What's with the panels?

illinisprintfan · 3/4/10, 3:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jack Dupp

Madhouse was quite an eye opener for me also. The narrow, flat pavement track seems to provide nose to tail racing with little passing and uninspiring lap times. Most any midwest 1/4 mile bull ring will provide side by side, sideways passing action with non wing sprints lapping about 1.5 seconds quicker than the pavement mods. Bowman Gray packs in 10,000 to 15,000+ screaming fans. The dirt tracks in my area do roughly 1/10 that.

There is a lot more going on there than I am smart enough to figure out. Those who have a handle on this, please do not waste your time trying to educate me. Go promote a dirt track or start a sprint/midget series.

I watched the program once. The people going to watch are there for the crashes and drama, not for the quality of the actual racing. They could be watching demo derbies or school bus racing for all they care. It's basically WWE wrestling with wheels. You have fans who root for the "heroes" and "villians". The on track fights and general chaos that ensues is the drawing card. The fairgrounds track in San Jose had some of this "feuding families" stuff going on back in the day, but it was pretty much kept under control and was not the big draw. People showed up to watch good racing.

SUPERDUKE · 3/4/10, 8:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by localyokel

this post is a good example of why fewer people are attending short track open-wheel racing lately... It's not the panels!

ok give us why?

LocalYokel · 3/4/10, 8:18 PM

Because everyone involved is petty and complains about everything!
Posted via Mobile Device

SUPERDUKE · 3/4/10, 8:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by localyokel

because everyone involved is petty and complains about everything!
posted via mobile device

really!

SteveD · 3/5/10, 9:58 AM

[QUOTE=48modracer;159740]Nostalgia aside, taking body panels off of the modern sprints, midgets, Indy cars, etc will not put more butts in the stands. USAC, Indy and now NASCAR have lost touch with the common working stiff. There was a time when USAC had the tiger by the tale, but when the larger than life personas moved on, that you all seem fond of remembering, the connection to the next generation of fans was broken.

The same is true at Indy. There was a time when you could see your Saturday night hero have a genuine shot at Indy, but somewhere in the process, the sports car racers and international drivers crept in. For a while it was okay, because you still had your favorites that were holdovers, but now they are gone and Indy lost another generation. I think that NASCAR is teetering on this fence now. In the quest to appeal to everyone, they left behind their real fan base.

Racing is a sport with many components. It has to be part theater with some drama, you need characters that people love and hate that they can rally around and you need a product on the track that brings excitement. People also need to be able to relate to the drivers on the track somehow. The action on the track has to match this as well, you need cars slicing and dicing for positions on the track and someone that can tell that story with enthusiasm.

Winglets aside, Profound MR ModRacer, Good Insight, Thank You

3/4/10, 8:18 PM	#83
LocalYokel Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 412	Because everyone involved is petty and complains about everything! Posted via Mobile Device

3/5/10, 9:58 AM	#85 Re: What's with the panels?
SteveD Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 232	[QUOTE=48modracer;159740]Nostalgia aside, taking body panels off of the modern sprints, midgets, Indy cars, etc will not put more butts in the stands. USAC, Indy and now NASCAR have lost touch with the common working stiff. There was a time when USAC had the tiger by the tale, but when the larger than life personas moved on, that you all seem fond of remembering, the connection to the next generation of fans was broken. The same is true at Indy. There was a time when you could see your Saturday night hero have a genuine shot at Indy, but somewhere in the process, the sports car racers and international drivers crept in. For a while it was okay, because you still had your favorites that were holdovers, but now they are gone and Indy lost another generation. I think that NASCAR is teetering on this fence now. In the quest to appeal to everyone, they left behind their real fan base. Racing is a sport with many components. It has to be part theater with some drama, you need characters that people love and hate that they can rally around and you need a product on the track that brings excitement. People also need to be able to relate to the drivers on the track somehow. The action on the track has to match this as well, you need cars slicing and dicing for positions on the track and someone that can tell that story with enthusiasm. Winglets aside, Profound MR ModRacer, Good Insight, Thank You