JamesHigdon
-
Posts
846 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Articles
Blogs
Gallery
Posts posted by JamesHigdon
-
-
On 2/27/2021 at 1:05 PM, NickHolt said:
All the above being said, I truly believe that a half-mile paved oval in the San Antonio-Austin area can be successful. But it won't be successful using the traditional business model.
Frankly, I would welcome the opportunity to work with someone with sufficient resources to help plan, build and operate a successful motorsports facility based on a model that makes business sense.
That persons exists and so does the business model; it has to be someone willing to look past what the past offered.
The fact that Texas is building club level kart tracks, building/expanding world class road courses (more road courses have been built and upgraded in TX in the last decade than any other kind of track and they are the most expensive to build/operate) and tracks like I37 are thriving is a sign that racing isn’t dead but rather that specific ways of doing it are.
The days of a paved circle track running 3 classes every Saturday night and being a viable business are gone. The days of fans paying to see 13-14 G-Bodies chase each other around a half mile track are gone. I will tell you part of the reason SAS sits right now is that it was proven very difficult logistically to pave the infield (which would allow for much more varied kinds of racing).
With the right mayor and city council, the right money and the right vision SAS would be viable; tracks much worse off and in much worse locations have been brought back...but a track that integrated road racing, AutoX, drifting, RallyX and events (think Christmas Lights, Concerts, scholastic competitions) into its initial design would be much easier to make viable.
-
1 hour ago, NickHolt said:
As long as a dirt track is well managed, the costs to both the owners and participants is much less than at asphalt tracks.
I love dirt track racing and raced a borrowed "jalopy" back in the late 50s while still in high school. The track - actually a cow pasture bulldozed into about a half-mile oval - was in Ellsworth Falls, Maine, and and is still vaguely visible on Google Maps. It has filled in with water, but you can tell where it was 55 years ago!
Sounds like a lot of fun! I get the feeling my generation may have missed the golden age of that kind of racing; going to support our local dirt tracks and try some road racing coming up to see how that shakes out.
-
26 minutes ago, NickHolt said:
Of course social media matters. Why do you think I've invested lots of time, effort and money into keeping this platform alive over the past 20 years?
Essie's death was unfortunate and certainly untimely from any perspective. And from what you have shared with us, he seemed convinced that the racing community was 100% behind the project. You did a great job working with Essie and he was our best hope at the time. I, and others, appreciate your efforts.
But Essie did pass away and no one in his family seems willing to continue with his vision.
Frankly, James, I doubt there was as much genuine racer support for the Marion project as it appeared on social media. Racers don't really believe "new track being built" stories any longer because those tracks seem to die without a single shovel of dirt ever being turned. Sure, they will get on social media and pledge allegiance to a new project in the slim chance that something might actually happen.
James, If I announced plans on the various racing social media platforms that I was building a brand-new, paved, half-mile track just east of San Antonio and it all depended on whether enough racers committed on social media to race at my track, the response would convince me I that needed to enlarge the plans for the pits! But experience teaches that internet racers and real racers are not the same demographic. Real racers will wait until the track is actually built with opening night right around the corner before they will truly commit.
Just sharing lesson learned so please do not take offense.
No offense taken at all; I’ve learned you’re typically pretty much spot on with your assessments.
The foundation of these projects is difficult; investors say “see what kind of support is out there and we can make educated plans from there” but as soon as you reach out the person who is doing the reaching is on the hook so to speak. As you well know there’s a ton of time to invest in these projects and it’s easy to get drawn into spending a almost uncountable hours on them.
My oldest is starting in a kart this year I picked up a TAG kart for myself so my days of having time to chase after asphalt circle track dreams is limited...I’m going to focus on using what we have an enjoying the packed dirt tracks.
-
53 minutes ago, NickHolt said:
James, I admire your enthusiastic optimism. Really I do.
But if someone decides to invest in building / restoring a paved oval track, they will have already determined that their investment will eventually bring them a profit, hopefully in five years, or less. Their decision will not be based on whether our generation of racers / fans have an optimistic or pessimistic attitude about their potential for success. Our generation's model of stock car racing failed at the local, grass roots level and failed miserably. They will be looking at what the future generation of racers and race fans are willing to pay for - and I can assure you that it won't be modeled on reviving the failed model. (Please note that I am not talking local dirt track race tracks here. I am talking oval, paved short tracks)
A motorsports facility will be built only if the investors believe they have a model that will make money based on their market research. It has nothing whatsoever to do with how many folks are unrealistically hoping to revive a dead model. End of story.
Bottom line, I remain hopeful that someone wanting to develop a motorsports facility based on a model that has potential for success will talk with me and others who have first-hand knowledge of what doesn't work, and allow us to help them develop a new, realistic model for local grassroots motorsports.
Nick
Misunderstanding, Reb wasn't referring to me or the ACM project...Apparently Shelma from that Scam had a "James"... Whoops! Thanks.
-
-
-
On 2/19/2021 at 4:46 AM, NickHolt said:
I hope everyone is building a new car for this
We've had several promising new tracks over the past several years, King237. Each and every one was someone's dream (or scam, as the case might be) that never turn a shovel of dirt.
The previous owner of ACM had every intent, the will and the money to back up the projects he was working on before he passed.
-
On 2/18/2021 at 2:53 PM, King237 said:
Whatever happened to the guy building a new circle track there (San Antonio) a few years back now ? Looked promising but as usual nothing happened
The owner of the property passed, the track was sold and all the time and effort many people spent on multiple projects out there went away.
-
-
Wouldn’t it be great if the asphalt crowd could get their _ _ _ _ together and put on racing in Texas like the dirt guys do here or like the asphalt guys do in other parts of the country? Alaska can support a full time asphalt race track and TX can’t? This is pathetic.
-
2 hours ago, BeachBum said:
"**** Your Feelings" ... "No More Bullshit" ... "Make The Liberals Cry Again"...
This was the collective intellect y'all tossed in our faces for four frigin' years!
How about you tRUMP republicans cry us Biden democrats a frigin' RIVER!
Take a seat and try to take notes. It's our turn to dig us out of this GD nightmare...
(Sorry Nick, Nuff is Enuff.)
🤣😂🤣😂
You didn’t just drink the cool aid you dunked your whole head in it and let it soak in, yea? Here, I have something for you.
-
1 hour ago, Bobby said:
Why does it seem like we've had this conversation before.......?
I suspect roughly this conversation is had more than once by more than one group of people every day.
-
21 hours ago, metroracer said:
Thanks for Making that Point James.... Great Point.....I have Two cars that I have been holding back. Been Holding my cars back waiting for more competitive type of "old Tech asphalt/ dirt cars w/ stock chassis & steel bodied cars" type of rules package to be able to race with the same type of " Old Tech Type of Asphalt or Dirt type of cars" in competitive manor. I have sort of given up hope on that front as a lost cause. I do agree with you James, It would work very good, It has in the past.... (aka, Pro-Stocks) But I am only just one person, No body has been listening.....It is just a lost cause and I will continue to try to sell my Cars, Tires, Wheels, Transponder, Radio Equip., & extra parts..... Thank You LSSZ Family....
There are a TON of those cars out there; from old SAS charger style cars to THR/SAS style Latemodels and everything in-between. The only reference point needed would be the CTS Street Stocks; you had everything from limited latemodels to Chargers to Outlaw Superstocks running the same class and running up front due to the way the rules where staggered. I know the Outlaw Super Stock is popular in the South East and that allows Houston racers to run in Florida/Alabama but in South/Central TX the cars sitting in garages on jack stands are all stock stub, steel bodied cars with the occasional NASCAR Latemodel Stock. I did the research in '18 and at the time there where dozens of those cars in the Central, South and Coastal Bend areas of TX...something like the Brackets at HMP could draw some of those cars off the jackstands just like it has in WI/IL.
-
On 10/30/2020 at 2:31 PM, King237 said:
James Higdon: That was a great video...really enjoyed watching it! I wonder if a race was ever put together like that in Texas if it would be a hit?
I think if it was based around the right kind of cars it would do spectacularly; see Reb’s comment about the Lonestar 600. Brad Dixon didn’t put that race together by accident; he’s know for years it would work, got the chance and he’s been proven 100% correct. Just because a guy can’t afford a cutting edge chassis doesn’t mean he wants to run a slower car; these kind of races make room for those guys. Old tech asphalt/dirt cars are abundant here as are stock chassis, steel body dirt cars. Hell...IF ONE ASPHALT TRACK WOULD TRY AND RUN THAT KIND OF CAR IT WOULD WORK...
-
I love watching short track racing from all over the country and the Hudson event along with Kalamazoo's call of the wild are great but Rockford's Bahama Brackets are the highlight of the season as far as I'm concerned. Think run what you brung bracket racing but on a circle track with dozens of cars and with classifications for EVERYTHING.
-
What Dibenendetto doesn't bring to the table is family money, without it rides in NASCAR are becoming harder to find. In less then a dozen years NASCAR will look just like F1; a bunch of rich kids.
-
So Hamlin was forced below the line, passed the car which forced him below the line PLUS another car. Doesn’t he have to give the spot back? Does anyone know the actual rule which gifted the race to Hamlin?
-
So...I’ve been waiting about 2.5 weeks since TX tracks started racing with fans in the stands to see what came of it. I haven’t heard of a single person getting sick from being in the pits or the stands? Has anyone else heard anything? In most of the country tracks still can’t have fans and may not be able to for months; surely with that kind of restriction in other places many-many people must be getting sick here from going to the track?
-
This has 1979 Daytona 500 written all over it; every other sport is canceled, everyone is stuck at home and NASCAR has a captive audience for a long race.
-
New plan; everyone order Hazmat suits. San Antonio is about to shut down (the colleges have, the school district are literally meeting right now) so this coming week will be quiet. I propose cleanup Tuesday, practice Wednesday and racing Thursday at SAS. The purse will be easy; 1st in every class gets a case of TP, 2nd gets a gallon of hand sanitizer, 3rd gets some Clorox wipes and the rest of the positions get N95 masks. 50/50 drawing will be done with bottled water. Who is in?
-
3 hours ago, Josh42 said:
From Jayski:
The postponed Daytona 500 earned a 4.2 rating and 7 million viewers for Fox network on Monday. The race started just after 4:00pm/et.
Before being delayed on Sunday, Fox TV ratings were up 19% over 2019 with more than 10 million viewers
There has been a resurgence of NASCAR, I don't know whats causing it but there is a resurgence, Chip Wylde (Daytona President) said that all tickets for the 500 had been sold before Thursday. I watched almost all of the race Monday from my phone while at work and it was nice because when I left work I left the broadcast on and ran it through the speakers of my truck. I have renewed interest in NASCAR because of listening to Dale Jr's Podcast as well as Door Bumper Clear Podcast.
So haters gone hate
Couldn't agree more; I've had racing on in the background all week while I worked and watched it on my phone when I wasn't busy.
-
I know it’s super cute and hip to talk about everything that’s wrong with racing but for tracks that will put in the effort and put together good shows the crowds have literally never been bigger...even for NASCAR sanctioned races...even at short tracks...even in the winter...even during the week during the school year.
https://speed51.com/new-smyrna-thrilled-to-death-with-huge-monday-crowd/
-
I was pretty hesitant to get on board with the new NBC Track Pass just for NASCAR stuff but they’re running A LOT of short track racing including all 9 nights of the World Series of Asphalt Racing live from New Smyrna Speedway starting tonight. You download the APP onto your phone, smart TV or fire stick/Roku, etc and get 4-5 short track races a night for the next week. The NASCAR Roots package is $2.99 a month and includes short tracks, ARCA and extra NASCAR coverage. The broadcast quality is far better than Speed51 or FanChoice and so far the streaming has been flawless. Between this and RaceonTexas I think it’s pretty well covered!
-
On 1/10/2020 at 8:21 AM, NickHolt said:
Choosing not to support a business for personal / ethical reasons is entirely different than organizing a boycott against that business, James.
I understand why you, and others, choose to attend events at COTA. It's a great opportunity to witness some great racing on one of the world's most awesome road courses right in our own back yard.
I don't disagree with that and I personally felt the same way for years but after seeing what CoTA does for the grass-roots racers it didn't make sense to me anymore. I don't like Jerry Jones but I'd support my kids football team if they played there.
If stock cars had evolved would we be better off?
in Texas Auto Racing
Posted · Edited by JamesHigdon
So backstory; sending my daily driver truck for paint work and I needed a beater to get around town in while it was gone.
My requirements where 4 doors, RWD, V8 (or a really good V6), sporty, reliable, new/nice enough my wife would drive it and cheap. I had $3-4k to spend because again this was just a temp car. My list of possibilities? Q45, M45, M35, LS400, LS430, 550i, E430, Crown Vic, TownCar, Marquis, Caprice (LT1 Era), Charger, Chrysler 300, 1st gen CTS-V (they can be had in that range if you look), V6 CTS, STS and some cars I’m sure I’m forgetting. I ended up with an 80k mile, 05 STS V8 with zero real needs for less than my budget. I like it so much I bought another ‘08 with more options but a bad motor and I’m building a Northstar V8 with some performance parts for it. These cars are incredibly cheap to buy, ridiculously cheap to modify and can reliably make as much power as a healthy 350/351/360.
So why are we limited to guys racing 35 year old cars no one under the age of 25 has ever seen on the street? With so many options why did we stop advancing with the evolution of what the public is driving? How hard would it really be to form a class where the requirements are must be fuel injected from the factory, must be 4 doors and can not be a “performance model” (no V series caddies, no AMGs, no Ms, etc). The average 35 year old Mechanic (my age) is much more comfortable with a laptop tuning injector rates than a screw driver dialing in a 500 Holley.
I think it would be much easier to get younger people into circle track racing if they gave a damn about the cars on the track. What am I missing here?