Quote:
Originally Posted by Rich Mersereau
Run sprints and midgets on Friday. 2 classes. Focus on the show, not the car count. Fans don't want to sit and watch junk. Let them bring coolers. If you had 20 sprints and 16 midgets every week that's enough for a good show, trust me. Hot lap at 7.30, race at 8. Take up the extra space with driver introductions on the front stretch before both features and cool victory lane celebrations. Also, the early quit time allows everyone to flood the pits after the races and get the kids in the cars for pictures and autographs.
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If you look back at the underlying cause of Gas City’s closure in the first place (why it is in the situation it is in), it was primarily due to a decrease in race team and fan support in the feeder classes. Whether anyone wants to admit it or not, the profitability of regular shows depend largely upon the support of those classes. The vast majority of your local fans and race teams are running in those classes, which tend to be stock cars. There are outstanding open wheel classes and weekly open wheel programs here in Indiana, but they wouldn’t be possible without the support of local racers in the feeder classes. Even Kokomo has some concern about the lack of local fans and race teams that attend their regular programs. They appear to be doing fine right now, but Gas City did also just prior to their struggles and eventual closure. Feel free to try your weekly open wheel only program, but the odds of it being profitable are not in your favor.