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ShamrockRacin'48G · 6/26/16, 1:05 PM

I dont have many bad things to say about Kokomo, but i liked it better when they ran nearly every Sunday....I dont like the "special shows only" idea...idle for another Sunday is a bummer.

Charles Nungester · 6/26/16, 4:36 PM

what are you willing to pay to see it¿ unless a track has lots of sponsorship they arent making a dime on a weekly show unless they have 5 or six classes with all but one taking in more at the back gate than their purse pays out.
that dont work well for sunday night.

streetglider · 6/26/16, 10:01 PM

I would have to disagree Charles. Kokomo has survived for almost 70 years and been running weekly shows on Sundays for as long as I can remember. Being a Kokomo native I assure you that the track has plenty of weekly support. The Oconners are very adept at running a good show, and have(until recently) ran weekly shows since they took ownership of the track. The crowds and the participants have been plentiful stretching back to the Lipkey days. I too want to see the track being used weekly,instead of being a novelty. Many of local fans cant afford the extra cost of the special shows when taking the family to the races, however they do support the weekly events. And maybe I just need my fix of horsepower and dirt more than 17 times between May and September. ONLY 2 of the dates on the schedule are regular shows, the other 15 are special shows with higher admission costs.

Beinthecircle · 6/27/16, 3:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by streetglider

I would have to disagree Charles. Kokomo has survived for almost 70 years and been running weekly shows on Sundays for as long as I can remember. Being a Kokomo native I assure you that the track has plenty of weekly support. The Oconners are very adept at running a good show, and have(until recently) ran weekly shows since they took ownership of the track. The crowds and the participants have been plentiful stretching back to the Lipkey days. I too want to see the track being used weekly,instead of being a novelty. Many of local fans cant afford the extra cost of the special shows when taking the family to the races, however they do support the weekly events. And maybe I just need my fix of horsepower and dirt more than 17 times between May and September. ONLY 2 of the dates on the schedule are regular shows, the other 15 are special shows with higher admission costs.

EXACTLY. "They don't make a dime". Ha ha. They might not be getting rich off a local, weekly show, but they are indeed making a dime.

Charles Nungester · 6/27/16, 8:10 AM

I don't think I said anything wrong, Or untrue, If it was worth their while to run weekly, The gates would be open every Sunday. It takes a significant investment just to open the gates, add a couple rain outs that the money is already spent with no return......... and a couple drizzly days or radar don't look good but they still run which the crowd is a third less or more than normal..........

I also don't know the owner situation, But if your splitting a profit three, four or five ways. Its a big difference vs ONE.

I don't know most stuff. Only the people I've talked too in it, A couple promoters, former promoters and long time workers at tracks that have told me, that if everything goes right, they make a little $$. Most times it's a break even or sometimes lose situation. And most of us have no idea they put a five thousand dollar tranny in that water truck this week, replaced a dozen lights on the track, Spent a couple grand on boards in the grandstand, Rented or bought several pumps and kept them running two or three days straight. Fought the lawsuit from the guy who tripped on a concrete seam and broke a leg. etc. etc.

When they tell you they only make decent $$$ on a few shows a year (Enough to cover all that stuff and still put decent $$ in their pocket), Its kinda hard to believe. When you see the track close permanently, Or open and close several times with different promoters-owners, Reality sets in.

So I ask again, What are you willing to pay to see it? $16, $18, $20? so they make a profit, and enough profit to cover the times they don't and still make it worth the hours and effort week in and out. And you get to see racing every week.

davidm · 6/27/16, 12:10 PM

Kokomo has 17 race dates on their schedule. If they ran weekly from mid May till Labor Day like a lot of track do they would still have 17 shows. Does not seem like too bad a trade off to me.

scottyCbus · 6/27/16, 12:52 PM

I will take those special shows over weekly stuff any day at that track. Kokomo is around a 2 hour drive for me and that drive really sucks with all the road construction that's been going on for years on US31! Years and Years of construction! Alternate routes are filled with construction as well. So when I think about all the times I have driven up there thru the years only going a few times a years makes that track to me that much more special. If I want to go to a weekly show I'll go to Bloomington. But I also see the other side of it and some people would love them to run every Sunday and for most that would be fine but for me I like it just the way it is.

jim goerge · 6/27/16, 4:21 PM

We went thought this with Haubstadt several years ago, at first we all were kinda lost. But when those special events came up Man you were chomping on the bit bout Tuesday before the race . Now every race is truly a special event. Yes Haubstadt like all other tracks are down on car counts no matter the purse, But the cars that show up put on shows that makes you leave with a smile on your face that takes a week to go away. So hang in there and give them a chamce I don"t think you"ll be disappointed

captrat · 6/27/16, 4:50 PM

Lots of thoughtful comments. Mine is this: Kokomo, Bloomington, LPS, Lawrenceburg, Haubstadt, Montpelier, Plymouth, Twin Cities?, Gas City?, not to mention those in adjacent states. All of these to a certain degree chasing the same dollar i.e., fans and participants. This makes a promoters job even more difficult. I have been around this game for several decades and sometimes we are our own worst enemy in terms of over-saturation. We all want to see short track racing prosper, but just like all change is not positive, more is not necessarily good either.

i love dirt track racing · 6/27/16, 4:58 PM

It's all good at kokomo Sunday night.just leave a little bit earlier and go to half moon salon and have a great lunch and then go to Kokomo speedway and enjoy talking to some great racing fans and get ready for the sunday matinee and get out of there at 9:30 for the 2 hour trip home. Have fun and enjoy the great racing events at kokomo speedway.