USAC? Rain Dates?
 

USAC scheduled 4 dates in 5 days in PA and somehow managed to have 20+ drivers tow in despite the fuel costs only to have not run a feature event in two nights. Why didn't they schedule at least one rain date in case the weather didn't cooperate?

Re: USAC? Rain Dates?
 

Look at what group you are dealing with. :headbang It would have made too much sense.

Re: USAC? Rain Dates?
 

Maybe next year will be better and more thought out....

Re: USAC? Rain Dates?
 

Rain dates aren't something USAC can simply decree - promoters have to agree to them and rain dates are notorious losers for race tracks, particularly in a day and age where people have very regimented schedules in their lives - as a person who has been involved with the Long Beach Grand Prix said many years ago - "There's no such thing as a "walk up" crowd anymore - today both parents work, kids have more organized activities and people don't just wake up and make a spontaneous decision to spend a couple hundred dollars. " This is an even worse problem now when gas is 4 bucks a gallon. And there is the matter of getting enough help to run an event. Next time look around ask yourself, how many people it truly takes to work at a short track, every gate has a person, someone takes tickets, somebody cooks and sells food, there are scorers, pit stewards, announcers, people who clean up, sell fuel, tires, and now, you have to get them back - and depending when the plug was pulled - pay them twice now. This is not as simple as it seems.

Re: USAC? Rain Dates?
 

That is the quote of the week...no, make that month. If some people knew what they were actually talking about, (like Pat does:respect:) then I could take their rants more seriously. Some people just shoot from the hip without any thought or knowledge of the situation.

Re: USAC? Rain Dates?
 

Friday as a "rain date" for a 30-lap feature at Grandview is a non-starter, as the track would have to put a whole new show together (against Williams Grove!) in order to justify people coming back for what would otherwise be as little as 15 minutes of Sprint racing. Sunday for Williams Grove would be in direct opposition to the Pocono Cup race, and , I assure you, the fan bases are NOT mutually exclusive for those two different brands of racing in PA. It would be a full-on Money Loser, even being as close to Hagerstown as it is, where the racing is (supposed) to be the night before.
It's Raining here in PA. It sucks. It is making a disaster of this Eastern Swing, but it is the way the dice came up. Grandview was setting up to be a terrific night. Now it's just a show that never happened.

Re: USAC? Rain Dates?
 

psullivan, you have just described why more and more short track owners and promoters are cancelling races at the first sign of inclement weather than ever before. It is better to cancel an event than open the track an have 1000 or less fans in the stands, low car counts and still have to pay your employees for a nights work as well as a purse to the racers. Most races on a short track due not have a rain date, you were spot on with the explanation of why promoters due not book rain dates. It is not as simple as it seems. When you look at the bottom line, the track owners, promoters and competitors all have a limited number of dates in a given race season to make money, they all feel the effects of any lost date. Too many lost dates for the track, no revenue, no more business. Too many lost dates for the competitors, no revnue, harder and harder to find sponsorship, tougher and tougher for the competitors to continue racing. I am not just describing the plight of USAC racing, all forms of racing face tough challenges in the state of todays economy. Support your favorite form of racing whenever you can.


Patti

Re: USAC? Rain Dates?
 

the real question is did the drivers get tow money for showin up, if not i bet many of them don't go back next year. Long way to drive when the first 3 races get rained out.

Re: USAC? Rain Dates?
 

I was looking for a rain date for Williams Grove. USAC and that track have a history and it would have been nice to see them make every effort possible to get the show in. Rain dates may be losers for promoters, but if the racers don't get SOME kind of compensation for coming then the promoters won't have to worry about scheduling because there won't be any teams willing to come back.

Re: USAC? Rain Dates?
 

When discussing this issue with a track where we were running the midgets some years ago, I also found that, if he didn't cancel by noon, he had to pay the town 50% of the standard fee for police, firemen, ambulance, etc. If he didn't cancel by 5pm, he had to pay 100%. And, the deal with the power company was, once the lights were turned on, a "peak power fee" was paid, which meant it didn't matter much how long they were on. Any outdoor business is tough in a rainy climate.

Re: USAC? Rain Dates?
 

Also, many tracks and sanctioning bodies have to pay their officials once the gate is open. In some cases that decision has to be made NLT 3 p.m. or so. Promoters simply don't have the "Open the gates & rake it in" existance some might think.

Re: USAC? Rain Dates?
 

I used to be an official at a track and there were many a night when racing was rained out after practice started and I went home with nothing more than a couple cheeseburgers.

Re: USAC? Rain Dates?
 

stupid thought why run this far away from home during the rainy season, when they could have ran these shows during mid august? there is a big gap in the national schedule.

Re: USAC? Rain Dates?
 

I think the "big gap" in mid August is for Indiana Midget Week, right?

Also, I don't think you can base a schedule around "rainy season". I think the Eastern Swing was about this time last year, and although my memory sucks, I am remembering it wasn't too much of a problem then.

Re: USAC? Rain Dates?
 

there is over a 2 week gap there. some minor adjustments would give them better odds of clear nights. 25 teams are out there now i think i read, how many of them will go back for rain dates later this year if they get nothing now? maybe the top 10 or so. Gas and desiel were alot cheaper a year ago also!

Re: USAC? Rain Dates?
 

It does rain a lot in April, May, and June, so we shouldn't schedule any races then.

Nobody out here wanted it to rain. We all tried to make the best of it and have some fun. With any luck, it won't rain any of these races out next year - I think the guys will still come out and race if they keep getting good tracks. It's a fun trip - and I've had a blast so far!

Re: USAC? Rain Dates?
 

Well, I count 13 sprint and/or midget events that are scheduled in August and that doesn't even count the August Springfield SC event. You have to remember that the USAC Eastern swing will have some PA drivers that take the wing off to run. Those same PA guys will be at the Knoxville Nats in August so that is no good.

What's last year's gas and deisel pricing have to do with rainouts this year?

Re: USAC? Rain Dates?
 

Just saying during this time keep races as close as you can to where teams are located. Maybe I'm wrong, maybe all of these teams have an unlimited cash flow and its nothing to worry about. Glad your haveing a blast out there. Good luck

Re: USAC? Rain Dates?
 

Last year it was less of a concern about rain out. There were more sponsors out there and it cost less to and from the track. How many sponsors did you see on the side of cars last year that did not return this year? With Gm's big announcment yesterday, I know of 2 central Indiana factories that will be closed by the end of the year.

Re: USAC? Rain Dates?
 

I think we have a winner there:headbang I suppose if Greg can forecast weather there a year in advance he would have put together a perfect schedule. Last year there were very few rainouts. The year before I think Bloomington lost 9 of their 1st 12 races. Finding fault about scheduling due to the weather is about as effective as pissin in the wind:kookoo

Re: USAC? Rain Dates?
 

So lets see:

We've had a rainy season this year but not last year.

We have an undetermined (if any) amount sponsors missing from an undetermined (if any) amout of cars.

We have GM plants closing over the next few years.


This somehow is all tied in to the USAC Sprint 2008 Eastern swing. Huh? Please help me understand.:kookoo

Re: USAC? Rain Dates?
 

Maybe usac needs to try a little harder,but they will inprove...just gotta give them time...:checkered:

Re: USAC? Rain Dates?
 

As long as you think so, that's all that matters.:O:

Re: USAC? Rain Dates?
 

:O:

Re: USAC? Rain Dates?
 

real simple, this all started about teams out in p.a. with there 2nd straight rain out. maybe 3rd tonight, (can't check the sched. sight is down). Yes i agree not every year there is rain. The first point I tried to make was that it is much easier to reschedule a race in Indiana than in PA. Thats why I suggested a different time of year for this swing. Ya i think usac needs to be in PA because open wheel raceing is very popular there. When desiel fuel jumped to $3 a gal, it was a strain, now its $5. Pretty simple to figure in that extra cost there. I hear several respected owners talk about how tight there bugets are this season. Usac did a very good thing putting these races together and not tring to make several trips out there. My example on the Gm Announcment, was to show how the econmey is takeing 1 more step backwards. I guess my veiw on the financials of raceing are scewed. I will shut up now since i have no clue what i am talking about

Re: USAC? Rain Dates?
 

So in conclusion, #1 Brad Kuhn fan knows what he or she is talking about and 767 does not know what he or she is talking about.:rolling

Re: USAC? Rain Dates?
 

Come on people, why are we attacking this guy??? All he (767) did was suggest that maybe a drier time of the racing season would be a better window for a trip like this. If I remember correctly, the last time USAC ran at Williams Grove it was in September of 1996. So obviously there is precedent for a swing that time of year. It's not rocket science that late spring/early summer is a wetter period than late summer/early fall.

Yet again, we stoop to sarcasm and belittling here. Sad.

Re: USAC? Rain Dates?
 

Let me be the first to welcome you aboard.

Re: USAC? Rain Dates?
 

:rolleyes:

Yes it would be nice if we had rain dates..... but we do not know how easy that is to do in PA. That's for USAC and the promoters to figure out.