Just having a sheet with drivers names and numbers on it would be helpful. It was standard procedure to do this 50 years ago but now it's too much trouble. I don't get it. Charge 50 cents per sheet or a buck so the fans know who is on the track whether they can hear the announcer or not.
I agree with the line up sheet. With today's technology it wouldn't be difficult to do. If the track wants to give them away for free, that would be great. If they feel the need to charge a small fee, that would work also. Just make them available !!!!
I have heard announcers who don't have a clue about what they are even talking about, such as guy had Jon Stanbrough from 5 different cities in one night. Another night called his fellow announcer by wrong name twice in one night and they have worked togather 5 6 years. He goes to the pits and writes down drivers and cars I think but maybe not cuz he still gets wrong drivers in wrong cars. He also rambles on and on , be great if he rested his voice just for 5 minutes
Gotta make it cheaper to bring kids. Charging an 11 or 12 child 25 bucks to get in is crazy. I'm not saying it needs to be free but 5-10 bucks is more than fair.
How about an APP like Race Monitor but track specific, put the line ups, driver and car info on that.
I know everyone does not have a smart phone but many do.
As to the line up sheets, if you charged .25 you would be making $ after the cost of the printer is realized.
I use twitter while at the track to get line ups or who is driving what. Drivers like ballou,Shuman and Bacons wife give me info then an announcer. When it comes to saving seats yes this has got out of control IMO. To many blankets down but no butts in them!!
Baylands out in California used to sell a program each week, for a buck or two, that had pictures of the drivers and cars that were there on a somewhat regular basis or were likely to show up. It probably had 40 drivers or so shown in it. It made it really easy to identify the cars if you had not been there before. It also had adds for the track sponsors, a page for autographs and some pretty cool pictures of race action. There was also a loose page for writing down qualification times and if I remember correctly, the sheet also gave a run down of the night's format. I might still have one somewhere. It would be pretty easy for a track to do these for not a lot of money.
Seat saving should be done away with. Some put down big coolers and you can't even get in the rows..or out for that matter. I saw people had blankets to save seats infront and behind them so no one would sit there...like a buffer zone...good grief. It is a safety hazard, especially at some of these tracks that have 8 inch wide vintage board bleachers. You have to be half monkey to get in or out of your seats.
Terre Haute has real rest rooms and people appreciate it, I don't think a track should be able to serve food or drink if the rest rooms are not functional, lack supplies or close to being clean. With tracks charging $25 a head to get in some improvements should be possible.
Race announcing is a lost art. We get tired of hearing faked excitement and screaming and probably 95% of the crowd could care less of endlessly hearing what Chassis, shocks, motor, tires and goofy nickname chanted in a 3 second blurb, every time a drivers name is mentioned. Seems the announcing is always good at DuQuoin.
It is hard go get folks we invite to make a second trip mainly due to dusty tracks.
Someone needs to hold a seminar and invite the Knoxville track prep crew to do a class.
With the admission price being 20-25 dollars customer service needs to be much improved, along with driver pay, but thats another topic.
The announcer can make or break the events for the evening. I can't stand going to a new track and not knowing who is in what car and when the announcer fails to inform the fans who is who it sucks. Saving seats has to change, people now a days have no respect for other fans and it's driving off fans who aren't diehards. Restrooms need to be clean and functional. I don't mind porta johns but if you are gonna have them make sure they are clean and stocked. Concessions also need to be affordable and have what is on your menu. Tracks also need to be kid friendly if kids like the experience they will bug their parents to come back. Lastly promoters and track personnel need to use the time wisely younger people's attention span isn't very long and if they lose interest for even a short period of time the probably won't be back. Most tracks I have attended do a pretty good job with most all of the things I mentioned.
