Indiana track wars...
 

I use to think Indiana had a good system where promoters worked together , but not so much anymore.

You saw the low car count at Lawrenceburg USAC race 23 cars.

Well that looks like a sign of how this year will be.

Lets race 2 looks to be a small car count on both non-wing and wing.

You got HL running all 3 days down in KT keeping any of those guys from coming up.

You got Bloomington running against USAC on Friday and Both Paragon and Lincoln park running against USAC on Saturday.

Re: Indiana track wars...
 

You think the local guys are going to go to Eldora? :10: As stated earlier if LPS wasn't running the 'Burg might have picked up 3 cars.

Re: Indiana track wars...
 

Eldora is not in Indiana. Its not gonna draw many non usac regulars because of its size and the racing there is not great.Its just a historical place and many people have fond memories of the old days so they go. If Bloomington,Paragon,and Lincoln Park shut down for the weekend Usac might gain a car or two.

High Limit who cares they put a wing on it

Lawrenceburg car counts could start to go up because the track looks much better than before but probably will never draw 40 cars.

I think the bigger issue is fans. If 100 people decide to not go to the higher paying show & go to their local track that is $3,500 that Eldora won’t get in GA ticket sales alone.

Re: Indiana track wars...
 

LBurg was more because it was USAC. Two drivers told me they're sick of getting dumped an15d there's only a handful of cars and drivers capable of cracking that SOLID top 10-15 that USAC has. Most who run usac drop everything and commit to it and eventually run up front and win.

As for Burg, I think they keep from burning tres off the cars like crazy. they'll be better attended. Question is, Enough to continue as a regular class? 61 cars raced last weekend. How many were in the garage? (For whatever reason, I won't judge) But it seems to me theres about enough weekly racers for only two tracks to run at a time anyway.

You might look at this weekend as a gauge.

1. Haubstadt WOO
2. Lawrenceburg, Lincoln Park, Paragon with regular shows
3. Boss at Atomic
4. USAC Silver crown at Toledo.

I suspect counts will be low across the board with the sprints.

A lot of people were looking for the WoO to have low car counts last weekend at Pevely and they actually had higher counts than the previous year. Eldora might be a different animal but with several top cars not in attendance it opens qualifying spots up for others. It’s not a zero sum game.

Re: Indiana track wars...
 

Yea I do understand Eldora isn't in Indiana but do know USAC head quarters are so really was being dumb by putting the 2 together.

I for 1 love Eldora and have been to a few races over the years and intend to fly from California again in 2 weeks.
It will definitely be a different field then last year for both classes.

Maybe a more interesting question would be about Sunday.
I love Winchester so much since I was kid the place just blows me away the speed and Banking amazing from the infield.

Terre Haute is running winged sprint car race same Sunday.

Who's going? how many cars you think they will draw?

Re: Indiana track wars...
 

There is probably a zero chance that anyone running wings at Terre Haute would have been running silver crown at Winchester. Its a bit too early in the season to figure out how many cars the Maverick series will draw, they havent even run a race yet

I'm gonna add another spin on this Indiana track wars topic. In addition to tracks fighting for car counts, how about tracks fighting for FAN ATTENDANCE! Not just die-hard race fans, but casual fans and first-time attendee fans. I've seen multiple times comments made about "bring a fan or new fans" to a track. What experience are new fans going to get? Racetracks are notorious for starting late. I get it, you can't control a dirt surface. Thankfully, pavement tracks seem to always start on time. Here's what new fans can look at:

What time will a track start? Does it start on time? How much effort goes into track prep through the week? How bright are the track lights? How do the speakers sound at a track? Can you hear the announcer? Does the track have a scoreboard? Is a track taking an excessive intermission? Are concessions priced fairly and taste good? WHAT TIME are tracks getting done with feature events?

Here's a small list of options for discretionary spending money activities in the Indianapolis area:

Deer Creek concerts, White River state park concerts, Brown County music center concerts, Symphony on the Prairie concerts, Indy 500 events, Indiana Fever basketball, Indianapolis Indians baseball, Indy Eleven professional soccer, US Olympic swimming trials, Indy weekend Festivals, little league baseball and the list goes on and on. Lots of KIDS opportunities listed. Nearly every one of these events listed starts on time, has a scoreboard, a great announcer and provides a fantastic fan experience. how about our racetracks?

I've been going to races since the late 60's. I've got lots of places to spend my fun money, plus keep my wife happy. I've taken friends to tracks that got rubbered up, ran features up till 11pm, and had to explain why we are getting done so late. That's no fun for a new fan.

Good luck to the Indiana tracks trying to recruit new fans AND teams! And sponsor money to make improvements! Time will tell which teams support which tracks, same with the fans. 40 years in the retail world taught me every customer dollar and market share was IMPORTANT. Same can be said about racetrack admissions and the back gate $$$.

Re: Indiana track wars...
 

Hammer swung, nail hit on head.

Could it be the overall cost 💰💰, lack of sponsors,fuel, those fine hoosier tires,diesel fuel to get to the track etc ,etc! Not to long ago bloomington had 30+ in multiple classes, gas city also on the same night, same for paragon and putnamville

Re: Indiana track wars...
 

Great Post!

The next Jeff Gordon idea has kind of run it's course. It's a shame, Seavey and Grant have gobs of talent.

Re: Indiana track wars...
 

Seavey had his shot in Nascar in the truck series and running ARCA

When local drivers say that they can't compete against USAC it's a driver that doesn't want to improve his skills. Levi Jones said if he had that attitude that he wouldn't have been a seven time champion. Levi said he learned how to go faster by following those leaders. Learning how to navigated in traffic and how to drive in different track conditions.

Re: Indiana track wars...
 

That's very true, However most of your weekly teams are teams that if the car gets damaged, they're out weeks due to cost of replacements.

. As I said in my USAC teams post. Most are dedicated, there to win and have spares. if they're running a weekly show, its mainly for testing.

Two ways of doing it. Get good at your local tracks, Find the backing and go race USAC. Or Get the backing and go race USAC until you can beat them.

I remember Shatz was the first one lapped for a couple years if he even made the feature. But he had the backing and went and raced against the best, Until he was "THE BEST"

Re: Indiana track wars...
 

Your post is exactly on point! Hope every promoter sees it and gives it some thought.

Re: Indiana track wars...
 

Exactly daed on!

I suppose one could say that. One could also say that the cost and equipment to be competitive with USAC are far greater than when Levi started out. The USAC regulars have 2-4 $30k car; 3-5 $50k+ engines in rotation being freshened after 10 nights and 2 new $350 tires on every night. I have over $100k wrapped up in our small local team between a complete car, spare roller, add’l parts and trailer and trying to make a $35k engine last all year before a $15k refresh. It costs me no less than $1k each night to unload the car for a local race - probably closer to $1500, honestly I’ve quit counting so my common sense financially doesn’t force me to sell out. A USAC top guy told me last week he can’t race for under $5k to win because they’d be guaranteed to lose money. If you’d like to write me a $50k check for a 2nd engine and another $50k check for tires and travel cost I’ll be glad to commit to the USAC races within 300 miles of Indy. Also, I’ll need another $50-75k to hire someone to work on the car during the week as I work 50+ hours a week to cover my expense and to set it up at the track because I suck at setup decisions - ask my driver if you doubt me. We don’t go to USAC races not because we aren’t trying to get better, we don’t go because it’s a waste of what resources we do have.

Re: Indiana track wars...
 

just because you race with usac and have a boat load of money doesn't mean you are gonna win. i have seen a lot, excuse me, more than a lot of guys with a boat load of money race with usac for a very long time and not improve in the driving department. you need to start with at least a little talent, that's when the boat load of money cames in.

Re: Indiana track wars...
 

And this is why i worry about the sport.