TSTARS Posted April 9, 2019 Report Share Posted April 9, 2019 Racers, We have been dealing with too many issues that are unnecessary and are detrimental to the racing series. Unfortunately, the actions of the few are affecting everyone. There needs to be an understanding. Late last year at the request of some of the racing families, the current sponsor came in to rescue this series and paid off all the debts associated with the last series totaling almost $25K, including the purse, in the hopes of bringing it back to where it was just a few years ago. Most all the same personnel that have historically run the races are still running the races. With the help of Dean, who has been exceptional in every way possible, we have been able to finally put together a full 11 race racing series. Again, for the first time in years. As a series, our goal is to have fair, competitive racing for every class. The people who are working the races take pride in making every effort to help us have a professionally run event. They have been doing it for many years and have been doing the best possible job. There have been too many individuals complaining about some of the calls made during the race. Every call made by the tower is done collectively with whoever is working the race and whoever has the best vantage point. We have no preference on who wins or who loses, we just strive to make the right decision at the time with information we have available, and in the short period of time that we have to make that decision. We all know that every racer that participates will spend hours, days and sometimes weeks preparing for race night and expect to come to the event to race. There is a difference between hard racing and deliberately wrecking other vehicles and this has been enforced accordingly. Texas is growing fast and Houston is one of the fastest growing cities in the country. We have a tremendous opportunity to make a successful series. The sponsor has been making efforts to build up public awareness and bring other sponsors. The incident that occurred during the truck race was highly inappropriate and happened in front of potential sponsors we were trying to bring in. In addition, some other potential sponsors were also looking at our social media and were also not happy with what they were seeing. All 4 potential sponsors have decided to not participate in our series due to these actions. This is partially the reason why the purse was suspended for the last race. There are many other things that have occurred, the tipping point was caused by events related to the last race. The sponsor is committed to funding the series to ensure that all of the remaining races run successfully, but has stated that every option is on the table, and wants to make sure that they are not trying to build something up that is trying to destroy itself internally. Effective immediately the re‐activating of the class purses paid by the sponsor is being reviewed. Each class also has the ability to bring in their own sponsor money. 100% of any sponsorship money brought in will be paid out to the class that it is designated for. Effective immediately we will implement “Madhouse Rules”. This will give each class the ability to self‐police to an extent. No racers will be allowed access to the tower. Any complaints can be discussed after the race and away from the tower. We will not have the same issue as we had at the last race. This is a family event and there are kids of all ages in the stands. We expect professionalism, any issues will be enforced accordingly. This will continue until further notice and is subject to change. AFS Racing Promotions & T-STARS Racing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh42 Posted April 9, 2019 Report Share Posted April 9, 2019 I hate to see that the actions of few are costing many others. I would also suggest imposing some kind of fine or penalty for someone taking to social media to tear down or question the track, series or officials. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TSRSONETWO Posted April 9, 2019 Report Share Posted April 9, 2019 It was me that caused the big scene. My name is Adam Haugh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freebee Posted April 9, 2019 Report Share Posted April 9, 2019 Are the racers going to get paid from the other divisions that were NOT affected by the "actions of a few"? People who travel long distances to race and spend a thousand or so in the weekend to get no check???!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freebee Posted April 9, 2019 Report Share Posted April 9, 2019 Adam if that was you that is whom they are talking about, I doubt its was that reason for the no pay. If it was, you would not get paid. As others have stated they may be in real financial trouble and may try to get out of it by not paying drivers. Its sad, a once shinning track had a promoter that worked his tail off. May not have been the nicest guy, but he was a salesman and it worked. I didn't like him much, but the track was open and people where coming through the gate with dollar beer and dollar hot dogs. It used to be better than a movie to go to the races. Now,.... Not so much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TSRSONETWO Posted April 10, 2019 Report Share Posted April 10, 2019 Anyone have photos of that generator from a few years ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
legfixr Posted April 10, 2019 Report Share Posted April 10, 2019 My comment is totally different and moving forward. I do not see, hear any promotion of the races. No posters for us to place in our businesses, no signs at automotive part stores, nothing but facebook. May I suggest some FREE good promotion. Contact local car clubs, invite a different one to each race or 2 to each race. offer car and driver in free. parade lap around track , reserved front row parking , and park in middle infield during intermission. THey will come !, they will bring friends, and they will come back again paying full price. I have talked to two and they said they would be glad and excited to attend. Just a free idea to fill seats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j.j.&s.racing Posted April 10, 2019 Report Share Posted April 10, 2019 If they are not going to pay purses. Then maybe they should lower the cost of entry to the stands. Maybe more people will come to watch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TSRSONETWO Posted April 10, 2019 Report Share Posted April 10, 2019 And now its " rained out " Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickHolt Posted April 10, 2019 Report Share Posted April 10, 2019 Just now, TSRSONETWO said: And now its " rained out " After checking with my son, Alan who is a sure-enough meteorlogist (Kiii-TV in Corpus), the latest info, which is always changing in the real world, tends towards bad weather on Saturday along the Gulf coast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickHolt Posted April 10, 2019 Report Share Posted April 10, 2019 14 hours ago, legfixr said: My comment is totally different and moving forward. I do not see, hear any promotion of the races. No posters for us to place in our businesses, no signs at automotive part stores, nothing but facebook. May I suggest some FREE good promotion. Contact local car clubs, invite a different one to each race or 2 to each race. offer car and driver in free. parade lap around track , reserved front row parking , and park in middle infield during intermission. THey will come !, they will bring friends, and they will come back again paying full price. I have talked to two and they said they would be glad and excited to attend. Just a free idea to fill seats. That all takes volunteer manpower and someone dedicated to seeing it through. Amy has her hands full with a full time job in addition to trying to keep this ship afloat! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickHolt Posted April 10, 2019 Report Share Posted April 10, 2019 1 hour ago, j.j.&s.racing said: If they are not going to pay purses. Then maybe they should lower the cost of entry to the stands. Maybe more people will come to watch. Thank you for keeping this positive. I'm sure Amy and crew can always use concrete, helpful advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickHolt Posted April 10, 2019 Report Share Posted April 10, 2019 15 hours ago, TSRSONETWO said: Anyone have photos of that generator from a few years ? Ha! That generator never has sold. Maybe I need to post it for sale again? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickHolt Posted April 10, 2019 Report Share Posted April 10, 2019 19 hours ago, Freebee said: Adam if that was you that is whom they are talking about, I doubt its was that reason for the no pay. If it was, you would not get paid. As others have stated they may be in real financial trouble and may try to get out of it by not paying drivers. Its sad, a once shinning track had a promoter that worked his tail off. May not have been the nicest guy, but he was a salesman and it worked. I didn't like him much, but the track was open and people where coming through the gate with dollar beer and dollar hot dogs. It used to be better than a movie to go to the races. Now,.... Not so much. Whether anyone liked or disliked John Mandabach is not up for discussion on here. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickHolt Posted April 10, 2019 Report Share Posted April 10, 2019 All it takes is a few boo-birds getting on Facebook and soon the whole world is on one bandwagon or the other. Frankly, some racers are their own worst enemy and will use social media to justify their negativity and intentionally cause trouble for local tracks and Texas-based touring series. It has always been like that. Some exceptionally strong individuals are somehow able to withstand all the the negativity. Folks like Frank Howell and Neil Upchurch (who incidentally, locked horns more than once behind closed doors) and Don Beischwale were attacked on a regular basis but they just kept on full steam ahead and ignored the boo-birds. But here's the difference. Most of those attacks occurred in person, were aired in race shops and circulated in the pits - and not in front of the whole world on social media. Personal attacks, threats of boycotts, etc, are absolutely not permitted here on Lone Star Speedzone, so if you're even thinking about attacking TSTARS or Amy on here, forget it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Budman Posted April 10, 2019 Report Share Posted April 10, 2019 Geez, and I was thinking maybe of making that 500 mile round trip to HMP and back just to see some racing I haven't seen in a long time. Racers need to worry about getting out on the track and putting on the best show they possibly can for the fans. Keep the bitchin' they have to the management on a personal, private basis one on one behind the scenes. I remember several years ago at CTS a driver getting mad about a call and turned his car broadside and parked to stop the race, right out on the front stretch. All he accomplished was making himself look like a total idiot to all those fans in the stands. Guess I'll rethink my plans if that kind of nonsense is going on there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toyotatim Posted April 10, 2019 Report Share Posted April 10, 2019 Fans love that stuff man. It is all a show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocket55 Posted April 10, 2019 Report Share Posted April 10, 2019 19 hours ago, legfixr said: My comment is totally different and moving forward. I do not see, hear any promotion of the races. No posters for us to place in our businesses, no signs at automotive part stores, nothing but facebook. May I suggest some FREE good promotion. Contact local car clubs, invite a different one to each race or 2 to each race. offer car and driver in free. parade lap around track , reserved front row parking , and park in middle infield during intermission. THey will come !, they will bring friends, and they will come back again paying full price. I have talked to two and they said they would be glad and excited to attend. Just a free idea to fill seats. I agree with this! I remember when they first rebooted the track a few years ago, I went up to HMP got a bunch of posters from Amy and just stopped at all the local parts houses. No one had a problem with it and most people thought it was really cool....the sad part of it is that half the people who asked didn't know HMP existed, they'd say "Oh y'all racing out there in Baytown?" Ummm...no we're at a world class asphalt track in North Houston. Also...some of you may not have noticed but tickets to this weekends race were on Groupon! So I'd say social media isn't the only avenue they've chosen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King237 Posted April 10, 2019 Report Share Posted April 10, 2019 4 hours ago, Budman said: Racers need to worry about getting out on the track and putting on the best show they possibly can for the fans. Keep the bitchin' they have to the management on a personal, private basis one on one behind the scenes. Guess I'll rethink my plans if that kind of nonsense is going on there. Good comments Budman Pay close attention to sentence one (1). Sentence two (2) is stay off social media....its a "track killer" and sentence three (3) is your end result if no attention is paid to 1 + 2. Please racers, listen to what others are saying....this is the last asphalt track in Texas (except TMS) so heed the warnings and enjoy our sport instead of destroying it. Every thing that's major or petty passes in time and works out somehow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
top_shelf_12 Posted April 10, 2019 Report Share Posted April 10, 2019 Budman and King, absolutely agree. No cars = no fans = no track. I grew up going to CCS, SAS, and Longhorn then CTS on occasion. It's been a few years since I went to HMP but I check their car counts to see if I can justify making the 3+ hour trip because I do miss asphalt racing and I know the people who try to keep it going seemingly have good intentions. I can only speak of the fan side, but it is a turn off to see low car counts and then all the negativity. I don't know any of the people involved so please don't take my comments personally. I watched the video posted and on that video, I couldn't see anything wrong. I've also worked as a corner spotter at STS and several tracks when STSSS was around. One night, we blew a call. Myself and the promoter approached the driver after the races and apologized. That driver in the past has been known to be excitable I guess we can say but on this particular night, they appreciated us coming to them, accepted the apology and we moved on without incident and they continued to race with us with no problems. I've had crew members and bystanders approach me in the infield, drivers not agree with calls but were diplomatic. Hopefully HMP can rebound, those asphalt drivers come back, and they can thrive and keep things going. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TSTARS Posted April 11, 2019 Author Report Share Posted April 11, 2019 22 hours ago, legfixr said: My comment is totally different and moving forward. I do not see, hear any promotion of the races. No posters for us to place in our businesses, no signs at automotive part stores, nothing but facebook. May I suggest some FREE good promotion. Contact local car clubs, invite a different one to each race or 2 to each race. offer car and driver in free. parade lap around track , reserved front row parking , and park in middle infield during intermission. THey will come !, they will bring friends, and they will come back again paying full price. I have talked to two and they said they would be glad and excited to attend. Just a free idea to fill seats. Posters were made for all the initial racers. After the first few races I couldn't get anyone to care to pick them up and take them around for us. We have contacted car clubs, we have contacted all kind of different groups who say they are interested and none ever follow through with working with us. We had all kinds of ideas that fizzled out because no one was interested. Please keep in mind that we are volunteers and have day jobs. We do not run the track for a living. If we did we certainly could do more, but as it is we can barely get things done from race to race. All of use spend hours everyday in our free time to just keep the series going. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TSTARS Posted April 11, 2019 Author Report Share Posted April 11, 2019 9 hours ago, j.j.&s.racing said: If they are not going to pay purses. Then maybe they should lower the cost of entry to the stands. Maybe more people will come to watch. Our pricing is based upon what all the other tracks in the area are charging. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TSTARS Posted April 11, 2019 Author Report Share Posted April 11, 2019 On 4/9/2019 at 4:17 PM, TSRSONETWO said: It was me that caused the big scene. My name is Adam Haugh Adam, Thank you for owning that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TSTARS Posted April 11, 2019 Author Report Share Posted April 11, 2019 On 4/9/2019 at 4:23 PM, Freebee said: Adam if that was you that is whom they are talking about, I doubt its was that reason for the no pay. If it was, you would not get paid. As others have stated they may be in real financial trouble and may try to get out of it by not paying drivers. Its sad, a once shinning track had a promoter that worked his tail off. May not have been the nicest guy, but he was a salesman and it worked. I didn't like him much, but the track was open and people where coming through the gate with dollar beer and dollar hot dogs. It used to be better than a movie to go to the races. Now,.... Not so much. No financial trouble. Sorry that you think we don't do a good job, but we are doing everything we can while we all work full time jobs. Keep in mind that the old promoter ran the track for a living. We are volunteers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TSTARS Posted April 11, 2019 Author Report Share Posted April 11, 2019 7 hours ago, TSRSONETWO said: And now its " rained out " Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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