Jaws
10-14-2007, 12:50 PM
I found an old program from Islip. It was from the season the Cromarty's took over.
They should read that article as it talks about how the place had some down years but under their ownership the track was "back".
At Riverhead , after years of opening the gates and having the crowds and cars fill the place are over. They did a little better front gate wise this year , but I believe it was sheer luck. Plus car counts are way down except he tracks and Blunderbusts.
If they are serious about keeping the place open and making it a place to be they need to make some changes and get some cars and people back.
This is a tough sport/business to make money in this day and age but if everyone keeps doing this the way we woill not have a track to go to.
Here are my thoughts.
For the racers.
#1 Tires. The situation was an expensive mess! Ordering tires ahead of time to race? I have never heard of such thing!
#2 Tires: Riverhead sells the most expensive ties for a short track anywhere. The cost needs to come down starting with race 1 in 2008. Less funded teams will never come back if they can not afford to race.
If the track wants cars to come back (There are at least a dozen cars for every class just sitting, the longer they sit the less likely they will ever come back) they need to cut costs to race.
#3 Officials: The perception whether real or not needs to go away. How to do that I don't know. State clearly the rules and stick to them is the best way.
It is a very tough job to do what those guys do and I would not want their job for all the money in the world.
#4 Fights: There are too many by crew members, drivers and others fighting on the track and in the pits. If members of your team want to fight join the WWE!! More security and penalties for fighting. $$ fines, suspension's or starting cars in the back as a penalty. Crew members that fight will be suspended or banned from the pits. It has to stop.
You want to prove you are better do it by winning races or finishing in front of the guy you are mad at. Thats how Charlie J. Richie Evans and others did it. Did guys fight in those days, for sure but they fought one on one , driver to driver, man to man, not entire crews, plus when it was over it was over and it didn't go on week after week.
#5 How about a shorter show for the teams too. They start warm ups early in the afternoon and race til 11:00PM some nights (although with the shorter car counts that is not as big a deal because early in the season they were done by 9:00 some nights) Less warm ups (2 or 3 per class per night no more) and more show.
If a class has less than 18 cars never run heats add 10 laps to the featues, a heat crash on a night were there ae 17 cars can ruin your night.
For the fans
#1 Cost: Its too exspensive to go week after week if you have a famiily. Discount coupons, season passes with reduced costs, pack the track nights at $8.00 or $10.00 to get in. Cheaper food and drink, plus better food too. Riverhead has some of the worst track food anywhere(Soory I have tested food at almost 100 tracks and its true)
#2 Shorter nights that move along quickly. I have kids and they are asleep before the show is over almost any time I went.
#3 Entertainment for the kids; A playground somewhere behind 1 and 2 where the kids can play and parents can watch the races. All they have now is a dirt pit. Pave it and add some a place the kids can climb and play.
#4 A real picnic area where you can sit, eat and watch the races, those beat up picnic tables in 2 are not enough and not close enough to any food or drink stand.
#5 Sprucing up the place: I come home cleaner from a dirt track then I do from Riverhead. Repave the walk ways, better concesssions and bathrooms, better lights. New fans will never come back only hard core fans when they visit the track and come home covered in dirt.
#6: More and better security: speaks for itself.
# 7 Bring back the legends: THey have lots of cars and always put on a good show, plus Riverhead is perfect size for the cars.
Forget about having a new track built in Calverton for now.. Even if they do go ahead with that I not noticed any mention of weelky stock car racing, have you?
Plus what year would that ever be done?
They should read that article as it talks about how the place had some down years but under their ownership the track was "back".
At Riverhead , after years of opening the gates and having the crowds and cars fill the place are over. They did a little better front gate wise this year , but I believe it was sheer luck. Plus car counts are way down except he tracks and Blunderbusts.
If they are serious about keeping the place open and making it a place to be they need to make some changes and get some cars and people back.
This is a tough sport/business to make money in this day and age but if everyone keeps doing this the way we woill not have a track to go to.
Here are my thoughts.
For the racers.
#1 Tires. The situation was an expensive mess! Ordering tires ahead of time to race? I have never heard of such thing!
#2 Tires: Riverhead sells the most expensive ties for a short track anywhere. The cost needs to come down starting with race 1 in 2008. Less funded teams will never come back if they can not afford to race.
If the track wants cars to come back (There are at least a dozen cars for every class just sitting, the longer they sit the less likely they will ever come back) they need to cut costs to race.
#3 Officials: The perception whether real or not needs to go away. How to do that I don't know. State clearly the rules and stick to them is the best way.
It is a very tough job to do what those guys do and I would not want their job for all the money in the world.
#4 Fights: There are too many by crew members, drivers and others fighting on the track and in the pits. If members of your team want to fight join the WWE!! More security and penalties for fighting. $$ fines, suspension's or starting cars in the back as a penalty. Crew members that fight will be suspended or banned from the pits. It has to stop.
You want to prove you are better do it by winning races or finishing in front of the guy you are mad at. Thats how Charlie J. Richie Evans and others did it. Did guys fight in those days, for sure but they fought one on one , driver to driver, man to man, not entire crews, plus when it was over it was over and it didn't go on week after week.
#5 How about a shorter show for the teams too. They start warm ups early in the afternoon and race til 11:00PM some nights (although with the shorter car counts that is not as big a deal because early in the season they were done by 9:00 some nights) Less warm ups (2 or 3 per class per night no more) and more show.
If a class has less than 18 cars never run heats add 10 laps to the featues, a heat crash on a night were there ae 17 cars can ruin your night.
For the fans
#1 Cost: Its too exspensive to go week after week if you have a famiily. Discount coupons, season passes with reduced costs, pack the track nights at $8.00 or $10.00 to get in. Cheaper food and drink, plus better food too. Riverhead has some of the worst track food anywhere(Soory I have tested food at almost 100 tracks and its true)
#2 Shorter nights that move along quickly. I have kids and they are asleep before the show is over almost any time I went.
#3 Entertainment for the kids; A playground somewhere behind 1 and 2 where the kids can play and parents can watch the races. All they have now is a dirt pit. Pave it and add some a place the kids can climb and play.
#4 A real picnic area where you can sit, eat and watch the races, those beat up picnic tables in 2 are not enough and not close enough to any food or drink stand.
#5 Sprucing up the place: I come home cleaner from a dirt track then I do from Riverhead. Repave the walk ways, better concesssions and bathrooms, better lights. New fans will never come back only hard core fans when they visit the track and come home covered in dirt.
#6: More and better security: speaks for itself.
# 7 Bring back the legends: THey have lots of cars and always put on a good show, plus Riverhead is perfect size for the cars.
Forget about having a new track built in Calverton for now.. Even if they do go ahead with that I not noticed any mention of weelky stock car racing, have you?
Plus what year would that ever be done?