debwill Posted August 8, 2006 Report Share Posted August 8, 2006 We've heard from just a few of you about last Saturday's Texas Two-Step USRA Super Late Model race at San Antonio Speedway. I thought it was one of the best races I've seen in a long time, but that's just my personal opinion. What did you like about it? What did you dislike? What are your thoughts about the pit stops, etc.? We're thinking about repeating the race format, especially if it's fun for the drivers and crews, as well as entertaining for the fans. We'd like input from both the drivers and fans. Let us know your thoughts, please. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie Posted August 8, 2006 Report Share Posted August 8, 2006 I like the idea of the pit stops. Adds a certain ammount of strategy to the race. Been a long time since I've seen a race that closely contested all the way through. Also, it was great to see Tommy Grothues finish in the top 5. Would have liked to see about 10-15 more cars, but.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
REBELRACER Posted August 8, 2006 Report Share Posted August 8, 2006 it was fun to have the pit stops to kinda change things a little. i was kind of disappointed with the follow the leader type racing that went on.......there wa passing off and on, but at the front it was mostly follow the leader........it was close racing which is good, but the only time positions seemed to change was when a car fell out.........it was a good close race though, i would just have liked to see more passing...........jmo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProTree Posted August 8, 2006 Report Share Posted August 8, 2006 Rebelracer,in a long race,once it gets sorted out in the early going,some of the front runners are going to settle in and click off laps till late in the race and hope to be there at the end and then start to make a move and hope their game plan works.They'll save the car for the finish and will pass if the one in front of them slips or makes a mistake or like you said,falls off.You can bet the last 25 or so laps,they have the right foot thru the radiator giving it all its got,and if the plan worked, they move foward,if not, they stay where they are or move backwards.Like the saying goes,"To Finish First,you have to First Finish" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
REBELRACER Posted August 8, 2006 Report Share Posted August 8, 2006 not saying that it sucked, just thought there could have been more passing........the front cars were pretty evenly matched........there wasnt a clear dominate car........a few cars looked pretty fast but fell back thruout the night.......im glad they were close and it wasnt a run off and hide kinda race.........the pit stops seemed to make a difference in the end.......it was a good close race, that part was good, the only thing i didnt like was the lack of passing.........overall it was a good clean race, nobody ran anybody over and it stayed green for the most part....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pacecar Posted August 8, 2006 Report Share Posted August 8, 2006 There's no passing in the race........ "There is no passing in practice" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
REBELRACER Posted August 8, 2006 Report Share Posted August 8, 2006 lol.........how about that roadrunner feature..........talk about attrition.........only one car finished the race......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abrungot Posted August 8, 2006 Report Share Posted August 8, 2006 I didn't get to see the race to do a weekend adventure of my own... however have talked to a couple of people on what they saw.. <<<< Don't kill me here... Like to see Double file restarts with lap down cars given the chance to get a lap back... It would really make the race interesting.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adam78 Posted August 8, 2006 Report Share Posted August 8, 2006 I thought the race was pretty good. Though I'd like to see more cars show up. And the whole pitstop deal was pretty cool. And for having lost a cylinder, that #13 car actually stayed pretty close to Bendele for a good while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bigfat Posted August 8, 2006 Report Share Posted August 8, 2006 It was by far the second best race that I witnessed that night. Could have been the best if Tommy's whatever didn't go south. Would have been really tight then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HORSEPOWER Posted August 8, 2006 Report Share Posted August 8, 2006 Anybody that goes and sees these kind of races anywhere, that is usually the norm. Cars fallout that potentially could have won the race. Especially in a long race, racers are saving their stuff till the end, can't win the race in the first half of the race. Five Flags is one of the few tracks where you might see a lot of passing because of the big tire wear. If you want to see more passing at SAS, they need to redo the whole track, you can race side-by-side, but it takes time to pass if they are evenly matched. At the start of the race, I think the 2nd and 3rd row of cars stayed door to door for 4 or 5 laps, but then fell into single file, if that were late in the race we would have seen that. The ASA race at SAS only had a few lead changes.... If they get the car count up, it looks more exciting because you have cars all over the track and it looks like there is a lot more passing, maybe lapping cars. I think PASS South has heats to determine the starting grid and double file restarts. I think if the purse was $5,000 to the winner, we might see more cars show up eventually. What was that old saying? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turbotoddie Posted August 8, 2006 Report Share Posted August 8, 2006 FWIW, the only prob with having pitstops is that you have again, raised the price of admission for a team to participate. Now, they have to bring enough people(more pit passes), more new tires and whatever safety gear is required for the crew. Definitely better show but it will not improve car count or the racing on the track. my .02 turbotoddie Todd Farris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UMSCHEIDRaceServices Posted August 8, 2006 Report Share Posted August 8, 2006 Finally someone else that views this the same way I do or that isnt scared to step up and tell what they think. Pits stops good for fans but bad for racers and crew memebers. It has raised the cost for pit passes by double and now you need 2 extra tires to be competive in a series were you already have a purse that doesnt allow you to break even. Im not wanting to make money on my racing but would like to know that by doing what i am supposed to do(win) that i would atleast pay for my race weekend(more than 1 day at the track) <-----another added expense. I wonder if the one that makes the final decisions for these race formats have ever sat down and figured out what the actual expenses where for our race teams. We hear the promoters side from the advertising to turning on the lights, but do they actually know what it takes for 1 team to prepare a car and put it on the track for 150 laps? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KISS_Racing Posted August 8, 2006 Report Share Posted August 8, 2006 Ok I'm confused... Is this JC behind the computer? Aren't you the same one who at the beginning of this year told me that the people that were contacted about the rules for this year were the ones who needed to be contacted? Am I missing something? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazyhorse Posted August 8, 2006 Report Share Posted August 8, 2006 i think JC should have tried harder , it was almost as if he did'nt want to win. j/k you bring in a crate motor package to make it affordable for lower budget teams to be competitive and then you busted em' in the sacks with a bat by allowing pit stops................granted you'll bring in a crowd ,to watch a field of 5 cars run 150 laps with a pit stop thrown in there somewhere.......................is it worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HiTech Posted August 8, 2006 Report Share Posted August 8, 2006 no they dont just like we dont know how much it cost to put on the race but i agree with you ......It does not matter which series you race with or weekender at a track it cost alot of money .if this fuel and other prices keeps on going i dont know what is going to happen with our raceing . i use to tell people when they ask me doesent raceing cost alot of money .my answer was atleast i could recover most of my money .sometime .seeing that it kept me out of the bar .in which there you dont get any money back . and no hangover now you get a hang over from trying to get the money to go have fun . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Definitive Posted August 8, 2006 Report Share Posted August 8, 2006 What ever way they go with the format just remember....hard to swallow....it is all about the fans...without the fans,the sport dies....I've seen dragracing stay alive with the racer's entry fees,but I know of no stock car racing facility that has....maybe a dirtrack?.... Keep those fans coming back Debbie,so you guys can keep upping the purses,and then maybe,just maybe,more than just the winner can pay for their tires and fuel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazyhorse Posted August 8, 2006 Report Share Posted August 8, 2006 turbo , how do you keep a car count up? the fans won't keep coming if you are promoting a super late model race , charging 20$ at the gate so they can watch 5 6 or 9 cars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KISS_Racing Posted August 8, 2006 Report Share Posted August 8, 2006 Let me back up... I think JC did a he!! of a job. My point was that this seems like it was something that was discussed as part of the rules. Ok maybe I'm wrong. Pit stops or no pit stops, we have always like to watch the SLM. For me I like them, but as JC mentioned it is an extra cost. As it is on the Sportsman it's 4 tires, 10-15 gallons of fuel, 15 gallons of fuel for pull trucks, pit passes, food for crew, tickets for family in the stands and misc. parts that break during practice or race... Multiply that by whatever to run an SLM... Racing is expensive and that is what we tried to say at the beginning of this year. Drivers need to have some kind of say so.... Oh Well! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KISS_Racing Posted August 8, 2006 Report Share Posted August 8, 2006 Shawn Paul, I have to agree... I love to watch LM and USRA SLM. As of right now the Sportsman/S.S. and the USRA Trucks are bringing in the car/truck counts... I don't have answers just suggestions... Terry D. and company are doing a great job... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SASPEEDRACER24 Posted August 9, 2006 Report Share Posted August 9, 2006 Just curious JC but what kind of purse increase are you talking? Or would you rather them do away with Fri. practices but keep the 5k to win purse? Just curious... Great job on the track Sat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UMSCHEIDRaceServices Posted August 9, 2006 Report Share Posted August 9, 2006 Im not real sure what the answers are but i can tell its not make the race format so that the racer cant afford it and then drop the purse as well. Lets look back a few yrs the purse was 3600 to win and 125 laps with only 4 tires on the car to race on. How many cars did we have? Maybe someone has all of the correct data needed to put a graph to geather so that we can easily compare the variables here. Car Count(avg) laps? shorter race means less fuel! Tire rule? and for that matter cost? Tracks raced Races per year? Entry fee? 1 or 2 day events? All i have seen in the past few years is raised racer cost and less back to the racers in the end. did yall know that we race for 2500.00 to win now? Im not blaming any one person but i just wish they would listen to the racers a little more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
97car Posted August 9, 2006 Report Share Posted August 9, 2006 Do away with the ABC body requirement and buying a new set of tires at every race,that way you can get some of the guys who used to get somebodys takeoffs and ran for the fun of it to at least help with car count. How many are also sitting around because of the ABC body package? I would say have a presentable body late model stylehave the dimensions for deck height and width along with roof,hood height,nose length etc. like it used to be before the aero special bodies came about.I have seen several cars for sale on this sight that mainly needed the new body to run,but todays current situation it is not justifiable to do so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USRA23TRUCK Posted August 9, 2006 Report Share Posted August 9, 2006 Racing is an expensive HOBBY. We all might consider fishing. unless you have a sponsor, it will always be tough. I know some people are just scraping bye ive been there, quess what i quit for five years then came back when I had money sad but true. No ones going to like it when I say if you cant afford to race you shoud not race. Case in point If I saw hard times I not going to just scrape bye, because if thats what I had to do to race I would not do it . Racing would be the first thing I would quit. I have seen to many people around me almost lose all they had because they just had to race JMO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Budman Posted August 9, 2006 Report Share Posted August 9, 2006 J.C. Car counts averaged around 25. Tended to be more at SAS, HMP. THR about avg. Always tended to be lower at CC To win in '02 was $3400. In '03 went to $3600. In '04 dropped to $3450. Series was then sold, supposedly with owner saying couldn't afford it anymore, so I heard. 12 to 14 races per year. All this as best I remember off the top of my head. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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