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

The Trophy Cup is the West Coast's biggest 360 sprint show of the season - and the '08 version pays out a $100,000 purse.

For some reason, they've moved their November race date up to the same weekend as the '08 STN.

The site 'RacingOne.com' has forum is similar to the Hoseheads - except a pretty fair percentage of the readers/posters on the site are from the West Coast.

We're getting in contact with their track, Thunderbowl Speedway, to discuss the situation - as several of the teams plus many of the 'true' sprint car fans go to both, and it's not fair to have to choose between one event and the other...unless there's a dang good reason.

If you agree and would like your thoughts to be read, I've started a post on their forum, and here's the link:

http://community.racingone.com/forums/thread/225470.aspx

Maybe if there's enough of us 'rattling their tree' this early in the winter planning season, that they might revert back to their '07 date...or at least not have it on the same weekend at the STN.

Or maybe the STN can move their date. See the thread below. Or the thread you started on the Racing One forum. Racing One is not the Tulare Thunderbowl's forum. It is geared toward the WOO not local events. There are only so many weekends to the summer. It is flippin cold in November in the central valley. Not to mention, here in CA if the fair board says not that date you need to thank them for the date period.

How many CA drivers showed up at the STN?

How many OK drivers showed up at the Trophy Cup?

Change everything for the sake of a couple of drivers?

It would be nice if every major race weekend had no conflicts from coast to coast but it is just not realistic to expect. I for one am happy that there are two major 360 sprint car races that weekend paying good money to make the main let alone win. When there is a conflict like this every weekend from March to October we as fans will have it made.

Also, it is hard enough to schedule around major year end events in CA let alone worry about the events in other states as well.

I'm still with John on this, I don't see how it's going to hurt either show. Very few drivers ran both shows and it'll be good to have the Trophy Cup in October again so our guys out here don't have such a long lay off like they had this year(when the TC was on Nov 16-17).

www.sprintcarchallengetour.com
www.placervillespeedway.com
www.stocktondirttrack.com
www.thunderbowlraceway.com

Okay, I have to add my 2 cents. It is hard enough to schedule races itself let alone try to figure out what other states are doing. If we tried to schedule races not to conflict with other tracks across the U.S. we probably would be sitting with NO races. Here in California we try to work with other tracks, so as not to conflict with their big shows. You might want to go back and see what dates the Trophy Cup has had in the past (excluding) last year (2007). Also, since it is a fairground , other events may be a deciding factor regarding race dates. We have to shut down in Placerville one weekend due to a fairground event. Being that far away I don't see how the Trophy Cup will have a big bearing on the STN. How many cars or teams (California) actually towed to STN? So , is there no other track across the U.S. that is running 360's on that weekend??

From Lonnie Wheatley's report.

An STN record total of 108 drivers from 21 different states and Canada competed in the 20th annual O'Reilly Short Track Nationals presented by Hoosier Tires at Little Rock's I-30 Speedway, with $106,000 in purse money distributed over the weekend.

AR (13) Marshall Skinner (West Memphis), Tim Crawley (Benton), Lewis Jenkins Jr (Bryant), Tyler Brown (Vilonia), A.G Rains (West Memphis), Cody Gardner (Benton), Wade Human (Marion), Rick Pringle (Benton), Kenny Taylor (Clinton), Derek Hagar (Marion), Bryce Vowan (Forrest City), Zach Pringle (Benton), Justin Sturch (Benton)

CA (2) Tyler Walker (Los Angeles), Steven Tiner (Elverta)

CO (2) John Jacob (Aurora), Bob Schaeffer (New Castle)

FL (1) Danny Martin, Jr. (Sarasota)

IA (2) Joe Beaver (Knoxville), Robert Bell (Colfax)

IL (4) Robbie Standridge (Jacksonville), Kaley Gharst (Decatur), Jimmy Hurley (Springfield), Brad Greer (Coultierville)

KS (5) Tony Bruce Jr (Liberal), Garry Lee Maier (Cimarron), Chris Morgan (Topeka), Jay Russell (Elwood), Jon Freeman (Salina)

LA (1) Jason Johnson (Eunice)

MI (1) Dain Naida (Bellville)

MN (1) Scott Winters (Butterfield)

MO (15) Jerrod Hull (Sikeston), Jesse Hockett (Warsaw), Steve Short (Farmington), Tim Montgomery (Fredericktown), Josh Fisher (Smithton), Doc Sloan (Imperial), Tyler Blank (California), Andrew Korte (Centertown), Brian Brown (Grain Valley), Jonathan Cornell (Sedalia), Kyle Bellm (Nixa), Curtis Evans (Norburne), Tyler Thompson (Cape Girardeau), Jeff Wingate (Centertown), Mallory Armfield (St.Joseph)

MS (7) Ricky Stenhouse Jr (Olive Branch), Ernie Ainsworth (Southaven), Brad Bowden (Hernando), Jan Howard (Byhalia), Lee Sowell (Nesbit), Josh Howard (Byhalia), Ronny Howard (Southaven)

NE (4) Don Droud Jr (Lincoln), Stu Snyder (Waverly), Jack Dover (Springfield), Mike Boston (Crete)

NM (1) Lorne Wofford (Alamogordo)

NY (1) Coleman Gulick (Binghamton)

OH (5) Greg Wilson (Benton Ridge), Dale Blaney (Fowler), Ron Blair (Troy), Mike Brecht (Leipsic), Mike Dussel (Rising Sun)

OK (12) Darren Stewart (Bixby), Wayne Johnson (Oklahoma City), Joe Wood Jr (Oklahoma City), Sean McClelland (Collinsville), Nick Smith (Broken Arrow), Daryn Pittman (Owasso), Dan Smith (Sapulpa), Brian McClelland (Tulsa), Kenneth Walker (Sapulpa), Dustin Morgan (Tulsa), Matt Covington (Glenpool), Gary Taylor (Sapulpa)

PA (1) Lucas Wolfe (Harrisburg)

SD (3) Eric Lutz (Sioux Falls), Ryan Bickett (Ramona), Jake Peters (Sioux Falls)

TN (6) Paul McMahan (Nashville), Wade Oliver (Milan), Chris Williams (Memphis), Terry Gray (Bartlett), Jeff Swindell (Memphis), Garry Bell (Cordova)

TX (14) Sam Hafertepe Jr (Sunnyvale), Travis Rilat (Forney), Shawn Sander (El Paso), Brandon Berryman (Missouri City), Claud Estes (Godley), Kevin Ramey (Fort Worth), Chris Sweeney (Channelview), Eric Baldaccini (Keller), Johnny Miller (Burleson), Larry Howery (Hearne), Jimmy Brooks (College Station), Tim Simmons (Splendora), John Carney Jr (El Paso), Tommy Bryant (Montgomery)

BC (1) Travis Rutz (Langley)

With what is listed there it appears there are only two CA drivers that went last year. Steven Tiner will be in Manzanita for the WOO race and you are correct in that Tyler Walker will most likely not make it.

You stand to lose a lot more drivers to the WOO event than to the Trophy Cup. Maybe give them a call to rattle their tree.

Maybe I am missing it but I don't see any WA drivers on that list either.

I just don't get why the TC should change their date. If it is that important maybe the STN can change theirs. This entire discussion is really rediculous, with someone on the other board hoping it "bites them in the rear". That is great wisdom there. Hoping for one event to fail as an ultimatum to change the date.

Jason Meyers isn't from California anymore? Where did he move to?

I like how Oklahoma still claims Wayne Johnson who has lived in Knoxville, Ia for atleast two years now, and Daryn Pittman has lived in Indiana for quite some time.

Don't tell me the Posse fans will want to claim him too.

Save your butt, get a colon screening TODAY

For complete line of Sponsor Awards check out 
MarshallTownLaser.com

Duane Davis

Laser Engraving 
641-751-7777
101 N Center
Marshalltown, Iowa 

Stephen Tiner, lives back there and has for the last few years.

Jason Meyers still lives in the Central Valley of California near Fresno as far as I know. Tulare and Hanford are less than an hour away.

Looking forward to the new Golden State King of the 
West series schedule! 

Winged sprintcars = the fastest and most exciting 
racecars on dirt! 

The move is weather related. The race is not run by Thunderbowl Speedway. They provide the track and consession and thats it.

The Short Track Nationals has been running for 20 years.  They wouldn't change when the WoO decided to run that weekend at the Devil's Bowl for several years.   I think it hurt the show at the Bowl more than the show in Little Rock, Ark.   I enjoy seeing the California drivers come back to the central U.S. to race.  Rick Williams has also come back a couple of times.   I agree, the distance is so great it really shouldn't matter, but it is kind of a shame.  The 360's finally get to run for some large purses and they're both on the same weekend?

It's a free country ...no one track or group is "All Powerful " If you got a better idea ....go for it. If Tulare was 20 miles from Little Rock and they wanted to schedule "on top" of the STN's the ticket buying public will ultimately decide who's got the better show. I had heard for years the old regime at the WoO was threatening Knoxville to sanction the Knoxville Nationals with the WoO or they'd do a "big show" on top of them. Economics (and common sense) dictated that little threat into the circular file I am sure.

R.A.

S.H.S.

Its really not a big issue. The USCS staged a show in '05 at "DIXIE" Speedway in Georgia and ran up against the S.T.N. The car count was nearly 100 at Little Rock, and Pete's boys had there core group and some stragglers from up north. Neither really affected the other.

WHY ARE WE HERE? BECAUSE WE'RE HERE. ROLL THE BONES.-
Neil Peart

WFO81-

Thanks for answering my question about the date change.

And this post is certainly not to say anyone's event is better or lesser than the other.

No matter how you slice it, there are only two $15,000 to win 360 sprint car shows -nationwide - during the season, and now they're on the same weekend.

And to grow long-term fan interest, a 'national' feel definitely helps accomplish that goal more than a 'regional' or 'local' feel does.

I've been to Tulare several times - even in the 'old' days - and always had an enjoyable time.

And there's no question that both events will have full fields of cars and fans; but like carol14 said, the 360's are finally getting a chance at some bigger purses, so each of these events types of events need to be supported as much as possible to help bring them into the future.

dmantx - You are right in that they have a local or regional field. That is afterall what most 360 guys are. They race on the weekend and work their jobs during the week. There are a few other high paying 360 races as well including the 3 day Fall Nationals at Silver Dollar Speedway and the 360 Nationals at Skagit Speedway.

Anyway with the exception of 1 or 2 teams that have both a 410 and 360 and tow across the country regularly, the guys that show up are regional guys. An additional few "national" guys fly in for hired rides and more times than not take home the money when they do.

In my opinion (which is really worth nothing) the fastest way to kill your car counts is to encourage and promote the national guys coming to your event. Same national guy won both the Trophy Cup and STN this year. A national guy won the Skagit race and the Silver Dollar Fall Nationals. So the local guys, who these races were designed to help in the pocketbook lost out. And that has a trickle down effect. After a few years in a row of National guys winning the biggest "local" race in your area will they continue to show?

I hope both events continue to succeed and breed more events like them.

We need sponsors can you hook us up with all these fans that are traveling back and forth? Anyone that dedicated and with that kind of money needs to get more involved anyway. Thank you very much.

The Trophy Cup format is what people come to see. Bringing in Saldana and Meyer's or other driver's with national exposure only add's to the excitement of the race. Meyer's brought his car and won, Saldana jumped in someone else's and put on a show as well.

WFO81 & JayP-

OK, now this post is getting to the root of what I'm trying to get across here.

Here is an exact parallel to what this is all about:

Look back 20 years ago to the NASCAR Busch Series. Little fan support, little purses. Look at it now, big crowds, big purses and big names. Some complain that it's just another way to make the Cup teams more money and squeezes out the 'true' Busch teams. To a certain extent, that may be true.

But one thing's that certain, is there would not be 100,000 fans going to Busch races, there wouldn't be live coverage, there wouldn't be 100's of millions of sponsor dollars being thrown around - if there weren't for the Cup cars being thrown into the mix.

This is exactly the same conversation - but in a different racing division - when talking about the 360 division. You have people that feel it's strictly a weekend hobby. You have people that feel that they can make a living at it by racing that division.

So that's where we're at right now.

And there were over 30 teams at this year's STN that compete in the 410 division throughout the year. So in that races' case, it's not just a few by any means.

Fans left the race making comments such as: 'this is the outdoor version of the Chili Bowl' and 'there was more racing action at that race than there were at about any major sprint event I went to in 2007.'

But nowhere did you find someone saying that 'it was good - - - considering it was a 360 race.'

It was simply a 'sprint car' race to those who attended. And isn't that the real point of racing anyway? Do fans really care if a car goes around a track either 1 second slower or faster? No. They just want to see a good race.

As soon as everyone can just agree that a sprint car 'with a 360 engine in it' is just a 'sprint car,' then it can help remove this identity crisis labeled on the class by people thinking it's a 'lesser' division.

Again, reverting back to the Busch/Cup comparison, there's also several times a year where the Busch race is better than the Cup race. So for the people traveling, they're pretty much guaranteed to see at least one good race over the weekend, and that's a good thing.

And regarding sponsorships. It all comes down to numbers. If you can boast to a potential sponsor that 5,000 fans see your car race nightly - versus 2,000 - you've got a lot more to offer them from a visibility/results standpoint.

And by reading WFO81's comment about this year's Trophy Cup with the addition 'of national drivers adding to the excitement' - that still is my whole point in helping events of this magnitute grow into the future - together - for both teams and drivers - - - and sponsors to help offset the added expense of putting a show like this on.