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SANTA MARIA – JULY 5

The July 5^th “Party At The Coast” / “Doug Fort Memorial” at Santa Maria is a USAC and Chris Kearns promoted event. USAC and Chris Kearns are leasing the facility. They will handle the show and payouts.

 *The race will showcase the Amsoil USAC/CRA Sprint Cars, Honda USAC Western Midgets, and Mini Stocks. According to track website, Adult tickets are $25, Senior/Military/Student Tickets are $23.

* Fan Experience. For a $5.00 wrist band, fans can watch races from grandstands set up in infield. There will be food, beverage, and beer stands set up.

*The USAC/CRA Sprint Car purse is $2,750-to-win and $350-to-start.

*There is a $200 bonus for the highest finishing 360 at Saturday’s USAC/CRA show at Santa Maria. Injected 360s must pass tech inspection and run the Hoosier Medium Right Rear Tire. USAC/CRA also mandates a steel drag link and tie rod with steel heim joints (rod-ends).

Damn $25 seems pretty steep. It doesn't cost that much for the usac national boys at canyon. I usually don't complain but with having to pay for gas from Phoenix and back plus hotels this may be the first time I ever miss a race due to it being too expensive. It would be nice to not go broke trying to enjoy 2 nights of sprint car racing. 

What time does the gate open and what time are the races scheduled to start?

If I am fortunate enough to seriously entertain the thought of driving from Phoenix to Perris, spend the night in a hotel, drive to Santa Maria, spend another night in a hotel, and drive back to Phoenix all without missing a meal, the last thing I am sweating is coming up with $5-10 to cover the cost of admission for a special event which is only slightly higher than what I should have reasonably expected in the first place.

Seriously.

Yeah seriously.  I mean I don't mind paying a normal rate to see racing but when a normal ticket is $15 to jump it up $10 a ticket for a "regular show" it starts to get steep. Not to mention that it is taking money out of the racers pocket because I gave the ticket booth my $20 I had in my pocket for a shirt. It would be nice if the tracks in California would start taking in to account that people can't afford $100 to take a family of 4 to the races on back to back nights. That doesn't include parking at perris or food and drinks. Is it realistic to think a family will throw down close to $300 for 2 nights of racing. I know it's only $10 but if you multiply that by 4 and then multiply that by 2 it's now $80 which is a considerable amount of money. Not too hard to figure out why attendance is dwindling. 

Ventura charged $25 for just CRA sprints, and $5 for parking.  PAS is $25 plus $8 ? for parking for CRA.

ticket prices for Canyon Speedway on Sat. Nov 15 is also $25

From my perspective, seeing USAC Midgets and CRA sprints for $25 while sitting in low 70's weather with free parking with a drive up the Pacific Coast seems quite reasonable.  

Glad to see the track/promoter is encouraging 360's to run.  Hope for a good turnout of cars and fans

Speaking as a father in a family of 4, I agree it's not cheap.  But if you're planning a trip to California on July 4th weekend, I would challenge you to find something the 4 of you can do together and all enjoy for less money.  A weekend at a beach hotel? A major league baseball game? SeaWorld? Disney?

A recent DAY trip to Knott's Berry Farm set us back $150 just to get in the gate with discounted tickets.....never mind fighting the crowd and traffic.  Add $15 to park, $60 for fast food ($15 for a Hot Dog combo meal for the kids), $6 to play whack-a-mole, $25 for miscellaneous food, drink and other novelty items, a trip to the souvenir store, and you are spending $300 easily.   You get the idea..and Knott's is  a lower cost alternative to the other "major" theme parks.  For $300, the family of 4 doesn't even get into the gates at Disney.

We make choices...if money is tight, maybe the kids get an ice cream cone, but dad skips the nachos.  Maybe track food is skipped totally.  Maybe the kid gets a shirt, but dad doesn't.  Maybe during the weeks leading up to the event, I'm spending less money on fast food and other non-essentials so the family can enjoy a racing weekend.  If you truly can't afford the weekend, there's no shame in that...but I doubt it's the admission cost that would really be stopping you.

All I'm saying is, if I'm planning a holiday weekend getaway in Southern California, the $80 isn't a deal killer - it can most likely be "found" by saving elsewhere.  As jd implied, it's actually less than $80.  If you look a the big picture, take the time to soak in the atmosphere I believe you'll find it's going to be a great weekend with more value vs. the non-racing alternatives.  Otherwise, the racing alternative is sitting in the Sofa Vista and watching NASCAR at Daytona.

Gates 4:30

Qualifying 5:15

$25 is expensive. I pay less than that to watch the Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings, or to watch some of the world's best Speedway Riders. Not the 13 cars that may tow and the locals that come out to support them. Don't get me wrong, it will be a great show, Midgets rule at SMS, but face it. It is expensive when combined with gas and hotels. On par with some other entertainment options in SoCal and less than others. Bonus though, Santa Maria does not charge for parking.

I do agree that it is probably the upper limit of the market and prices a few people out.  It would be nice if maybe they did something where if you present a Perris ticket stub from July 4th, you can get $5.00 off admission.  Or maybe even entertain the thought of a combination ticket where $40 gets you into both shows, though the tracks might be just a little too far apart for that.  Just a thought for the future - every little bit helps.

But I still stand by my comments.  If I'm looking at coming to SoCal for the holiday weekend anyway and have budgeted for fuel, food and lodging, the "extra" cost of admission over what I thought it would be wouldn't drive me to choose other alternatives.

I would be happier paying the extra if I knew it was benefitting the purse in any way. I still maintain, despite the price, as long as the show is run tightly and on schedule where possible your value for money is there. I will stand in line to get into a race, but I won't even drive to the parking lot of a Disney style attraction.

Somehow, the tail end of the field needs to be able to cover some of their expenses to keep the car counts up and the up and comers getting seat time rather than sitting in the stands because they can't afford two nights of racing even if everything goes perfect for them and they are using hand me down rubber.

We try to cut corners elsewhere, to save a ($$$$) fund, b4 a Travel'n Race!!...My Lady 'n myself lv W.Phx Fri. AM 4 da Pas' (Holiday Inn),then S.Maria on Sat..heard yrs ago @ S.Maria,they Concreted Trn # 1 where you can set up Lawn Chairs!!..is that the case now??...its been yrs. (90's) since I've seen the inside improvements!!....I like the Pas' Tix stub $5.00 discount idea 4 Sat. @ S.Maria!!..how bout someth'n like that, Chris??!!...could'nt hurt!!..mite actually help front Gate numbers!!.....

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Brucer'(Brewskis')   

Bruce, there are to my knowledge, two cement sectionsfor lawn chairs.

You may need confirmation, I rarely sit in the stands, so I could be completely wrong.

Yes; you can still bring lawn chairs and sit in the wings along turns 1 and 4. Yes; parking was still gratis the last time I was there. (Though the lot is a lot smaller now because of the sand drag set-up.) Yes; Chris Kearns was the best thing that ever happened to SMS when he was there on site... and the worst when he left. And (finally), yes; one can still sit up on the side of the hill above the pits and peer through the trees for nothing... though unless one has 20-10 vision, it's not easy to tell which car is which in turns I and 2, nor can you hear the announcer very well, nor can you get a beer and dog. But you may wind up rubbing elbows with Showtime and his family. (Smiley face goes here.)

Thanks Buzzard- !!....thot that mite be the deal there!!...anybody know if they still keep front gate locked,preventing marking seat preference early in day??.......

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Brucer'(Brewskis')

Reserved seating on the concrete landings (three rows) are three dollars a night and lawn chairs are required as the area is designed for lawn chair use.

Thanks RAYO!!...so its an additional $3. above the $25. gen. to sit in your own chair??..on that Concrete Pad!!...mite as well just by a Pit Pass!!.....How bout the Main Gate??....is it locked during the Day??...thanks

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Brucer'(Brewskis')

I have never seen it locked and I have arrived at times up to an hour before races and one other time durng the day.  They also musr cooridinate the opening with pit time opening  to accomodate the famiies of drivers if it ever is locked. I believe a pit pass will be higher that the combined costs you referred to.

They are having the fan experience also, which is an additional charge, but you can sit on the infield.

As much as I am not a fan mostly for my camera gear's security, I can't wait for the clown show getting people on and off the track between races. I would take advantage of this if you have never spectated from the infield... before someone tells the insurance and they loose their minds!

I have done it as a crew man and it was the worst seat in the house. This was on a 1/2 mile track and have never done it on a 1/3 mile one. I prefer my seat on the concrete.