Not trying to stir anything up,just asking a business type question. With Berlin,Kazoo,Spartan,and even Angola, which have well established and long lived past. where does a Springport (which seems to be very hit and miss) and now M40 fit into the picture? Are there really that many cars out there to make them all work? Is Sunday (afternoon) an option? Does a track have to run Outlaw/SLM weekly to draw fans for the seats. And the other part of this is where does Owosso fit into the east side, AC and Dixie are already on Saturday,can you have 3 asphalt track less than an hour apart all running Saturday. I would like nothing better than to see them all do well, but in business how do they all fit??

Dixie moved back to Fridays. In my opinion, from a business stand point, running Springport on Fridays would be the best move (only if they pay is decent). If they paid good, then they could draw cars from a lot areas. Springport with the right people in place could hurt Spartan if they moved to Friday. Running on Saturday for them hurts because the racer has a lot of choices, with Angola, Owosso, Galesburg, K-Zoo, Berlin, Flat Rock and Auto City all running on Saturday nights and within about an hour and half to two hours from Springport. Running Fridays MIGHT bring in some Angola, Owosso, Galesburg, K-Zoo and east side guys,even take some of the Spartan guys away from there and some of the guys that used to run Springport that are only running part time right now and live in that area. There are enough cars around but it has to be worth it to pull that car out of the garage.

I've often thought that a track could succeed very well by running Sunday afternoons. Open the gates at noon or 1 oclock, time trials at 4 and racing starting at 6. Make the admission price between 8-10 dollars,and most importantly make the rules for the classes running be similar enough so that cars from other tracks could run.

And that track would have to cooperate with other tracks and their specials if they were running on Sunday(spartan for example)

What would happen if SMS ran a couple of the bigger classes along with a traveling class on Friday.. a couple of smaller classes and a couple of traveling classes on Saturday and then used Sunday's as a rain out night for both days PLUS ran a big feature and then a big crash fest type race ?

I've thought for awhile that the tracks don't maximize the number of race days in the Michigan racing season and could do better if they got more dates on the calendar and went the extra mile to get the shows in every weekend.

Example..

Friday : Super Sixes (Cyber), Lead Sleds (Pure Stocks), Mods, Sprints, plus one of (Legends, Dwarfs, Mini Cup, VROA)
Saturday : FWD 4, Sportsman, SLM, plus two of (Short Track Trucks, SuperPro, Thunder Roadsters, Legends, Dwarfs, Mini Cup, VROA).
Saturday : Rain out events, Bonus FWD 4 50 lapper, Bonus Lead Sled 50 lapper, ASA or CRA Late Models (like a 100 lapper) and then a train race or truck and trailer race, an enduro..

I think this is a fair question and one that really needs to be looked at and addressed Kevino.

In the 90's, all of these tracks were bringing in cars and fans, enough to fill the stands and pits. Berlin, KZoo, Spartan, Owosso, etc. were running consi's in many of their divisions as a matter of fact. AC was packed as well with cars and fans. At one time the East side was running Dixie, Whittemore, AC, Owosso, Tri City and a couple other small tracks. All were doing fine.

Today, there simply is not enough fans or cars to float all these tracks. As a matter of fact, there are not enough fans and cars to support the tracks we have. We have lost racers and we have lost race fans in this sport. Some due to other interests, some due to the economy and racers who have had to hang it up due to costs. Where you may have had ( for example sake ) 50 East side mod's, you now have 30. Where you used to have 50 supers, you now have 20. These numbers cannot support multiple tracks running on the same night. The same holds true for race fans. I have seen Berlin with 9,000 fans in their bleachers, that figure is now halved I believe.

There are typically two race days a week ( Friday and Saturday ) and either way you cut it, if one track gets the lions share, another track is going to suffer...big time.

A long time ago I told promoters and racers that we need to begin to develop new race fans with non-traditional marketing and PR programs. Instead this sport has relied on traditional methods that worked in the past but unfortunately no longer work. It isn't only racing but other sports as well that are feeling the pinch. Many sports are having a hard time holding onto fans. We used to have basketball, football and baseball. Then along came Hockey in the 70'. Soccer in the 80's and now Lacrosse. Some fans switched and dropped the other stick and ball sports.

I have used this analogy before and will do it once again. The American consumer now days has the attention span of a nat. Shelf life for new products used to be half a year or more. Today the average shelf life of a new product is measured in weeks. I am not talking about produce or vegies here, I am talking about the " newness " of a product. They introduced the IPOD and the world went crazy. It wasn't long before sales fell off and a new type of IPOD was developed. Everyday new technology offers us a new product. Remember the old Intendo's ? They are now old technology.

Now look at racing. The Mod still looks the same. The SS still looks the same. The Outlaw Supper still looks the same. The legends, dwarfs, etc. have not changed in years. The last new car introduced in Michigan that was outside the norm was the USPRO car. We have not changed the face of racing in years. If you consider some of the circus acts that Mike Kern has held at his track ( bus races, trailer races, etc. ), you would see that more fans came through the gate for those events then a typical night of stock car racing. The reason being is that the product changed. I am not saying we need more circus acts at the short tracks, but what we do need is change. We need to reach out and look at non traditional means of bringing in race fans.

We can all sit back and wait for more fans to come through the gates, but its going to be a long agonizing wait that will produce more closed tracks. We need to get out there and promote racing as well as promote a new product to the public. We also need to get to work on new rules for racers that will cut their costs in order to keep the racers we have as well as bring in new racers.

I do not have all the answers as this sport has reached a point where there are many complex problems with few answers. But I do know that business as usual ( like it has been the last 20 years isn't going to cut it with the public.

Can short track racing support all these tracks in its current state ? My professional opinion is no. Not unless we add more to the fan base and car counts.

Chris

Patrick:

It is a good idea but the reality is, promoters can no longer afford the traveling shows. Jim or Bill maybe able to add more to this if you talk to them, but I know what promoters are grossing per night and big shows can break the bank in a big time hurry. Some of the biggest losses promoters have ever had were on the big divisions. They used to bring in the fan's, but are no longer the draw they once were.

I think what your seeing with a number of tracks is " survival mode ". Some have tried the big shows and it produced losses for them. Todays promoter is hanging on by the skin of his teeth. He has little money in the pot to experiment and when you bring in a traveling series or division that costs $ 15 - 16 or 17 K, you better hope the fans come ( and the cars ) or your going to get hosed.

I like your idea, but short of having a huge pile of money, the risks ( if they fail ) could bankrupt a track. Many promoters are struggling just to pay the bills off the divisions they have without the high dollar traveling shows.

Chris

Last Saturday at AC was a perfect example of what needs to happen to make tracks full again. Dixie and Whittemore cancelled early. Owosso had SLM's so AC ends up with pit full of Mods and stands full of fans because there were fewer choices. Racing may need to 'right size' itself just like everything else is these days.

Thank you. As painful as it may be, thats exactly what has to happen.

Chris

It seems as if todays promoters do not know how to promote!

I dont get why you'd run Springport heads up against the closest track, that does very well on Friday nights. If Owosso were dead, I would think Saturdays with a decent payout would help. The Angola cars thing is a good point.

As much as I hate to say it pay might not be the issue, springport gets more mods on some nights than tracks that pay better. They do however have a local driver base for mods that is pretty deep. INcluding the ones that live very close and only run Springport, like you said.

Putting fans in the stands is the question, and I'm not sure how to do that especially going heads up against Spartan. It would certainly be interesting.




Or just work together to turn all classes, or at least the factory stocks on up, into traveling classes of 50cars each. I'm turning into a broken record on this, but the Sam Faur Memorial is a perfect example of what it could be. Whatta show.

Chris, not trying to read between the lines of what you wrote, But, Are you saying if there was a speedway for sale now that you would shy away, unless you want to follow the old saying "know how to make a million promoting,, start with 5" or are you saying that if you were to do so, you'd have to really change things up and make your place really different with other types of things (circus)? I have some other questions but I think I'll PM you with those.

Yes indeed! Sometimes I wonder why they call themselves promoters. Track owner may be a better choice of words. John Bellot is a promoter and doesnt own a track!

I think you are right about John,,,I have know of him since the Ron Shammel days or dirt at AC.. He seems to understand the taking care of the people that take care of you.. Or for those in the customer service business's the customer is always right.. it is the simple things really that don't cost a arm and a leg that people remember. Like coffee and donuts for guys when they show up after pulling form wherever. Put the people in the stands,give them a good show for there $$, and keep the drivers happy (?). Drop the ticket price so people can afford to bring the family, give them good food,keep the kids entertained and pack the place. And as Chris mentioned has a circus everyonce in a while. Hell the SPEED channel is still showing figure 8 train races and combine demo derby's from 3 and 4 years ago and people still watch.. I think you need to be a Humpy Wheeler of the short tracks.

I always thought Springport would be a nice dirt track and could work together with Butler if they switched to Fridays.

Kevino5:

I love racing, I love the people in racing and would have loved to have owned a track...........back in the 90's.

But I am also a business man and I know first hand the problems and issues that can derail a sound business plan. In racing, being a promoter these days requires a combination of a lot of things. In prior years you could pull a carnie off one of their rides to run your track and you would do well. Today, with the shortage of drivers and fans, the economy, the consumer attitudes and boredom they have with products I wouldn't buy a race track for love or money unless I planned on putting in a condo development or something else on the land it sits on.

The members of MSTRC have witnessed 2 groups of partners and one individual and all purchased tracks with their dreams and plans laid out. All of them failed. Some can blame the promoters ( and a few deserve that blame ) but in the current state of the economy in Michigan as well as the drop in interest in regards to this sport, many would have failed. Heck, Warren Buffet would have had a hard time.

I used to get called in by business owners to consult to them on different issues. They brought me in because I was sitting on top of the hill looking down on the forest and my viewpoint was much clearer then theirs. They missed things and were so deeply entrenched in their business they simply could not see the forest for the trees. The same thing happns with all of us in this sport. We are so deeply involved and so buried in racing that few have walked to the top of the hill and looked down to get a different perspective. Few of us really know what the outside world thinks about our sport. Very few really have a clue as to what the consumer of today wants from an entertainment facility.

I have predicted for a long, long time that this sport was headed for trouble and I believe we are just now stepping into the worst of it. So with that in mind, now is NOT the time to buy a race track, regardless of the carefully laid out plans and schemes one may have. All one has to do is the math - there are not enough cars and fans to prop up all the race tracks in Michigan. A few have to go. Period. And that in itself is sad.

Chris

Kevin in college I did all of my business models and papers on racing, and did alot of research on Humpy, and that man and Jack Doering were the two people I admire most in terms of racing success. Jack kept it real. You didnt have to like him but ultimately you respected him.

OK I'll give you half,, Put me on the list of those that didn't like him,, remember I ran AC when it was dirt and always thought a certin kid got some extra special treatment. That aside, I guess you are right as far as respect.
Chris, thanks for the input, I think it is better right now to try and grow the business this fall. Thanks again, for cutting down some of the trees.

No doubt John got all the track time he needed. We all thought that, but AC rocked back then. Especially if you compare it to now, or the last ten years even.

Yup,, I always hoped that the Muddslinger would come back someday, or something like it, that you didn't have to travel to Eldora to run in..Alway thought we had a chance at AC, never really had that feeling at Eldora... Terra Haute and Knoxville yes, but not at the big "E". I even had Hewitt try and show me the fast way around, I was able to keep up until we left pit lane.

Good point! With the new ownership at Owosso Rick, Jeff and wives, let it be known that here are people that know racing and how to effectivly operate a track. Our hopes and prayers are that the community (racing) that is, will get behind these guys and lend the push which will make this revenue a success.
For those whom don't know these folks, let me assure you that with their fresh ideas, marketing savvy and work ethics they "WILL GET ER DONE"

Tom L.