Shadow report _ Delaware Summer Showdown

[JAMES CONRAD]

  Here's the problem. You can be a racing nut like me but only go to a handful of races a year. Why; because there are lot of other things we can do. NASCAR has televised race on some Saturday nights. Why go to the races when you can crank up your home theater and watch a movie. If you live in Toronto like I do, there is a lot you can do on a Saturday night. I have a 12 year old boy and a 14 year old girl that both like going to the races. My daughter really enjoyed Merritville a few weeks ago. We just can't go to the races every weekend, there's other things my wife and I want to do with the kids. Yes I agree the local tracks need to expand their horizons and reach potential fans from other walks of life. I wish every track could be successful, but things being they way they are that is a big wish.  Why the tracks don't advertise in Toronto papers confuses me. We like a great sport that right now has a limited fan base. [ I'm referring to short track racing]. I we could get people to try it, I'm sure was would like it.

[Bill Johnson]

I agree JC, Sunset is on our local radio station, but they could expand to T.O., and for the life of me, why do these tracks CHARGE the drivers & teams to get to there pit?  Those guys and gals put a lot of money into there investment as it is, one wreck Boom! , and also provide the entertainment for the fans every weekend (or week day depending on the track). I`m going to be blunt, the payouts suck, and so does the food, and so does charging the teams to race,  business is business , but in the long run...ya can make your money now and run later at a lot of peoples expense. I know a lot of drivers up here in the north and they can not afford to race this year, as some of there sponsors have backed out for fiscal reasons, and so they are running off of there own money at limited tracks....hoping for a decent pay out for tires they have to give back to certain tracks for tires...if ya get my drift.

[Ian Moffat]

Bill, i agree your comment regarding tracks charging drivers and teams to enter the pits. Atleast let the drivers is free....they are the ones putting on the show.  I think the remaining pit crew members can pay their way in.

There have been comments about LM car counts and rule changes related to crate motors.  Why is it that the owners of these tracks can't come up with common rules.  Back in the days of ALSTAR racing, all of the tracks had similar rules.  The car counts were good, local LM racers who did not like to travel or could not afford to travel, could still compete.  The ALSTAR series produced GREAT Racing!  I wish we could get the LM back on a level playing field.

[Mike Lindsay]

agree Tom also about approaching more ethnic minorities. Somehow though, the tuner, crowd which is partially made up of highly visible minorities, seems to have been attracted to their form of motorsports somewhere along the line. Why haven't they been attracted to ours is a viable question. Perhaps the kind of car the tracks are currently running aren't attractive to a younger generation. Is it time to get rid of the 4 cyl mustangs so prevalent at many tracks that run 4 bangers and open up the class to more exotic fwd cars. I've been at Cornwall the last couple seasons and you can really see the tuner influence on their cars and their isn't a rwd car to be found. A lot of young drivers with no grey beards anywhere.
 Culling the herd has happened every decade. There is an excellent website showing Ontario race track history and you see every decade the number of tracks gets smaller and smaller as land values soar and other forms of entertainment develop. We no longer have Sunday as a family day when no-one worked, plus extended store hours have kept a lot of young potential fans away from the track, although gainfully employed. ("can't go Saturday Dad, got to work" was something I heard the last four years).
 Re the culling, when Checker Flag in Windsor closed it initially made Delaware stronger - the Windsor fans who didn't want to go to Toledo or Flat Rock, followed their drivers to Delaware and it was fortunate both tracks were running Cascar rules. The closing of Pinecrest made Sunset and Barrie Stronger. Speedway Park's closing lead to superb fields at Flammy.
 The beat goes on...........

[Brendan Doherty]

I don't understand why people complain about drivers/teams paying admission. Anybody ever been to your local go kart club, there are no payouts! No fans, I don't even know how you sell sponsorship. Wanna race more than 1 division in a race day, you pay entry for each division and don't see a dime back at the end of the day, so for those that complain there's a lot different forms of racing that are a lot worse of than somebody not being able to afford 20 bucks to race there $3000 to $60000 car.

[Jason Katerberg]

That doesn't make how the pavement tracks do business right by default, though.

[JAMES CONRAD]

  I have a question. The Honda Indy is this week-end; are any of the near by tracks making their presence know with any kind of displays? Mark from Sunset will be racing in the CTC series. Will he have any kind of display for Sunset? There used to be space for displays at the Indy, do they still do it? If they do, wouldn't you think it would be a good idea for local tracks to be there. Thunder Alley is affordable for most people,why not have some displays behind it. [they used to] If you don't try to grow your audience, you might as well fold up your tent and piss off.

[Brian Powell]

James i hope you and Mike are wrong about it being time to close some tracks . I don't understand how southern Ontario who's population has more then doubled in the last 40 years cant sustain less tracks then we had 40 years ago . A long with the increase in population in southern Ontario there was a big change in demographics and i don't think race tracks have kept up with this . Not counting the out lying areas of Simcoe County just the city of Barrie alone there are almost 5000 SE/SW Asians and another 400,000 in Toronto that all read one newspaper http://www.punjabidaily.com/home.php yet no one has ever tried advertising a stock car race there .  Now before you say " those people " wont come to a stock car race no ones even tried marketing to them so you don't know . I am on a couple of Mitsubishi performance sites regularly and a large part of the membership are guys 18 - 30 yrs old named Ajeet and Surinder who are into racing and have lots of $$$ but have never heard of Sunset or Barrie Speedway . To quote the old adage " the times they are a changin" has never been truer and one of these days tracks are going to run out of pasty middle aged white guys to draw from .

This is a very valid post most computers these days are able to translate Web pages for you so it is not as difficult a sounds to promote these prospects.

[Jason Katerberg]

If they do, wouldn't you think it would be a good idea for local tracks to be there.

Considering how most of the local tracks are running at this point in time, maybe it's a blessing in disguise that they're not.

[JAMES CONRAD]

 I will be there Sunday, so I will see whats to be seen. I think a little promotion couldn't hurt some tracks.

[Jason Katerberg]

If you have a sub-par product which turns people off of the concept of short-track racing, then it could definitely hurt.