42 replies to this topic

[Need for Speed]

WRP Owners/Management:

Please, look into going back to 4 classes per night, for next year!!

Having 6 classes just plain makes the night too long!! SOMETHING has to be done to speed up/shorten the program on any given night! Races start at 7, and are getting done at Midnight (when there hasn't been a rain delay). Watching 5 hours of racing is too long. Kids are falling asleep on their parent's laps, and people have started leaving after about the 3rd feature, no matter what is left to run...... People are missing out on good close racing, because it's taking too long to get 6 classes completed, and they are loosing interest, getting tired and going home, complaining about the spin outs and stupid driving, etc...and leaving.

There are 2 classes that have struggled to get 15 cars per night...and some nights, the car count is a lot closer to 10 per night!! These are classes that almost begged to run at WRP, after being cut before...and people on Racestud have complained and griped because those classes have been cut in the past. I'm not blaming the guys who are bringing their cars, but where are the rest of them?? Watching 2 heat races, and a feature for 11 cars is nuts. Again, not the fault of the guys who have their car there, but for the others, come on.........

Run the 3 classes with the highest average car counts each week, and then rotate the other 3 classes (1 per night).

BTW, last night, the Mods had 7 yellows during their feature. That's crazy!! I don't know what the magic number is, but after a certian number of yellows, the entire feature needs to be Black Flagged, and sent to the pits....then that feature is brought back out after all of the other features have been run, and restarted where they left off!! (applies to any/all classes) Maybe when guys have to sit there until almost Midnight to run their feature, they can get their act together. Also, if somebody causes 2 yellows, they get black flagged, and they are done for that race.

It was so bad last week, that when the Mods rolled out last night, people around me were placing bets on how many yellows they would have for this feature. The racing is good, but it's way too broken up with yellow, after yellow, after yellow!

I'm sure I'll get flamed for this post, but it's the truth.

Edited by Need for Speed, 28 August 2011 - 09:12 PM.

[Austin]

Well 6 classes of racing in my opinion is a good deal for $12. Midnight on a Saturday night is feasable for most. I guess thats the chance people take. Some tracks have 3 classes and dont get over till after midnight. I think the show has been ran very smoothly and 6 classes provides the fans with excitement from different styles of racing.

[Need for Speed]

Well 6 classes of racing in my opinion is a good deal for $12. Midnight on a Saturday night is feasable for most. I guess thats the chance people take. Some tracks have 3 classes and dont get over till after midnight. I think the show has been ran very smoothly and 6 classes provides the fans with excitement from different styles of racing.

You are missing the point..................

Families are leaving before getting to see all of the features! How is that getting 'value for the dollar'? The addition of 2 classes has added a minimum of 1 hour to the program. Last night I stayed for all the races and was heading to the parking lot as the checkered flew on the last feature, hit the Port-A-John on the way out, and got home at 1:20AM. From the stands you can see trailer after trailer pulling out onto Waynesfield Rd., and after the races, there is very few people going into the pits to see the cars and drivers, that are still there. That's not good!

I didn't say the WRP staff isn't trying to run a timely program. But it just takes too long to run 6 classes! What time of the morning would the show end IF: All 6 classes had 25-30 cars.....that's 18 to 24 heat races, 6 to 12 B-mains, and 6 A-mains!!

Shadybowl used to have pretty darn full grandstands, then the owners/management decided to run 6-7 classes on Saturday night. First race was at 7PM, and sometimes the last race ended at 3AM....sometimes later than that. Same thing started happening...families started leaving at 10:30-11PM. When the last feature ended, there wouldn't be 10 people in the stands!!

[compact racer]

WRP Owners/Management:

Please, look into going back to 4 classes per night, for next year!!

Having 6 classes just plain makes the night too long!! SOMETHING has to be done to speed up/shorten the program on any given night! Races start at 7, and are getting done at Midnight (when there hasn't been a rain delay). Watching 5 hours of racing is too long. Kids are falling asleep on their parent's laps, and people have started leaving after about the 3rd feature, no matter what is left to run...... People are missing out on good close racing, because it's taking too long to get 6 classes completed, and they are loosing interest, getting tired and going home, complaining about the spin outs and stupid driving, etc...and leaving.

There are 2 classes that have struggled to get 15 cars per night...and some nights, the car count is a lot closer to 10 per night!! These are classes that almost begged to run at WRP, after being cut before...and people on Racestud have complained and griped because those classes have been cut in the past. I'm not blaming the guys who are bringing their cars, but where are the rest of them?? Watching 2 heat races, and a feature for 11 cars is nuts. Again, not the fault of the guys who have their car there, but for the others, come on.........

Run the 3 classes with the highest average car counts each week, and then rotate the other 3 classes (1 per night).

BTW, last night, the Mods had 7 yellows during their feature. That's crazy!! I don't know what the magic number is, but after a certian number of yellows, the entire feature needs to be Black Flagged, and sent to the pits....then that feature is brought back out after all of the other features have been run, and restarted where they left off!! (applies to any/all classes) Maybe when guys have to sit there until almost Midnight to run their feature, they can get their act together. Also, if somebody causes 2 yellows, they get black flagged, and they are done for that race.

It was so bad last week, that when the Mods rolled out last night, people around me were placing bets on how many yellows they would have for this feature. The racing is good, but it's way too broken up with yellow, after yellow, after yellow!

I'm sure I'll get flamed for this post, but it's the truth.

Every year it's the same story. Someone needs to go. Every year there are a couple classes that feel they are on the sacrificial chopping block. At the same time the car counts won't grow when no one wants to build for a class that might not be there. If they were to tell me sat. night we would not be back I would not feel slighted in the least. On the other hand if I have to wait for a schedual for next yr to know if I'm racing or not it would be easy to make other plans. You can not run a class one year cut them the next and run them again in a yr or two and expect to have a full field of cars. So if you have some real pull and not just mad because your not tucked in by 10:00 please let us all know asap as it affects a lot more lives then just yours.

[double checkered]

I think both sides (spectator and driver) have valid points representing their side. Doesn't matter how many cars you have if there isn't any fans to watch them. Doesn't matter how many fans you have if there aren't any cars to watch race. I am and always will be a fan first but I definitely understand both sides. Its a never ending debate since its not a perfect world. I think WRP learned alot this year. I feel we have an outstanding group of people that put the effort in every week to give the drivers and fans a great show. With that said, I hope WRP can use what it has learned and grow in 2012. I'd hate to lose any class. Every feature has been action packed with side by side racing and last lap passes for the lead. I liked the "set schedule" this year. It came out early and I think there was only 1 change because of a schedule conflict. We had some "money" shows, and continued with our memorial/classic shows. I know WRP has a long way to go, but its still a very new track trying to establish itself in a sport that is struggling all over the country. I like how the car counts have increased (I remember when it started with a 4 sprint exhibition). And I definitely like the fan counts this year. (You could count the fans in the single grand stand the first year). Thanks Mr. Shobe for keeping WRP alive after a near death a year ago. Thank you every driver, crew, fan, safety worker, track employee and anyone else who supported WRP this year. We got one more to go. Let's make it a good one. See you at the track...... Jeremy

Edited by double checkered, 28 August 2011 - 10:53 PM.

[Need for Speed]

Every year it's the same story. Someone needs to go. Every year there are a couple classes that feel they are on the sacrificial chopping block. At the same time the car counts won't grow when no one wants to build for a class that might not be there. If they were to tell me sat. night we would not be back I would not feel slighted in the least. On the other hand if I have to wait for a schedual for next yr to know if I'm racing or not it would be easy to make other plans. You can not run a class one year cut them the next and run them again in a yr or two and expect to have a full field of cars. So if you have some real pull and not just mad because your not tucked in by 10:00 please let us all know asap as it affects a lot more lives then just yours.

You missed the point too!!

You guys have your car there every week, but where are all of the other Compacts week in, and week out, on Saturday night?? It's the cheapest class to run, but has one of the lowest car counts.....why? The Bowl and Kil-Kare have run FWD Compacts for years, so where are they running on Saturday nights these days...apparently they are parked! Car counts of 14, 15, 15, 11, 17, 10, 10, 13, 11, 9, 13, and 11= an average of 12 cars. How do you expect to build interest in the class, when there are minimal cars to see, and minimal fans left to see them?!

You guys have good, competitive races, but the last 2 weeks you guys ran late in the night, and there is almost nobody left in the stands to see it!!

I just checked Shadybowl's site. They have only had 13, 13, 10, 12, and 11 Compacts....so where are the Compacts hiding? Apparently people have parked them, or gotten rid of them......

Edited by Need for Speed, 28 August 2011 - 11:47 PM.

[Dr. Speedy]

How about this: Still have the six classes, but if you don't get a certain number of cars, just go to the pill draw and just have an A for that class. Eliminating the heat. Also if ya got 25 cars, just run them all in the A. If you have more than that run all the left overs in 1 B instead of 2. Time would be saved.

[double checkered]

Dr. I sorta agree with some of your ideas except...... what happens when all six classes have more than the minimum for a main alone? Then you're back to long night. And the guys who "dont have enough" paid the same as eveyone else and deserve equal track time. A 25 car count in A main will lead to "Oh, but there's only 26.....27......28" I hate "giving in" and letting just one more run. 25 would make it more difficult for the scorers and would increase payout. I agree with one B main. I never quite understood the reason behind more than one. Unless you have more than 20 cars in B, then run C and transfer to B. Again, I know its WRP focus to put in a good show in a timely manner and get EVERYONE home at a decent time. NFS original post said it best, where are the cars that aren't showing up. I'm sure there are dozens of reasons. Only want to run one night, other track is closer, maybe a larger purse, who knows. I know you can't be mad at those that do show up every week. Again thanks for supporting WRP. But its all about entertaining the fans and MOST just aren't into watching 10-15 car A mains. Keep the input coming. Jeremy

[witness_24]

Dr.
I sorta agree with some of your ideas except...... what happens when all six classes have more than the minimum for a main alone? Then you're back to long night. And the guys who "dont have enough" paid the same as eveyone else and deserve equal track time. A 25 car count in A main will lead to "Oh, but there's only 26.....27......28" I hate "giving in" and letting just one more run. 25 would make it more difficult for the scorers and would increase payout. I agree with one B main. I never quite understood the reason behind more than one. Unless you have more than 20 cars in B, then run C and transfer to B. Again, I know its WRP focus to put in a good show in a timely manner and get EVERYONE home at a decent time. NFS original post said it best, where are the cars that aren't showing up. I'm sure there are dozens of reasons. Only want to run one night, other track is closer, maybe a larger purse, who knows. I know you can't be mad at those that do show up every week. Again thanks for supporting WRP. But its all about entertaining the fans and MOST just aren't into watching 10-15 car A mains. Keep the input coming.

Jeremy

The problem with your second sentence is the classes are not gettin close to 25 cars a night. Me personally i went to WRP one time this year got bored watching 100 heat races and ended up leaving very early. I love the fact that WRP is close to where i live but 6 classes is at least 2 to many. I have a 4 year old son and he factors into my decision as to where im going to go on a saturday night when the 360s are not running.

Once again the only class that should be allowed to be agitated with WRP is the 360s they were cut from the schedule completely this year, with the exception of memorial weekend which got rained out, and they were never put back on the schedule this year even though they had 44 sprints in the pits the night they did run. but yet the classes that get 12 cars are still racing?

[double checkered]

Witness, If you were saying there was something wrong with my second sentence, you misread the post. I was referring to DR's "minimum car count" that will only run an A main. Was trying to point out if there is more than minimum then we have "100" heat races and a long night. I too was upset the winged cars got rained out. And although it didn't benefit the winged cars or the fans who support them, our schedule didn't change. That was a MAJOR complaint a year ago. If you remember the winged numbers fell off at the end of 2010. I think/hope 2012 brings more great things. Maybe more winged shows for those that like them, maybe a late model show for people like me. Either way witness, I hope you give WRP another chance and you leave with a better experience. Jeremy

[stocker]

Compacts 11 Stocks 12 Mini Sprints 15 Trucks 18 Mods 26 Sprints 30 I guess I don't understand where or why you call out the stock car class with only 12 cars, By the numbers above the first 4 classes are strugling to get car counts. The Time leaving the track is not that bad, md to early 2000 they had 40 cars in every class , Stocks, Mods and Sprints. After all heat races, B-Mains and features were ran you would pull out of the track @ midnight And never had one spectator complain on this chat board about the races taking to long to run. Speaking from the owners point of a stock car we have been bounced in and out of that place from year to year from the start of WRP. If you are wanting to pull a class from WRP for small car count I guess you need to pull Mini sprints, Compacts and stocks. they all suck in there car counts. Tim Conover

[Austin]

360s had their chance the last few years and often had car counts of 15. Yes, they had 44 this year...but that was also because it was NRA/SOD sanctioned and memorial weekend in which Limaland, Waynesfield, and Eldora had a 3 day weekend. So people were more willing to travel. BTW, not every show has gone till midnight this year. Many have been over at a decent hour. You have to figure, the last few weeks there has been various different things that held up the show. Injured drivers had to be looked at, various red flags, races with lots of cautions, rain delays, extra track prep during the races, etc. You could run 3 classes and still have the night go till 12. I've seen many other tracks not get done until 12. There are a lot of things that the track cannot control. As for fans getting up and leaving, that happens a lot. Waynesfields fan base consists of a lot of families that go to watch certain classes. You have people leaving after certain classes anywhere you go. Its always been that way at waynesfield. I remember trucks running last and people not sticking around to watch them.

[skip]

Plan and simple 6 classes is to much, you cant run some classes once a yr and get some to show. The 360,s if its a nra show they will show. I heard at first WRP didnt want to go with the memorial cup weekend. As far as non wing they have been able to start with just a couple of cars and is one of the only classes that has been given the best chance to grow. As far as when WRP started the Mini sprints were around before the big track was built. Plus the stocks were there when the big track was built.4 clases should be the limit and rotate the 3 support groups. What was it they gave the trucks a week off because the counts were getting low. The minisprints is a great class for some to step up from look at how many drivers have moved up to the big cars. You have to remember these are very tuff times and you have to give credit to the Shobes for keeping the track going.

[Dirtracer48]

Am I the only one that thinks WRP does a fantastic job with keeping things moving and getting done at a good time? As someone pointed out above, a lot of the issues were due to things beyond control of anyone - accidents, weather, damage to track, etc. I too am bummed with the counts in my division, and thank WRP for sticking up for us. I know a lot of guys who started the season here are out with broken engines, transmissions, cars, etc. As someone else pointed out Saturday, I think if Lima would go to the Hoosier tire next year, the count would be helped some.

[compact racer]

You missed the point too!!

You guys have your car there every week, but where are all of the other Compacts week in, and week out, on Saturday night?? It's the cheapest class to run, but has one of the lowest car counts.....why? The Bowl and Kil-Kare have run FWD Compacts for years, so where are they running on Saturday nights these days...apparently they are parked! Car counts of 14, 15, 15, 11, 17, 10, 10, 13, 11, 9, 13, and 11= an average of 12 cars. How do you expect to build interest in the class, when there are minimal cars to see, and minimal fans left to see them?!

You guys have good, competitive races, but the last 2 weeks you guys ran late in the night, and there is almost nobody left in the stands to see it!!

I just checked Shadybowl's site. They have only had 13, 13, 10, 12, and 11 Compacts....so where are the Compacts hiding? Apparently people have parked them, or gotten rid of them......

The truth of your post is for the most part the compacts that are at WRP were stolen from the bowl. The problem is none of the dirt crowd has taken them to heart. I hate to say this 'cause I really like WRP someone needs to say yea or nay now not in march. I'm sure the guys with stocks and mini's would appreciate the same consideration.

[Need for Speed]

Am I the only one that thinks WRP does a fantastic job with keeping things moving and getting done at a good time? As someone pointed out above, a lot of the issues were due to things beyond control of anyone - accidents, weather, damage to track, etc.

I too am bummed with the counts in my division, and thank WRP for sticking up for us. I know a lot of guys who started the season here are out with broken engines, transmissions, cars, etc. As someone else pointed out Saturday, I think if Lima would go to the Hoosier tire next year, the count would be helped some.

This is why I suggested rotating the '4th class'....maybe a couple of weeks between races would give folks time to fix the cars, save up the money for parts, etc, etc...instead of being in a constant thrash trying to get the cars fixed for the next week

To everyone- NOTE: I never said 'completely drop the XYZ class'. I'm saying run the 3 classes with the highest average car counts every week, and rotate the other 3 classes. This way WRP is back down to 4 classes a night, and the program is completed earlier. (because you can't foresee the future regarding injuries, weather delays, damaged fence/guard rail, etc, yet running 2 extra classes multiplies the opportunity for those incidents exponentially)

Compact Racer: Yes I understand that such a decision would affect more people's lives than mine. It would also affect the track workers, safety crew, people in the concession stand, people in the scoring/announcers booth, the flag crew, pay out window workers, push truck and wrecker drivers, etc., who I'm sure would like to get home at a halfway decent hour too.

The truth of your post is for the most part the compacts that are at WRP were stolen from the bowl. The problem is none of the dirt crowd has taken them to heart. I hate to say this 'cause I really like WRP someone needs to say yea or nay now not in march. I'm sure the guys with stocks and mini's would appreciate the same consideration.

"stolen from the bowl" That's pure BS right there. Nobody forces you to tow to WRP.

And you can't blame the people in the stands for the sad car count!!

Shadybowl was paying the Compact winner a free pit pass and a $5 trophy for quite a while...then they started giving out $50 to 3 random drivers a week. Shadybowl didn't open until the season was half over this year, and when they did, they have ran on Sunday. So where are the cars at on Saturday night? Apparently not many folks want to run a Compact at WRP, so the lack interest is coming from the Compact owners/drivers.

Same with the Stocks, and the Mini Sprints.

Here again. not the fault of the people who actually have their cars at WRP, but the lack of support by other owners/drivers, is pretty obvious.



Regarding the late nights at the track: Everyone needs to keep in mind the big picture.
Race tracks close each year all over the country...some of them are shut down by neighbors complaining about the noise, the dust, and 'light pollution' (yes, they complain about the lights from the track) etc, etc, etc. Running later and later shows (for whatever the reasons) are going to start getting old with the neighbors, and once they start 'bitchin, it opens a can of worms.......... Somewhat recently, Mohler Raceway Park was getting sued by people who live close to the track. The 'locals' were trying every stunt they could pull, to get the track shut down. If WRP gets shut down by aggravated neighbors, then we won't have to worry about what classes are running at all!!

Edited by Need for Speed, 30 August 2011 - 01:09 AM.

[slide22]

Raise mini sprints to $500 to win for weekly races and 20 lap features and you will have ~30 cars a week.

[ramrodd00]

The truth of your post is for the most part the compacts that are at WRP were stolen from the bowl. The problem is none of the dirt crowd has taken them to heart. I hate to say this 'cause I really like WRP someone needs to say yea or nay now not in march. I'm sure the guys with stocks and mini's would appreciate the same consideration.

Stolen from the bowl? Charlie ran guys off left and right, and the last I checked you were one of the first ones to defect when WRP started running compacts again. Dean brought the Compact class back and gave them a payout, and a points fund that Greg and staff have built upon. I don't blame the guys who went back to Shady Bowl. It's their home track and the folks who have bought it seem to care about their teams and fans, even if I disagree with them trying to go back to Saturdays next year and run against Columbus.

The one thing that WRP has done right in 2011 is given consistency to all 6 classes. Unlike the past 2 years, there was no threat of a class being cut before the end of the year. Everyone knew they had a place to race EVERY Saturday, even when the crowd and car count was down because a threat of rain. Even when it did rain, They still tried to get the show in. Is 6 classes too many? Yes. However, Greg Shobe stuck behind the promise he made at last years banquet that no class would be cut, and that should be commended.

The Mini Sprints have responded well to this decision, averaging 18 cars every week. The modifieds are almost always going to have a good car count, just because there's so many of them. The non wing sprints will keep having decent car counts if WRP pays them a little bit better on a weekly basis. The trucks would bounce back if the class would be cut back from the out of hand point where it is. The compacts could and should be a 30 car class just based on it being entry level and relatively inexpensive to get into, but for whatever reason, cars aren't coming. The stock cars are an entirely different conundrum. You have guys who who complain because WRP stopped running them, but then they don't show up. You have teams who for whatever reason skip a week even though their running top 5 in points. You have teams that get tore up on Friday at Lima, and cant get the car fixed for Saturday. By all logic, there should be 25 stock cars every week at WRP.

With that said, who do you cut?

While agree they shouldn't wait til March to make a decision, WRP shouldn't be the only ones making a decision. Guys who have been sitting on the fence about building or buying a car need to speak up and say they want to run in 2012, so WRP can make their decision accordingly.

Everyone wants to be internet promoter and tell Greg what to do, but by the look of the grandstands and pit area, I think Greg has made some pretty good decisions so far. Now all we can do is wait and see what his plans are for 2012, and support whatever decision is made.

[Need for Speed]

Raise mini sprints to $500 to win for weekly races and 20 lap features and you will have ~30 cars a week.

Pretty brave statement.

Max Mini-Sprints this season-25 one time, and as few as 14 on more than one occasion. The 1000cc engine was supposed to be the great 'fix' for the car counts a few years back. Apparently not. Here again, not the fault of the folks bringing their cars, but apparently there isn't a lot of interest from the other owners to make them tow to WRP.

The non wing sprint cars are the most expensive cars to buy/own/maintain, and they took a pretty big cut at the pay window this season. But they have shown their support of WRP week in and week out.

Edited by Need for Speed, 30 August 2011 - 01:31 AM.

[JRide]

I know without a doubt the truck count will go up. I'm a new guy and have only been to one race so far this year, mainly because i just got my truck 5 weeks ago and had to get some bugs worked out so i'll be at WRP for the last race. I also know a guy that has two trucks he is trying to get ready for this weekend. The night I raced I was impressed with WRP, ran a very quick and smooth show.