"...I got to qualify some of my comments, first point being that there is no economic motivation to run a bracket race or participate for that matter. If it was not for the love of the competition I guess none of us would be having this conversation would we??? Does anyone really make a return on thier investment in this???? I say probably not. I may pay for my low budget car someday with earnings but that would be all I could expect with good luck on my side..."
We'll have to disagree big time on this point, Dave. Many of the folks that I now run with are not having a good time at all when they run brackets. Their sole motivation is THE MONEY. They have publicly and emphatically stated that it's "Just like another day at work." The purses are what determine the participation here. If you have a large first place purse, you will have a large turnout. The size of the entry fee is irrelevant, as is the rest of the purse besides first place. Advertize a low first place purse and you may as well not open. Maybe that's just here though. I'm in eastern NC.
"...Also I am definately ALL FOR EVERYONE racing anything they can get thier hands on but I have had to follow farm trucks dropping mud down the track cause some fool thought he needed to do a burnout in a dually and those things axle hop terrible! This is more of a problem for Pro class racers as we usually are first to go after street and trophy cars. It is just something that has to be dealt with..."
Are the cars there made to attempt to clean their tires before actually entering the burnout area? I mean, is there a designated place for them to spin their tires and then have the residue blow away...BEFORE they turn into the burnout area? It's something you might suggest, if it's a really big concern there, and it wouldn't require the track owner to tell anyone to stay away, or come on a different night.
"...I wish I could come up with an answer to track owners plight economically but the spectators that show at most tracks are I would say 70% friends and relatives of the participants anyway. Run a good concession and you can help yourself there but it ain't much..."
Let's see. 70% of 10 spectators means that 7 of them are friends/relatives and the remaining 3 aren't. :-) We don't get many spectators on a bracket night. Then again, I don't count anyone that arrived in the same car as a racer as a spectator. I call them "crew".
"...This is all obviously for the love of the sport and always has been..."
We disagree. Yes, it's strictly for enjoyment for you and I, but it's something else entirely for a growing number of others. Money, money, money. If somebody tells me that they would quit completely, if there were no purse, or maybe only a $100 purse, that tells me they aren't in it solely for enjoyment. And this, I'm convinced, is the root of most of the problems. I don't recall all the nastiness when first place in the biggest class paid $500...or less. Take care. Tom Worthington.
http://www.hotrodder.com/Tom396
Posted on Jul 26, 2000, 7:12 AM from IP address 152.163.201.82