Pacecar Posted September 12, 2004 Report Share Posted September 12, 2004 The ownership & management of San Antonio Speedway has found a way to reduce car count. Reduce the Late Model payout for the previous race… AFTER the race event is held. No prior notice was given. Sounds like the old days when sleazy promoters did what they could to avoid paying the advertised purse. But you wouldn’t think that a Nascar sanctioned track would do this. But it did. And according to a former Nascar track manager, she said that it is against Nascar policy to reduce the purse without first informing the participants before the race is conducted. But not only is it against the Nascar policy, it is unethical. As a racer operating as a business that depends on prize monies and sponsorship, I am now obligated to have the purse well-defined, and not simply trust that the racer will be treated fairly. Before I send in my entry for the Late Model OctoberFast event, I will need to know how the purse will be structured in the event that less than 25 cars start the main event. Currently, the advertised purse is only guaranteed for a minimum of 25 cars. From a business standpoint, I now require a documented purse for the situation if less than 25 cars start. Will the number of laps also be reduced accordingly? The reduced purse for the weekly shows mainly hurts those racers that have made the season-long commitment to support the track every week and compete for the points championship. Those racers that have not made that commitment, can easily elect to not participate in the next race if the purse will be reduced. Sure doesn’t encourage car count. It was my intention to have discussed this matter with the track manager at the drivers meeting last night. But the race director holding the meeting said that the manager would not attend. I believe he would rather have this controversy aired on the TSZ, so that SAS gets their fair share of the “publicity”. Larry Bendele Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jp17 Posted September 12, 2004 Report Share Posted September 12, 2004 By how much was the purse reduced? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pacecar Posted September 12, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 12, 2004 1/3 less. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jp17 Posted September 12, 2004 Report Share Posted September 12, 2004 I am curious what explanation was given for making it retroactive. Is the reduction temporary? Have they announced a new purse structure or will your winnings be a surprise each week? jp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stroker Ace Posted September 12, 2004 Report Share Posted September 12, 2004 should sa late model teams start making plans to race at kyle next year? or maybe one of the touring series? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racerjim2 Posted September 12, 2004 Report Share Posted September 12, 2004 This is very bad news for a class that is already very expensive to race on a weekly basis.Hopefully the SAS brain trust will reconsider thier actions and find a way to not only reinstate the purse but raise it so more than the top two cars can break even.I have no sponsors and race out of my back pocket, I know I should get a sponsor but I work full time and dont currently have any leads, I see the the dollars go out and dont see much coming in.No offince to anyone but $100.00 dosent cover fuel and pit passeslet alone cover changing wheel offsets two times during the season due to changing rules. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoom Posted September 12, 2004 Report Share Posted September 12, 2004 Maybe irrellevant, but I feel it is part of this topic. I noticed that last year in the sportsman class, the last place money (tow money, I was told) was $30.00 I know this because this is all I got the majority of the time. This year, a few races in, the minimum was dropped to $20.00 I don't recall being informed of this change, and I don't recall seeing a posting on this. I thought for a minute that perhaps it was due to car count being low. But the sportsman class has has the highest numbers of cars all year. So perhaps the lack of front attendance is the reason for the financial pinch that is then passed on to the drivers in the form of reduced payout. As stated in the post previously, perhaps another race track in the area has a better/equitable pay out in the offing. We were told in a previous drivers meeting that next season was guaranteed as far as the track being open for the season. I wonder, can we rely on purse money's being there each race night? We have all seen posts from the fans/drivers/crew of THR decrying the need for the track to increase promotion, advertising, etc in order to bring the fans in. While I have seen the increase of promotional activities from SAS, I have not seen any results except in the sales of program ads and front stretch signboards. In other words, the emphasis seems to be on the increase of revenue to the track and not the increase in people in the seats. While not necessarily a bad thing it is my opinion that the people who purchase those things are not interested in showing their company logo/name to empty grandstand seats. Nor are my 2 sponsors interest in continuing sponsorship if I cannot show results, which I can't do to empty granstand seats. As everything else, it is performance related. I always make it a point to tell people throughout the week about the races at SAS and invite them out, as I believe a majority of the drivers/crew do. I don't claim to be privy to all the goings on that the track is involved in, and I expect someone to reply and tell me I don't know what I am talking about, but I am concerned after watching the steady decline of fan attendance. My guess is that 50% of the people I see in the stands are family of the drivers/crew. So if the drivers get dissatisfied with SAS and go elsewhere, who are the fans going to watch, and after about 1 week of that, who are the racers going to have watch them? I am just concerned. Thanks for listening Mark Rahn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racerjim2 Posted September 12, 2004 Report Share Posted September 12, 2004 Maybe Mike S. can reply as to why the actions have taken place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modracer Posted September 12, 2004 Report Share Posted September 12, 2004 Let me weigh in on the promotion issues some. I work in an area that has a AA baseball team. The attendance for the games generally top over 8,000-10,000 people for every game. The yearly total exceeds that of some major league teams. They have a kids club that they give a family of 4 tickets for 5 games and give the kids a T-shirt and a hat all for $12.00. The tickets have a face value of them of $5.00. I have spoken to the general manager several times and have asked why they do this. He always answers the same thing. They make money on the concessions. You can ask anyone that has a retail type of company and they will tell you you make more money off of concessions than anything else. How much do those beers, cokes, candy, and popcorn cost. Not very much on the grand scheme of things. All that it would take one day is for one of these tracks to have a fan appreciation day. Have all of the tickets free and give them to every business possible. This has been done numberous times at tracks in the North and been successful. Lets do the math: 2,500 fans $10. entrance and $10 in concessions equals $50,000 4,500 fans no money and lets say they spend a total of $15 a piece for a total of $67,500 Of course this is all hypathetical however you can see the math on this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RodneyRodriguez Posted September 12, 2004 Report Share Posted September 12, 2004 I read an article in Circle Track some time ago about a promoter up north that let the fans in free for racing but in return the racers raced for free and packed the house. Would you guys at THR, SAS or CCMS do that ?? I'd ask dirt guys but they dont seem to have attendence issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rookie49 Posted September 12, 2004 Report Share Posted September 12, 2004 Does this mean that maybe we'll see an Orange23 in TSRS or Romco Next year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickHolt Posted September 13, 2004 Report Share Posted September 13, 2004 Larry, No prior notice was given. I may be wrong about this, but didn't SAS pass out something a year or so ago that said that if there were less than 15 LMs they reserved the right to cut the purse by some amount. I'm real fuzzy on the details, but I do remember something to that effect. Nick Holt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
car05 Posted September 13, 2004 Report Share Posted September 13, 2004 Larry, No prior notice was given. I may be wrong about this, but didn't SAS pass out something a year or so ago that said that if there were less than 15 LMs they reserved the right to cut the purse by some amount. I'm real fuzzy on the details, but I do remember something to that effect. Nick Holt Nick, I looked back severel weeks and SAS has not had more than 15 Late Models in some time. Something that was passed out over a year ago is not prior notice, if no mention was made of it prior to the race they actually cut the purse in. MC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickHolt Posted September 13, 2004 Report Share Posted September 13, 2004 I stand corrected, Marc. Thanks for getting me up to date. Nick Holt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
car05 Posted September 13, 2004 Report Share Posted September 13, 2004 I stand corrected, Marc. Thanks for getting me up to date. Nick Holt No Problem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SASPEEDRACER24 Posted September 13, 2004 Report Share Posted September 13, 2004 Since the track was quiet enough from the stands to hear Paul during the drivers meeting. I believe it was changed to 10 cars min. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishracer Posted September 13, 2004 Report Share Posted September 13, 2004 To add insult to injury, the rules changes that they made to accomodate the TSRS/THR/HMP cars has not added 1 consistent outside car to the SAS car count. What it has does done has increased the cost to drivers in blown motors, more wheels to accomodate the track width rule,(supposedly to help them be competitive with the no show cars) and the extra fuel used by the 500cfm carbs. And they now cut the purse for the guys that do show up. Something is wrong with this picture. With the way it has been going looks like no one will probably ever be able to run for a Nascar regional let alone national championship again, unless the track does something to stabilize their premier class no matter what it will be in the future. Why even make everyone pay the price of the Nascar license if they don't have a chance to grap the big ring. , Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PAPA Posted September 13, 2004 Report Share Posted September 13, 2004 Ive been reading all the posts and I just cant sit back and not reply. I cant believe people think that SAS is cheating anyone. I understand that you are upset about the purse you recieved. And I understand that some people are upset with Mike. You have that right. But think about it outside of the box....SAS is a business. Its main objective is to make money so it can stay in business. SAS knows that without race cars it cant make money. So why would they try to cheat you. They know its expensive to go racing. They also know its expencive to run a track. I dont know all the "Ins and Outs" of the businee but common sense tells me that they are doing what is best for both the track and drivers. Mike can sometime be a pain in the rear. So can I and so can the drivers and their crews. We're not perfect. I do know that Mike will do his best to explain things. Im sure he doesnt sit around thinking of ways to make everyone mad. Talk to the man. If you cant reach him on the phone then E-mail him or write a letter. He's at the track every saturday. He's at the pit gate with all the paper work needed to let you in. Talk to him then. I dont have the answers but If you have something you want to get off you chest or something you want me to forward to Mike then please contact me or talk with me at the track. Im the big fat one legged offical in turn 3. Thats my 2 cents. Hope I did not offend anyone. I like everyone I meet at the track. Thanks for taking time to read this. Gerald"PAPA" Fischer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pacecar Posted September 14, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 14, 2004 Good News! I received one of the phone calls this evening from SAS. The Late Model racers will be receiving make-up checks for the full purse payout of August 28. Thank you. Larry Bendele Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racerjim2 Posted September 14, 2004 Report Share Posted September 14, 2004 hey Larry what about the future payouts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.