The downward trend of this track and the support of race fans and teams started long before Mel took over. The only fans left are the diehard sprint fans that only go to see sprints and midgets each week. While that is a crowd you need, there are so many open wheel options in Indiana on any given weekend that you can't rely on that group alone to keep your gates open. Fans are naturally going to stop coming when you've ran the exact same show for 6+ years. Sprints, mods, and a handful of stocks every Friday night. Nothing different to generate interest from fans of anything else, or to give the fans that had been going every week something different to see. The peak years of this track saw a variety of different events throughout the year, and a tremendous effort by Jiggs Thomason and his staff to get new fans to the track every single week. When that changed around 2006 or 2007, things started to move in the wrong direction. It is truly a shame because it is a great facility, and there are some wonderful people that have worked and raced there. Hopefully someone with the financial means necessary can step in, learn from what has led to the decline of the track, and help get back to what made it successful to save the place.