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

Fans , are tracks giving you enough for your hard earned dollars weekly during these tough economic times of job loss , gas price increases and other factors ? I 'd like to know what you think and if the tracks can do more and what you think they can do for you as fans ? We know they have to make a profit , pay out purses , their weekly help , but do you have ideas that will make the shows more entertaining , less time consuming , or just other items you would like them to implement at your local speedways ?

The first thing for me is to have a announcer that tells the fans who is on the track before they start the motors and you cant hear. Good announcers tell the fans who is on the track for hot laps, announce the line ups before the cars are on the track so for us folks who are writing down the lineups and finishing order can hear. I have always thought that a guy who sits up in the booth calling the race is wasting his breath because you cant hear them. If I was a promoter I would want a announcer that dont piss everybody off because he dont know when to shut up with his no mind B.S..

Also I would have great food at the track.....more times than not I will stop and get something to eat before the races because the food is better.

Keep the show moving as fast as you can. When one race is done the cars should be ready to be pushed off for the next race and if they are not-----tough you either learn or go to the back. Get the mess cleaned up on the track asap and keep the show moving. If a show runs for over 3 hours thats a risk; some people might not show up again. OBTW when it says races start at say 7:00 then thats when they start----not start packing the track at 7:00.

Clean restrooms are also a huge thing...a fan shouldnt be afraid to sit on the toilet seat.

I grew up watching stock cars on pavement,but I have never been to another track that has had everything that Bob Bahre had at Oxford, Maine's Oxford Plains Speedway when he was running it as I was growing up.

He had good lighting,good PA system, huge grandstands for good creature comforts,reasonably priced admission and concessions,and plenty of clean bathrooms. Plenty of parking,and camping as well. And he ran the place with an Iron Fist! The show STARTED at 7:30 on the dot,not 7:35 or 8:00. As one heat was finished the next was rolling out the gate. If he thought the safety crew was taking to long cleaning up a crash,he'd be there yelling at them,and working right along side. Everyone was treated the same there whether it was the most popular drive to the lowest budget street stock. If they screwed up,they got thrown out for a couple weeks.

Back then it was cheap entertainment,with lots of fans,and all the concessions were very busy,because they worked on the idea of selling a lot of food cheap rather than very little that was expensive.

Some of the tracks I have been to dont know how to run an effecient prrogram and drag things out. I wonder why the promoters dont take a week off and take a trip to see what the opposition is doing at well run tracks!