Thanks for coming.
It's an interesting dilemma half mile tracks are put in (all half miles, not just Hartford). On one hand drivers tell you they will only come if the track is made smaller and on the other hand the people that already support you come because they love a track for the way it is.
If a half mile is struggling for FANS and CARS, then I suspect either a change in how things are promoted or changing to a smaller track to boost the car counts is an appropriate move.
At Hartford we aren't struggling for fans on the regular weekly shows. That's one thing I'm personally damn proud of is the amount of people we get consistently showing up week in and week out. Our weekly payout is second to none for our drivers. Hospitality second to none. Efficiency is top notch (with the exception of the Allstars which there were extenuating problems there behind the scenes).
Being in a landlocked state we're forced to depend on 1 state to provide cars and try to draw a few travelers from the south. Not a good position to be in, but it's the hand we are dealt. Places in Indiana, Iowa, etc are surrounded by states that make traveling easy.
I love Hartford for being Hartford. Big, gnarly, and fast. I'd love to bring in USAC and Silver Crown to do a real traditional style race if I could find a way to get enough fans to support an event like that, but too few people in Michigan know what USAC is or offers (which is a crying shame).
Like MIracing said... so many variables to consider. At the end of the day we're getting people, respectable car counts for a half mile, and we're making money as a business. There are a HELL of a lot of bullrings that would love to be in as fortunate of a position that we have worked to attain.