How competitive are you?

[art leong]

Originally Posted by Dick Butler

Randy, I agree 110%. I attended Match races in California, and Indiana when Super Stock cars were booked in to run Heads Up and the crowd LOVED IT.
Assuming Heads up racing would have kept the crowd,The more the organization bent the class structures to allow "yes we have a class for your -----" the less the racing occurs.
Yes for the guy who loves the challenge of a 4 cylinder, V-6, 4000 lb wagon it offers a place to "enter" and PAY the organization.The choice was made to chase the entry numbers and money and it divided out the racers to limited numbers per class. Hard to have Class everywhere when only 3 cars fit the class in the USA.
Had they encouraged racers to accept the limited classes instead , all 400 serious Class racers in the USA could have populated the limited class structure and made for higher numbers per event and the spectators could have seen "racing" in classes instead of featuring the Bye Runs Friday and Dial In Sunday. Even local tracks could have continued with Heads up more easily.
Could it be fixed? Are most too old to change? If it were offered with support of cash, sponsors, featured time at the events, Treatment like TOP Sportsman. Probably but a major combined effort and time would be needed.

Dick you are talking about the "Race on Sunday, Sell on Monday days"
People are not going to come out in big numbers to watch a couple of nearly 50 year old cars race. Even if they carry the wheels clear to the finish line. Look at the lack of success in nostalgia racing. And the flop of top stock.
And you talk about those days as "the good old days" I remember some totally bogus cars being built specificaly to take out certain cars in class, only to lose to avoid a teardown.
The little guy could not compete with the factory cars back then any more that the 1st gen camaros, hemis and max wedges can compete with the new cars.
I also remember some having one legal cylinder and 7 totally bogus ones

[Ed Wright]

I have also seen some of what Art mentioned.

Michael, I don't know who was announcing at Norwalk, nor do know how many college & pro sports teams they have there. If there is not a lot of other local entertainment you can draw more people that don't know much about racing.
The only time I have ever seen "The show starts at 6:00 pm" was the couple of IHRA national events held here at Tulsa. I never heard mentioned at an NHRA race "Time to go buy a hot dog and watch the pros work either." Every one I have been to the announcer said something like "Now it 's time for Comp Eliminatot" or "Here comes Stock Elimminator!, or "Here come the wheel standing Super Stock cars!" Great anoincers like Bob Unkefer and Bob Fry, all talk it up and explain what is happening. I can't speak for IHRA as I have not been in the stands watching. When people ask about brakes at the finish line or somebody losing for running too quick, and I explain it to them, most comment on how dumb it is the faster car lost, and how "that is not really racing." It's not that most don't understand the rules, they just don't like it. Many told me they think nine or ten second SS cars are too slow to sit and watch (wheel stands or not) after loud fuel cars twice that fast. They like watching fuel cars they had watched on TV. I was amazed first time I watched the stands empty, and saw and heard those kinds of comments from the people that didn't leave right away. I didn't mention this to Mike and his guys.

[randy wilson]

It's not coming back. Why, because we lost the crowd years ago. I remember being at Eddyville in, I think 79, and watching Tommy Johnson Sr. race the old Earl Earl's Show Me Shaker C\SM car, and have him visit with the crowd about how he was going to Indy to try to qualify for the nationals, and I'll bet 50 people went from there to Indy to watch their hometown hero try. We don't have that today. Why? Because they totally understand the rules. Because football, and basketball has rules, but each team does not have a pre-recorded dial of what they will score, and if going over costs them the win. Therefore, the crowd understands, and does not like. Sorry, but I can't get hardly anyone to go watch us dial in. Just the truth.

[Ed Wright]

Originally Posted by randy wilson

It's not coming back. Why, because we lost the crowd years ago. I remember being at Eddyville in, I think 79, and watching Tommy Johnson Sr. race the old Earl Earl's Show Me Shaker C\SM car, and have him visit with the crowd about how he was going to Indy to try to qualify for the nationals, and I'll bet 50 people went from there to Indy to watch their hometown hero try. We don't have that today. Why? Because they totally understand the rules. Because football, and basketball has rules, but each team does not have a pre-recorded dial of what they will score, and if going over costs them the win. Therefore, the crowd understands, and does not like. Sorry, but I can't get hardly anyone to go watch us dial in. Just the truth.

That's the truth! We used to have as almost many C/SM cars running for class as we sometimes have for SS eliminator these days. That is a heads up guys could afford. Royce Freeman & I used to go run IHRA Supermodified when they were close. Our cars I had a C/SM, his B/SM) had smaller carbs, tires, and straight plug heads, but we could pretty much run with everybody but Ricky Smith. One race at Oklahoma City Royce won, I runner-upped to him. (Before Ricky) That was a blast. Won't happen again. People would keep wanting to add this, or that, just like Stock now. Was affordable, won't happen now. People did come watch since it was heads up, and no fuel cars to make us look slower. You can't get many people to watch bracket races if there is anything else to do.

[randy wilson]

Yes Ed, you're exactly right. I bought the old 67 nova,C\SM out of Canton Ohio off of Gary Husser. The car never qualified at a national, but made a big splash at Bethany. Straight plug 461x's by Shepard. I later bought the SS\CS 67 Quay camaro of Linden Bodnard, earlier a Danny Byrd C\SM, .out of Canada. Had a blast with those cars, and had 1,500 spectators every weekend to watch them run. But rules were affordable.