2009 North South Shootout

[ben's club]

http://www.asasoutheast.com/09_stori...son_ended.html
Read the full press release at that link. They are on tv all during the year. So get your tickets early.

[MOD11RACER]

You have got to be kidding me. Why would you take a great Modified show and add a full fendered follow the leader 125 lap race ???? It is bad enough that we have to sit through the Crash and Burn SK race. Real Modified fans suffer enough throughout the year watching these crash and burn races.

Enough Already.

C&C should take the purse that they are going to pay the ASA tour and give it to the Modifieds (pay $25,000 to win) and make this show the premier Modified race in the country. Why add this garbage to this great event ?

[moddog]

The ASA Southeast Late models have one of the best "fendered" series going. They will also partner with the ASA Southern Modifieds for two events at Hickory Motor Speedway and possibly other events as schedules are confirmed.

The excitement of the old days, (remember the Martinsville double-headers) may be just what the doctor ordered.

[Eddie]

I am going to agree with Mod Racer,I have not missed a Shootout since it started,but I'm thinking about not going this year.

[Brian Hawks]

I don't mind the SK's.

But the North South Shootout is for modifieds.

Bad Idea.

[moddog]

I can not speak directly for Charles and Chad Kepley and I am not by any means the "know all" but I can offer a little food for thought.

Most of the people here are die hard modified people and their love and passion is for the division. Mine as well. But there comes a time when we all need to accept the fact that, especially in the South, our strength in numbers is dwindling. We need to do anything we can to expose more and more fans to this thing we all love. MODIFIED RACING. It's a hard sell. I can tell you that from both sides of the fence.

I'm pretty sure Charles and Chad are not doing away with your first love. They are however stepping up to the plate financially (the "Shootout" is a huge undertaking) to try to expose more fans to the Mods by bringing in another premier event as "added value" to the traditional "North-South Shootout". As I mentioned before, the old Martinsville and Hickory double-headers went a long way in providing great racing for everyone and until someone decided the modifieds belonged only in the northeast (except for BGS) everyone got to see their favorite type of racing at great events. Before you guys "throw the baby out with the bathwater", I think we all need to give this thing a chance. The mods have been kept hidden down here for too long. Lets give them a chance to shine for some new faces. You never know where this will lead.

[art11758]

Well said moddog.

[W. J.]

Gee, if there is an event at a show I don't particularly care to see, rather than miss what I want to see, I use that time to visit the concessions, or 'visit' with friends who feel the same way. Missing it all just because of one event or class seems almost suicidal.

Look at it this way: If the show is a success because of the added division, it can only be good for all of us racing fans. What's wrong with that?

The few who object so strongly and stay home will be appreciated by the new fans, if only because it will be easy to find a good seat!!!

[kja819]

I have to agree with WJ. Has any one here seen the ASA Tour races, maybe they put on a great show. I love the Mods, but since I moved to NC I have to watch the Late Models if I go to a weekly show. I went to the Bailey's 200 race at South Boston last year and that was a great race. Tha ASA race from what I hear is also on TV, Maybe, just maybe they'll put the Mods on TV so we can all see it if we can't make it to the show. Never say never.

[burtmyers1]

Ive seen few of these races on TV. They are better then your average late model race but its not the greatest racing Ive seen either. Not that it that big a difference but these are Super Late Models not the normal over hyped weekly crap that run every where. I was at the PASS Mason Dixon Meltdown several years ago when the Mods were paired with SLMs. The race wasn't that bad it was just WAY too long. Both them and Mods were actually(2 250 green flag only lap races is ridiculous in 30 degree weather)! This race according to the ASA SAT website will be on tv so hopefully maybe we just might be on tv as well. The problem with the tv is that these races aren't on SPEED or some thing most people have. Its on a network called America One which I have never heard and only seen in a Buffalo Wild Wings.


I dont know if they replaced the Super Modifieds with Super Later Models but after the poor turnout, it's probably not a bad idea since with it being a series you've got a real good chance of atleast 30 cars instead if 10 or 12.

[moddog]

America One is the primary but the series averaged 84 re-plays of each event in 2008. Fox Sports South, Mid-Atlantic Sports Network and several other solid networks aired the events. As with any of the networks, you need to dig around a little.

[smitty240]

Well, I've been to every NSS except for the first one. I've enjoyed each and every trip, usually each better than the one before. This past year was an unfortunate break in the chain since there was some dissention in the Super ranks due to sanctioning body conflicts from what I was able to find out.

Unfortunate for the fans and some teams, but it was still an all open wheel show. I commented on a couple of occasions to fellow fans after the poor super show this past year that a viable alternative might be the USAC midgets or even the Silver Crown series to augment the Tour and SK mods.

Now, we find that the taxi cabs will be part of the show. I always enjoyed the double headers at Dover the first couple of years the track opened, but that was All Star mods and the NASCAR Sportsman division. They weren't a true full bodied car, but probably is what eventually evolved into the Busch series after the Grand National division became the Cup series. Not the same for the fans with the full bodied cars.

The upshot of all this rambling is that I probably won't be as apt to spend the bucks for the NSS, especially if the economy remains in the tank and fuel/energy costs increase to the level of last year. I just don't think that the entertainment value will be there for the die hard mod fan. It will be diluted to some extent for those fans.

For the northern fans, it might be the choice between Bristol and NSS. Martinsville is such a wild card with each year being a different format from the previous year that it's hard for that race to build a following. I still think Friday night qualifying and Saturday night racing was great at that venue. One other thing about Martinsville, bring the consi back for Friday night and shorten the feature to 200 laps at most.

As an aside, I just spent part of this afternoon entering the SMT and WSMT schedules into the computer calendar in order to establish a plan for attending races. Randy, my hat's off to you! It's very evident that you put a lot of time and effort into getting a quality schedule in place.

Now, get FCS to pick up another date so I can spend one more night in my own bed at home after seeing the races and that would be great. Now all I need is to get my schedule at work back to Mon.-Thur. and I'll be set.

[moddog]

Thanks Smitty,

Hopefully we can at least add that second FCS date next year.

[BigMac]

I think its kind of silly not to go to an event because they added one late model feature. They need to put people in the seats. If adding the event will draw more people and help grow the event, I'm all for it. Like WJ said, go grab a burger and a beer if you don't want to watch. Thats like saying you won't go to NHMS because they added a 50 lap ACT event. I guess I don't understand that logic.

Like it or not, the modifieds are not a stand alone division (ask Martinsville). They need to run on Cup weekends or run with the late models when in late model country. I'm sure there will be a modified driver or two (TC?) who will eventually enter the race and spice up fans interest. They wouldn't have added another division if they were selling out. If your not selling out, you make changes until you do sell out. Thats what a good promoter does. The N/S Shootout has given us a great end of the season event. I think they deserve our support here.

[corey17]

I think its kind of silly not to go to an event because they added one late model feature. They need to put people in the seats. If adding the event will draw more people and help grow the event, I'm all for it. Like WJ said, go grab a burger and a beer if you don't want to watch. Thats like saying you won't go to NHMS because they added a 50 lap ACT event. I guess I don't understand that logic.

Like it or not, the modifieds are not a stand alone division (ask Martinsville). They need to run on Cup weekends or run with the late models when in late model country. I'm sure there will be a modified driver or two (TC?) who will eventually enter the race and spice up fans interest. They wouldn't have added another division if they were selling out. If your not selling out, you make changes until you do sell out. Thats what a good promoter does. The N/S Shootout has given us a great end of the season event. I think they deserve our support here.

Very well said. Personally, anybody that wouldn't attend an event that they have been attending just because they added a different type of car, isn't much of a race fan to me. The ASA supers put on one heck of a show, it will be exciting, and it will add something different to spice up the day. I thank Charles and his staff for adding more quality racing to an already stellar event. If you don't attend just because some "fendered" cars will be running, don't worry, there will be some ASA Southeast Series fans who will take your spot, and they will come away modified fans to boot. I would watch midgets in go-carts if it was competitive, i'm a RACE fan.