Re: If you were in joe spiker's shoes...what would you do with vcs?
 

I would run mud-cabs and mud-buses and a bomber class on Saturday night.Run sprintcars on the Fridays that Gas City and Bloomington work together(ex-Kiss,Midget week,sprint week,Sheldon,flat trackers)then Run the Sunday's Kokomo doesn't run Like the whole month of April three weeks in SEPTEMBER.They could easily come up with 15 Sprint dates and not step on anyone's toes.

Re: If you were in joe spiker's shoes...what would you do with vcs?
 

Well it may not matter but Kankakee (IL) Speedway has closed for the season wihich is sad however Kankakee is or WAS a Friday Night track so could VCS run and hope to draw there cars ? Maybe Kankakee area drivers wouldnt not tow south to run VCS? What if VCS gets a UMP licence where they could run both crate and super late models and "try" or "test" Sprints out on Friday night and see how many cars show up? Maybe VCS could run this very same "test" on Sunday night?

Re: If you were in joe spiker's shoes...what would you do with vcs?
 

Originally Posted by Pushtruck:
There are a lot of tracks running sprint car shows against each other on Saturday nights. It makes good sense to move the Danville sprint car show to either Friday or Sunday as not to run both of his tracks against each other on Saturday. There are as many as six tracks or sanctioning bodies already running against each other on many Saturday nights. The question is, which night would be best to move the sprint car program to, Friday or Sunday?

A couple of years ago Bill Nelson ran a once a month sprint car show on Friday night at Danville and drew between 45 and 55 sprints at each show. He ran against Bloomington and Gas City and did quite well. You now have Morgan Co. Speedway in Jacksonville, IL running sprints a couple of times a month... but not a regular weekly sprint program. Friday does create some problems for racers who might not get off work in time to pull to a Friday night show.

Sunday nights seem to be the most promising for car counts. The only other track running a regular sprint car program is Kokomo. There are plenty of Illinois sprinters and sprinters that do not go to Kokomo to make a good weekly car count. It would make sense to start a Sunday program two hours earlier to allow for the time difference between Indiana and Illinois and to allow teams and fans who work on Monday to get out at a reasonable hour.

It would be a shame to eliminate the sprint cars at Danville. There has been plenty of support from the sprinters and fans. The racing has been very good. I don't blame Joe Spiker for not running two sprint shows against each other at LPS and Danville on the same night. My vote would be Sunday evening at Danville with hot laps at 5pm (local time) and racing at 6pm with a goal to be done by 10:00pm. :8:

Joe

Originally Posted by illiniopenwheel:
I like the way this guy thinks!:8: Anyone else agree with his thoughts? Or disagree?:22:

I think he's spot on, here. Some of the best racing I've seen this year has been at VCS. And some of the best run shows I've seen this year have been there, as well. If he can duplicate that same easy going, fan-friendly environment he has had at VCS, while moving the program along, like they have there, he'll have a hit on his hands @ LPS and it will be like a new track has opened up, here in West Central Indiana. Coming into this year, I didn't even know who Joe Spiker was. My VCS experience has made me a Spiker fan. And the biggest part of making me a fan of the way this place has been run, is what this core group of drivers has been able to do, with what Joe and his team has given them to work with. As a fan at VCS, I've been introduced to young talents like Korey Weyant, Nick Bilbee and Blake Nimee. And I've watched Ricky Williams develop into a real threat, gaining valuable experience, like the aforementioned young gassers, proving himself against perennial Illinois gatekeepers like Hud Cone, Chris Urish, Terry Babb and The Wissmiller brothers. And Hoosier hot shots, like Jon Stanbrough, Bryan Clauson, Shane Cottle and AJ Anderson. If they can run with or beat any of these guys, you know they're tough and you might want to remember their name.

Bottom line: I wish Joe luck with Lincoln Park Speedway. That place has been a diamond in the rough, for quite a few years, now. If he can do over there what he's been able to accomplish at VCS, he will be the hero of many a Hoosier race fan. Hopefully, he can work this transition in a way that gives the drivers of VCS their due. And a place to run. They certainly deserve it and it would be nice to see many those same drivers competing at LPS, in the future. And that's a nice group of fans over there. They deserve it, too.

Jerry

Re: If you were in joe spiker's shoes...what would you do with vcs?
 

I agree with a lot of what Jerry said in his last post. I think it will be a wait and see for most drivers at vcs like myself. How he treats the sprint car guys that have been supporting him at VCS will determine if I or alot of these drivers will support him at LPS. We will wait and see. There is no arguing what he has done with VCS and what he can and will do at LPS. Hopefully no one is left out in the cold...

Re: If you were in joe spiker's shoes...what would you do with vcs?
 

Back to the top! Great responses so far :8::8::8::8:

Re: If you were in joe spiker's shoes...what would you do with vcs?
 

I realize that I am a minority on here, since I live in Springfield IL, west of VCS rather than east. If it is a given that Lincoln Park must run on a Saturday night, there are no good answers for me. I love VCS as a nonwing sprint track. It is 120 miles from my house, mostly interstate, so I can drive over and drive back home. Lincoln Park is enough farther that it makes an over and back very hard. I have also done the Bloomington, VCS, Kokomo trip twice. Either is good.

If Lincoln Park must run Saturday, that leaves either Friday for VCS, which competes with Morgan County Speedway in Jacksonville IL, less than an hour from my house, or Sunday. Sunday competes with Kokomo, my all-time favorite weekly show, not to mention the great specials.

My ideal weekly schedule would be Jacksonville on Friday, VCS on Saturday, and Lincoln Park on Sunday.

A great alternative has been mentioned by more than one in this thread. Don't worry about a weekly show and run when others aren't, like AERO410SCJA suggested. I thought that was an excellent idea. Fill in the gaps and run specials. That way we still have races at a well-run sprint car track and don't have as many conflicts with other tracks.

Every promoter wishes they had the problem Joe does. He has a really successful track at VCS right now and will bring Lincoln Park back to its past glory. Whatever happens, sprint car fans should celebrate. Are we in the good new days?

Re: If you were in joe spiker's shoes...what would you do with vcs?
 

Originally Posted by dirtnonwingfan:
I realize that I am a minority on here, since I live in Springfield IL, west of VCS rather than east. If it is a given that Lincoln Park must run on a Saturday night, there are no good answers for me. I love VCS as a nonwing sprint track. It is 120 miles from my house, mostly interstate, so I can drive over and drive back home. Lincoln Park is enough farther that it makes an over and back very hard. I have also done the Bloomington, VCS, Kokomo trip twice. Either is good.

If Lincoln Park must run Saturday, that leaves either Friday for VCS, which competes with Morgan County Speedway in Jacksonville IL, less than an hour from my house, or Sunday. Sunday competes with Kokomo, my all-time favorite weekly show, not to mention the great specials.

My ideal weekly schedule would be Jacksonville on Friday, VCS on Saturday, and Lincoln Park on Sunday.

A great alternative has been mentioned by more than one in this thread. Don't worry about a weekly show and run when others aren't, like AERO410SCJA suggested. I thought that was an excellent idea. Fill in the gaps and run specials. That way we still have races at a well-run sprint car track and don't have as many conflicts with other tracks.

Every promoter wishes they had the problem Joe does. He has a really successful track at VCS right now and will bring Lincoln Park back to its past glory. Whatever happens, sprint car fans should celebrate. Are we in the good new days?

You're definitely right.:8: :6:This is a good problem for Joe Spiker to have to deal with. :):22:

Re: If you were in joe spiker's shoes...what would you do with vcs?
 

Originally Posted by jerry shaw:
i think he's spot on, here. Some of the best racing i've seen this year has been at vcs. And some of the best run shows i've seen this year have been there, as well. If he can duplicate that same easy going, fan-friendly environment he has had at vcs, while moving the program along, like they have there, he'll have a hit on his hands @ lps and it will be like a new track has opened up, here in west central indiana. Coming into this year, i didn't even know who joe spiker was. My vcs experience has made me a spiker fan. And the biggest part of making me a fan of the way this place has been run, is what this core group of drivers has been able to do, with what joe and his team has given them to work with. As a fan at vcs, i've been introduced to young talents like korey weyant, nick bilbee and blake nimee. And i've watched ricky williams develop into a real threat, gaining valuable experience, like the aforementioned young gassers, proving himself against perennial illinois gatekeepers like hud cone, chris urish, terry babb and the wissmiller brothers. And hoosier hot shots, like jon stanbrough, bryan clauson, shane cottle and aj anderson. If they can run with or beat any of these guys, you know they're tough and you might want to remember their name.

Bottom line: I wish joe luck with lincoln park speedway. That place has been a diamond in the rough, for quite a few years, now. If he can do over there what he's been able to accomplish at vcs, he will be the hero of many a hoosier race fan. Hopefully, he can work this transition in a way that gives the drivers of vcs their due. And a place to run. They certainly deserve it and it would be nice to see many those same drivers competing at lps, in the future. And that's a nice group of fans over there. They deserve it, too.

Jerry

great quote here!:6::6::6::6::8::8::8::8::8::22:

Re: If you were in joe spiker's shoes...what would you do with vcs?
 

Run Thursday

Re: If you were in joe spiker's shoes...what would you do with vcs?
 

Run Thursday night, my idea exactly. The car count would be up, no confilcts and time difference would giive Indiana drivers an extra hour to get there. Great four nights of sprint racing every week.