[Stevensville Mike]

I never planned on going this year for I had other items on the table this weekend and planned on watching it after the weekend. But watching on Flo for the Saturday afternoon makeup I immediately noticed the crowd was sparse. Gee. Go figure. The temperature was 90+°F at the coolest times. I was down in Florida for the DirtCar Nationals one year and they had an afternoon makeup after a rainout the night before. I will never go to an afternoon sprint race again. It was way too taxing. And now, like most sprint car fans, I am older and cannot even THINK about doing something like that.

And I will address the elephant in the room: With FloRacing, why SHOULD I go to something like this when I can sit at home and watch it not only live, but tape delayed when I have the time? 10 years ago I would have went. I was younger and I had no other option. Now.... it was a no brainer.

FloRacing will eventually kill the walkup crowd at the local dirt tracks. That is Capitalism. I am not complaining one way or another, for I am benefitting from Flo, but the track owners, vice the series organizers, might want to take a long look at having their races put over the internet for pennies and it is costing them greenbacks in return.

Good race it was. I watched it wearing pajamas and drinking cheap beer in my lounge chair with my cat, Squeak.

These are changing times for us older fans.

Next up for me will probably be the World 100 (at least one of them). Flo does not air them so I have to show up to see them.

[Dick Monahan]

Originally Posted by Stevensville Mike And I will address the elephant in the room: With FloRacing, why SHOULD I go to something like this when I can sit at home and watch it not only live, but tape delayed when I have the time? 10 years ago I would have went. I was younger and I had no other option. Now.... it was a no brainer.

Are you kidding? I was all packed to go, knowing it was a 16-hour drive which we're too old to do all at once, so it was going to cost two extra hotel nights. Unfortunately an illness caused us to abandon the trip. (Not me, not Covid fortunately).

So, like you, I watched all 3 shows on Flo. I enjoyed them, but I wasn't happy. Because of the single camera, the most I saw was about 5 cars at any time. I figure I watched maybe 25% of the racing. Doesn't it aggravate you to have the announcers mention some great racing back in the back while you watch the front 1 or 2 or 3 parade around the track? It does me. I assume Flo has their business model worked out based on one camera, but I, for one, will pay more if they add cameras. I know there is more to it than that, but it sure would be better. Obviously, when those front 3 cars are sliding each other on every corner, that's what we should be watching, no matter how many cameras are working.

As an example, I'm a fan of the English Premier League soccer. There are 19(!) cameras on each match.

I love Flo. I'm glad it's there. I've watched every USAC race this year, and I'll watch all the rest, too. But, I hope some day it will get better.

And, to whoever it was above who complained about the ticket price. I believe that advance ticket is the bargain of the year. In 3 weeks, I'm going to my local track for their big race of the year, a one day evernt, for which I will pay $50 for a pit pass, which doesn't include a seat. You Indiana folk have got it good.

[Russ]

Originally Posted by Josh Spencer Ok so I understand now, I was under the impression that we were not promoting good or they weren’t doing their job, but you just don’t like their schedule. I get it now, well I’m glad we have them as owners and they run something through the year, could be leveled and something built on it. Or **** maybe you can buy it and see unfortunately that local races do not bring in the money that special shows do. Josh Spencer

I'm just trying to tell you some of the reasons that most in the local community no longer support the track. The schedule is part of it, the cost is part of it, the way some have been treated there is part of it. There are more reasons but these are just a few.


I know you realize that when a person has a negative experience at any place of business. You not only lose that person a customer, you lose that person's family, friends and anyone he or she talks to about the business as customers.

The "we should accept whatever they do because the track could be gone" excuse doesn't solve anything.

I came out Wednesday night because of my respect for Dave Darland and the Darland family. I have to tell you I was shocked at how empty the grandstands were. I think there might have been more people in the pits than in the stands. I know if I was the owner and I saw that I would be listening to any and everyone trying to figure out how to bring more people out to my facility.

Friday and Saturday nights I was at two tracks a couple hours to the South when I live less than 2 miles from the Kokomo Speedway.

[dkdorkboy]

Originally Posted by Stevensville Mike I never planned on going this year for I had other items on the table this weekend and planned on watching it after the weekend. But watching on Flo for the Saturday afternoon makeup I immediately noticed the crowd was sparse. Gee. Go figure. The temperature was 90+°F at the coolest times. I was down in Florida for the DirtCar Nationals one year and they had an afternoon makeup after a rainout the night before. I will never go to an afternoon sprint race again. It was way too taxing. And now, like most sprint car fans, I am older and cannot even THINK about doing something like that. And I will address the elephant in the room: With FloRacing, why SHOULD I go to something like this when I can sit at home and watch it not only live, but tape delayed when I have the time? 10 years ago I would have went. I was younger and I had no other option. Now.... it was a no brainer. FloRacing will eventually kill the walkup crowd at the local dirt tracks. That is Capitalism. I am not complaining one way or another, for I am benefitting from Flo, but the track owners, vice the series organizers, might want to take a long look at having their races put over the internet for pennies and it is costing them greenbacks in return. Good race it was. I watched it wearing pajamas and drinking cheap beer in my lounge chair with my cat, Squeak. These are changing times for us older fans. Next up for me will probably be the World 100 (at least one of them). Flo does not air them so I have to show up to see them.

Mike I thought the World's were on Flo since it was at Eldora.I could be mistaken.

[Stevensville Mike]

Originally Posted by dkdorkboy Mike I thought the World's were on Flo since it was at Eldora.I could be mistaken.

Wow. You are RIGHT. I must have looked ahead at the wrong weekend.

Also, thinking this through, the track HAS to get payment from Flo for allowing them to broadcast, right? Anyone have any idea what that might be? It probably varies from series to series.

[chrismattlin]

Originally Posted by Stevensville Mike Wow. You are RIGHT. I must have looked ahead at the wrong weekend. Also, thinking this through, the track HAS to get payment from Flo for allowing them to broadcast, right? Anyone have any idea what that might be? It probably varies from series to series.

Yes, Im' sure it varies from track to track and series to series, but Stafford Motor Speedway joined Flo this year; here is a relevant tidbit from their press release:

"...In addition to broadcasting the 2021 Stafford Speedway season, FloRacing has posted $40,000 in bonus money which will be distributed to the Stafford Speedway weekly competitors.

The FloRacing bonus will be awarded to each of the top-10 finishers across all 5 of Stafford Speedway’s weekly divisions on specified nights. Each division will have 4 events in which the FloRacing bonus will be awarded. The $40,000 bonus nearly doubles the payout teams received from StaffordSpeedway.tv in 2020.

“Between the FloRacing bonus and our new track point fund there will be at least $73,000 in new awards on top of our weekly payouts in 2021,” Arute added. “We are looking forward to kicking off the 2021 season and showcasing the most talented weekly drivers in the country right here at Stafford.”.

[flagboy55]

Mike. I’ve done a SMALL amount of research on the subject and talked to someone I figured would know about how it works with what the track gets for the product. He told me that not all are the same and they’re very tight lipped about it. My thoughts are, at least with Flo, it’s a tangible amount. While watching racing on Flo I’ve seen ad’s for one of my favorite beers, Bells 2 Hearted Ale, and our local supermarket chain. I think their ability to add regional advertisers to your broadcast would be attractive to business looking for exposure. And probably more cost effective than national ad’s. In the case of Eldora, the fact Smoke owns the Allstars which is on Flo, and now sponsor the Allstars, all ties nicely together. Eldora itself would have to be desirable to any streaming service for its popularity alone which should add subscription. Someday I hope it becomes more transparent. I can say with certainty, while I have 3 subscriptions to different services, it doesn’t keep me away from the track. I’m only going to what works for me, and my resources. While conditions were challenging this weekend at Kokomo, the day’s before I was out in the mills working in it. If I can work in it I can sure as hell watch a race and sweat. However I couldn’t be sure I could control my cough, so I elected to stay home. I hope that everyone benefits from streaming, and I don’t blame a soul, especially of fans our age for staying home. You spoke of the elephant, there might be more than one. The other could be the average age of most of the wingless fan base

[Will Shunk]

Originally Posted by flagboy55 You spoke of the elephant, there might be more than one. The other could be the average age of most of the wingless fan base

NAIL ON THE HEAD! I have made all 10 Smackdowns and would love to see 10 more. At my advanced age, 3 days hydrating, walking around, seeing old friends, meeting new friends conversing with teams and drivers, and eating pork sandwiches is a lot healthier than sitting in A/C, on my a$$ for hours at a time, fixated on a screen. "Get busy living, or get busy dying". JMHO