[racephoto1]

it's been a long 2 days. Bloomington Friday, Springfield Saturday, AMA at The Indy Mile. I guess I"ve done enough to say a few things.

First, USAC is no longer the beat all to end all it once was.There are way too many different options for a racer to deal with besides USAC. Unfortunately for the people on 16th street, they don't understand that.It's not 1977 anymore.



Second, someone needs to run USAC who has got an actual interest in auto racing, it's been a while since they've done that. Yes, racing is a business, but at least respect the business.

Third, a lot of Champ Dirt guys have their stuff parked because they don't trust USAC. They haven't exactly been the most consistent sanctioning body in the last 5 or 6 years. If you're going to spend a chunk of change to go racing, you at least want to know you're going to do it for a while, and not have a conversation piece in your garage a year after you buy it.

Fourth, As everyone here knows, they're my favorite race car. In this day and age of instant gratification, sprints and midgets get all the attention from the fans, at least the younger ones. The Champ cars are about strategy in the long run. Today AJ Fike worked it perfectly. Also , it was the best race for Champ Dirt Cars I'd seen in a long time. It was a great show, the top 5 mixed it up good the whole race.

Lastly, if you want to see how a show should be run, go watch AMA on a mile, the whole event is a show, not just the race. A lot of different organizations in auto racing could learn something from them.

[mr nobody]

Originally Posted by Jonr OK I will play. 1. Purse. You can only pay what the fan base will support. Contrary to popular belief, SC cars are a tough series to promote. No one is making a fortune on these cars. You can not pay money you do not have.

When there is an ever changing driver lineup and few races scheduled its hard for fans and car owners to buy into it.

2. Team structure. Unless you plan on going to an extreme on spec parts, you will not be able to control the spending of teams. Everyone who races is a competitor. Telling them not to compete is not the answer. BTW This is not a problem unique to SC. $40,000 ASCS motors and $20,000 modified engines are common.

Never mentioned spec parts at all. I did mention getting rid of factory backed engines though. Incase you haven't noticed, that same design severely hurt NASCAR in the 70's and in the last 10-15 years as well (certain teams getting special parts), Indycar also suffered this with the widely publicized Mercedes Engines that Penske got to the Chevy engines Panther got before Chevy left, to the current engines that are not as scrutinized as they are supposed to be. If a team was responsible for building it's own engines, you don't think that the cost would go down? The only "spec" parts would be limited to cubic inches.

3. Sponsors. Easier said than done. Marketing budgets are very tight and SC cars are a tough sell. If I were in charge of a marketing budget, There are many other options I would consider before SC cars. The SC cars have a small schedule, race in small population area, race across the entire country, and have a small fan base. Not really a recipe for success.

Again, 9 races and lack of consistent driver lineup don't do any good. The recipe has not been a success due to all ingredients not working together. Fans getting the new generation interested, costs pushing out car owners, ever changing rules that twerk instead of tweak, and (as pointed out in another post) people don't trust USAC to be the sanctioning organization that is needed to make this series and these cars/races a success. Maybe the biggest problem with the recipe is the chef that puts it together isn't the chef they once were. Could that be the problem?

4. Names. The problem isn't drivers. It is quality rides. The fact that the USAC driver champion can not get a ride this year shows the issue is severe. However, more people are parking these cars than building new ones. Once again showing that the series is sick.

So the owners are at fault for this part of the problem? When you have 5 dirt races, it's not easy to break the cost down for the dirt car owners. The pavement car owners have an even more difficult time. What wrong with doubling up on dates at the tracks they have now? I can't count how many times people have said they want a second date at the ISF.

5. Fanbase. Nothing wrong with your idea. However, as I have said numerous times, in a niche market like dirt track racing, SC is at the bottom. Given a chance between Woo Sprints, USAC sprints, USAC/POWRi midgets, Lucas Oil late models, USMTS modifiers, or SC, the vast majority of people are not going to pick SC as their first pick to watch.

Who is responsible for letting it sink to "the bottom" (as you called it)? Everyone is responsible. The series has to have something worth marketing to fans, fans have to have something to brag about to new fans, the promoter has to have something to promote, owners have to have something to attract sponsors, sponsors have to have people to market too.

The problem may not be the sanction, the cars, or the fans, but rather the natural death of a series.

It's only going to die if people sit back and let it die. The choice is everyone's to make.

Posted via Mobile Device[/QUOTE]

[ThePurple73]

Evidently there is positive crowd stimulus from the fair goers at the Illinois and DuQuoin State fairs or the races would have ended years ago.

The series sponsorship and overall advertising has to be competitive to gain mind share in this day and age, no doubt it can be done, you have to organize to perform the task.

[mr nobody]

Originally Posted by ThePurple73 Evidently there is positive crowd stimulus from the fair goers at the Illinois and DuQuoin State fairs or the races would have ended years ago. The series sponsorship and overall advertising has to be competitive to gain mind share in this day and age, no doubt it can be done, you have to organize to perform the task.

With the economic status of Illinois the way it is, don't be to sure of that. I heard just this week (although it is every year) that the state fair grounds are being looked at for a possible sale, both Du Quoin and Springfield. The state claims they lose money on the fairs every year. That might be the case. I was talking with a friend of mine who read and heard news casts where the headline acts get $300,000 per night (Toby Keith was one she mentioned) and they get a percentage of the nightly concessions and ticket sales during their performance). I can't imagine that's very profitable for the Illinois State Fair. If the fairgrounds are sold, big IF, it won't be a good thing for auto racing during the fair.

[openwheelfan1]

The problems with the Silver Crown series and for that matter open wheel racing in general are many and varied.

Purse is one. In 1963, Roger Ward won the Springfield 100 and won just over $4700. Per the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, that same $4700 would be equal to $35,300 today. A J Fike won about $10,000 yesterday or just over double what Ward did 50 YEARS AGO!! While costs for the racer and owner may not be 7.5 times, they have increased by far more than double in the same 50 years.

I fully understand that the purse is driven by the attendance. However, for the last several years, there has been virtually no promotion for the many of these events. The blame for this falls on both the sanctioning body and the promoter. Again, I recognize the world is vastly different today than it was years ago, but I do use social media, and there was virtually no promotion of "buzz" for Springfield in anything I could find. Duquoin is two weeks away and apart from this forum, I haven't seen any promotion for this event either.

Lastly, and I know I'm going to catch a lot of flack for this, Silver Crown races can be VERY boring. Yes, the Silver Crown cars are graceful and almost poetry in motion on the mile tracks, but the fact is MANY of the races are boring "buggy pole" parades. There is often little side by side racing and when passes do occur they are usually on or at the end of the straight so the cars can be single file again in the corners. Today's audiences want entertainment and excitement.

Unfortunately, I'm not as smart as many on here....I don't have all the answers. Racing was and is an expensive hobby. However, there has to at least be the OPPORTUNITY to break even or possibly make a little money. That opportunity doesn't exist today. This isn't the 60's, 70's, 80's or even the 90's. Not just Silver Crown but the whole sport of open wheel short track racing needs to evolve and reinvent itself to attract new fans and controls costs to get new owners interested in the sport. If changes aren't made, then not only Silver Crown but midgets and eventually sprint cars are going to be as relevant as the horse and buggy.

[Sandy Lowe]

Does anyone know the general admission prices in 1963 compared to today?

[Great Scott]

We made the 3 1/2 hour drive over to Springfield and we are going to make the 4 hour drive down to Duquoin in a couple of weeks. My 10 year old loves watching the silver cown cars on the miles. I wish you all could have all seen just how into it he was. We are certainly trying to support the silver crown series.

[ThePurple73]

Originally Posted by Great Scott We made the 3 1/2 hour drive over to Springfield and we are going to make the 4 hour drive down to Duquoin in a couple of weeks. My 10 year old loves watching the silver cown cars on the miles. I wish you all could have all seen just how into it he was. We are certainly trying to support the silver crown series.

This is what makes it worth while and what sponsors love to hear, other race fans also.

[unclebuck]

Good points, but the ama flat track people are having the discussion we are having. Ageing fan base, lack of a national sponsor who will promote, things are not very rosey over in flat track motorcycle land. we could learn something from them however.

Originally Posted by racephoto1 Lastly, if you want to see how a show should be run, go watch AMA on a mile, the whole event is a show, not just the race. A lot of different organizations in auto racing could learn something from them.

[BrentTFunk]

I think it is easy to blame USAC, but I would say they are as trustworhthy as any other series. What this series needs is a sugar daddy, not a sponsor, but a sugar daddy who can bleed money. I would think that Track Enterprises probably did not make much, if any money yesterday. Everyone says it should be promoted more, but how would you do it? I thought the event was good,and with 2 big screens on the front straight, it helped make a pleasent experience. Going to a Silver Crown race is not cheap. The cost to a promoter is similar to an Outlaw race. It cost my wife and I $30 each for tickets. We also paid $7 each to get in the fair and $7 dollars to park at the fairgrounds. ( the promoters get none of this) I think the only way to fix all racing is to make it way cheaper, and I don't know what that is.
I thought it was a good race and will try to get back next year.