|
|
|
|
|
Topic: Sprint car driver Tony Jones to USAC: Show me the Money
|
Email this topic to a friend |
Subscribe to this Topic
| Report this Topic to Moderator
|
|
Page 3 of 5 of 85 replies
|
|
|
|
|
February 29, 2008 at
10:18:19 PM
|
|
|
Joined:
|
01/17/2007
|
|
Posts:
|
104
|
|
|
This message was edited on
February 29, 2008 at
10:21:41 PM by Buzzard-
Hell with USAC.
CRA doesnt need USAC. Sure the national series gets more drivers from back east but just look at the people who have come out of CRA, SCRA, whatever the hell and gone there. Champion after champion... look at some of the kids running in ARCA and Busch or whatever the hell the series is called now.
Who needs who?
Bust out a 360 and come race with VRA. Theres some serious exciting stuff going on this season for VRA and I would love to see more cars there.
Either way, you drive it by me in turn 2 or turn 4 and ill take a picture of it.
|
|
|
|
|
March 01, 2008 at
09:16:52 AM
|
|
|
Joined:
|
12/04/2004
|
|
Posts:
|
64
|
|
|
|
Like was previously stated opinion's are like A holes everybody's got one! And everybody has the right to be wrong.
1. Sttmn is wrong when saying Mr, Jennings should not post the article by Matt Calkins. The only thing detrimental to sprint car racing is USAC.
2. USAC/CRA car owners must feel like mushrooms, because they have been kept in the dark and feed BS for along time. Just read Kop's post.
3.It's like Robbin Miller, of the speed channel, said not long ago "USAC has some of the best racing and the worst management there is".
4. If the USAC/CRA car owners where smart, which they may not be , they would band together and try and reorganize SCRA or talk with ASCS and form a non wing 410 Pacific division.
5. I find it surprising that Buzzard would say " to hell with USAC", but I have to agree with him. And VRA is a good show.
|
|
|
|
March 01, 2008 at
09:33:15 AM
|
|
|
Joined:
|
12/01/2004
|
|
Posts:
|
742
|
|
|
|
Taken from the June 2004 SprintCar & Midget magazine about the 410 sprint car split. Author was Pat Sullivan..........
From a pure business perspective one can appreciate why Rollie Helmling seized this opportunity (to move into the west coast), but the USAC boss may find himself in a game of high stakes poker. Clearly, the United States Auto Club is in a prime position to reassert itself as a major force in short track racing across the nation but, on the flip side, the potential for failure is equally great. Rest assured, many will be watching to see if USAC can deliver in its promises.
Has USAC delivered on their promises? Ask the car owners whom have either parked their rides w/o financial issues and those that are cutting back. Here's another out take from the article......
One track operator who resisted the temptation to jump ship was Thunderbowl Raceway's (Tulare) Steve Faria. Faria emphatically insists he has nothing against USAC whatsoever but feels strongly about honoring commitments he had made to Ron Shuman.
Faria, who has deep roots in drag racing, views himself as a racer first and sees danger in the new arrangement (the forming of USAC/CRA). "I told the owners I have nothing against USAC, no axe to grind, nothing like that, but what I have seen is that when an organization like USAC or promoters get control of a venue the racers suffer and lose their voice. My deal is that when promoters get control they eventually squeeze the purse and the racers dwindle."
Very interesting comment coming from a promoter. Looks like Faria saw what lied ahead even if others didn't.
|
|
|
|
|
|
March 01, 2008 at
09:55:23 AM
|
|
|
Joined:
|
04/10/2007
|
|
Posts:
|
397
|
|
|
Reply to:
Posted By: racerdon on March 01 2008 at 09:16:52 AM
Like was previously stated opinion's are like A holes everybody's got one! And everybody has the right to be wrong.
1. Sttmn is wrong when saying Mr, Jennings should not post the article by Matt Calkins. The only thing detrimental to sprint car racing is USAC.
2. USAC/CRA car owners must feel like mushrooms, because they have been kept in the dark and feed BS for along time. Just read Kop's post.
3.It's like Robbin Miller, of the speed channel, said not long ago "USAC has some of the best racing and the worst management there is".
4. If the USAC/CRA car owners where smart, which they may not be , they would band together and try and reorganize SCRA or talk with ASCS and form a non wing 410 Pacific division.
5. I find it surprising that Buzzard would say " to hell with USAC", but I have to agree with him. And VRA is a good show.
|
I wholeheartedly agree with your post,especially #4.But I'd like to point out the board members of SCRAwere some of the first to jump ship,and leave SCRA.These owners/ drivers were ,in theory ,some of the more dedicated members .It's unlikely the current group would ever have the moxy to do what Glen Howard and the boys did in the '90's.There are leaders and there are followers We lack leadership or at least I hav'nt seen them step forward yet.I like VRA also however I don't think it's the right model to form a new organization,it just works well at Ventura because of the good people who run it.
|
|
|
|
|
March 01, 2008 at
10:11:43 AM
|
|
|
Joined:
|
04/10/2007
|
|
Posts:
|
397
|
|
|
Reply to:
Posted By: KOP on March 01 2008 at 09:33:15 AM
Taken from the June 2004 SprintCar & Midget magazine about the 410 sprint car split. Author was Pat Sullivan..........
From a pure business perspective one can appreciate why Rollie Helmling seized this opportunity (to move into the west coast), but the USAC boss may find himself in a game of high stakes poker. Clearly, the United States Auto Club is in a prime position to reassert itself as a major force in short track racing across the nation but, on the flip side, the potential for failure is equally great. Rest assured, many will be watching to see if USAC can deliver in its promises.
Has USAC delivered on their promises? Ask the car owners whom have either parked their rides w/o financial issues and those that are cutting back. Here's another out take from the article......
One track operator who resisted the temptation to jump ship was Thunderbowl Raceway's (Tulare) Steve Faria. Faria emphatically insists he has nothing against USAC whatsoever but feels strongly about honoring commitments he had made to Ron Shuman.
Faria, who has deep roots in drag racing, views himself as a racer first and sees danger in the new arrangement (the forming of USAC/CRA). "I told the owners I have nothing against USAC, no axe to grind, nothing like that, but what I have seen is that when an organization like USAC or promoters get control of a venue the racers suffer and lose their voice. My deal is that when promoters get control they eventually squeeze the purse and the racers dwindle."
Very interesting comment coming from a promoter. Looks like Faria saw what lied ahead even if others didn't.
|
Now here's how you show passion about a subject on this board.No ranting incoherantly,cursing,or attempting to degrade another because you disagree . Just use large print, multiple colors. It blasted me when I scrolled past.Nice job KOP,content is interesting also....
|
|
|
|
|
March 01, 2008 at
10:24:26 AM
|
|
|
Joined:
|
11/07/2006
|
|
Posts:
|
86
|
|
|
|
But I'd like to point out the board members of SCRAwere some of the first to jump ship,and leave SCRA.These owners/ drivers were ,in theory ,some of the more dedicated members
I don't know which board members you are talking about and you may be correct about some jumping ship. But I will say one thing and that is Ron Shuman and Verne Sweeney was two of the board members that went down with the ship . Yes Ron Shuman did give up his position of president to Richard Harvey .I cant speak for Mr Shuman but he probably said enough is enough and gave up on SCRA and not by his choosing . Verne Sweeney said he would stand by SCRA and he did for the most part I think he has only raced with USAC maybe 2 or 3 times in the past 3 years. I think he has plans to run a few times this year as he has a brand new DRC in the garage but most of his racing time will be spent with his son Andrew as Andrew has moved to Micro sprint racing . Verne has also purchased a micro for himself so him and his son can race together so i feel that his sprint car racing will take a back seat to his sons racing .I know that this was way of base from the post but I just had to put my 2 cents in .
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
March 01, 2008 at
11:30:42 AM
|
|
|
Joined:
|
01/02/2005
|
|
Posts:
|
70
|
|
|
Reply to:
Posted By: race88 on March 01 2008 at 10:11:43 AM
Now here's how you show passion about a subject on this board.No ranting incoherantly,cursing,or attempting to degrade another because you disagree . Just use large print, multiple colors. It blasted me when I scrolled past.Nice job KOP,content is interesting also....
|
My point exactly!!!!
|
|
|
|
|
March 01, 2008 at
03:23:55 PM
|
|
|
Joined:
|
04/10/2007
|
|
Posts:
|
397
|
|
|
Reply to:
Posted By: jc6 on March 01 2008 at 10:24:26 AM
But I'd like to point out the board members of SCRAwere some of the first to jump ship,and leave SCRA.These owners/ drivers were ,in theory ,some of the more dedicated members
I don't know which board members you are talking about and you may be correct about some jumping ship. But I will say one thing and that is Ron Shuman and Verne Sweeney was two of the board members that went down with the ship . Yes Ron Shuman did give up his position of president to Richard Harvey .I cant speak for Mr Shuman but he probably said enough is enough and gave up on SCRA and not by his choosing . Verne Sweeney said he would stand by SCRA and he did for the most part I think he has only raced with USAC maybe 2 or 3 times in the past 3 years. I think he has plans to run a few times this year as he has a brand new DRC in the garage but most of his racing time will be spent with his son Andrew as Andrew has moved to Micro sprint racing . Verne has also purchased a micro for himself so him and his son can race together so i feel that his sprint car racing will take a back seat to his sons racing .I know that this was way of base from the post but I just had to put my 2 cents in .
|
jc6,Thank you for correcting my error,I should have stated'some of the board members'.I appear to have maligned a few good people,i'm sorry I should reread what I write more carefully before posting.I too respect those you named,but I should'nt say any more on this subject,as the leather from my boot isn't tasty
|
|
|
|
|
March 01, 2008 at
06:18:36 PM
|
|
|
Joined:
|
11/07/2006
|
|
Posts:
|
86
|
|
|
|
Race88
No harm no foul . You have the right to state your opinion and you did make a good point .Some of the members did jump ship as did most of the people that ran with SCRA . But as I see it everyone just wanted to race close to home and Perris was close to home for most and USAC was the venue that they had to run with . I also stand corrected Sweeney ran about 10 races with USAC.
Joe
|
|
|
|
|
|
March 01, 2008 at
07:37:16 PM
|
|
|
Joined:
|
11/30/2004
|
|
Posts:
|
323
|
|
|
|
CRA MAIN EVENT WINNER = $4000.00
SCRA MAIN EVENT WINNER = $2500.00
CRA/USAC MAIN EVENT WINNER = $2500.00
PROGRESS ???????
|
|
|
|
|
March 01, 2008 at
09:15:02 PM
|
|
|
Joined:
|
04/10/2007
|
|
Posts:
|
397
|
|
|
This message was edited on
March 01, 2008 at
09:24:55 PM by race88
Reply to:
Posted By: jc6 on March 01 2008 at 06:18:36 PM
Race88
No harm no foul . You have the right to state your opinion and you did make a good point .Some of the members did jump ship as did most of the people that ran with SCRA . But as I see it everyone just wanted to race close to home and Perris was close to home for most and USAC was the venue that they had to run with . I also stand corrected Sweeney ran about 10 races with USAC.
Joe
|
jc6 I'll own up ,I sat out for a year[ran a 360 at Ventura]and I kind of knew Sweeney ran with USAC because I parked next to him at perris one night.my reasoning was as you stated ,the only game in town so....I didn't mean to suggest I was above it....the difference was I always felt welcomed with SCRA it was us,local approchable..with USAC I feel tolerated[if you throw money at them]ran from back east....maybe I just lament over what now I consider the good old days..after all Shuman was a Champion[ who better to respect as SCRA's president ] enough said..maybe I'm just getting old! In my defense I showed up to my first USAC race with my SCRA stickers still on my car.My only act of defiance.They told me I had to run USAC stickers only ,so I did.....
|
|
|
|
|
March 02, 2008 at
03:20:29 PM
|
|
|
Joined:
|
03/02/2008
|
|
Posts:
|
1
|
|
|
Reply to:
Posted By: ljennings on February 28 2008 at 02:45:19 PM
Sprint car driver Tony Jones to USAC: Show me the Money
12:32 AM PST on Thursday, February 28, 2008
By MATT CALKINS
The Press-Enterprise
Norco resident Tony Jones was expecting something from the United States Auto Club and didn't get it.
So now the sprint car driver is essentially telling USAC: Don't expect too much out of me.
Jones said that last year the former USAC president told him that the champion of the USAC/CRA series would receive $10,000 in bonus money, while other drivers would be given a proportional amount based on how they finished in the points.
The money, as Jones understood it, was to be taken out of a $60,000 point fund, which is generally contributed to by the various tracks that host USAC/CRA sprint car events.
Kevin Miller has since taken over as CEO and president of USAC. And when Jones, who ended up winning the championship, told Miller of the $10,000 he was owed, Miller wondered how Jones ever thought USAC had that kind of money to give away.
Considering that USAC was losing money on the CRA series, which runs on West Coast tracks including Perris Auto Speedway, Miller said he couldn't give him any more than $4,800, and said the point fund was more like $40,000.
No matter who or what the source of confusion was, the news irked Jones. And while the sprint car season has been under way for a couple of weeks now, he said he doesn't plan on running a full schedule and will skip some out-of-state races.
"The whole West Coast series got shorted," Jones said, pointing out that the point fund has been declining every year. "I mean, if you have a job and your boss tells you that you're going to make $100,000 and at the end of the year you only make $70,000, you're going to be upset."
Miller said he feels for the drivers and added that the CRA is extremely important to USAC, which also has a host of national and regional series. And he maintains that he never tried to deceive or shortchange anybody, but that the money just wasn't there.
"There is a certain expectation for the point fund, but unfortunately the expectation is different than reality," Miller said, adding that he was unaware of any past agreements Jones had made.
"I would love to say, 'Here, for me to make you feel better, here's $20,000.' But that money doesn't exist. We're trying to do whatever we can to put more fans in the seats."
Some CRA drivers, such as Rickie Gaunt, have said the CRA doesn't need USAC and can have its own series at Perris. Miller argues that the CRA would have a hard time surviving without USAC, adding that the West Coast series provides an opportunity for a lot of young drivers to develop their talent.
Perris had its opening weekend for the sprint car season nearly three weeks ago. Jones was there, as was Temecula resident Mike Spencer, who finished second to Jones last year.
Spencer said he's upset with the money situation, as are a lot of drivers. Nevertheless, he plans on running the whole season.
"The team I'm running for wants to run all the races. That's kind of been the plan from the beginning," Spencer said. "So that's what we're going to do."
Free Admission to Perris
Anyone with a ticket stub from last weekend's NASCAR events at Auto Club Speedway will be admitted free at Perris Auto Speedway this weekend. Scheduled to race are Late Models, Street Stocks, Factory Stocks, and Modifieds.
|
First off I want give props to everyone who has some type of an opinion on this subject, good or bad. This article is to let the racers ( owners, drivers, sponsors, FANS, etc.) know what is going on with our sport. Besides all the costs of racing, which we are very aware of going into the season. We all have to deal with some politics to go with it. When Matt Caulkins (THE PRESS ENTERPRISE FEB.28 2008 sports section)called and asked what the situation was with the USAC/CRA point fund I told him what I would tell anyone who asked, including USAC, no lies, no BS. When Kevin Miller came into office as ceo/president to change the finances of USAC about 5 people got fired. Weather that was good or bad business thats no for us to decide. Him taking the point funds away from ALL of USAC's divisions EXCEPT national sprints is ALL of our business. That pretty much changed the attitudes of alot of people about how USAC/ Kevin Miller started his term as president. If you thought you had dead weight in your office fine, but coming after the people who support the tracks we race at every weekend and bring as many people as possible to keep this sport alive THATS CRAZY! Not only did it effect the low buck teams but I heard the big buck teams was not to happy either. This sport has it's loyal following for years and it's all of our responsibility's to get people to our races to support our organisations and tracks. I think we all are doing our jobs at the best of our ability. Not including all the blood, sweat, and yes tears and dedication we all pour into this sport including our family's and fans sitting through long dusty nights, and also BAD ASS wheel to wheel great nights. Bottom line is that we want this to grow just as the new president of USAC does. but maybe you (Kevin Miller) should of made it good for the 2007 season and then POST your cut backs before the 2008 season started. For myself I received an empty promise the start of 2007 season and that is bad for the sport and I still don't see any posts on what these guys are running for this year, maybe even less. Maybe all the people Kevin got rid of, all the people who got shorted will get WHAT WE DESERVE, NOTHING MORE, NOTING LESS. Once again THANK YOU for all those who are keeping this sport alive. And for the people who say this should be swept under the rug or not be in the publics eye LIVE OUR LIVES FOR JUST ONE SEASON AND GET SLAPPED IN THE FACE LIKE MANY TEAMS DID, AND THEN OPEN YOUR MOUTH! We all need to step up. Yes we do need an organisation to keep control but not grab us by the throat at any time, change rules, or cut purses 3/4 in the season. I don't do computers except to check on all my hero's when I'm not racing but I would like it if someone wanted to disagree with anything I say, I will try to answer you. This post is my own opinions and thoughts. I don't want to hear about any misspelled words, grammar, or punctuations, this isn't grammar school this is the real world and lets keep the subject at hand.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
March 02, 2008 at
03:37:00 PM
|
|
|
Joined:
|
12/01/2004
|
|
Posts:
|
742
|
|
|
|
WOW! Very interesting reading. Thanks for your time to provide us your viewpoint!
|
|
|
|
|
March 02, 2008 at
04:10:18 PM
|
|
|
Joined:
|
04/10/2007
|
|
Posts:
|
397
|
|
|
This message was edited on
March 02, 2008 at
04:12:07 PM by race88
The thing about Cowboy's is they may not speak very often,but when they do ..you better listen!Three days of chatter,three pages,and Mr. Jones gave us more information in one paragraph........you dropped one 'H' in nothing-otherwise perfect to my eyes...any other drivers/owners willing to speak with such candor?We'll see......
|
|
|
|
|
March 02, 2008 at
05:32:23 PM
|
|
|
Joined:
|
11/26/2007
|
|
Posts:
|
191
|
|
|
|
A big thank you out to Matt Caulkins for good investigative reporting to uncover this land mine story. If indeed USAC reneged on championship purse promises to all divisions except the National Sprint Cars, this smacks of favoritism that would be questioned in any other area of our society. And that is in addition to the fact that it is just wrong to not keep your word, for any of us.
I hope that others will heed Tony's call to "step up" and fully expose the truth of this scandal, and that USAC will step up to publicly answer these allegations now that they have been exposed. And I further agree with Tony that the only correct course of action is to make good on 2007 promises and, if necessary,change the promises for the new season.
I have recently been similarly cheated in a bait and switch BY A DENTIST of all things. I was furious and hurt by it. I had to threaten a lawsuit to minimize the damage. So I feel for you guys who are stung by this situation.
I am just a fan, but I will come out to support you whatever banner you race under. I appreciate the heart and guts and soul you people pour into the show and feel blessed to live close enough to the PAS, one of the best sprint car facilities in the country. And if you have to drop USAC I hope you reinstate the trophy dashes.
Mike Brown
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
March 02, 2008 at
05:38:23 PM
|
|
|
Joined:
|
12/01/2004
|
|
Posts:
|
742
|
|
|
Reply to:
Posted By: wawrd1 on March 02 2008 at 05:32:23 PM
A big thank you out to Matt Caulkins for good investigative reporting to uncover this land mine story. If indeed USAC reneged on championship purse promises to all divisions except the National Sprint Cars, this smacks of favoritism that would be questioned in any other area of our society. And that is in addition to the fact that it is just wrong to not keep your word, for any of us.
I hope that others will heed Tony's call to "step up" and fully expose the truth of this scandal, and that USAC will step up to publicly answer these allegations now that they have been exposed. And I further agree with Tony that the only correct course of action is to make good on 2007 promises and, if necessary,change the promises for the new season.
I have recently been similarly cheated in a bait and switch BY A DENTIST of all things. I was furious and hurt by it. I had to threaten a lawsuit to minimize the damage. So I feel for you guys who are stung by this situation.
I am just a fan, but I will come out to support you whatever banner you race under. I appreciate the heart and guts and soul you people pour into the show and feel blessed to live close enough to the PAS, one of the best sprint car facilities in the country. And if you have to drop USAC I hope you reinstate the trophy dashes.
Mike Brown
|
I hope you reinstate the trophy dashes
OK Mike, lets not get carried away......LOL . It was good to see ya at Manzy. Look forward in running into you at a track sometime soon.
|
|
|
|
|
March 02, 2008 at
07:34:54 PM
|
|
|
Joined:
|
11/07/2006
|
|
Posts:
|
86
|
|
|
|
That is what I have always Liked about Tony Jones He is never scared to voice his opinion and he stands up for what he belives in . We need more Owners/Drivers like him .
Joe
|
|
|
|
March 02, 2008 at
08:37:26 PM
|
|
|
Joined:
|
02/27/2007
|
|
Posts:
|
328
|
|
|
Thanks for keeping it real Cowboy.
RADROBINLB
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
March 02, 2008 at
10:12:39 PM
|
|
|
Joined:
|
11/13/2005
|
|
Posts:
|
27
|
|
|
|
This is a quote from Kevin Miller on Indianaopenwheel....
"In the past, the CRA series has had historically higher points funds. In fact, I have heard stories about ASCOT paying $10,000 to champions many, many years ago. Payout's today are directly related to economics of the sport today."
Kevin may want to do a little more research before he makes such statements. The final year SCRA was at Perris, before all this split crap, whatever it was 2005? They paid $10,000 dollars to the champion driver and owner.. The point fund was a hair OVER $60,000 dollars, and there was another $30,000 in merchandise given away to the owners at the banquet. I believe it has already been posted, but when USAC took over, they basically tried to copy everything SCRA did with rules, payout, points fund, etc. and it was stated ON PAPER the USAC/CRA point fund would be....yes $60,000 dollars. Wierd huh?? What happened?? Maybe that money went towards that sweet 50 inch flat screen tv on the side of the trailer (that I have yet to see work). Or maybe towards that big 53 foot stacker trailer the National series has to haul around a golf cart and a couple mo peds? Or to pay for gas in all of the USAC officials brand new Toyotas trucks they drive around back in Indy? Or.....hell I will stop there. LOL Yes I go run SOME USAC races, because thats what I do race, not to support them, to try and support myself.
Who knows, maybe I will see yall at Perris this weekend..
Casey
|
|
|
|
|
March 03, 2008 at
12:24:07 AM
|
|
|
Joined:
|
11/21/2006
|
|
Posts:
|
10
|
|
|
|
Tony, Thanks for saying what needs to be said. I grew up watching CRA then SCRA now USAC/CRA. I'll watch you guys whatever name the organization has on it. Because Tony,Rip, Corey, Mike Spencer, Sheridan, and even that demon guy throw those cars around and race hard. I just don't want to have to watch the ALL MONEY NO EXCITEMENT racing of NASCAR! Maybe I'll just watch paint dry instead. THANK YOU TO ALL THE RACERS AND OWNERS.
|
|
|
|
