Originally Posted by streetglider:
Mud Packer- that is exactly my point !!! The names you mentioned are not showing up on a consistant basis Dont forget Nunter Sherinberg Dickie Gaines or even an occasional Critter Malone!!! The point i am trying to make is that gas city and Lburg are drawing these guys week in and week out and Kokomo is NOT and i cant figure out why!! With sprint week coming up & most people off work today i thought there would be a few more outsiders there this week
I think that you will find that the reason for lower car counts not only here but at other tracks as well is caused by numerous issues. I will stick with Kokomo for now since you brought this track up.
1)First of all the economy certainly isn't helping. I think that this is the number one factor in the whole deal. Many teams can't afford to race three nights per weekend. If they have to choose, probably Friday night and Saturday night win out. If you can only go to two nights of racing, what two nights would you choose and why? Numerous tracks to pick from and having Saturday and Sunday off to work on the race cars probably helps out as well.
2)Sunday is a tough night to race if you are traveling any distance at all. If you need to be at work on Monday morning, it makes it difficult to drive 2-3 hours to the track to race. I thank people like Kurt Gross, Chris Gurley, Kent Christian and Lee Hobbs, and others that I am probably forgetting, for coming up to Kokomo to race on Sunday night. I also thank the O'Connor's for moving the show along and getting us out at a decent hour. I have been going to Kokomo for a long time, and I remember the horrors of many years past.
3)The O'Connor family has made Kokomo a great track. With that being said, the track surface is good week in and week out. It makes for a fast track and that can be a factor as well. Equipment can get torn up and many teams don't have full time crews to repair the cars. Next Friday and Saturday comes around pretty quickly if you are working evenings trying to get a car ready to go just with normal maintenance. Kokomo also has a wall around it that other tracks don't. Paragon, Bloomington, Gas City and Lincoln Park don't have that concrete wall around that can also grab a race car and cause damage.
4)I am sure that family time plays into this as well. Many still consider Sunday the time to spend with family and friends. We all need a day off and racers are no different. Many enjoy racing but not all family members have been strickened with the racing bug. Not everyone considers racing as the ONLY thing to do. Racers also enjoy other activities and plan accordingly. Sunday I think is that day that that happens.
5)Yesterday they also had competition from the USAC midget show at Angel Park. That took some of the drivers that I mentioned that have been there at other times this year. There are other races that draw teams away so it isn't always a given that we will see 25-30 sprint cars each week. It doesn't matter how many but who shows up. Quality not quantity is what matters.
Lastly, I am concerned with a statement that you make. You said that "the best race of the night was the hobby stock feature & that is a bad day at Kokomo Speedway!!!" Not every sprint car race is a classic but can you explain to me exactly what is bad with the "hobby stock" feature or any other feature for that matter being the best? I enjoy all types of racing and believe me many times I have seen the sprint car feature not be as competitive as one of the other classes. Someone once said that "beauty is in the eye of the beholder". Enjoy it all.