Forum: Northern California Sprint Car (go)
Moderators: StuDeedooo

I see petaluma got shorten Fri at ocean it was hurry hurry and wait, i cant help but wonder if these tracks have to many classes going on in one night some times not all the time but some time. I know this brings in good money at the rear gate but the fans and racers are the ones getting screwed, just my 2 cents.

Petaluma had I think 6 classes, and they spent almost an hour on the track prior to the mains starting. Plus it seems to take them a while to get wrecked cars off the track. I think the sprint main got started about 10. The fans got to see 3 laps!

The promoter at Petaluma should be worried. Race fans won't return if the featured event is cut short due to (to) many support classes. I assume Petaluma is a sprint car track.

"Ralphie, Senor, muchas gracias por una mas cerveza"  -
Scott Daloisio @ the PAS

what i think the promoter at petaluma speedway should do is make it just a sprint car track thats it but to have that many support classes last nite at petaluma 6 and the 36 sprint main started at 10 and thats the curfew and to to complete only 3 laps and thats it problem solved if they just make it a sprint car track

Perhaps they could try to get things underway a little earlier on those evenings when the program includes several support classes. Hopefully that wouldn't prove to be a problem for most of the racers and spectators. The last time I went to Ventura I got there about 6pm and the racing was already underway. I was told that they now begin packing the track by 4 - 4:30pm so they can get the entire show completed before the curfew and appease the nearby residents who had been complaining about noise. If they can do it why not other tracks? Start the show at the usual hour when there are few or no support classes. JMHO

At Watsonville Friday night (I like the promoter and think he is doing a good job) they had some sort of church deal going where several local pastors were racing the 4 bangers. It must have been a pretty good promotion cus the stands were full, that is a good thing. The problem is, this racing, along with the micros took so much time the sprint B had to be scratched. This deprived a lot of sprint car fans who paid $15 to get in, more sprint car racing and instead had to sit thru a tedious micro B. The economy of race promotion has to be difficult so no one argues with the need for a big back gate (especially those classes that race for free like micros,dwarfs and 4 bangers). The promoters must not forget however the need to first make sure there is plenty of time to run the complete sprint car show. This being a Sprint car site, most readers would agree that all non-sprint classes are time-fillers and should be a second priority for promoters.

All tracks need to manage the time better. The track officials should always be aware of how the evenings events are going and when a preliminary event starts to become a marathon, throw the checkers and get the next race on the track.

And they need to have the next race staged, and if someone is not in line, they go away! If you are consistant in your policy, everybody will get the point very fast, just leave one behind, and they will know you mean business. But the Main Class Feature should never have to be sacrificed. It is O.K. for the evening to be over at 9:40PM if the fans received a full program. Cut the big long winded intermissions (Beer Sales Opportunities) and RACE!

We went to an NST race in Bakersfield a few years ago and it was called after a 12 lap A- main. The weather had been bad the week before and the fairgrounds were really strick about the 11 pm cufew. We were dissapointed because we drove a far distance and got a hotel just to see less than half a A- main and spend $35 for each ticket. I think the races need to be started earlier especially if they are on a Saturday night and then if the heat races and B- main take a long time to complete then they should just be called earlier because people go to a sprint car race to mainly see the A main. Something has to be done so that both the drivers and fans are able to race/watch an entire A- main, or the fans/drivers will not be coming back and that would be soo bad for the sport!

I really enjoy going to Petaluma and I hope they are able to fix things so that they don't have another shortened A main especially for a GSC or Civil War event! Just a few years ago they were in danger of being shut down, so they have to be careful to make their fans, drivers, and everyone else involved happy! A 3 lap A- main is just sad any way you look at it!

I went to Placerville this weekend for the Forni race and it was really well done especially for having 2 other classes besides sprint cars. The A-Main was exciting and there were only a few yellows with great racing between Sean Becker and Herman Klien and it got over not long after 10 pm. I don't get the chance to go see many Civil War or local 360 shows, but I had a good time and saw some great racing! It also made my night that someone gave me an addmission ticket they weren't using

Looking forward to the new Golden State King of the 
West series schedule! 

Winged sprintcars = the fastest and most exciting 
racecars on dirt! 

The hole in turns 3-4 had to be fixed. It was going to hurt someone. That being said, the schedule was out before new regs got put in by the fair board that says no one fires an engine after 10pm, shortening the length of the night by one hour. Throughout this entire year, this has happened once. It is unfortunate, yes, but take away the red for the guy in the corner during qualifying and the red on the frontstretch, and the two spins by the guy on the front row, and the Late Model spinfest....It was like the perfect storm hitting us square in the face. Yeah, it sucked. No, I don't think fans that have come to Petaluma for years will never come back because of this. If this was a chronic problem, that's one thing. A one time occurence is another.

Hope to see you at the races.

so, revamp your schedule. ocean has changed it's schedule in midseason and moved classes around and changed dates they run on. i haven't heard of it causing big problems. if this guy didn't spin and if this red had not come out..... if my aunt would have had balls she would have been my uncle, if a frog had wings he wouldn't bump his butt.... yada, yada, yada.

Personally, I think that all tracks/sanctions should put a time limit on ALL races; heats - 10 minutes, b-main, 15 minutes, etc...and stick to it. While its not gonna be fair to some racers, it will help those tracks that face curfew issues.

And as long as its explained to the racers at the drivers meeting, aand equitably applied, then drivers will hopefully do all that they can to speed up the show. Things like being in staging when you're supposed to, lining up QUICKLY on restarts, and such will make the show more enjoyable for the fan. Who just might come back the next time....

After all, if there were no fans, there would likely be no races, since I can't think of any promoter who puts on races and pays a purse because he's a nice guy........

Chuck.....

I'm of the opinion that this was a one time thing.

Kind of like when you get up for work in the morning and cook steak and eggs instead of having cereal like you've had the last 10 years in a row and you end up 15 minutes late. Do you assume every day you're going to have steak and eggs and get up 20 minutes earlier, or do you assume that you are going to keep having cereal and get up at the same time? The problem was the break for track maintenance. If you're looking for the problem, there it is.

knowing you were faced with a time problem, did you elect to condense all of the classes remaining races, or did you just run them all out to their conclusions and whatever class was last got what was left? did you put a strict time limit on races or shorten them evenly to try to give every class a fighting chance?

You weren't there? And you criticize?

www.petaluma-speedway.com

The story is there.

not critcizing yet, as i was not there in person, just asking questions. did i hit a nerve? by the way, i am still awaiting the info i inquired about if you care to provide it.

Petaluma would rather let their dirt modifieds and all those other classes spin out fifty-million times during their main events then let there 360 show get at least HALF of their main even in. All the money those guys spent to go out there and they got shafted....i'm sure there were a lot of unhappy drivers! an as far as hitting a nerve with the petalumapits guy...thats exactly what you did...god forbid that track take any constructive criticism on how to run that track....oh, they got things down perfect.....riiigghhhttt.

I had to laugh out loud at that one. You're never going to please everyone, and I guarantee YOU are one that criticizes more than most so I'll consider the source. See, it doesn't matter who or what or where you spend your money, a curfew is a curfew and a hole is a hole, and safe is safe. Any idea what happened this week at the pit meeting with regards to the previous week's fiasco? Probably not, and you don't really need to know either.

And as far as "those other classes"....Big money does not fill the pits. Thank god for the low budget guys keeping this sport alive.

you still have totally by-passed the question of what if anything you did that night to address having multiple classes to run and a curfew approching and how you were going to go about giving everyone a fair shot at getting laps in. you are right big money does not fill your pits and niether do the 14? winged cars you got last race. if you treat your racers like you treat the poster who submitted the above post it is no wonder. why such a hard line on providing a little insight as to what happened at the pit meeting? it makes no difference as this will most likely be the last year for winged cars at petaluma just as antioch dumped them. any truth to the rumor that the promotor a while back said he could care less if the sprints ran there or not. the only fans you have in the stands have 3x shirts on. what are you going to do when she moves on? she has talent and will most likely look for other venues to showcase them soon. petaluma is a great track to race on, i will withhold my opinion of how it is to race at.

Ok I get the aunt/uncle thing but you lost me at the frog ???

Here is what I saw on Saturday and many other Saturdays at Petaluma. I see the event being called to staging 5,6,7 times while the sprint car drivers sit on the right rear tire of their car yelling "F*%K YOU" and "OH SHUT THE F*%K UP" etc, etc. Many (not all) have no respect for anyone. Granted they, like your aunt, has balls for driving those things but when there's a time crunch for whatever reason the drivers need to cooperate and get there car to staging to race. I for one spent numerous hours sitting in staging while a shower of sprint car parts rained onto my car and had my races cut short because sprinters spent more time in the fence then racing. The reason they only got three laps from my view was because they were way late getting to staging then could not go 1 lap without a crash. Must have been former modified drivers like myself. The reason why all the fans have 3X sweetshirts is because it is cold at Petaluma so fans buy the only thing for sale that will keep them warm. Unfortunatly the hot chocolate and coffee are cold before you get back to your seat. If you could explain the frog thing to me that would be great.

It is simple, all the track has to do is enforce some rules. If you do not show up in a timely manner to staging you don't enter the racetrack or you have some sort of penalty. I know at Ocean Speedway that if you do not mud pack in a timely manner you get no hot laps. As for the tire sitting, obscenity yelling......come on, really? I am a sprint car racer that has raced and watched races at Petaluma and have never witnessed that. Not saying that it has never happened; however any racetrack that has racecars is subject to obscenities. To single out the sprint car drivers is ridiculous. It can't be that hard to get the sprint car drivers to cooperate the place doesn't get very many of them anymore.