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

Swamp... shutting your eyes to the biggest potential problem that the sport we love is NOT the right answer either !@!

Maybe the true fans that care about more than just the next race, or next months race are truly concerned that this could have a MAJOR impact on the sport we all love.

While I agree that credit is a real factor in most peoples life, the true reality is, using you as an example as you put forward above, if there ever comes a time when you can't pay for the house, or truck, you will lose them !

Getting loans just to make the payments on the loans that you already have, with no projections of a positive cash-flow is a recipe for disaster, and it doesn't matter if its a house, truck or company trying to promote dirt track racing.

Bottom line... they tried to get too big too soon by buying tracks and sanctions with money that they didn't have, and I am not talking about the current people in charge. Its unfortunate that they inherited a monumental financial nightmare, and as much as they are trying to fix the problems... maybe a bankruptcy re-org is the only way to proceed... it works for the airlines !!

I agree with that theory - however - the 2nd part of my statement is also key in any sort of progress and success in this sport - whether at the local or national level. They are providing entertainment for US. They do not do what they do just to say they own this or that or to go watch their own races and drink beer and eat dirt. They are an entertainment provider - period. Until the fans get behind it 100% and quit bitching about every little thing that goes on, buy the tickets, support the sponsors, bring their friends and introduce them to the greatest spectacle in motorsports, watch the ESPN/SPEED broadcasts and tell all their friends to watch also, show the corporate world that this sport is alive and kicking - well...then we're all doomed.

Former Owner/President of FAST and Black Swamp Media
Group. Currently just another fan in the stands.

Cobra, if the tracks you speak of are hanging their very survival on having a WoO race, there is something VERY wrong with that picture. Personally, I think that there needs to be a different word used to describe the people who put on dirt races in this country. They aren't "promoters" anymore, so we shouldn't be calling them that. A promoter promotes, which seems to be a lost art in today's world. Even one "promoter" at a very famous midwest track seems more interested lately in getting in the press telling tales of woe about how bad things are with 410 racing, rather than focusing that energy on figuring out ways to promote the place he's charged with running.

One of the best "promoters" that I've personally witnessed in quite a while is the McKroskey/McCarl duo. They only promote a few events a year, but their events always seem to be a big hit with SRO crowds. They make good money, pay good purses, and have people talking about their races before and after they're run. They've tried new and fresh ideas and found things that works. If something doesn't work, they try something else until they hit on one that does.

So, what I'm saying is that track owners and promoters have slacked off in their duties over the last decade or so. They need to get off their laurels, figure out ways to PROMOTE their tracks and get the asses back in the seats, and make a successful venture out of whatever racetrack they run. Rather than spending their energy on complaining and telling us what doesn't work.

Most "promoters" could learn a few things from people like Chris Economaki, Bob Miller, Steve Beitler, the late Fred Brownfield, and so on. Those guys did, and do, know how to promote races.

In closing, if tracks are banking on getting a WoO race to keep them afloat, someone really isn't doing their job.

Good points...and the greatest promoter of all - Mr. Earl Baltes - needs to kick them ALL in the ass and show them how it is supposed to be done. You can't just throw the gates up and stand their with your calculator waiting to see how much money you made. Very few local tracks promote their weekly events. I have seen Attica make some recent efforts with TV and radio ads - and they have been effective. You have to SELL what the sport is all about to the borderline fans who might just as well go see the new Spiderman movie on Friday night. Motocross and Monster Trucks pack the house. Why? They get promoted as an extreme sport, family oriented entertainment, and you always see ticket promotions and flyers and TV and radio - in your face for a full week or two before any event. Why nobody has caught on to this is beyond me. We have the MOST extreme form of motorsports on the planet and it is being kept a secret!!!!!!!!! Come on!! Get with the program here, people!

Former Owner/President of FAST and Black Swamp Media
Group. Currently just another fan in the stands.

Hawker, I hate Bush worth a passion but am 100% behind Boundless or World Group or whatever they are called. So, if there was meaning too your "logic" then it is all wrong.

As long as employees are getting paid each week and as long as drivers are getting their checks at the end of each race then this "sprint car fan" could care less what anybody elses debt is. Cause in the end, as long as they put a product out on the racetrack then whatever happens behind the scene should be nobodys concern.

June has come and past and we are entering the second week of July and looks to be racing as usual at a local dirt track with no demise, to the dismay of some.

David Smith Jr.
www.oklahomatidbits.com

Looks like June 30th came and went...lol.

The Boy Who Cried Wolf

There once was a shepherd boy who was bored as he sat on the hillside watching the village sheep. To amuse himself he took a great breath and sang out, "Wolf! Wolf! The Wolf is chasing the sheep!"

The villagers came running up the hill to help the boy drive the wolf away. But when they arrived at the top of the hill, they found no wolf. The boy laughed at the sight of their angry faces.

"Don't cry 'wolf', shepherd boy," said the villagers, "when there's no wolf!" They went grumbling back down the hill.

Later, the boy sang out again, "Wolf! Wolf! The wolf is chasing the sheep!" To his naughty delight, he watched the villagers run up the hill to help him drive the wolf away.

When the villagers saw no wolf they sternly said, "Save your frightened song for when there is really something wrong! Don't cry 'wolf' when there is NO wolf!"

But the boy just grinned and watched them go grumbling down the hill once more.

Later, he saw a REAL wolf prowling about his flock. Alarmed, he leaped to his feet and sang out as loudly as he could, "Wolf! Wolf!"

But the villagers thought he was trying to fool them again, and so they didn't come.

At sunset, everyone wondered why the shepherd boy hadn't returned to the village with their sheep. They went up the hill to find the boy. They found him weeping.

"There really was a wolf here! The flock has scattered! I cried out, "Wolf!" Why didn't you come?"

An old man tried to comfort the boy as they walked back to the village.

"We'll help you look for the lost sheep in the morning," he said, putting his arm around the youth, "Nobody believes a liar...even when he is telling the truth!"

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