66 replies to this topic

[Paul55]

after hanna got taken out she went to smokey to talk about it he told her to calm down but she would be kicked out if she didnt just deal with it. i am not part of hannas crew and i dont talk to her much. just going on what smokey said and how he acts anymore. maybe its time to get a new guy in with more patience and that cares. please dont tell me if you can do better do it, just saying about his attitude dealing with the drivers. i think bobby neil would be good at it, get some fresh ideas in there. hell i go to the races to get away from my wife.lol. i could stay at home and get treated like shit and save the 30 bucks.

I understand what u are saying. But u gotta look at it from smokeys position to with dealing with every little thing that goes on thru the night. He has to stand his ground and make sure everyone knows he is the boss if not people would be bitching and crying till they get there way! But on the other hand he also needs to keep the racers safe on the track! If a corner worker tells him there is shit laying in the corner or on the track he needs to address the issue! As for racers running to him and bitching about what happens on the track he just an old school racer and more or less let's the drivers figure/ work it out. Jmo!

[dirtguy200948]

I understand what u are saying. But u gotta look at it from smokeys position to with dealing with every little thing that goes on thru the night. He has to stand his ground and make sure everyone knows he is the boss if not people would be bitching and crying till they get there way! But on the other hand he also needs to keep the racers safe on the track! If a corner worker tells him there is shit laying in the corner or on the track he needs to address the issue! As for racers running to him and bitching about what happens on the track he just an old school racer and more or less let's the drivers figure/ work it out. Jmo!

So how many cautions will they throw for mistaken a ROOT for a piece of metal sticking uop in the track?

[Paul55]

So how many cautions will they throw for mistaken a ROOT for a piece of metal sticking uop in the track?

As many as it takes till the track is clean!

[dirtguy200948]

As many as it takes till the track is clean!

You should run for pit steward!

[Dirt54]

So how many cautions will they throw for mistaken a ROOT for a piece of metal sticking uop in the track?

That wasn't a piece of a root that lamb hit that sat there for 3 laps

[Racefan68x]

[quote name='Dirt54' date='Apr 15 2014, 09:39 PM' post='388778']
That wasn't a piece of a root that lamb hit that sat there for 3 laps


nor was it a root that destroyed ron halls helmet

[Racefan68x]

i think bryan does a hell of a job with the track surface considering the equipment and manpower that miley gives him to work with.

[dirtguy200948]

i think bryan does a hell of a job with the track surface considering the equipment and manpower that miley gives him to work with.

I wouldnt use any of that equipment to plow a field.

[Racefan68x]

I wouldnt use any of that equipment to plow a field.

thats what i mean! just think if he had actual equipment that would work,

[racer67x]

bottom line is they have milked the place for all they could and there isn't much left..on a regular saturday like last week it looked like a ghost town,used to be packed when they took it over. I've seen it go from paying the heats to nothing,paying the points to nothing and the only ones getting fatter are the Mileys. all thats left are the ones that love the track and their number falls every week. its sad that its come to this..I'll still support it (its all I know) but it no longer has the luster it once had.

[RmiT]

bottom line is they have milked the place for all they could and there isn't much left..on a regular saturday like last week it looked like a ghost town,used to be packed when they took it over.
I've seen it go from paying the heats to nothing,paying the points to nothing and the only ones getting fatter are the Mileys.
all thats left are the ones that love the track and their number falls every week.
its sad that its come to this..I'll still support it (its all I know) but it no longer has the luster it once had.

AMEN

[Squirrely Hilly]

The weaker races tracks are definitely struggling right now. The management seems to be the problem there. Pinching pennies has cost them big dollars there. Lack of investment in the facility and the purse over the years has caught up. The last purse increase wasn't really and increase, it was a redistribution of the same purse at the cost of an entertaining class of cars. Another problem that place has is the conflict of interest with family racing at the track. Let's not forget the 2012 Pittsburgher fiasco. What teams want to compete where blantant favortism is possible? The teams that compete there compete there mostly out of convenience of the location now. It seems the management cannot put their business needs in front of their own personal racing competition needs. The fan base is probably going to continue to shrink with shrinking car counts. 10 or 12 cars can make a show on a small track, but not on a giant track.

Edited by Squirrely Hilly, 16 April 2014 - 07:18 AM.

[dirtslinger82]

Not sticking up for anyone, but if you look at Roaring Knobs car counts from Saturday; they too are less than stellar!! SLM: 16 RLM: 17 SS: 12 E-MOD: 7 CHRGR: 5 4 CYL: 7 It does seem that everyone's favorite passtime on this board is to save PPMS one keyboard button at a time; what's your take on those numbers? Most report that track was a baja railway line. Weed out some garbage off the PPMS surface and you can atleast race top to bottom all the way around!

[Walt Wimer]

So far in the first five "regular" race nights at western PA tracks, no track has broken 20 cars in their headline class. Mercer had 19 Sprint Cars and Bedford 18 Late Models. Those are the best so far. The top support classes are about the same, but the lower support classes have been quite low at several races. 16-18 cars seems the be pretty much the "new normal" for the top classes and the top support classes such as the crate engine Late Models and 358 Modifieds. It was a very nasty winter and I am hoping some race teams are just running behind and car counts will pick up. It will be interesting to see what Lernerville, Sharon & McKean County get when they open this weekend!! GOOD RACING TO ALL Walt

[spike]

So far in the first five "regular" race nights at western PA tracks, no track has broken 20 cars in their headline class. Mercer had 19 Sprint Cars
and Bedford 18 Late Models. Those are the best so far. The top support classes are about the same, but the lower support classes have been
quite low at several races. 16-18 cars seems the be pretty much the "new normal" for the top classes and the top support classes such as the
crate engine Late Models and 358 Modifieds. It was a very nasty winter and I am hoping some race teams are just running behind and car counts
will pick up. It will be interesting to see what Lernerville, Sharon & McKean County get when they open this weekend!!

GOOD RACING TO ALL

Walt

Mercer started with 16 410's last year. Missing Ruth, Best, Jones and Hubler from last opener. But picked up Flick, Hoddick, Seger, George, Bowser, Kent and Duncan for 19 this year. The WoO just had 16 cars for a race at Perris, CA. and do you remember last year when the ASCoC had 8 for a race. Take care of your regulars.

Edited by spike, 16 April 2014 - 10:36 PM.

[Skull]

It's hard to get a grip on car counts this early in the year. Many folks simply aren't ready. But Pittsburgh hasn't drawn many cars other than crates for a few years. I could see them dropping weekly racing and going to a specials only format. If they are promoted right and pay well, they have shown they can draw nice crowds.

[TCM29]

So far in the first five "regular" race nights at western PA tracks, no track has broken 20 cars in their headline class. Mercer had 19 Sprint Cars
and Bedford 18 Late Models. Those are the best so far. The top support classes are about the same, but the lower support classes have been
quite low at several races. 16-18 cars seems the be pretty much the "new normal" for the top classes and the top support classes such as the
crate engine Late Models and 358 Modifieds. It was a very nasty winter and I am hoping some race teams are just running behind and car counts
will pick up. It will be interesting to see what Lernerville, Sharon & McKean County get when they open this weekend!!

GOOD RACING TO ALL

Walt

I read this entire thread and have come to the conclusion that if I had never been to PMS, or (like me) not been there for a long time, I would probably not go, perhaps for good reason. As a business owner I would be deeply disturbed at the comments, and respond with an outline of improvements, or simply close until the place could be fixed up for both fans and competitors. I have been attending races for over 50 years, and have seen people fall through grandstands (usually kids) and also been hit by debris on the track, neither which is good. As for the car counts- just wait until all the formerly shuttered tracks open back up and the normal car attrition occurs throughout the season. The part about not being able to bring alcohol to the track affecting attendance does not cut it with me, as the huge +5,000 crowds I remember from yesteryear did so without that. In fact, I feel motor sports should set an example and not allow it in the first place, but I guess times have changed, and not always for the good. I plan on attending more races this year in PA, OH and MI than in years past to support local short track racing, especially in light of what Nascar has become. Speaking of Nascar, how many potential fans probably stayed home and watched the Southern 500 for free? That was never the case years ago when the best you could hope for was a tape delayed WW of Sports in black and white shared with figure skating. Lernerville should be good tomorrow and I look forward to being there in the family section. I'll drink my beer at home. Thanks, Walt, your positive comments and passion for the sport are always great to read.

[Street Stocker]

Other tracks may have similar car counts, but they are smaller tracks where those car counts can make a enough race to watch instead of cars spread all over a huge track. Even if the track has a lot of grooves, the racing tends to be boring because of the track size. Add in the facility that appears unsafe, increasing prices, etc. and it's a formula for less and less fans in the stands.

[GEARHEAD]

Other tracks may have similar car counts, but they are smaller tracks where those car counts can make a enough race to watch instead of cars spread all over a huge track. Even if the track has a lot of grooves, the racing tends to be boring because of the track size. Add in the facility that appears unsafe, increasing prices, etc. and it's a formula for less and less fans in the stands.

The track actually has too many grooves and it's too easy to pass there. It's hard to fault a track for being too racey, but with 7-car heats you will typically only see 1 lap of passing before they are sorted from fastest to slowest and the rest of the race is worthless. The fastest car could start last and they will blow past the entire field in turns 1 and 2 on the start and the race is over. I've seen that happen quite a few times out there. You won't see any long side-by-side battles because you can pass cars there like you're taking a leisurely drive down Route 22. Hartman almost started last in the second Pittsburgher feature a few years ago and passed the entire field in 19 laps, they could have thrown the checkered on lap 20 because the race was over after that. 20+ cars at least makes it more interesting because the leaders have to pass some lapped traffic.

I actually thought that since the owners sold off some of the land and sold Motordrome that they would actually make an investment into the track. I guess I was wrong. It looks like they will run it into the ground until the grandstands won't pass inspection anymore then sell it off. It's a shame when track owners don't have the passion to try to make their track a first-class facility.

Edited by GEARHEAD, 17 April 2014 - 11:10 AM.

[whiteboy55]

I watched miley and feree race side by side for e 3 laps during their heat race saturday. As long as the cars that show are quality teams the race is interesting enough for me. The sportsman race was excellent, you had a crash for the finish of the amatuers, pegher and ben miley went at it pretty good in the late model feature. it was the first regular show of the year, give it a chance. 7f you enjoy speed PPMS is awesome, if you like watching guys bounce off of each other to make a pass then PPMS is not for you, to each his own. Also where do you guys get your info about smokey not paying attention to debris, I rode in the pushh truck all night with a radio, I never heard any of the BS that has been posted on here about him ignoring a warning for debris. For sure there was a mess on the track but he did not ignore it!