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

Say whatever you want...

If any of us had a bunch of important things to do we wouldn't be on HH! ;)

I hope....

To be honest if this were to happen the only thing that would change is that I wouldn't know whats going on at Port or Lincoln - I'd probably be less likely to go for the few times I do each year. I go to Williams Grove on Fridays and that is it I've got too much else going on to go 2-3 times per week like I used to. Flo has made it possible to continue to keep up with it and keep me as a fan of the tracks, if that went away I definitely wouldn't just find more time to go. 

Cedar Lake never gets their biggest crowds on day one of a three day show.  Add the 90 degree weather to having to get up for work and the expense of multi day shows and it's not a surprise.  The Masters classes raced Friday and Saturday and when they have specials they throw in the night before for the support classes that will be off the final two nights.  They use another streaming service that charges by the night.  Essentially what you saw was a weekly show moved up two nights.  I haven't been to the Masters since they dropped IRA Sprints and replaced them with USMTS Modifieds and Late Models.  They are the WISSOTA type Lates, the local Late Model equivalent of 360's with Super Lates having the big motors.  
 

Cedar Lakes biggest crowd of the year is School Bus night when local schools build racing buses and all the kids come out.  My granddaughter is going to start her senior year so my son and his buddy went with the kids.  He said that the crowd was the biggest he has ever seen and it got kind of rowdy compared to the racing crowd.  The Bus races draw a bigger crowd than WoO Sprints and USA Nationals, their biggest racing events of the season.  They run a few of the classes that don't have much of a purse and max their earnings for the night.  
 

The photographer standing on the ATV taking pics at all their races is my friend Vince.  We shot pics every weekend and traveled to different tracks together until my wheels fell off at around 65.  That was my home away from home for years.  Miss the place, they have done a lot of improvements since I was a regular.  That is part of live racing for me nowadays, sit and watch everybody I know doing their thing on the other side of the fence.  Aging out of a passion and watching from a distance can play tricks on a fella's head.  I think that's part of staying away from it for me.  If I had always sat in the stands I would likely feel different.  

Stan Meissner

Isn't it also $20 to get into a regular show now on average in PA? The All Stars are around $25-30 and WoO $35-40 in PA. Maybe people just save their money for Speedweeks, the big shows at Port and Lincoln and the WoO. 

The outlaws are 35 to get in in PA.  Weekly shows are 20.   Time will tell.  If the gas prices don't go down, races in late summer early fall could be really hurting.

Let's go Sprint Car Racing!

Knoxville - Best Track In the USA!
Eldora - 2nd Best Track in the USA!

My daughter sold 50/50 tickets at Port Royal during the 08 high gas prices and economic slowdown. What she said was people still came to races but spent less money on things like that while there. I do think conditions right now have the potenial to get much worse toward fall when people start having to fill fuel tanks for heating oil and gas,

The two-day WoO show at Cedar Lake is $40 on Friday and $45 on Saturday for general admission.  In comparing it to places like PA, OH, CA and IA we generally get between 24-30 cars and have UMSS Sprints (close to 305's) that draws twenty or so.  I think this year it's the non-wing on night one and winged on night two.  When I pay $45 for a WoO show up here it's not going to be the same as $45 to see a WoO show in PA.

It depends on the forecast how many cars we get as I can't think of any 410's around this area anymore.  They all travel from up by Grand Forks or from down by Jackson/Husets or Knoxville and I believe the IRA still participates.  I have seen drivers run here on Friday then go to Knoxville on Saturday because they were in the points chase.  This year I don't know what to expect with fuel prices.  Location goes a long way towards one's local racing experience and opinion of streaming.  For me a lot of times it's the best show compared to a weekly stock car and modified track locally.  Nobody that I know goes on twelve hour round trip excursions every weekend all summer.  I have known people who lived up here but would only go to Knoxville and one of my cousins moved down there to be closer to the racing.  We have some decent special events up here but if a person feels compelled to attend weekly Sprint Car racing we either settle for sitting through multiple classes or a lot of traveling or (drum roll) streaming most weekends.

Stan Meissner

Appologize for all the posts but part of the situation is that I rarely talk to other racing fans anymore.  This board and social media is where I "socialize" with other racing fans most of the time.  SOS!!! racing fan in exile.  ;)

Stan Meissner

I don't know how much Flo is making , but I bet it is A LOT. The track I know of got (2021) about $1200 per night from them . That equals out to about 60 people per night. I know they lose more people than that on any given night. Plus what the track is losing on concessions. I think either the tracks needs to bargain for more money per race from Flo, or request a blackout radius of 50 or miles. Something has to give, these tracks need people in the seats.

No need to apologize!!!!

No need to apologize, I appreciate your passion for the sport. I like to bust on your long wandering posts sometimes, but its all in fun, now I'm afraid to dig out the old Flat Out issues I have..lol.. My writing skills are not improving so maybe I'm envious of yours. As a wise Canadian once said "Take it easy".

I met that wise Canadian selling fuzzy photos behind the Princeton, Minnesota, grandstand.  Last I heard he was up in Canada dealing with health issues. 

Stan Meissner