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

Took a recent motorcycle tour from Michigan to PA with 9 others...built in a stop at Lincoln for a normal Sat nite show.  What a great track - never saw a water truck and there was no dust, great facilities, concession stand knows how to get food made and sold quickly, found a couple Wolfgang stickers at the souvenir stand, and saw some great 360 and 410 sprint car races.  Dietrich and The Edge fighting it out at the end of the feature was an added bonus.  Took several guys who'd never seen a sprint car race back in Michigan, and they all dropped their jaws when the hot laps started.  If was fun to see their reactions and enjoy a beautiful late summer night at a place that does it absolutely right!  We will be back!  

Glad you liked it, great track!

Welcome to Posse land. Lincoln does it right. Glad you enjoyed your trip!

The single best track in all of PA with my Favorite announcer and Stats man.....

I totally agree.  Does not show favoritism towards a couple of drivers like the announcer at the Port and WG.  Also the nicest and most friendly of all local announcers.

I definitely agree with that. Port does most things right but when it comes to announcers, they really couldn't have done much worse. Browse is terrible and the most annoying thing is, he absolutely can't do an interview without fishing for compliments. It's a well known fact that Port Royal has been transformed into one of the premier tracks in sprint car racing and the folks involved deserve all the credit in the world but it gets old listening to Brouse trying to constantly bait the drivers into patting them on the back. I want to hear a drivers perspective of how the race unfolded on the track, not hear him say for the 47th time how nice the new scoreboard is and how nice the new lights are. Also, the new guy they have running around doing the pit road reporting thing is even more annoying yet. And before anyone says don't pay attention, it's pretty much impossible to do because they have their P.A. system cranked up so loud that you can barely carry on a conversation with those around you.

Totally agree. Lincoln is the best track in PA bar none. The track surface and the racing action is the best in the area. Putney is a master at track prep. Who else do you know who can take a half frozen surface at the end of February and get it in decent enough condition to race on?

Port, and its not even close. Just ask AK 87, lol.

at least Port Royal's PA system works...unlike another area track where the backstretch zone is essentially useless

Lincoln 1845 ft/.35 mile T1=118MPH 
Eldora 2287 ft/.43mile T3=135MPH
Port 2716 ft/.51 mile T3=TBD
Grove 2792 ft/.53 mile T3=135MPH
Selinsgrove 2847 ft/.54 mile T1=136MPH
"I didn't move to PA from El Paso in search of better 
weather." Van May

Both have come a long way, and have passed the Grove in terms of fan friendliness and quality of racing. 

Lincoln tends to be better for regular shows, some of their big events have struck out in terms of track prep, I would say Port has passed Lincoln with all the improvements they have made.

PA Sprint car fans are lucky to have so many quality tracks in one area, all within a few hours of one another.  Lincoln and Port are top notch.  You Central PA guys do know there are PA tracks outside of Central PA, right?  I mean I get it.  WG, Lincoln, Port are all (again) absolute top notch tracks, but Lernerville is also one of the premier tracks in the state (and region).  I often talk to a number of traveling teams (WoO, All Stars, etc.) and I'll tell the truth - a great deal of them say Lernerville is their favorite PA track.  That's drivers and crew.  I mentioned that on another thread after the Don Martin Silver Cup and it holds true.  That's not a knock on any particular track, but to point out the Lville doesn't get the recognition from the Posse fans. 

Lincoln is my go-to track.  Great racing, good concessions, new seating, great announcer.

Lernerville was my track as a youth.  Great track as well.

Susky has made vast improvements and most nights offers the best racing for sprints with its wide turns.

WG and SG need to catch up on improvements, most notably getting rid of the infield obstructions.

I've been going to all of the south central PA tracks weekly since '84. I've seen all of these tracks change in one way or another, most for the better although it can take years for changes to happen. Lincoln has been my "go to" weekly track since '84, its never been more than 30 min. away from residence. I really dig what Port Royal has been doing the past few years, I see more effort there than anywhere else. Unfortunately I just don't like half mile winged racing as much as I used to so I only go to The Port a few times a year. Lincoln is a decent facility and has been for some time but I don't see much of a promotional effort on their part. I think they believe that the fans always show up so why try anything different, if its working, don't fix it.  Port Royal may  leave Lincoln in the dust with their promotional efforts. As I stated, Lincoln has been my every week track since '84, and I have yet to see them have a fan appreciation night or some of the other nice promotions that The Port has to offer to their fans.

I agree that it wouldn't hurt for Lincoln to get a little promoting going on. Then again, they've been doing virtually the same thing since Jesus walked the earth and they continue to be successful. It's hard for me to see things from the perspective of a new or casual fan because I was born into going to races. Promotional shit really doesn't affect me. I don't even care much about facilities. Give me a good track surface with adequate moisture (one thing that Port sometimes lacks due to their obsession with murdering the surface with push trucks all night), a quality field of cars and a place to sit/stand with a good view of the action and I'm happy. Fan appreciation nights and giveaways are a good thing but personally, I could care less about that stuff. For me, Lincoln is where it's at in Central PA as far as the best racing. Susquehanna is right there as well. Another poster mentioned Lernerville and they're correct. Lernerville is the ideal track for sprint cars. I love the place. 

Yep those are the best sprint tracks(racing wise) in PA and it's mainly due to them all being shorter than a half-mile. The cars don't get strung out as much yet these tracks are still pretty fast, especially Lernerville.

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I concur in regards to the "fishing for compliments" bit. When they first started making wholesale changes, I thought it was a pretty smart concept. Get the driver to say nice things and then you can put it out on social media and get people talking. Now? Almost everybody knows it's a top facility, the word is out, and there's no need to do that. I heard it earlier this year in a victory lane interview. Out of nowhere a "What did you think of the new improvements to the track?" I gotta admit I cringed. It hasn't happened often though, right? I'm really not sure, but I remember that one time stood out.

On the other hand, if you put that much work and effort into something and it turned out great, it would feel fantastic to get some compliments on your efforts. So I don't hold it against them much at all.

As an announcer I know some people around me get annoyed quickly by the "overtalking" but it doesn't seem to bother me too much. Like you said, I like to converse with those around me and sometimes it gets quite a bit difficult because the PA system is cranked up to 11 it seems. I've said it before on this board, but my favorite announcer is Dave Hare. Good voice and good cadence.

As far as the pit announcer (Earl Hoon), again I probably just sound like I'm defending everything Port does, but I like the guy. His energy and excitement seem to be genuine and not out of overhyping the event. I think he can get a bit carried away and yammer on like a monkey in a tree sometimes, but I look at that as a guy who just has a passion for what he does. I like that it's a fresh voice and it's infectious. 

I've noticed some sprint car fans can be very stuffy and almost snobby when it comes to what happens at their track. Something new comes in and it becomes "What kind of Mickey Mouse bullshit is this??" or "Oh Jesus Christ, what the hell is this?" Have an open mind. Be willing to try something new. Then again have you looked at the average dirt track fan? Not exactly a bunch of progressives. One of my favorite events every year is the Cappy at Knoxville. Why? Tony and Wade do a good job of getting the crowd wound up. And you know what? The crowd plays their role just as well. They could sit on their hands, but they also get into it.

I don't have a neat conclusion, so I'll just see myself out.

(door quietly closes)

The fishing for compliments thing actually happens a lot. It's almost every time he talks into the microphone. I'm with you, I wouldn't mind it once in awhile because they busted their asses to make it what it is but he does it so much it's almost as if you're having your nose rubbed in it. I could even understand a little more if every track around was a total shithole and Port was heads and shoulders above the rest. Fact is, all these improvements basically amount to catching up to the other tracks. Lincoln and Williams Grove did many of the same things incrementally over a period of time whereas Port was basically rotting into the ground and then the current team got ahold of it and had a bunch of shit to do to catch up to Lincoln and Williams Grove. Susquehanna is in the process of doing the same thing and they'll certainly make sure you know what they've done but they don't hammer it constantly to the point where hearing the words "Musco Lighting" one more time might be enough to drive you insane. I totally agree as far as Dave Hare is concerned. He can announce every race at every track as far as I'm concerned. He's the best in this area. 

I've only been to Susky once, but the USAC midget race there was the best race I saw all summer, hands down....

Dave Hare is absolutely the best! Great voice and very entertaining. Brouse can get annoying but at least he's very knowledgable and I respect that. He's been a fan or involved in some sort - media/announcer for a long time. He does his homework on the drivers and doesn't mispronounce anyone's names. I do have to chuckle when he acts like he's Mr. Port Royal who hasn't missed a race there ever, knowing that he was Selinsgrove's media guy for a couple decades.

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