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

To hear each driver say this is the race they want to win,to have over 300 enties,to have Nascar,Woo,and champions from many venues show up to race for $10,000,a packed house with TV,a thin rule book,cars that are built with this race in mind,this has to be a promoters dream.I know it costs a lot to make it happen but it has to bring as much revenue to the host town as the Knoxville Nationals.

Even though Tulsa is alot bigger and the crowd is smaller, I still see race fans everywhere I go when I am in town.

At the Expo Center you get that Knoxville atmosphere of seeing old friends and sitting near the same people for years.

Oh... alot less drunks too

Everyone agrees the Chili Bowl is huge and prestigeous and no doubt any promoter would love to buy the event and brand.  I'm sure the economic benefit to Tulsa by a $ amount is probably equal to Knoxville. Remember that a lot of circumstances play into the popularity and # of racers and cars that enter which is a considerable advantage over Knoxville or KR or other big sprint races.

The Chili Bowl is a dream race for dirt track fans.  Come January, every racer and race fan is bored out of their mind, stir crazy, and dying for the smell of burnt racing fuel. There is nothing to do in most places except stay inside to keep from freezing your ass off outside.  As a fan you can watch a couple hundred races over a 5 day stretch, be warm, no worries of rain out or rain delay, and see great racing.

300 entries is the result of just about anyone being able to throw a single car together that can get around the track in a respectable pace, for a reasonable amount of money, and not having to stockpile a ton of parts in case you crash (once, twice, or ten times).  And I'm not talking about the top 50 entries.  I'm talking about the other 250.  

And just about any sprint or go cart racer can drive one around that little track and pump out competitive times without much risk to car owner or driver of tearing up too much stuff or getting killed.  

If it was as easy to put a competitive 410 on the track for Knoxville or find a driver capable of wheeling one around that place in less than 16 seconds, and EVERY crash didn't risk totaling every part on the car, a $50k motor, or a drivers life, trust me, there would be 300 entries at Knoxville every year.  And with that many entires I think you would see those stands full...maybe even a need to expand.  Probably a 5th night of racing too.  

I can promise there are two or three times as many drivers and car owners sitting in the stands watching or walking through the pits or stuck racing at home that wish they had the resources to enter. 

Stewart, Kahne, Larson, etc would all race the Nationals if not for Cup conflicts.  And trust me, THAT is the race all of those guys would really like to win.

Worst thing for Knoxville is that late in summer, many states are now sending kids back to school that week or the next. Youth are already in fall sports practices.  Kills family attendence. I think Knoxville attendance would be helped by moving their Nationals weekend up one week or even two.  

Knoxville showcases the best team with an emphasis particularly on the equipment. Chili Bowl allows for the driver to shine more and horsepower/setup to take a slight back seat. The many drivers I've spoken with on the subject all agree on that point. I love the Knoxville Nationals but lets face it there is a 90% chance that it will be won by a high dollar team with the absolute hardest hitting motor. Mother nature messing that all up is about the only way a result will be any different. Still it's a fun race and definitely exciting but give me a small bullring anyday for watching drivers wheel a car.

Cheers!

Your part about the Nationals loosing some attendance, because of school and fall sports, is absolutely true. I'm not sure about other states, but Nationals week is the first week of official fall sports practices in Missouri. My son's first two years of high school football, since he wasn't 16, I would head home Friday morning, pick him up after practice, and head back to Knoxville for Friday night. Luckily, we were only three hours away. Now he's a high school football coach. If it was one week earlier, he'd be there for the whole week. 

It's not about the money because it doesn't pay anything even though it brings $14M to the local Tulsa economy.

The racers/car owners are the only ones "that it's not about the money" as usual.

Everyone else involved is dancing a jig all the way to the bank.

They seat 15,000 people times $260 = $4 million, not counting the back gate or corporate sponsorship.

I'm sure the Expo Center is expensive and I realize Uncle Sam takes 40%, but get real.

The Chili Bowl purse has been such a long running joke now, people have become numb to it.

F'n thing should pay at least $100,000 to win, not $10,000.

 
 
 
They don't even know how to spell sprint car 
much less chromoly...http://www.ycmco.com

Some great responses I do have a question.It must be a coincidence that each night seems to have the top 25 or so name drivers eqaully divided.Even with  over 300 drivers many are not well known  if seems like the real contenders are divided Do the top teams like Kunz get to pick a night like Knoxville to qualify?It will be fun to see Larson,Sammy, Jac,and some of the others show what they have to get to the A .Great race ,timing and thin rule book are two keys,a full invert would be great but lapped traffic and flips[too many] make it a race after the first 6 laps.I agree the racers and owners are the ones that the Driller means more than money.One thing with no weight limit takes out some of the drivers chances as weight makes a difference.Guys like Kinser and Schatz who the fans would love to see just are a bit larger[and tougher] than your average midget driver.Off the subject but what other sport can 60 year old men be competitive like Kinser ,Lasoski,and Sammy .This race should win the Promoters Dream Race.

The Shootout pays for the chili bowl.  By the time the midgets arrive everyones pockets are already lined.  Prett good business decision if you ask me

do it in the dirt

I raced the Shootout 4 times and was always told that the Chili Bowl paid for the Shootout. Who knows. Maybe in the old days that was true but Shootout keeps growing every year, not just in entries, but butts in the stands. I couldn't believe how big of a crowd they had for the Shootout on Saturday. The biggest race in the country (entry-wise) that nobody has ever heard of.

Just curious, when was the last time a less than top of the line car won the Chili Bowl?

You hear a lot of complaining from fans (not drivers) about the purse.  Take a minute to think about it, the promoters spent 30 years trying to build this up.  They took a huge gamble starting a event like this years ago and I'm sure they struggled through some hard times.  Now that it has become successful for their hard work and dedication, they are supposed to give extra money away?  They earned the right to laugh all the way to the bank, it was their business model that took years to build.  If the racers don't  like it, they do not have to race and if the fans do not like it, they do not have to attend.  This form of business is what our economic system is built on - supply and demand. Because of their hard work, they have earned the right to make money and unless people refuse to keep going, they will continue to profit and deserve every single penny they make and determine any purse they want.

It is always the cream of the crop in the A-mains at Knoxville or the Chili Bowl.  Top teams will always dominate.

The difference at the Chili Bowl is because of the bullring you need a bit of luck not to get caught up in someone elses mistakes or your own ( ie; Bell and Larson ).  It is still all about money, motor and especially at the Chili Bowl it is also weight.  

Maybe Damion was the last somewhat "normal car" to win it all.

I was going to say Mcreadie in 2006. Maybe Damion, I thought that was a pretty well-funded ride though.

If they dropped it from $10,000 to win to $1,000 to win. They wouldn't lose any cars. Probaby gain 10.

Just how many Golden drillers do they hand out over the course of 2 wks ?

Also someone mentioned sports, here in Ohio we have Attica & Limaland that close early for that very reason.

I think the total driller count is 10 including the shootout features and the CB. When they had Karts it was more like 20.

I went into the pits after the finals and I have never seen such an upbeat atmosphere.  

Crews, drivers and their families were having a great time.  Bitter rivals on the track were laughing and trading stories from earlier in the night.  No one was in much of any hurry to pack up for the night. 

For many it will be the last time they see each other for another year so they all seemed to be enjoying the moment.