buck2 (Offline)
#22
9/3/08 9:17 PM
My recollection is the top 15 teams in points were the only ones who were allowed to vote on whether or not to race. The other 30-plus teams in attendance could not participate in the decision making process. No one from the track or promoter's staff attended the meeting to give their side of the issue.
The USAC official conducting the meeting was not in favor of racing and influenced the vote greatly.
Beer Goggles (Offline)
#25
9/4/08 12:11 AM
Good on ya Tony. If I were in your shoes,I would definitely do the same as you.
It is inconcievable that USAC held a meeting and vote at Union County without the promoter present. Tony put months of planning, promotion, and hard earned up-front dollars into this night of racing, and had it unravel in a matter of minutes before a large crowd of paying customers. It is easy to criticise him for his comments on the P.A., but he had to be steaming insde. I know I would be if it was my money at stake.
Has the responsible on-site USAC Rep. been reprimanded and docked financially for his actions at Union County? If he has'nt by now, the loss of future earnings to USAC by Tonys cancellations should put him on the sh** list for sure.
Tom
YFBAR
service manager (Offline)
#27
9/4/08 9:20 AM
:checkered::checkered:This is the best news I have heard all week USUCK out of FT.Wayne!!! Hopefully other tracks will follow suit and do the same thing! They treat people like s..t and act like they are better than everyone else! Glad to see Tony step up here and tell them to kiss it! Wish you the best Tony and you have made the right choice thats for sure!!
LEADERS EDGE (Offline)
#28
9/4/08 10:27 AM
If 14 cars ran and only 15 cars where asked what they wanted to do, then why did
the other 19 cars leave? Especially since the purse was the same. Either USAC has a lot of sway or the teams had concerns themselves.
I have alot of respect for what Tony does. That is a huge gamble what he does. That said, he is trying to make a profit. He put himself in that position in U.C.
To me, the U.C. deal ultimately falls on USAC for not putting a final stamp on the show before the event. They should have followed up on the concerns they had. Although,Tony does bear a large brunt of the burden of blame as well. He should have stayed on them and made sure that there wasn't going to be a hitch. He knew all of the concerns. Trying to fix them on the day of the event probably isn't the best situation.
I didn't hear the name calling as the teams where leaving, so I can't comment. If that did happen, that was pretty harsh. If a driver doesn't feel comfortable competing at a certain event, then they shouldn't. How many stories have we heard that started out:"He wasn't real comfortable that day" or something of the like.
I think it is smart for Tony not to have USAC sanction for his events and adding to the payout always is a good deal. I personally think it isn't good for USAC to have their name on something that doesn't count toward a points championship.
Best of luck to all involved and I wish Tony a successful series and many successful promotions in the future.
DonMoore10 (Offline)
#29
9/4/08 11:08 AM
I think the Union County Saga is going to go down as something that will be talked about for years. It's kind of like a "whodoneit" tale.
As for the 15 cars leaving, as a car owner present as things were going down, I had no idea what was happening. Actually I assumed that the show was over when I saw all the big haulers leaving. That probably accounted for the 15 cars that didn't stay. They saw everybody else leave , so they left. It wasn't till I saw midgets lining up to go out on the track that I really knew that we were going to race.
This has been beat to death, but USAC had plenty of time to pull the plug before one spectator or owner paid a dime. The rest that happened was reactionary.
I never heard any names mentioned on the PA. There isn't a person on earth that hasn't said some uncomplimentary things when their back was against the wall.
Pat O'Connor Fan (Offline)
#30
9/4/08 1:26 PM
:idea: Could the Union County Speedway fiasco be due to kharma (or karma, if you prefer)?
Unfinished work rumored to have previously involved Greg Staab, which (after USAC let him go) turned to s--t :confused: