I have no beef in this at all..but i believe a certain amount of money has to be made each week for the track to operate..There is so much extra stuff to do anymore and running a race track is not the greatest especially with the economy the way it is..I for one do not want to see Gas City close..its in my back yard..I stand behind Mel 100% because if it wasnt for him gas city would not have opened this year..Its his first year running the track..hopefully the drivers can reach out to him or Jack and explain their sides..idk..
Originally Posted by johnnythunderhead:
I would suggest allowing tee shirt sales on premise with an agreement that the track gets 10 - 15% of the proceeds (fair to all)
Your not talking about thousands of dollars here. A couple hundred dollars in sales is a good night and about half of that is profit. Only reason I brought up the napcar thing was to try and explain the fun and even excitement they create with all the trailers and booths, it gives fans some extra things to do while at the track. After all it's an entertainment business and anything you can do to keep fans busy and interested helps in the long run. One other thing, you don't tell some one for weeks that your going to allow sales and even allow it 1 week then just change your mine and stop without any concern for what your action has caused. He made a big deal about how he had raced and done several things and pointed out that he understood and wanted to help drivers, the first week , only to stop and hope everyone forgets what he said a week later. If a track has to charge a small fee to let drivers sell shirts then be up front with it. It's like everything else in racing where "the clowns have to pay to be the stars in the show".
r a k, there would need to be some trust involved between the promoter and the racer's selling the merch, either he trusts them or he doesn't and either they're upstanding people or they're not
Maybe it is just me, but if I want to buy a driver's shirt, I am going to buy a driver's shirt. If I want to buy the track's shirt, I am going to buy the track's shirt. It doesn't matter if the track refuses to let them set up in the stands, if I don't want to buy the track's merchandise then you're not going to entice me buy removing other options.
If the drivers were able to sell 10 shirts a night at $20 each then that is $200 in their pockets to help them come back next week and race. The promoter has already gotten the pit pass money from the driver and already gotten the general admission money from the fan. I think this promoter's decision is a little extreme. Why couldn't he charge them a percentage or something to make it a win win for both parties.
I've bought a lot of shirts from drivers and I've raced a lot, so I know the costs involved and how buying the shirts from the drivers can help with expenses. And if I know one thing, no drivers = no fans = no profits for promoter.
Just my opinion.