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

This is not to be a bashing topic but rather (and hopefully) a constructive topic to give all of us race fans (and your fellow drivers) an understanding on what is going on.

Tri-State Speedway in Fort Smith, 11 modifeds on Saturday night down from the normal twenty or so.

Lake Country Speedway in Ardmore, 11 modifieds Saturday night with normally 26 or so.

Enid Speedway Park had been getting around 16 on a Saturday night while last year they had at least twenty each race night in modifieds.

Modifieds are down here at SFS where two years ago we had 40+ and now we can barely get 20.

Oklahoma Sports Park in Ada can barely get 16 when previous years saw 20 car fields.

The ASCoT got no more than 26 cars each night at both SFS and Devils Bowl.

Car counts in most classes are down considerably from eyars past. What is the true reason? Is it the fuel prices? Is it the cost of racing (equipment, refreshing, torn up cars)? Is it priorities are now different? Is it the nonsense that is suppose to be going on at tracks that you down deem it unnecessary to put up with?

What are your reasons? Be truthfull and honest. Tell what you drive and what your reasons are. If you don't want to post, email it too me and I will post for you.

It is sad to see car counts down and the problem is, the normal time for this to happen (June/July) isn't even here yet. I shutter to think what car counts will be then.

I know that my priorities on traveling is fixing to change due to the gas prices. I will go more into detail on my media side later....

David Smith Jr.
www.oklahomatidbits.com

You and I talked about this Thursday. FUEL PRICES!!!

Food on the table vs. a person's racing hobby. You make the call.

Dave, times have changed and not for the better. This is a country facing lots of issues.

Well diesel bein $4.17 is hurtin a lot of people.....

Bobby Springer #25

One the reason our count has been down is fuel prices.I myself drive 45 minutes to the track.Owning a truck its roughly a 1/4 tank for a trip there and back.Thats not even towing a race car.I imagine the expense of filling some of the diesel tow rigs at over $4 has put a major bite in the weekly racing cost.Combine that with the cost of racing fuel.Plus in our area the weather has been unseasonbly cooler.Giving the normal race fan a extra reason to stay home.

"Back to the Drive"

1. Diesel as much as $4.28/gal
2. Methanol as much as $5.00/gal
3. 15 miles to one track (Not bad)
4. 45 miles to another track (At 70 mph, I get 11 MPG)
5. Pit passes
6. Food and drink
7. Coffee for the fiends
8. Weekly repairs to car(s)
9. And so on.

To go to SFS is marginally less expensive than to go to BMS. The biggest differences between the two are distance (60 miles round trip), and at SFS The Food Factory provides meals and drink for the crew and myself.

This last saturday, I paid $80 to top off the truck from 3/8 tank, $50 for 2 pit passes, $100 for 20 gal of methanol, $12 at the concession stand, and $25 to stop and eat on the way home.

It adds up. But I'm not complaining! I love what I get to do for fun!

So David, you ask what the PROBLEM IS? I can sum it up with one letter...... "W"

It's not HOW fast you go, but how you GO fast.

www.myspace.com/bucky65c

Everything is going up except the purses

It cost me over $300 for fuel in the truck to go straight to Lucas and Back.

"Racing is an Addiction cured by Poverty"         
BOBCAT

Fuel prices are the main factor! Lanny needs to pony up a bigger payout for all classes if he wants the car count to go up. Plain and simple!

GOD, Family, Dirt Track Racing,  OU Football, and the 
Dallas Cowboys is what we live for:)

$215 to pull out of the front yard of the house to go run at Meeker Sat. night and the car had not hit the race track with that $215 spent.

But I had a GREAT time, just cost so dang much to have a great time.

orjust dont drop inbetween spots so bad on pay from 1st to second 2nd to 3rd and so on i mean look brill pays 100 to start sprints lanny pays what 40 or 50 and he has a better car count than anyone and a better shot at getting the cars because of his location but he is kinda tight at the sfs i will say this though i went to lawton twice this year and did make it out ok because that 50 tow money helped alot but still made more than at the city or brill but it is a haul to lawton vs the city or brill and plus i think brill is more fun

Joey B

Took my Sport Mod to Brill Saturday nite. Ran 3rd and won 100 dollars. Spent 75 dollars for diesel, 50 dollars for 2 pit passes, 20 dollars for registration. So I am 45 dollars in the hole and thats not counting what I spent on the race car. Good thing I'm stupid

Is car count comeing up in any other class our mod suck but our limited are still growing we are on a average 20 per race night.

Lance aka (FUNNN)


                     

Mike, are you racing to make money or to have fun? You may have come out $45 less than spent, but think of the fun you had driving your car and entertainment value. Try going out to dinner and a movie for $45.........

It's not HOW fast you go, but how you GO fast.

www.myspace.com/bucky65c

Fuel prices are killing business also. I might be looking for a good job pretty soon. This place is going backward and it don't look like it'll change any time soon. People that have money are trying to keep it as long as possible. Others, like me, are not spending it if possible. HANG ON TIGHT PEOPLE. This ride aint over.

damn and too think couple weeks ago when i said the mods were goin die out and not be at some weekly shows in a few years the way the late models did. Who was that ,that said that wasnt the case???? Look around at ever track be it fuel or whatever .

Bucky thats not counting fuel for the race car, the Right rear that I wore out and now I have to put the body back on the car after most of it was tore off because somebody had the bright idea to water the top half of the track and not run it in. Heard the 31C bent his frame in that crash

Everything has gone up but the workin man's paycheck ......Fuel is another factor .....I made the jump to mod's this year and got a rude awakening !!! Blew up an engine in practice , rebuilt engine , blew engine up 3 weeks later totaling $8,000 dollars right off the bat , not a great way to start the year ...so I don't know when I will be back ...almost tempted to just give the whole thing up and be a crew chief !

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

I would say that the high price of fuel along with low racer payout is the reason for the low car count, every time I buy racing fuel I ask myself:” should I really be going this?” I have no sponsors and have had engine problems that know one can diagnose, I have raced 10 times last year, 3 times this year and have blown 6 engines. The payout at SFS really needs to be raised throughout the entire field with the amount of people that they get in the stands and the quality of drivers that were there. I told myself last year that I wasn’t going to race much at SFS in 2008 mainly because of the low payout. I was going to mainly race at BMS this year before I broke my last engine; Mark pays $100 to start in the modified class there.

Thanks, Charles

Fuel prices for the most of it,That has an effect on the economy.This is going on with all forms of racing everywhere.I have the answer though Everyone sell your full size cars,then buy a mini-sprint to race at i-44,Port City or Ft Cobb.Yeah thats the ticket.

Steve Moyer CKS Fabrication & Welding                  
CKS Chassis                                            
I want my last words to be "damn this is fun"

My problem wasn't money until a couple of weeks ago. My daily driver/race car tow vehicle crapped out (got a whole $200 from pull-a-part). I went from no car payment to hugh (used) truck payment and increased insurance. Plus my granddaughter is on a middle school cheer team and a competition cheer team.(child come first). Race budget is now been flushed down the toliet (bye-bye). My wife's company will not sponsor, because the company budget has become very very tight.(They pulled the sponsorship) The price of parts the company needs to complete signed contracts have doubled and in some cases tripled. Lost profits. Lost sponsor. NO RACING. Now I race in my garage. I mounted a tv (20 inch) infront of me on the race car and watch old racing videos. As hard as I try I still can't win a race. Oh well may be next year. And that why I have not raced this year.

That's my Opinion and I'm stick'en to it.