Originally Posted by MRmcgillicutty:
Adopt a new format where heat races actually mean something. Invert 16, Top two in each heat go to a dash. Something similar to the Outlaw deal. Dashes are far more exciting then last chance races.
We also need to package the shows within a 3 hour time frame. No race should end after 10. When I grew up in California going to the pits after the races and hanging around the drivers meant everything. Here(Indiana) we race load up and head to the car wash while street shitters are running. If the feature ended at 9:30 and u said stay till 10 and talk to fans i'd say no problem. Leaving a track at midnight during sprintweek sucks for the racers and the fans.
The beauty of USAC racing is that the heat races are solid anyway. Outlaw heat races are still usually bad, even with the dash format. If they would just make guys transfer through the heats to make the feature invert, things would be much better. With a car count like we had in PA, you can do the same thing - heat invert was 6 or 7, and the top four would get to start in the first three rows. Unfortunately, dashes often lead to less exciting feature races.
Ya know, they pleaded with the teams to stay after Grandview and especially Big Diamond. I heard Klepper tell the fans repeatedly to heat to the pits and meet the drivers, teams, and cars. That race was over EARLY, and there was only one quick support feature to run. There wasn't a race the next day. And by the time the fans got in there, there were about 3 cars still outside the trailers. It seems like you guys always try to set a track record on loading up. And the funny part is - you could dang near cover travel costs to Pennsylvania just on t-shirt sales if you'd just stick around a little while. The PBR fines bull-riders who don't stay for 15 minutes after the event to sign autographs. Pretty simple...
I don't envy the teams, especially those who run multiple divisions. But it seems like no one is willing to do their part. I surely wouldn't be such a die-hard fan if not for guys going the extra mile and giving me a face and a personality to go with the cars on the track. I have found with all the people I've brought to races - they don't want to watch cars go around the track - they want to watch people they've met and can identify in cars wrenched by people they've met and can identify. Thank goodness for guys like Robbie Stanley, Tony Elliott, and Jack Hewitt being around when I was younger to get me hooked on sprint car racing and sprint car drivers...