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

   I  am  deeply   concerned  for  this industry or  sport  we  so love . I know  alot  of you think  I am a lot of  wind or other  adjectives  you use  here . But  it is time  that  you express  to tracks , promoters , sanctioning  groups  how  you feel , what  you want to see , what you  want  at  your  tracks  conveniences , concessions and other items . Drivers, owners , promoters  are  hurting , dropping out of  this business  quite  often as you know . Most  people  don't  realize  what is going on or maybe  you  do ?  But you want to see speed , close  racing ? parades ? , or what  makes  your night  of racing ?
   I  don't  spend  alot  of  time  on here  to see  my writings , I do cause  I care and  I  hope  you care  as  much . I   do what   I  can  for  you  ,not me  . I am  not hiding behind  my  name  on here Winning  Drive , I am  Robert  Altman , who does  tours , giveaways , autograph  sessions  wherever  I can  for  you . I am doing  more  in the near future , because I want  to put forth  what  I can for  a  sport  and business  I love  for  40 years of  being around it , in  assisting on cars, sponsorships , helping  tracks  and  a  very extensive  background  in what  is  important  to me  IN RACING .

I am not speaking for anyone but myself when I say that tracks and promoters and series can't give me what I want cause it's gone now,

I want to see Sammy and Steve  racing together even if in a c- main racing for 14th spot  cause to me that will be better then a woo a-main today, the sport lacks the rivalry of Steve and Sammy or east vs west or anything, racetracks and promoters can fix the restrooms and increase the purse or whatever but they can't give you a sport or series that has characters or a rivalry, I need a reason to go watch a series or a race and the drivers are not providing it for me. Too many people you haven't heard of and a 1 man show In the woo. Also too many drivers are getting old and they are done and some more to come unfortunately. I believe that's what makes or breaks the sport of sprint car racing. It's a entertainment business and to me without what I said above then what's entertaining?????? I don't think the tracks and promoters or a series are at fault..... it's the product on the track is what lacks....... seems like every driver coming up wants to go to nascar for the money which you can't fault them for that but over the years the sport has lost too many great drivers and characters and nobody has stepped in to replace a Sammy And Steve type of entertainment, it's just my opinion and that's all 

somebody needs to punch schatz in the mouth and then challenge him on the track aggressively.....hahahehe

usac needs to  get lucky and have drivers that want to race sprints and stay in sprints but they won't 

times have changed and the change is here so deal with it I guess but tracks and promoters don't have jack to promote

I hope nothing but good things for the sport moving forward 

just remember that heated rivalry we all wanted to hurry and get to the track and witness with the Steve and Sammy show???

how about when Karl and Steve split and we wanted to see Mark  and Karl vs Steve?

how about  the duo from Ohio mixing it up with them and tasting success Dave blaney and haud... Wow what a pair they were

how about  the Wolf Kicking ass like he did vs Steve and Sammy 

how about Hewitt and vogler..... That was a damn race

i know I left out lots, but damn them days are over and those days had characters 

now were left with.... Well I would rather not say

And older fans wondered what would become of the sport when Opp and Weld were gone. But it went on. As it will now. If you don't like watching sprint car racing without Steve & Sammy then I guess you will just have to live in the past. I saw great racing at Knoxville all season and have seen a bunch of young drivers I am realy looking foward to seeing race for years to come.

Opp and weld raced sprints 

Steve and Sammy started a series and that series is in trouble for that, and being operated by wrg

the series has not really been without Steve and Sammy has it?

Knoxville great racing........ Good

pa great racing....... Good

a woo series that is going to lose teams and drivers.......bad  cause it  will be hard to promote

but it does not mean sprints in general all over the country can't provide a good race

but can a traveling series with high sanctioning fees and dwindling cars and drivers survive...... No

get back to the topic of what the poster asked and answer that  not rebut what I say

I am living in the past but looking at the future and  providing a opinion that's it

nothing I say is worth arguing and ruining a thread so I am out

Last thing to be on topic with the thread

how will woo promote a series to get you at the track without characters???

how will tracks improve their facility's and pay woo high fees when the crowds and cars and drivers will dwindle?

 Who and what are you going to and see after you pay the high price to get in the track?

the drivers in the series now combined don't have the fan following Steve and Sammy had

All we need to do is make everyone run the same exact engine and car and talk about nothing but the driver.  All these different engine builders and paint colors is just way to radical for most fans.  I would personally enjoy the drivers in a foot race with no shoes allowed during intermission.  All those fancy expensive running shoes would give the wealthier drivers an evil unfair advantage.

Luna's Ford engine style that won 2 WoO titles and 3 
Kings Royals before a weight rule against the best EVER
in their prime and now DOMINATES super dirt late model
racing is no longer allowed/wanted in a WoO sprint
car.... Was Luna a miracle worker?

Wow, I don't know what to tell you dirtlover.    If your whole vision of the sport rotates around Steve and Sammy that's pretty pathetic.   They were/are great drivers and I enjoyed watching them in their time, but neither one of them is bigger than the sport itself.    I stopped going to WoO races years before Devils Bowl dropped them in 2003 or whatever year that was.    I had already grown tired of paying high ticket prices, but seeing only 25 or less cars.   Couple that with seeing Sammy start on the pole and run off and leave everyone, in other words no real race or competition, and I just didn't find it all that thrilling even if it was Sammy.      Since those days the Bowl started running ASCS shows, and I've been just as content to watch guys like Gary Wright, Jason Johnson, and Shane Stewart.   Why?   Because they always had 40 or more cars and usually much better competition/racing than the WoO anyway.  Personally, I was more bummed about Gary Wright retiring that I am either Steve or Sammy.    The sport will go on without Steve and Sammy, and so will the WoO.     

I am just failing to get out what I am meaning to say I guess

i am saying sorta what your saying I guess..... How will the woo survive without characters and dwindling owners and drivers to want to run the series? I believe that without having the best sprint car rivalry ever between Steve and Sammy to promote even in their declining years then what is the woo selling for you to buy??????????? I am saying that a one man show backed by a nascar driver (Schatz) then who wants to see it? You? How about the new series coming and the fact the all stars are running and the renegade and other series,what stands the woo above the rest? Heck owners and drivers can't compete with the money Schatz has backing him so what's the incentive to go race with them from a owners standpoint and a drivers. They meaning owners and drivers should want to race where they feel they can compete and it won't be with woo. I'm not by any means saying the sport is done so I am sorry I cant get it out right.

you can see outstanding racing every Sunday night at Kokomo in Indiana and go to pa and see way more competitive racing or Knoxville weekly and out in ca for that matter. I was just trying to get out that the woo with the high sanctioning fees and high ticket prices are running out of promoting the brand of woo when it's losing the two greatest drivers also in wing racing. Nobody gets it and that's fine but soon you will see that the woo is out of their ass if you think they can keep a series going being dominated by a nascar based team when all the other teams are not as good funded and can't have the success they possibly could in other series.what will woo promote..... Come and see our 13 stp outlaw drivers get waxed by our stp car? It lacks a rivalry and characters to promote.the woo don't have shit to promote and warrant their overpriced tickets anymore.Once again I am not saying the sport is done but I think the woo is done unless they adapt to the changes needed and lower the prices. If you were a owner and had money to burn this would not make sense. Losing Gary wright was a big loss your right and it hurts but like you say life goes on. Please tell me what the woo has to offer that you want to see????????????? Don't say speed, don't say racing, don't say the smell of methanol.........cause that's at your local track for 12 to 15 dollars to watch, I said what's the woo have????? Pretty painted cars, sponsors, better drivers.... My ass... Not anymore

I have never attended a WOO race to see Sammy or Steve or any other characters, the reason I like to go is to watch  Mcmahon, Saldana, Schatz, Pittman, Madsen, Sweet race against the Pa locals for a big purse. Those 6 drivers can come to any track anywhere and win on most nights, not to mention David Gravel, Cody Darrah, Jason sides and the Shark boys. I followed the Woo pretty close this year to see how Schchart and Allen would do, and judging by the car counts and fan turn out at MOST of the races I think the WOO will do fine without Steve or Sammy. The rivalry might not be happening between Woo drivers but the rivalry between the WOO and Pa or the WOO and Cali is as hot as ever.  You might not respect the WOO but the drivers outside the WOO sure do. Watching Bud Kaeding get choked up when he won the dash out in Cali or Carson Mecados victory lane is proof of that. The WOO is respected as the best in the business by most local drivers from any region in the country and their stats back it up. Dirtlover just stay home and ignore the WOO if it bothers you so much, I personly cant wait for this weekend and the Natty Open at Williamsgrove which would not be nearly as big of a race if it was not sanctioned by the WOO, they are the reason why people come from all over the country to see this race, without them its just another race in Pennsylvania with the same cars that were just at the KK dirt classic, If Schatz was not gonna be there I probably wouldnt go, I want to see any driver from the posse beat him, thats why I go.

For the most part, I have to agree.  The WoO has as many guys following the tour as they have always had.  It will never support more than 15 regulars for an entire season, because there will never be enough money to spread around for that many races and that much travel to be worthwhile (not too mention, when going into a tough local area, it would be very damaging for travelling teams to consistently miss the A mains and only get tow money).  That being said, when the WoO goes to an area with local teams, they average between 30-50 cars and huge crowds.  If you are telling me that most of them are there for Steve and Sammy, I'll be happy to walk the grandstands with you to take a poll. 

Here's the other thing....while there are many places that don't draw a ton of cars, they are places where there are few to no local support.  And yet, the races still get good crowds.  If these races weren't good for the WoO or the race tracks, they wouldn't go and the the track wouldn't put up the sanctioning fee.  Obviously the name brand means something. 

A previous poster listed a few teams that may no longer run the tour in the next few years.  He listed Shark, Sides, CJB...amongst others like Motter, KKR losing his cup ride and Roth.  It is all speculation and may someday be true, but he failed to mention teams like Larson/Marks, perhaps Destiny, BWW (you never know), Clauson, Kaeding or Abreu putting together a full-time deal, the possibility of Dollansky return etc.  Yes this is all throwing names against a wall, but it is no less probable than the names that were listed as possibly leaving soon.

I can go back 10-15 years and show you message board posts showing the demise of 410 racing and the WoO.  Are things perfect...no, but they are no worse and probably better now than they were then.  Cali is stronger than ever.  The car counts for things like Ohio Speedweek were the best I have ever seen.  The weekly program at Knoxville is the strongest it's been in years, with a new regional series coming on board.  PA has lost some big teams, but the Saturday night tracks had their highest combined car counts in years (WG was down, but that is also a management issue).  Not to mention the number of rookies that ran this year.  Can it be better, yes, but 410 racing is far from dead.

Congratulations.  Yours is the first "how will the WoO survive" post of winter 2014/2015.  There must be some kind of a prize for making this annual post before they even get to the World Finals. 

Stan Meissner

Thanks for the congrats Stanm and take it easy