Well said, Chaz. Well said.

Racers are some of the most optimistic people I have met. Everyone goes to the track thinking that tonight is the night that they win. Nobody thinks that they can be hurt at the track. Finally, everyone thinks that they will figure out some magic formula for making money at the track. Sometimes the facts will only confuse them.

LOL same way never meet a person that lost money at the casinos.

If the track is more weekly / not just a one time deal, the racers would need to be convinced that they won't loose as large amounts of money to keep coming back.

I know one thing your wrong about your statement is, that he didn't buy Mansfield, he's just promoting it. Just giving my $.2 in.

The difference is chili bowl is a 30+ year old tried and true huge event. Everyone heading for Tulsa with a racecar knows exactly what they stand to win and/or lose before they ever send in an entry.

The deal at St. Louis was alleged by some credible car owners to have been kept under wraps until everyone was on premises and in place with the racing in progress.

Just a bit of a different situation.

That is true and not necessarily what I meant by being a joke.

I honestly have no idea, What it cost to rent the facility, build the track, stands etc and staff Chili Bowl but you got 15k people paying a average of 180 for tickets. Every hauler pays a significant pit rental. I did see the vendor price and that was a thousand for a ten by ten and three thousand for a ten by thirty..

The event has at least two major sponsors in General Tire and Lucas Oil.

You would think this would be 50k to win easy.

The St. Louis thing. I would think most wanted to be part of something that could be a hit and by all accounts was. Track had some potholes but I chalk that up to being sifted dirt and not clay.

One thing with Mansfield and at least having a sanctioning body. The teams will get paid as advertised.

Fair enough. I understand what you're saying, as well. However, chili bowl has evolved into an event that transcends all economic logic. St. Louis is light years away from that status.

As far as the St. Louis deal being a hit, Friday night got relatively favorable reviews from Dirt on Dirt. The recent negative vibes emanating from a significant portion of the late model community are beginning to overshadow even the positive D on D reviews.

I don't keep up with the LM community. Really haven't since the late 80s. Yet I think it would be unwise to dismiss the event. It could easily be LM's and Mod's Chili Bowl. What do they want, A hundred dollar tow money? From the Fan View I've seen from those that went, The lower bowl of the stadium was getting close to being filled (And that's all they rented) as adding more levels would have required much more staffing..

Like you said, No where close to 30 years and a must attend event. But it could be and in the future, It could be huge for both teams and fans.

There are less than a handful of teams at almost all races (A few exceptions) That come out ahead or break even. I guess the question is, How much can you afford to lose?

I've got a friend running the Chili Bowl this y Costing a fortune to do it, and he's got a lot of help. Yet he's doing it, BECAUSE HE WANTS TOO! And to that, I say, GO FOR IT!
Check out Joshua Shaw's vintage racing page on FB. Sharp looking ride

Didn't he know the payoff going in?