[Rpracing1]

So how was crowd at Knoxville?
Not a Flo subscriber so I did not see.

[Slider20]

Absolute snooze fest last night. Really happy for Bacon though, he drove a perfect race. The whole event just felt rather insignificant to me. BUT you have to start somewhere! Glad there is a big money non wing event and I think it can grow with some time.

[hoosier race fan]

I’m sure Knoxville’s staff will evaluate whether the event is worth keeping on the schedule. The crowd didn’t look to be any larger than what they get for a regular Saturday night show. I’m not sure what their expectations were for a crowd, so it’s hard to say whether they were pleased or disappointed. The car count was decent for a race far from the “home turf” of most traditional sprint car teams. The event organizers probably wish the racing had been closer so they could hang their hat on this event producing the kind of racing non-wing supporters frequently advertise. I wouldn’t consider the event a total flop, but I think it was a little underwhelming in some of the areas I mentioned. None of that is a criticism of the event, just an assessment based on what occurred. The event organizers and sponsors will surely take a lot of things into consideration when deciding what to do for the future of the event. USAC and POWRI/WAR will also have to determine what their involvement in this event may be if it continues. There is potential, but areas for improvement for sure. All parties will have to determine whether the investment necessary to make those improvements is worth what they want to see as an end result.

[captrat]

How do any events legitimately use the "nationals" tag? It's marketing and always has been. Not a USAC issue, but it is so fashionable to bash them for everything. They probably had something to do with the California earthquakes or most certainly are a part of the "dark state".🙄

[mscs20]

As a participant in this event here are my views. We were told over and over by the Knoxville staff how thrilled they were to for us to be there. They were ecstatic that 51 cars were there. And they repeated over and over how well the Usac and War officials were working together with their staff. Spridge echoed that on Usac's part as did Brooke on Wars behalf. Everything they said led us to believe this is only the "start" of something big.....something "they" can build on.
A big cheese of the title sponsor BRANDT PRO Agriculture came by my car and visited a while. Gave me one of the BRANDT hats that they had the staff wearing. This guy convinced me they loved the racing and for sure this is only the beginning. If all of this was BS....just lip service, then they need to get out of racing and onto Hollywood to be actors.
The fans: unbelievable. After the A main it looked like ever single one came down to the pits.....both nights. All positive comments and so many my age and older who remember Knoxville being a weekly non wing track were so thankful each time we get to go there. But even the younger fans with kids were all about it, buying t-shirts and such. I sold everyone I brought. We've lost some of that connection within 150 miles of Indianapolis. There is something to be said about running sprints last vs the hornet class. I know I know there's exceptions.
Just my view from pit spot 57.

[sprinter31]

Steve I echo everything you said, we didn't race but was in the stands and everyone I talked to in the stands said they would be back they loved the non wing cars. And that stands were way more packed than on a regular Saturday night. Great Show, and yes some WAR regulars ran great, Korey came a long way, ran great. Just think if Korey had the budgets of the top teams. Congrats to Brady!

[Kirk Spridgeon]

Can’t help but be a little disappointed that, after a weekend where everyone in attendance was happy with great car count and crowd numbers and quality of racing, I come to a place where the most loyal supporters are supposed to be only to see negativity.

I was asked by someone if our fan base is as crabby as the e-mails they got BEFORE the race even took place would indicate.

The facts are that the track’s expectations were exceeded on car count, fan count, cooperation, quality of racing, everything. The racing on Friday was fantastic, in both divisions (many people calling it the best night of racing they’d seen at Knoxville - admittedly that’s opinion). On Saturday, it was much the same except for a certain 69 car walking away. The crowd was fantastic - bigger than what we’ve seen previously at Knoxville and again meeting/exceeding expectations. I can’t say enough about the competitor base and how they handled themselves all week. It was an overwhelmingly positive weekend on the ground, with the only questions being what can we tweak for next year.

I don’t know what else to say other than that it’s disappointing to see. I felt like everyone there this weekend was pulling in the same direction. If you consider yourself enough of a fan to be on an insider forum such as this, it’s mind-boggling to me that you’d be so steadfast on finding shortcomings with a major event that checked all the boxes of being an emphatic success in year one.

Thank you to Mr. Thomas & Mr. Sears for providing insight from someone in attendance and with full perspective.

[wildman92]

We had an awesome time this weekend at Knoxville. It was my first trip and I couldn’t have had more fun. The racing Friday night was amazing. The way they get around that half mile is fun to watch. Saturday night was a little different but still exciting to watch. Yes, Brady shot out to the lead and walked away with it. But we held our breath every time he went through 1&2 hoping he didn’t get too close to that wall. Thankfully the feature went without incident. A very impressive run by Brady and the 69 team. The battle between 2-5 was pretty intense too. And how about the weather? All week long it looked like the potential was there for old Mother Nature to continue her reign, but both days were absolutely gorgeous and last night I wished I would’ve brought my hoodie!! There’s not a thing we can complain about this weekend and we were happy to support this inaugural event and hope it turns into a regular event.

Now, we’re off to Sun Prairie, WI, to watch POWRI midgets. Another new track for me this weekend. We are thankful for every opportunity we get to watch open wheel cars pound the dirt.

Most importantly, we got to spend time with our racing families. Funny how us Hoosiers always end up at a track together even when we are 100’s of miles away.

[racefan20]

[ThePurple73]

Originally Posted by Kirk Spridgeon Can’t help but be a little disappointed that, after a weekend where everyone in attendance was happy with great car count and crowd numbers and quality of racing, I come to a place where the most loyal supporters are supposed to be only to see negativity. I was asked by someone if our fan base is as crabby as the e-mails they got BEFORE the race even took place would indicate. The facts are that the track’s expectations were exceeded on car count, fan count, cooperation, quality of racing, everything. The racing on Friday was fantastic, in both divisions (many people calling it the best night of racing they’d seen at Knoxville - admittedly that’s opinion). On Saturday, it was much the same except for a certain 69 car walking away. The crowd was fantastic - bigger than what we’ve seen previously at Knoxville and again meeting/exceeding expectations. I can’t say enough about the competitor base and how they handled themselves all week. It was an overwhelmingly positive weekend on the ground, with the only questions being what can we tweak for next year. I don’t know what else to say other than that it’s disappointing to see. I felt like everyone there this weekend was pulling in the same direction. If you consider yourself enough of a fan to be on an insider forum such as this, it’s mind-boggling to me that you’d be so steadfast on finding shortcomings with a major event that checked all the boxes of being an emphatic success in year one. Thank you to Mr. Thomas & Mr. Sears for providing insight from someone in attendance and with full perspective.

I think you are possibly missing the point by some on this board/thread, the complaint is NOT with the race, the racing, the competitors, the event, location. No problem at all.
Actually most of the sprint car fans on Indiana Open Wheel are SUPER fans and we were "there" ONLINE. I have watched almost every USAC lap online or in person as many others on here have all year.
Our complaint was: we thought and were told via website, the race at Knoxville was on the FloRacing events, part of what we are paying for.
SO to watch all of both nights as fans will want to do, we had to pay $40.00 more to use Dirt Vision.

That's the complaint. The race was great. In fact USAC should run more at Knoxville, Oskaloosa as it is great on the big half miles. Maybe I missed your point, but my complaint wasn't with the race or location.