At the risk of looking really, really stupid, can anyone point me in the direction of a timetable for Richmond? :kookoo Looking for what time gates open, what time sprints practice, qualify, etc. Cannot locate any info in USAC site or RIR site. Normally, it can be found on the entry form on USAC's site, but since it's recent update, I can no longer find it. Don't think it's there anymore. I'm sure they'll have something for us when we get there, but that doesn't do the fans any good.

I found this on the RIR site: http://www.rir.com/news/track_news/546913.html

I was right. I feel really stupid.

Thanks.

Don't feel bad. I had to go back to the website twice before I found it:kookoo.

Don't you think that such information should be easier to access? Don't get me wrong, as a participant, I expect a certain amount of change to the schedule etc., but how do our fans know what time things get underway. According to ALKYMADNESS, there has been a lack of promotion for the event in the Richmond area, so how would anyone know without a lot of searching. Maybe for those who do have tickets, it's printed on the face. I don't know.

I heard that IndyCar sent some drivers ahead of time there to do PR work (press conference, newspapers, TV interviews, etc.). Maybe USAC could make an agreement with IndyCar to have some drivers tag along with them.

I haven't been to Richmond in three or four years. I went for the first time in the mid nineties before IRL when they ran USAC only. I saw back then little promotion and yet about 20,000 fans showed up. If they had only promoted more....who knows. I recall thoughts of them trying to make Richmond the "Copper Classic of the East". Hmmm...

I say let's give the new USAC regime a chance to make some things happen. They have a great product, they just need to sell it, sell it, sell it.

My fingers are crossed:thumb

The race that was held back in the 90's (probably the Silver Crown event that Jimmy Sills won along with the midgets) was promoted thru out the area.

I remember ads in the Greensboro and Raleigh newspapers as well as local racing papers and magazines. I believe they also had radio ads on the Roanoke area rock stations.

There was a great car count for both the SC and midgets (I believe the midget event was won by Kenny Irwin over his team mate, Tony Stewart).

However, I later read where Richmond felt they did not get the fan turn out they expected for the advertising budget spent and decided against any future open wheel races (until IRL came along). I think they actually said the crowd was ~12,000 people and that doesn't look like much in a stadium that held about 70,000.
You've got to remember that this was in the hey day growth period for NASCAR when they couldn't get enough seats. Anything that didn't pack the stands like NASCAR was deemed a failure.

There were a lot of tix given away in Richmond area promotions to NASCAR fans who did not care for the USAC style. These are the people that the track listened to.

Even when IRL first started at RIR, the Friday support race was the NASCAR modifieds. Those shows were very successful and drew a lot of fans from the Northeast. I was surprised when they changed over to USAC, but I believe Tony and the IRL had something to do with that.

Since the 90's, the Sawyer family sold RIR to ISC. The Sawyers then bought the old Saluda dirt track (about 45miles east of Richmond) and converted it to the state-of-the-art Virginia Motor Speedway. This is where USAC needs to race at. This is the family that knew how to promote USAC in the 90's and drew 12,000. That would be a major sell-out at VMS. And VMS has a great clay surface and puts on the best racing in VA/NC. The facility is just as good as Lowes and you can actually race there. Last year, the Sawyers introduced a 305w class to try and help grow sprint car racing in the area. They had a great turn out for the Outlaws a few weeks ago. The track is big and wide. Silver Crown would have no trouble running there.

I was at RIR for USAC in '95 & '96. Sills won one year and Hewitt won the other in SC. I don't recall the midget winners, so you may be right. I do recall Tracy Hines midget (owned by Corky Wheeler?) backed into the wall and it burned to the ground because the RIR fire crew didn't know what to do with methanol. Tracy got some minor burns. He borrowed Chuck Leary's midget and won the following week at Winchester, his first national midget victory IIRC.

I am pretty sure that one of those years I remember hearing over the PA that they announced the attendance at 20,000.

I guess the Sawyer family was pretty impatient, giving up after only two years of trying. That kind of success doesn't happen instantly.

The Hines midget fire was the year that Sills won Silver Crown. That was a scary deal coming out of turn2.

As far as the Sawyer's, I can't fault them. Remember, a lot of those tix were freebies in the area. And, now I remember that the promotion was thru Skoal.

I do remember that they lost money and were not willing to keep trying without a corporate sponsor. Remember, that's the fairground and you have to get everything okayed by the fair board and you have to bring so much profit to their plate every tiime you run a race there. And pay fairground staff for parking, clean-up, etc. It wasn't a privately owned/operated deal. Strings attached.

That's why I heavily support/promote the Sawyer's latest venture, VMS. They do it right there.

Side story: a few weeks ago, I went to VMS for a MACS dirt late model show. Weather looked borderline, but the forecast was for showers to move in around 11-12. So, I made the trip. Got their in time to buy my $22 ticket (after using the $3 coupon I downloaded from their website) to see the end of time trials. The first two heats ran and then here come the ugly swirling storm clouds. BAM. The storm was bad and they had everyone get out of the stands and take shelter underneath. They planned on finishing the show. Then it got worse. Probably had 2-3 inches of rain in 30minutes. Track was a loss and lightning hit a power pole and killed all but the emergency generator lights.

Then they made the announcement that the show was cancelled. I figured I was out $22 because I wouldn't be able to make it back for the rain date/check. Instead, Sawyer gave everyone the MONEY BACK!!! I was amazed. How many promoters give money back after the racing has already started?

Again, Sawyer's are nothing but first class. Best dirt track in the mid-Atlantic area.