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

Fast Five storylines: Weather, Freddie Rahmer and more heading into the April 8-10 weekend

The forecast was worse than what actually transpired. They made the decision earlier in the day after a little rain and snow. I can't really blame them, attendance would have been horrible.

Of course, its a business, not a charity

Maybe one day UNICEF will get into the track promoting business, but until then.....

I think it is a little bit of both. Obviously, fan count comes into play. Car count as well. At the end of the day, running Friday night would have been a no-win for everybody involved.

One big reason why crowds are down is due to years of bogus cancellations. In this case, they did the right thing with the forecast being what it was. The problem is, Williams Grove is now the boy who cried wolf. Dozens of instances of pulling the plug on programs for no reason have taken their toll. Unfortunately, they now have a reputation and it isn't a good one but it's no one's fault but their own and in cases like this, many people just see it as more of the same. I remember a few years ago, Ryan Taylor asked them on Twitter if they'd made a decision because it was time for him to leave if he was going to run that night. They responded by saying that they are definitely racing and then cancelled 20 minutes later and it never rained that night at all at the speedway. Needless to say, Ryan wasn't too pleased and neither was Rob Sell who owned Fred Rahmer's car at the time. Shit like that is why people aren't crazy about Williams Grove anymore. I do think people are a little too hard on them sometimes because all in all, it's still a damn good track and sometimes, people just nit pick and sit hairs because they have a bone to pick with them. It seems as though they've decided to start moving things in a positive direction this season. Let's hope it continues and they are able to bring the place back to where it should be.

Right. I know the difference between private enterprise & public works. Government exists to "promote the general welfare" of the citizens (US Constitution). Sprint car racing is about selling entertainment to the fans. 2 entirely different things....

I'm not defending the actions of Williams Grove in the past, just going to ask a question.  How long do you think it will take to get over this image they have created?  Last year they seemed to make a go of it even when they should have pulled the plug.  There were nights that they raced that there was hardly any fans at the track but yet they still tried, probably to show people they learned from their mistakes.  Heck even the National Open had probably the worst attendence of any Outlaw show I have ever seen and they had to pony of 50k to the winner.  The fans have a right to be picky based on the past but how many years do they have to put on shows that draw next to nothing for attendence before people realize they are going to give it an honest try.  Just asking the question because it seems no matter what the current management does, they are going to live that rep until when?  Even with all the changes they made this year and adding a special 500 to start series, people are still blasting them.  My opinion is the Saturday Night Series might have been to much work (only to lose money) and they knew it, had the right intentions last year and now going forward are headed in the right direction but no one gives them a chance.  Hell it seems like Tyler Walker gets more benefit of the doubt then the Grove.  Again just an opinion.

Australia & New Zealand have universal health care & sprint car racing both, so you're wrong.

I don't think Bernie is accurate calling himself a socialist, which means public ownership of the means of production. He doesn't advocate that, but he also sees the role of government in "promoting the general welfare" of the citizens, a mixed system. Just like the public roads we all drive on to get to races. Do you want toll roads everywhere?

I want to keep this board focused on racing, I was only replying to you calling someone (probably a conservative) a Bernie supporter for some totally unrelated comment on racing.

Ruining a good reputation is far easier and happens much faster than restoring a good reputation after it has been lost. Much easier to drive fans away than it is to get them back. 

Once a person stops going on race night they find something else to do that night. So, yes, it will take time.

oh yea, Canada too.... duh

You don't know what you're talking about, Bernie is nowhere approaching a Communist. If he was he would be secretly arming the workers instead of asking the American public to vote for him.

No more politics, I'm really gonna try hard. We're not going to convince each other

I totally agree. They've taken a lot of huge steps in turning it around. In fact, I can say last year and so far this year, they've done a great job all in all. No one and nothing is perfect and mistakes have been and always will be made. That's life. I think if they keep doing what they're doing, their reputation will be restored within a couple of years. Look how long it took Port Royal to live down their shitty reputation and there's still some numbskulls out there who bash the place. Can't please everyone but I do think all in all, Williams Grove is headed back in the right direction. Getting rid of the Saturday series was a huge plus and I look for things to only get better from here.

Bernie Saunders is a BUM, do a little research on the guy, a total waste of space, thank God he has ZERO chance of winning anything of any importance in the near future.  By the way the alternative on that side of the ledger is almost as bad and a lot more evil.  The political situation is bleak to say the best and we have an absolute incompetent, unqualified moron running our country, man times are tough I'm glad I'm old and about finished, lol.....

PS  The do we race or do we cancel routine is the single toughest decision a promoter has to make and most of the times he makes the wrong one but it's often not his fault, the coin ended up that way....

Yo' Wiz, somebody posted on Facebook today a photo of me from 1995 in Australia and I am wearing a Freddie Rahmer T, almost brought a tear to my eyes, my old Posse days....