Definitive Posted March 20, 2012 Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 Anyone else out there keeping up with the buzz?Did a 60% full grandstand finally wake up the one entity that could put pressure on NASCAR?Four straight races not sold out with four straight drops in attendance.I checked out several blogs linked through Jayski and listened to SiriusXM to find out that there are people waking up to the fact that NASCAR is just too perfect.Taking away the "racing" from Bristol was just the straw that broke the camel's back.Bruton Smith is maybe the one person that can change the tide.He announced today that he has his people looking into what it would take to put Bristol back to it's former glory by August.People are doing their best on the blogs to explain why side by side racing is just that,side by side racing.People want passing back in the sport.They miss the thrill/excitement/drama/...dare I say...scary part of the sport. I have mixed emotions about what they are saying.I understand all of the above.I also remember all of the freight train racing single file.Could it be that the tires are too good?They don't fall off like they used to.Pit strategy doesn't make as big a difference anymore.It's all about track position which seems to translate into no passing.Just stay out and you win. Is there really something wrong with four different winners?One win for each make of car? Would watching a golf tournament where everyone birdies every hole and there was a different winner at every tourney be exciting?Or is it more exciting to see a golfer mess up one day then come back the next? Sprint Cup racing has over reached in striving to be perfect...leaving fans bored...just my opinion.... To me it's still the best racing on tv...but it gets recorded in order to see live racing at the local track. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebelracewriter Posted March 20, 2012 Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 After seeing the nearly empty stands for the Nationwide race I was curious to see how bad it would be for the Cup race...Bristol was always one the "must attend" tracks..... Is it the racing?.....I don't know if that's the answer totally.... I think(and I said this at the time it happened) this decline has been coming since they changed to WWE type racing and all the dumbass rules changes that killed their loyal fan base.....What they got was a new base that quickly burned out on the WWE crappola....SOS every week for a story line...gets old fast.... So they ran off their loyal base to appease the new crowd.....Poor marketing strategy if you ask me....but they didn't!....LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PAPosse Posted March 20, 2012 Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 After seeing the nearly empty stands for the Nationwide race I was curious to see how bad it would be for the Cup race...Bristol was always one the "must attend" tracks..... Is it the racing?.....I don't know if that's the answer totally.... I think(and I said this at the time it happened) this decline has been coming since they changed to WWE type racing and all the dumbass rules changes that killed their loyal fan base.....What they got was a new base that quickly burned out on the WWE crappola....SOS every week for a story line...gets old fast.... So they ran off their loyal base to appease the new crowd.....Poor marketing strategy if you ask me....but they didn't!....LOL I think it's still a "must attend" track if you've never been. But the racing is different. I was fortunate enough to see the "old" and "new" Bristol in person.....both have their good points and bad. Under the old asphalt configuration it was good racing - but there was a lot different then. The tires were more forgiving, the cars not as sophisticated. After the change to concrete it became a lot of follow the leader, and you had to bump and rub then run. Now there's more side by side and long runs. I liken it to a miniature Dover. That said...I just gave up my Bristol season tickets after 15 years. http://sports.yahoo.com/nascar/news?slug=a...tol-brutonsmith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Definitive Posted March 20, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 In that report they quote Smith saying he thinks most of the problem was the rain.Was the weather bad the last four events in a row?How does the weather affect the tv ratings?Looking at the radar that night before would show everyone a dry Sunday.58 thousand seats are sold on race day?Just sayin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProTree Posted March 20, 2012 Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 few years ago they went after the wine and cheese/rich and famous.nascar races were a fad they had to be seen at.that group came,attended a few years,and now the wine and cheeser's moved on to something else.now,all that's left are the hardcore fans that were there before the cheeser's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ford27 Posted March 20, 2012 Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 We went to bristol for the first time last year. I think its a great place but I wont go back because the price gouging is just stupid. hotels food beer was all expensive. The thing I remember most was it cost so much and then the racing was not that good. Oh yes...junior johnson has a mean mooshine lemonade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HiTech Posted March 20, 2012 Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 no one left who could stand out like rusty ..dale .and a few others ..back then those drivers were like the locals ....now they have to dress and look cute ..clean faces and speak softly ........plus people still dont like the cars ...the racing is not what it use to be ..even your local tracks are tamed way down compare to old .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racer61 Posted March 20, 2012 Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 ...the racing is not what it use to be ..even your local tracks are tamed way down compare to old .. Thats because racers are not allowed to handle problems like they did back then. Most tracks try to do what Nascar would do. So what is on tv (that more and more are turning away from), is now what you get at the local venues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
576 Posted March 20, 2012 Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 How do you fix the local venues? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickHolt Posted March 21, 2012 Report Share Posted March 21, 2012 How do you fix the local venues? OK.... here's where we need to be careful. Whenever the door gets opened to list a bunch of grievances, grind a few axes and point out how they got a raw deal from this track or that track, someone will do so. I do not allow our forums to become a bitch session and only constructive ideas, suggestions are welcome in response to the above question. Thanks. Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racer61 Posted March 21, 2012 Report Share Posted March 21, 2012 How do you fix the local venues? Im not bad mouthing local tracks. Im saying that since the racing has changed just like Nascar has, both have ended up with the same result. Racing is mediocre, and the racers of today, are a far cry from those of yesterday. Its simply evolved into a completely different animal. As for how to fix them, well, I only have opinions. But I would have to say, first, throw nascar out as a role model. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wheelchair49 Posted March 21, 2012 Report Share Posted March 21, 2012 OK.... here's where we need to be careful. Whenever the door gets opened to list a bunch of grievances, grind a few axes and point out how they got a raw deal from this track or that track, someone will do so. I do not allow our forums to become a bitch session and only constructive ideas, suggestions are welcome in response to the above question. Thanks. Nick Be careful he means it! You could be fined $100,000.00 LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickHolt Posted March 21, 2012 Report Share Posted March 21, 2012 Be careful he means it! You could be fined $100,000.00 LOL Yep, and flogged with a wet noodle and made to scratch your fingernails on a chalk board three times in a row! Wait, I bet half the folks here don't even know what a chalkboard is and never had the honor of scratching their fingernails on one. Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Definitive Posted March 21, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2012 I think one of the problems with NASCAR today is they put a wet finger in the air to see which way the wind is blowing.Big Bill did it his way...period.Big Bill's way worked,and the 80's and 90's were the result of his way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HiTech Posted March 21, 2012 Report Share Posted March 21, 2012 Be careful he means it! You could be fined $100,000.00 LOL Yep, and flogged with a wet noodle and made to scratch your fingernails on a chalk board three times in a row! Wait, I bet half the folks here don't even know what a chalkboard is and never had the honor of scratching their fingernails on one. Nick the noodle.s tasted toooo good .so cant speak on how they feel ....but chalkboard ..yep i know the feeling ..but the one that got my attention more than paddles and chalkboards ..was that sting across the knuckles with the ruler ...ouch ..forth grade teacher loved to use that ...miss alcorn was her name .......racers are tame compared to the 60.s and 70.s ..those years i can speak for . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobbinsSr Posted March 21, 2012 Report Share Posted March 21, 2012 How do you fix the local venues? Fix the economy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
576 Posted March 21, 2012 Report Share Posted March 21, 2012 O.K. I know to be careful while under the scrutiny and watchful eye of the site administrator, and I know it has been suggested to get rid of the NA$CAR racing model, but where do we go from here? Fixing the economy would be nice, but not likely anytime soon. What other models are there? Is it always what is good for the racers is good for the fans and vice-versa. What about the track owner? While hopefully not being subject to the wet noodle and chaulk board; are there places out there where racers say it is the best place to race; spectators say I wish they would race more ofter because I would be there every time; Are there places out there where track owners are saying I am making sooo much money that I am going to expand and upgrade my facility. If those places do exist, can we bring there strategies to our local venues? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMRacer89 Posted March 21, 2012 Report Share Posted March 21, 2012 Apparently, it did in fact get Bruton Smith's attention: http://motorsports-soapbox.blogspot.com/20...-to-remake.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Definitive Posted March 21, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2012 I guess the fans better show up in August lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebelracewriter Posted March 21, 2012 Report Share Posted March 21, 2012 If those places do exist, can we bring there strategies to our local venues? They'll(tracks and drivers) just say it won't work...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racer61 Posted March 22, 2012 Report Share Posted March 22, 2012 O.K. I know to be careful while under the scrutiny and watchful eye of the site administrator, and I know it has been suggested to get rid of the NA$CAR racing model, but where do we go from here? Fixing the economy would be nice, but not likely anytime soon. What other models are there? Is it always what is good for the racers is good for the fans and vice-versa. What about the track owner? While hopefully not being subject to the wet noodle and chaulk board; are there places out there where racers say it is the best place to race; spectators say I wish they would race more ofter because I would be there every time; Are there places out there where track owners are saying I am making sooo much money that I am going to expand and upgrade my facility. If those places do exist, can we bring there strategies to our local venues? As Definitive said "big Bill did it his way". Thats half the answer right there. Granted this is only my opinion. What works in North Carolina doesnt work in Texas. What works in Texas wont work in Tennessee. Racing in central Texas to be successful needs to be what is best for racers and fans in central Texas. The challenge is to find out what works. Everyone has ideas, opinions, and suggestions. The problem is when you get "band wagon" riders. The ones who tell you what you want to hear just to be part of the in crowd. Sometimes the truth hurts. But if you cant take the truth objectively into consideration than how can you make progress. (No answer needed) Before the internet made info so easy to come by, nobody in Austin that raced the local track knew what happened in Pensacola, Nashville, and some didnt even know tracks like Altus existed. So it was all about the immediate area. Racers, track management, promoters, and fans only payed attention to what was right in front of them and quite honestly, short track racing was successful. Now I dont own a race track, nor have I ever managed one to be able to say I did this and it works. What I am saying is that some of the differences between "back in the day" and the here and now and part of why we cant have what we had. The one sure constant is that their is plenty of racers and racecars both dirt, asphalt, circles or straight lines to fill the tracks around central Texas. Sorry Nick, I didnt mean to hijack the thread. So my .02 on Bristol, I thought for a long time i wanted to go see a race at Bristol, but after seeing the shrinking crowds over the last several races tells me the racing isnt worth it. Not exactly sure why, but their has to be a reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebelracewriter Posted March 22, 2012 Report Share Posted March 22, 2012 What works in North Carolina doesnt work in Texas. What works in Texas wont work in Tennessee. I beg to differ on this Cory....There are plenty of good things that work whether the track is in Texas, Calif., New York or Mt Paramatta, Australia....Most good ideas fall on deaf ears(tracks and racers)..... The rest I'll agree with though.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickHolt Posted March 22, 2012 Report Share Posted March 22, 2012 I've heard this argument, or some variation of it, many times. "I told them what to do and they didn't do it, so I guess they just don't listen." Deaf ears are not what track managers have. They hear what is being said and then chose to do what they feel is best for their track at the time. A track manager/owner gets inundated with free advice from all sources. Racers, fans, sponsors, writers, website admins, etc. all have their likes and dislikes and I can guarantee you that it's a rare day when all the advice lines up to make sense. Most people who give advice to the track have a particular point of view and their advice is designed to enhance or promote that point of view. Track owners have to sift through a ton of feedback and just because your particular suggestion (which, of course, is the very best solution, at least from your point of view) was not acted upon does NOT mean the track is not listening. The best way to get get things arranged the way you want them is to own a track or manage one. I'm sure if you had the chance your ideas would work and you'd be rich in no time. Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Definitive Posted March 22, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 22, 2012 I don't remember ever hearing about people falling over each other to get their hands on a race track.That alone tells me there are way more hardships involved in operating a racetrack than I know.The few that own and operate tracks right now must really,really love the sport.Hats off to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebelracewriter Posted March 22, 2012 Report Share Posted March 22, 2012 How many times have I brought up simple things like this?...Costs a track a few bucks for fliers and drivers 2 hours time.....Seemed to be successful last year..... Abilene Speedway racers, I am hoping to promote auto racing in the Abilene area again this year. We did this last year, and had a good time. All it takes is a little of your time on Saturday afternoon before the races. We meet at different racers sponsors businesses to promote the sponsors, and racing by showing off your racecars. This done from 2:00- 4:00 before the races. We have a good time hanging out & bench racing & showing off our cars to anyone that sees us & stops with interest. You wouldn’t believe how many people don't know that Abilene has auto racing. The first Show is already scheduled for March 31 (the first race night) in the parking lot of Double Daves Pizza. It is located next door to Office Max, just down from Target. It will be from 2:00-4:00. We will try to do this every other Saturday. If you have a sponsor that you would like to promote, let me know, & we will make plans to show the racecars off @ their location. April 21 the SST Sprint cars will be here early to join us to help promote the races that night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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