings, Burns, and Decker are still gonna be very fast. But also recognize that the tulsa guys don't come down every week......Kenneth Walker and BJ Fay have both been runnin ASCS. Not having Gastineau, Walker, Fay, and a couple of other is the difference between having a B Main and not having one. But I'll say this......I've always considered car counts in a lot.........but not near as much as tha past. There are times when the car count does not matter at all and there may just be 18 or 19 cars and it is still a great race.

My bitch is why more SFS don't run ASCS..........if just a few more OKC guys ran that it would be an A+ show.....instead of just an A (just.lol.). Because of ASCS (and I imagine other reasons as well) is why Gastineau and Joe Wood Jr. don't run champs. And really I appreciate that...........b/c I doubt they have any more $$ behind them than guys like Burns do behind them......but yet they have that competitive desire to get off the porch. I think that is somethin to be highly appreciated.

But as to the champ sprint car count issue......I think the fuel prices is most of the reason. I would bet thats most of the reason why Lawton drivers, CCS drivers, and even guys like Goodman, Passmore, and other OCRS drivers aren't at our friday night SFS sprint car races. But I would really like to know is......where the heck has BJ Fay been? I haven't seen his name anywhere recently.......

How much would could a wouldchuck chuck if a 
wouldchuck could chuck would

Fuel prices. Most everyone I know is cutting back somewhere. Whether that's curtailing a hobby (like racing), consolidating trips around town or not getting out and about as much, lots of folks can't justify the fuel costs. Big oil has us over a barrel (no pun intended) and they love it.

I loved talking to IHRA alcohol funny car driver Mark Thomas this past weekend at Tulsa. The Ohio corn farmer has powered his race car with 100% ethanol since 1990. The lubricants in the engine are corn oil based. His hauler runs on biodiesel. Green racing--what a concept!!!

  I agree with you Shawn.  I've been hearing people talk of canceling vacations and such for a while now. Blaiming it on the gas prices and an unsecure economy. Alot of my customers have even cut back on scheduled car maint.  I look around town and see more homes on the market also. Obviously, it has already caught up alot of people. 

I've filled up plenty lately and I am sure fuel prices have something to do with it. Perhaps, just perhaps, that's why I suggested that maybe the purses could rise a bit to help racers offset their rising costs. And yes, I know the track has rising costs, too.

"I'd pay $15 to watch a sprint car sit still."

Bigger purses = less money in Lanny's pocket. Don't count on it.

The fuel price of getting to the track, the price of race fuel + everything else that is involved with just getting one car on the track is getting harder to do. A track like we had last Friday cost apx $25 more in tear off's alone. There are so many costs involved that unless you've been there or do this, you do not know! If you want to support our sport, sponsor a car!! Regardless of your amount, IT DOES HELP keep another car on the track!!

EXACTLY Non-Wing!

74% of americans in 2003 thought that oil was one of the top reasons we really invaded Iraq.......I wonder what those 74% think about current gas prices.

I could really go on about this.......but I'll just say this. We all should not worry too much about car counts........considering the current situation with our economy and oil both domestic and abroad........I think we will be lucky to even have dirt track races 20 years from now. Thats just 1 of many reasons I say we need to get to a MAJOR alternative fuel very quickly......because of we continue to use the oil until it's mostly gone and then go to alternative fuels............well then there won't be much left for race cars :(

And gas prices are only gonna go up in the long-term. and it will impact our sport in very, very bad way. And I'm not sure there are alternative fuels for sprint cars............ are there?

How much would could a wouldchuck chuck if a 
wouldchuck could chuck would

What would those 74% of Americans think if they realized that no oil is flowing from Iraq because the Iraqi Parliament has not passed the oil revenue sharing bill that the United States wants. You can thank Dubya, Cheney, Halliburton, Exxon-Mobil, etc., etc. for your $3 gasoline. That gas price impacts not just what you put in your tank but the price of all goods and ultimately our economy. Oh yeah, they say there's no such thing as global warming. Jim Inhofe can bite me.

Bobcat -- I think you nailed it. Have to relate a quick story.

Was sitting in Wichita one night watching a Cruisers race during a World of Outlaws show. When the winning car crossed the finish line, a woman sitting in front of us broke out in tears. This woman, of obviously modest means, was apparently the mother of the winning drivers (there are two drivers in Cruiser races). I interpreted her crying as that of a joyful winner. My compadre saw it differently.

I turned to my dad and said, "I wonder what is running through her mind right now?" My dad deadpanned, "I'll tell you what she's thinking. She's thinking, 'We could have health insurance if it wasn't for that damn race car.'"

So, yes, it absolutely is a way of life for some people. And dad once drove super modifieds around Caney, Dewey, Wichita so I imagine he was reflecting on putting a dollar or two into a car.

"I'd pay $15 to watch a sprint car sit still."

exactly. I was just reading where Halliburton was handed there 5th multi-billion dollar contract in Iraq since the conflict started. I don't see our corporate gov't pullin the troops out of there anytime soon just on the fact that certain friends of our president have HUGE investments there......and our president needs the troops to protect those investments. I find it interesting that the vast majority of this country's citizens want all the troops pulled out, but yet the pres. won't do it. With a very minute amount of common sense one can see why.......has nothing to do with protecting freedom.....and everything to do with protecting your buddies investments. He cares much less for his citizens interests than he does for how handsomely he will be rewarded by Bechtel and Halliburton. And why should it be any different? The American people won't hold him accountable for anything........and as long as you send the press very fat checks to turn a blind eye to political events.........the truth will never be told. By all rights the man should not just be impeached....but brought up on war crimes. The atrocities our current administration have commited not just against innocent civilians......but against their own people.......will have extremely long-lasting impacts. I think we would need about 5 great presidents to fix what this one has done. And it will never happen......because to get elected you have to have corporate support........so there goes a well-intentioned president.

Almost 4,000 troops dead in Iraq..........the number of Iraqi deaths........which I imagine would be staggering........and for what? protecting freedom? the freedom we think we have is nothing more than a facade. But there will come a time when certain things become known.........and the people will demand change. But those voters don't have all the power..........it's the ones with a whole lot of money that can control what the voters think through the media. ok I'm done.

seriously I'm just depressed from lookin at the forecast tomorrow.lol.

How much would could a wouldchuck chuck if a 
wouldchuck could chuck would

I like the way you think OKCFan12. But let's not hijack this post. Declining car counts suck but if the racing is good with a short field at least I feel like I got my ten bucks worth.

I guess the people who predict what the stock market will and wont do has nothing to do with the oil prices? It's always Dubya's fault for everything? Just like a typical bunch a liberal pansies. Yes I grieve for the 4,000 that have served our country with the ultimate sacrifice, but considering we were losing 4,000 a month in WW2 and that was a war about oil, I think we are getting a little disillusioned with everything. How long did it take to rebuild Germany, Japan and Europe? Alot longer than 4 years. Stock market is whats making the oil prices go crazy, not the government or some Bush-Cheney conspiracy.

Now let me also say that I also am concerned about what is going on over there, but I say to you, do you want the fight over there or in your front yard? We saw what happened when 20 some crazy nuts with some airplanes did in less than 4 hours. Quite frankly, I like being able to drive to work and the grocery store or going racing at the track and not having to worry about a bomb going off on the road side. If we have to fight, lets fight over there first before we have to do it here and have our wives and children in the mix. JMO!

Not to hi-jack this thread anymore than what is has been but what makes anyone think we dont have some of the same crazies already here in the US. Like many, from both parties that I have talked to,  they all think the same thing that it is just a matter of time before we see something else.

Sorry to hijack

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands 
in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he 
stands at times of challenge and controversy." 
Martin Luther King, Jr. 

Erich Petersen 

man I could go off on another rant. But I'll just say you should read "Confessions of an Economic Hit Man." It's located at all local bookstores. It would give you a very valid opinion from the "other side". Can't have a truly educated view without hearing more than 1 side.......... especially if it is the side that is bought and paid for.

How much would could a wouldchuck chuck if a 
wouldchuck could chuck would

I tried to turn this post back to racing. But....

Remember this. Iraq never attacked us. The intelligence that said they had weapons of mass destruction was flawed at best if not an outright lie. Al Qaeda had no presence in Iraq until we destabilized the country. The hijackers of 9/11 were Saudi. As in Saudi Arabia whose rulers are tight with the Bush family. Osama Bin Laden and his confederates continue to run Al Qaeda from somewhere in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Algeria, Somalia, who knows. I'm all for fighting the terrorists but we ain't doin' it where we should be.

As OKCFan12 posted, a truly educated view is one that has been examined from all sides-not just through the eyes of Fox News, Rush Limbaugh or Glenn Beck.

Yours truly,

Liberal Pansy

So anyway, what does everyone think about the dirt track over there at the fairgrounds in Oklahoma City?

"I'd pay $15 to watch a sprint car sit still."