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

The Turn2 stuff is good because it doesn't have all the bells and whistles that a SPEED broadcast has. Just one camera, high up and showing all the action. Pretty simple. Wonder why nobody else understands that concept.

I could walk to the track in 10 minutes during Nationals but I don't like dealing with all the nonsense, crowds and overpriced tickets. So I stay home, grill out, drink my own beverages, eat my own food and relax in my comfy chair and big screen TV with my friends and family. Don't feel like I'm missing a thing and we all chip in on the cost. I spent way to many years attending the race but this is better, at least as far as we are concerned.

If Turn2 isn't allowed to do the final night next year, I won't buy any of the package. I'll find something better to do with my time and money.

SPEED should just go away. It's done nothing for the betterment of the sport. Let Turn2 do the whole deal.

Well said...

Kyle Ealy

Editor - Midwest Racing Archives
www.midwestracingarchives.com

Room for rent next year? LOL

It's expensive Alaska. It's expensive.

he lives in Alaska, he knows all about expensive lol

when the green flag drops, the bullshit stops!

It's self centered people like you who have the time away from work and the finances to go to Knoxville Ia. YOU MY FRIEND ARE THE PROBLEM. If I could find time away from work and the finances to go I would be there. So instead it seems to me as, a fan two cannot be there we are punished as a fan all that this accomplishes is angry fans towards the raceway.

Hammerdown!

It's not the 90's anymore. In many cases those that have the time don't have the money and the one's with the money can't spare the time.

How much did Knoxville Raceway make off of me or the 100's? of others that would have paid to watch the show tonight? 100% of nothing is still nothing.

www.harleytrikes.com

In situations like this there is always a lot of finger pointing as to who is to blame for no live TV coverage. Let's get real for a moment. We all love this sport; in fact most of us are insanely fanatical about it. We proudly wear t-shirts that are over 20 years old, we drive ours (sometimes days) for races, and even name our kids after our favorites. We all wish this sport was bigger, but it is not.

Professional level sprint car racing takes a back seat to numerous forms of racing and motorsports. NASCAR, Monster Jam, motorcycles that do insane back flips, the list goes on and on as to who in the general public's eye is more exciting than sprint car racing. The biggest difference between these types of motorsports and sprint car racing is either live or tape delayed TV coverage.

How did NASCAR get to be one of the biggest forms of sports entertainment? Live TV coverage is just one of the reasons. The networks put the action right into the living rooms of America and brought auto racing in as a staple in the American culture. If, big if here, sprint cars could enter into this market and gain national public interest, then things may change. But there needs to be national attention, not just heavy markets in Iowa, California, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. I know there are other areas that have key interest, but these are the big 4 (no offense to other regions).

How do you gain national interest? If I had that answer, I wouldn't be sitting in my living room right now listening to KNIA/KRLS and monitoring a message board. But, as a fan and having worked in the industry, I have some ideas of things that are not working.

Once again, let's get real. On behalf of the drivers (and I won't get into the cost of the parts, motors, etc…), admission prices keep going up, but yet the drivers aren't racing for much more money than they were 15 years ago. I'm trying to remember back just off the top of my head but I think the cost of a ticket has gone up at least double in the past 15 years, yet the actual paid out purse (not the advertised available purse) of events such as the Knoxville Nationals has not doubled. Why? Not to mention, the car count has been going down. What additional would I be paying for if I was able to attend this year?

The last time Major League Baseball had a strike, how did they start getting fans back to the stadium? They opened up the gates, gave tickets away, and the fans started showing up and becoming interested again. What if Knoxville or any track for that matter would do this for just one week a year? My guess is they would start to see some new fans, just a guess. To heck with the front gate, make the money on the concessions. An empty seat doesn't buy a hot dog and an empty seat does not come back the following week and buys a ticket.

There are more people at home this year for the same reason there are fewer cars, the economy sucks right now. Through these tough times, I feel (and it's my own opinion), that if tracks want fans to come, they have to think out of the box and promote their facility in different ways. This means you have to PROMOTE. It doesn't mean you sit in the front office and take tickets weekly. It means you get out there and effectively invite the public not just fans to attend your track. I almost hate to say it but true track promoters are almost gone.

Using the logic that if you had a live show on TV you won't get butts in the seat is so far from wrong it is not even funny. If that was the case NASCAR coverage would be a pay per view event happening the following week of the race (because we all know NASCAR likes their money). Live TV coverage is not the problem. People who voice their opinions about this situation are not the problem. People who are unable to attend because they can't afford the $50+ ticket or have other obligations is not the problem. Maybe, just maybe, tracks need to start listening to what the fans are wanting. The fans are what make the sport.

I'm not proclaiming myself as to having the full answer or any answer. This is just my view, and my opinion. I have put my money where my mouth is before with tracks opening up the front gates and offering a free night. I have yet to owe a track any money at the end of the night when presenting this idea to them and had them put it in effect with the proper promotion of the event. Doing this is not the permanent answer, it is a promotional stunt used to gain interest in the general public or the casual fan. It is those two types of people we need to turn into passionate fans.

The track does not want to PAY for live coverage of the Nationals. The ratings do not match the desire of the network to flip the bill so the only way they will get TV coverage is by paying for the production, Live or Tape Delay.

The track is not allowed to stream the video live on the internet because of the contract with SPEED. No video transmission of the event, live, is allowed by contract. This is nothing new in the industry but is something that is coming to a head. Tracks are starting to understand the rights THEY have and the potential revenue that it can bring in. As video internet broadcasts become more commonplace (internet speeds, set top boxes on TVs, mobile, etc) look for a massive shift in how these events are broadcast.

TV is not what it used to be with so many options, channels, video games, internet, etc. Back in the day when Diamond P was covering races live there was not 1/100th of the entertainment options that you see at your fingertips today. Networks funded these events for the content and to get people watching. TV is going to go the way of the newspaper and how we consume our entertainment will be vastly different in the next 5-10 years.

Bravo to Turn2 and Knoxville Raceway for the effort they put on the net. Hopefully they see that the fans want the entire week and include the finale in the future.