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

it's a good thing rod tiner sent tk down the hill when he did. lol

Save your butt, get a colon screening TODAY

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Duane Davis

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

Duane, I respect your opinion and your unabashed love for sprint car racing and especially its history. I, too, am a hard-core fan that remembers the days when the sport was more free-wheeling and I loved it. Those days played a big role in getting the sport to the opportunity it has now. No matter how much some fans want to leave the sport as it was...a "niche" sport, if you will...DIRT Motorsports is charged with the responsibility of increasing revenues for the series, promoters and teams, growing the exposure and attracting new fans and sponsors. To this end, the World of Outlaws cannot remain a "niche" series. Isn't this what the political battles in the sport were about last year?

Tmac and Joey or anyone else on the WoO tour can drop off the tour and race wherever they want and probably get away with some of the things that happened at Tulare. But, they wouldn't have the sponsorship opportunities or a chance to race for the money they are trying to win night in and night out on their own. That's just part of the trade-off for racers and fans. I'm sure Terry and Joey realize this and likely will accept the penalty. They're racers, but also astute business people.

Duane, if you want to support the sport as a "niche" then local racing probably provides you the best entertainment value. But even local tracks are trying to attract new fans, especially younger family types, so even sprint car racing at that level has been and is changing. Heck, society is changing and there isn't much we can do about it. Our old ways of thinking are on the wrong side of history and there is no way that's going to change.

If you have a subscription to National Speed Sport News, check out today's on-line edition and read the columns by Gary London and Mike Kerchner. One looks at motorsports from a view of a hard-core fan and the other looks at it from a more expanded viewpoint. Both are valid. I just think they each offer an interesting perpective in a general way of what we are discussing.

Duane - Jeesch DIRT, I supported you and your goals, but damn you make some stupid PR errors.

You are finally seeing what some of us have seen for a LONG time now.

Member of this message board since 1997

Just two weeks ago all of the NASCAR racing shows were talking of how the Yarborough/ Allison fight after the Daytona 500 brought fame and fortune to the series. Now the WoO higher ups are missing the boat . LOL. I understand the reason for the fines and probation , but I don't think it's THAT big of a deal for anyone to worry about ruining a grassroots type of series. Or a major league series for that matter.

then i'm sure you would like to start a defence fund for terry AND joey to appeal their fines.

as tk says live by the high side die by the high side. or what goes around comes around.

That's true, tha tfight brought national attention and was one of the things that opened the door to bigger things for NASCAR. But, I believe the fines they received ended up taking most of their winnings from the race. So, it's not like they didn't have consequences.

I would like to see the race tracks try to draw families and kids to the sport, but after 25 years of preaching this to deaf ears, and watching the various tracks losing more and more fans each year, I know we have a niche market, and are getting our collective asses kicked by the venues that do cater to families.

You will notice that just yesterday Des Moines announced a family friendly Pro Basketball team and an arena football team.

I could agree with the PC part if the promoters would at least attempt to attract families and the PC crowd.

I have heard lots of talk, but seen NO efforts the past few decades at taking the sport to the "next" level which may or may not be profitable or desirable.

The "Next Level" always costs more and enjoyed less.

Save your butt, get a colon screening TODAY

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Duane Davis

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

John Katish who cares what you think. If you notice they did not say what the fine amounts are. I would bet that McCarl was fined $1 and Joey $1000. One said goddamn on the radio, do you guys listen to the radio? I can't believe what they say sometimes. But the Saldana crew got physical and that is what this is really about, Dirt could not fine Saldana and not McCarl, so they fine them both to make the public happy, but don't say how much. I agree with nodust, this is what WoO's needed, I bet the promoters love it. Some promoters even give bonus for things like this, because it puts people in their seats. And that is the big picture for all of them, drivers, promoters and sponsors.

.

Reasonable point, Duane. There are many reasons tracks have been losing fans over the years. In the main case that you and I are both familier with, there has been a lack of original thought for years and I'll leave it at that.

I think the "next level" is something that's been debated amongst us for quite awhile. But, it's something that is happening throughout sports and entertainment. Back in the day, we'd think nothing of a Sunday drive to Kansas City for a Chiefs game or the early morning trip to Chicago for a game at Wrigley Field. Admission was affordable, decent seats were available and it was about the GAME. My best friend and I would also pick out one Iowa and one Iowa State football game (usually Michigan, Ohio State, Oklahoma or Nebraska) and get tickets because we enjoyed the GAME. I attended many basketball games during the Lute Olson and Johhny Orr days at U of I and ISU. Now, prices are way out of line for any of those things AND the entertainment value isn't what it once was. I still attend sporting events, mostly Drake University MVC basketball (great seats at resonable price) or a Division lll college games for both football or basketball. (Nothing like Simpson v Central on a wonderful fall day at a picturesque small college in the great midwest). I do this because it's still about the GAME.

Maybe that's what we are coming to in motorsports. I've been to NASCAR events and have NO intention of attending another. I've been to Indy and once was enough. Will the top level of dirt track racing "get beyond its raisin'"? I hope not. I don't want to see the sport become NASCAR-ized aand I don't think it will. The sport needs fans, not star-struck groupies. I do believe a World of Outlaws crowd has different dynamics than the local racing scene does with its hard-core crowd.

The thing is, the tracks need the World of Outlaws to be successful and draw well at their individual tracks. That's why promoters book those events. A strong night for the "special" sometimes can be the difference between a track being financially viable from year to year. If there are no tracks, there's no local racing. Without local racing, the sport dies.

We have to make sure that, as sprint car racing grows and evolves, that there are plenty of options available to new and old fans alike, at whatever level.

hey no dust. i say blame it all on the nst. if not for them woo would not be so competitve and terry would not have to drive so hard. lmao

I laugh on the inside when other media types continue to use the phrase "the next level", when at every post race PR blitz or when the majority of sprint car media gather at Knoxville I have yet to get a clear definition of just what "the next level" is or what they feel it should be. I gave up on that "next level" mumbo-jumbo- pretty much wrote off ever saying that in any of my reports, cause I for one don't want no "next level". Not to be rude John, but sprint car racing will never be evolved. And I like it that way.

Not that I care either way about how everything transpired, nor the handling of it by WoO- I however have to agree that we're due for a little rivalry in the sport.

Jeff Wesell
Hartford, WI

I'm still looking for the "official" release....did I miss it? Can someone point me to it?

Thanks!

SERVES THEM BOTH RIGHT!!! I WOULD NEVER DO ANYTHING...oops, I just broke a sh#t load of windows in my glass house.

Savage

its funny to see some of you take sides. if this was sammy, you'd be bitching about how big of an a-hole he is, but since it's mccarl, it's ok and its good for the sport. it doesnt work like that boys.

personally, i think its rather funny and got a good laugh when i heard it on dirtvision, but lets face it - you cant go out in public (let alone on a PA and live on the internet) and just spout off and say whatever you want without paying the consequences.

I agree that nobody has really defined the "next level" or that it's a term that really shouldn't be used. However, the sport is going to evolve on the level of the World of Outlaws or big event racing. Guys want to race for big money, they need exposure to draw sponsorship and the cost of their racing programs will continue to rise, so the need for the almighty dollar is there. At the highest level, it's a bottom-line business. There is a cost to that.

Whatever penalties were leveled against the #9 and #24 teams aren't going to adversely affect those teams. It's not something that wouldn't happen anywhere in the country at a local track, probably. So, I don't see it as that big of a deal. But, it gets people talking about rivalries and such...Schatz v. Saldana or McCarl wearing the black hat or Kinser trying to reclaim his throne..there is plenty of stuff to talk about on and off the track...but, the organization has rules and when they are broken the consequences have to be administered. Nobody's trying to limit "free speech" or water down the sport's personalities, yet there has to be a balance.

Besides, when has anyone or any organization ever forced Terry McCarl into silence? Does anyone really think this is going to keep him from saying what he thinks? I highly doubt it. He might be a bit more restrained in his use of the language but that shouldn't change what he says and how he thinks. Nor should it.

very good points and very well stated. I agree with almost all of it. In motorsports its the rivalries that keep many of the fans in the seats. Without your rivalries you still have your hardcore fans like most of us, but then it's very difficult to appeal to many others. And it's not just rivalries. When Trey Robb was 13 and started racing 360's at OKC I couldn't believe how many new fans there were. And after Robb moved on to ASCS most of those still come out every week. I thought that was great. In short I think there needs to be something more enticing than just the racing to appeal to a broader fan base.

How much would could a wouldchuck chuck if a 
wouldchuck could chuck would

.

Enough talk about McCarl he's mid pack at best. I'd be surprised at the end of the years he's in the top 6 in points. And what about TK's fine for going ballistic on Faria's car after he crashed.

Whilst not overtly encouraging T-Mac/Lasoski type behaviour, I cant help drawing an anology with tennis in the 80s. The volatile McEnroe, Connors, Nastase etc were household names, TV ratings were through the roof and you'd be lucky to get a centre court ticket anywhere.

Today's "robotic" tennis stars? Well they arent stars really. Just highly paid sportsmen. How many people would recognise Roddick or Federer as they travel through an airport terminal? McEnroe et al on the other hand had to be escorted by security whereever they travelled.

And in case you are too young to remember, McEnroe, Nastase and to a slightly lesser extent Connors made T-Mac look like a Sunday school teacher! A bit of spice does the PR side of things no harm. The contrary actually...

Physical violence on the other hand is a complete no-no. Forget fines and probation. First offense banned for 3 to 6 months. Second offense 12 months. Five years when you throw punches a third time. Off-course without a global governing body, it is unenforcable. They'll just move on to the next state.

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