[Will Shunk]

Originally Posted by SoIllSprinter Quote from Petty in Autoweek, “I guess I’m looking at it from an old-time deal because we spent years and years and years trying to become a professional sport. Years and years to get away from that stigma (that racing wasn’t professional). But dirt-track racing is not professional, so we’re going backward.” Thoughts?

I think we are hearing from an old sage who has witnessed the rise (the stigma), the glory (Daytona & big money), and the fall (the greed & buy a ride) of a sport he loves, during his lifetime. Over time, all things evolve, including sports such as racing. The automobile is no longer status and a right of passage, but a phone (hand held computer) is. Our attention span is shrinking and NASCAR's 4+ hours of going in circles and IndyCar going 50 mph on city streets is pointless to most fans of competitive auto racing. The grassroots dirt is where WE began, stayed, and remain. The sanctioning bodies have ebbed and flowed, but the on track product has demanded our attention. The explosion that is FLO Racing is proof that real racing exists locally across this country and is marketable nationally if given the proper platform to disseminate its entertainment value. With 3 hours events, multiple action packed races (heats), a fair purse paying throughout the field of competitors, and content that personalizes the professional/amateur participants, we might be on the cusp of rising to the forefront of auto racing industry's attention. PS. (Tony knows...Two hour show, multi purpose chassis, multiple track styles and surfaces, and drivers that have earned the right to compete in the eyes of the audience.)

[davidm]

NASCAR is a floundering whale that has lost its way and beached itself. Outside of the Mod Tour I really don't care what they do from week to week anymore.

[chop]

I am a Richard Petty fan. He is known for 2 major things, 200 wins and 7 championships. So he thinks dirt racing is at a lower level. Of his 200 wins, 30 of them come from dirt track races. Another 20 wins are from races with less 20 cars starting. 64 more of them would have fields of less then 30 cars. This was from the start of Nascar when the races were on short tracks and would race 2 to 3 times a week. Like the world of outlaws do now. So 1/2 of his wins are from a short track life style.

[Rich Mersereau]

Richard Petty is right. Dirt racing is not professional. not one race team can support itself. it takes rich car owners that don't care about losing money. NASCAR gets 3-5 million viewers on tv each week (most might be asleep) but a dirt race cannot touch those numbers. He's also right that NASCAR is chasing gimmicks trying to save a shrinking fan base. i love dirt racing, but The King is not wrong. i will argue as long as you want. ask the owners of the Championship winning teams and see how much money they've really made

[Tumey's 55]

This is exactly right. NASCAR is struggling compared to their zenith. However, they have national TV contracts where every race is televised. It is still a popular form of racing, the most popular in the US. You may not like it but those are the facts. Petty was there from the early days. In his mind the sport moved from small dirt tracks, few fans, small purses to become a massive sport. He views racing on dirt as a step backwards, plain and simple. I still think he is wrong but I wouldn’t view his comments as condemnation of sprint cars, no reason to be defensive.

[Stevensville Mike]

Originally Posted by Tumey's 55 ....but I wouldn’t view his comments as condemnation of sprint cars, no reason to be defensive.

Agree 100%.

If we roll back to 2005, the National Sprint Tour was created to rival the WoO. However, prior to that creation, Richard Petty and some associates were trying to form what they were going to call the National Sprint Car League. This didn't pan out and another group formed the NST.

Anyways, if I remember correctly from media press release, Richard was trying to promote "grass roots racing". A good idea, mind you, but splitting the top level sprints into two series...... after CART and the IRL..... I just wanted to throw up.

His attempt might have been to actually PROMOTE a new grass roots series with Steve Kinser and Danny Lasoski as his stars, or maybe he was just going for the quick buck, for everyone likes the dollar. But if he was true with his "grass roots racing" statement, I think he had the passion to make something happen and put the WoO to rest as they were changing ownership.

Either way, I think Richard Petty is wise in the ways of many forms of motorsports, and like I said in an earlier post, when he speaks, fans should listen. He is a history book in himself.

Ironically in all of this was WoO getting a TV contract with The Outdoor Channel. This seemed to be a sticking point with some WoO drivers - Lasoski especially. Looking back, it was a weekly taped delayed broadcast of a race, with a complete feature. Lasoski made a statement of the sort saying, "This is the wrong direction to be going in." No idea what direction he wanted it to go TV-wise, but up until what we have today with internet broadcasts that we can subscribe to, it was probably the best coverage we EVER had. WoO played it right. NST played it wrong.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Sprint_Tour

[treecitytornado]

The same thing happened in 1989 with USA! United Sprint Association! 1 & Done Series!

**They did run a couple races late in 1988, too.