13 replies to this topic

[Ring Gear]

What happened Earl Baltes ?? The World 100 and only 112 cars Used to be you worried about making the 120 car cut so you could make a heat race. 180-200 cars used to be the norm. Most I seen was 232 back in the day when you could qualify 2 cars. This new format was supposed to bring more cars. What it brought was even less cars. The fewest cars that I have ever seen for the World 100. So much for Tony Stewart and all the improvements. Give me Earl Baltes and the ole time Eldora and the huge car counts. Give me the old Eldora, Friday nite time trials trying to make the 120 cut to make a heat race. When Tony bought the joint, everyone wanted no changes, keep it the way Earl ran the place. Just my opinions. I just don't like the new Eldora with all it's fancy improvements.

[badass bowtie]

The stands will be packed everyday as usual. As far as the car count goes. There are only so many drivers willing to travel and compete against all the big dollar big name guys. Is there another Late Model race with a bigger car count all year ???

[TheLegend]

Those huge car counts were before bam bam , of those 232 car fields only 60 had a shot of making it .

[Ring Gear]

2003 - 2013 Car Counts. Started really falling off 2010 - 2011 2003 / 222 2004 / 215 2005 / ??? 2006 / 195 2007 / 203 2008 / 175 2009 / 172 2010 / ??? 2011 / 112 2012 / ??? 2013 / 112 From archives on website Don't know what year they went to just qualify one car.

[D1RT]

Holy crap you bitch about the backwoods local tracks and bitch about Tony buying Eldora and making many improvements that were sadly needed that Earl was never going to do. Yes I loved the old Eldora where you you had to wade through raw sewage in the bathrooms that were constantly overflowing and the porta-pots covered in piss, crap, and puke all weekend. If car counts are so important to you may I suggest the Boone Super Nationals where car counts reach 300+ but you would have to lower your obvious high standards to watch "support" divisions....

[SprintFun]

NO late model event draws like it used to. I don't think it has anything to do with Track Ownership. But the quality of cars is still there (to me). It hasn't really affected the amount of top cars, just less of the shoestring travelers. The only real big name not at the World I can think of is Rick Eckert, but truthfully he doesn't run at Eldora much. The format this year is awesome. For the fans it gives us a chance to see a ton more racing. For the drivers it gives them the chance to actually log laps around Eldora. I hope they take a step further next year. The days of high car counts in dirt track racing are dwindling, regardless of class. Look at the Knoxville Nationals too.

[BaconBits]

What happened Earl Baltes ?? The World 100 and only 112 cars Used to be you worried about making the 120 car cut so you could make a heat race.

180-200 cars used to be the norm. Most I seen was 232 back in the day when you could qualify 2 cars.

This new format was supposed to bring more cars. What it brought was even less cars. The fewest cars that I have ever seen for the World 100.

So much for Tony Stewart and all the improvements. Give me Earl Baltes and the ole time Eldora and the huge car counts.

Give me the old Eldora, Friday nite time trials trying to make the 120 cut to make a heat race.

When Tony bought the joint, everyone wanted no changes, keep it the way Earl ran the place.

Just my opinions. I just don't like the new Eldora with all it's fancy improvements.

When Eldora was drawing 200 cars, over half of them were complete junk that weren't making the field at their weekly tracks, let alone Eldora. Now, they're getting 100-130 with almost no junk. There's less cars but the quality is up. I'd take quality over quantity every day of the week and twice on Sunday.

And there's more options this particular weekend these days than there was in the days of huge car counts. A lot of teams aren't going to tow halfway across the country to a race they have no chance of making when there's a decently paying race within an hour or two away. More teams making money is good for the sport.

[TheLegend]

When Eldora was drawing 200 cars, over half of them were complete junk that weren't making the field at their weekly tracks, let alone Eldora. Now, they're getting 100-130 with almost no junk. There's less cars but the quality is up. I'd take quality over quantity every day of the week and twice on Sunday.

And there's more options this particular weekend these days than there was in the days of huge car counts. A lot of teams aren't going to tow halfway across the country to a race they have no chance of making when there's a decently paying race within an hour or two away. More teams making money is good for the sport.

It's about 3k to make the eldora trip not including missing work. And a LOT of people don't have crew members than can just take off all week for a race

[BaconBits]

It's about 3k to make the eldora trip not including missing work. And a LOT of people don't have crew members than can just take off all week for a race

Yep. And a lot of teams either can't or don't want to lay out that kind of cash for races they have little chance of making.

And there are big time dudes like Eckert, Fuller and Cook that simply don't care for Eldora all that much so they don't go. Some people don't understand that, either.

Edited by BaconBits, 07 September 2013 - 09:44 AM.

[IMPERIALTIRE11]

What happened Earl Baltes ?? The World 100 and only 112 cars Used to be you worried about making the 120 car cut so you could make a heat race.

180-200 cars used to be the norm. Most I seen was 232 back in the day when you could qualify 2 cars.

This new format was supposed to bring more cars. What it brought was even less cars. The fewest cars that I have ever seen for the World 100.

So much for Tony Stewart and all the improvements. Give me Earl Baltes and the ole time Eldora and the huge car counts.

Give me the old Eldora, Friday nite time trials trying to make the 120 cut to make a heat race.

When Tony bought the joint, everyone wanted no changes, keep it the way Earl ran the place.

Just my opinions. I just don't like the new Eldora with all it's fancy improvements.

Back then you could build your own Super late engine and be somewhat competitive, Same with local racing if your not buying a 800-900 hp engine you have no chance... The cost of the sport has put many of the "mechanic " hands on racers out of the "hobby" they loved....JMO

[Skull]

It's the economy and the cost of fuel. Fuel is everything. Teams that know they have no chance to make the World used to go just to be part of the weekend. Now, the cost prohibits that because there is zero return for those teams. It happens regionally, too. We see it every week here locally. I don't know why that is so hard for some people to digest.

[Ring Gear]

Holy crap you bitch about the backwoods local tracks and bitch about Tony buying Eldora and making many improvements that were sadly needed that Earl was never going to do.
Yes I loved the old Eldora where you you had to wade through raw sewage in the bathrooms that were constantly overflowing and the porta-pots covered in piss, crap, and puke all weekend.
If car counts are so important to you may I suggest the Boone Super Nationals where car counts reach 300+ but you would have to lower your obvious high standards to watch "support" divisions....

I plunk down the big bucks just like the next guy. I don't do " back woods tracks " and I do not do support divisions.. period. If Boone,Iowa was a SLM venue, then I probably would experience it.

I've been at this game for 48 years and have seen my share of back woods tracks and support divisions. It was either go for the gusto and enjoy what I like most [ SLM ] or quit going to the races period. I chose the latter.

A lot of years and a lot of money and at this point in time if all the tracks closed, I would surely survive.

Believe me.. there is a life after racing. My hard earned cash and time and I will probably keep bitching for as long as there are support divisions and " back woods tracks " and low car counts.

No longer a hard core race fan and this should stir up the troops.

[Hot Dog]

If you don't like racing, why are you on a racing message board? Talk about bizarre.

[Ring Gear]

If you don't like racing, why are you on a racing message board? Talk about bizarre.

Why am I on a racing message board ?? I guess I like to follow some of my favorite SLM drivers. Gregg Satterlee, Chub Frank, Rick Eckert.

Also to get results for some of these races and series. The Dream, The World 100, WoO, Lucas,
The Firecracker, Show Me 100, DTWC, Knoxville, North/South 100 , just to name a few off the top of my head.

I would not even register to get results for Sprint Cars, Crates, Street Stocks, Stocks, 4 Cyl's, Modifieds, Mini Sprints and the list goes on. Support classes interest me not.. as do back woods tracks. They have to show more then they do now.

Not wanting to know what goes on besides support classes is bizarre to me, but that is my opinion.

Some people have not experienced anything except their back woods track. I didn't say it, someone else did.