127 replies to this topic

[grt0404]

i hear through the grape vine that amp needs at a minium 40 cars for the next 2 weeks or they will shut down and the track will be for sale anybody hear this we dont need this to happen the 55 pure stock was not there last week because of damage sustained 2 weeks ago when we were taken out by the 5x but the damage will be fixed and we will be back at amp this saturday support amp and help keep this track open

[snooky]

Boy that's not good news.

[fordblueoval]

We can not have three tracks in the area all running the same night with the same classes.  If I was the owner, I would switch to Sunday and start at four in the afternoon so everyone can get home at a reasonable hour.

[animalgfx]

Our car will be back in two weeks in street stock division... There's a couple other guys who race SS that should be back soon..... Everyone has their opinion as to what the solution is... And there isn't an easy one... I would hate to see the track close but getting 8-9 cars per class sure isn't going to bring a large fan following.. This area doesn't support 2-3 racetracks well.. Depending where you live, Amp, HB, or MC are less than an hour haul in any direction... And when one track makes a team mad they jump ship and go somewhere else... Between the economy, the saturation of race tracks and the fact that we as racers are our own worst enemy... One of these three tracks is gonna fail if they don't soon give in and work together... In my opinion HB and MC have a following that stems from the nostalgia and history that goes along with them.... AMPs history is very jaded... So people don't have as much faith in it.... That being said I love AMP because that's where I turned my first ever laps in a car.... I hope something changes soon for the better...

[Dr_Dirt]

Well said Jim!

Our car will be back in two weeks in street stock division... There's a couple other guys who race SS that should be back soon..... Everyone has their opinion as to what the solution is... And there isn't an easy one... I would hate to see the track close but getting 8-9 cars per class sure isn't going to bring a large fan following.. This area doesn't support 2-3 racetracks well.. Depending where you live, Amp, HB, or MC are less than an hour haul in any direction... And when one track makes a team mad they jump ship and go somewhere else... Between the economy, the saturation of race tracks and the fact that we as racers are our own worst enemy... One of these three tracks is gonna fail if they don't soon give in and work together... In my opinion HB and MC have a following that stems from the nostalgia and history that goes along with them.... AMPs history is very jaded... So people don't have as much faith in it.... That being said I love AMP because that's where I turned my first ever laps in a car.... I hope something changes soon for the better...

[suhoney18]

that would kinda suck if you were racing amp strictly for points to have all that not even matter

[just saying]

I have to agree with the others if Jeff is going to make it he really needs to change to Sunday open gate at 1:30 racing at 4:00 I bet he will double his car count if not more

[just saying]

Seems to be going to hell the web site don't get updated no news they really lost there act from last year and sorry crew you really need to learn how to maintain the track and prep before racing

[snooky]

Agree. Something has certainly changed from last year.

[RocketRide]

Is the management of this facility even trying to listen too suggestions, or are they turning a deaf ear, many weekends i sit and think about how it would be nice to have a track to go to sundays,i would be there for sure every week. Good luck amp hope it gets better for you,

[The Legend]

This is sunhoney thinking about amp closing ...

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[racerxcrewchief]

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[rsadiedog]

THE FIRST PROBLEM IS THE THE VERY FIRST SENTENCE OF THIS POST (I HEAR THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE)!  Grapevines are good for only one thing, making wine or whine!  Secondly, if I remember right AMP started the first half of the season last year with a similar number of cars, not until later in the season did the car counts come up.  why might one ask?  Because everyone at the other tracks eventually gets pissed off over a bad call or another racer cheating, or bad track conditions, or payout, and because it's later in the season they can see that they are out of the points race and they decide to go elsewhere.  Just wait and see the year is young.

 

I agree that Jeff's doesn't seem as enthusiastic about it this year, but who came blame him, he gets crucified for everything he does.  I'm sure he probably regrets a few decisions he's made, but don't we all!  But that's how things roll, so those that despise Jeff just might get their wish someday and he will throw in the towel, but who wins when the gates are shut and the weeds grow back? 

[The Legend]

The couple clowns who relentlessly bash amp on this board will see it as a huge victory ... The same type of people who
Vote for candidates who promise to " tax the rich " not realizing that even if you tax the rich 100% they will
Still
Be poor lol. It does seem like a switch to Sunday may be a good idea but then again how
Many of the low buck teams that run places like
AMP can afford to race twice a week anyway ?? I'm not sure ... Just asking

[T-440]

Thats a good point Legend, another bad thing about running Sunday is if some of your regulars that do run twice a week get tore up on Friday or Saturday, chances are they won't be there Sunday. 

 

I think there are ways for AMP to be viable on Saturday nights.  I would hope before they throw in the towel, they would look into some other options. 

 

Myself, I think they are spreading themselves and thier payout too thin by running so many classes.  I know it would be hard to choose, and not everyone would be happy, but I think they need to make a choice and have only one stock division.  Either Pure Stock or Street Stock, not both.  Put the payouts together and you'd have a purse of around $500 to win and $100 to start.  That is a nice payout for a support division stock car class.  Even if you only drew 15 to 18 cars in that class, I think it would be more entertaining than 7 or 8 cars in two different classes.  Pick one class, add the payouts together and corner the market on the class you choose, let the other tracks fight over the other class.

 

Semi-lates, I love the idea behind the class, and I think it is a good class for this area.  Having said that, I see there are 14 cars listed in the point standings.  How many nights have all 14 been there at the same time?  How many do they get on a weekly basis?  It is lower cost alternative to a full blown late model, so maybe alot of the teams can't afford to, or just don't want to race every weekend.  What if they ran them once or twice a month and see if you can get them all there at the same time, untill the counts grow and stablize?  

 

Late models.  Lates are the division of choice in this area, and if they get a decent field, fans will come to watch them.  Do they really need to penalize aluminum block teams with weight penalties, or give weight breaks to the steel block teams?  On that size track, does it really make a difference?  Did they save any money by cutting the payout?  From what I'm hearing they lost a couple teams that planned on running there, so I can't see where they saved very much.  

 

305 sprints, I like them, so I'm a bit biased, but I would have them as often as possible.  They are something different for this area, and the car count doesn't seem too bad from what I'm hearing. 

[snooky]

A different night would certainly work. However, AMP changed the rules just enough in most classes that they can't run other tracks legally.
Who benefits if they close? Hummingbird and Marion Center

[RocketRide]

T-440 you dont seem to understand that sat nites is not going to get better for them, you will not gain cars from the other tracks,all the guys have a track they attend regular and thats that.

[T-440]

I know what you're saying RocketRide.  But I also know that teams change tracks all the time for one reason or another.   

[RocketRide]

You have a valid point also,but amp doesnt need a couple cars here and there they need a full field which is what they would have running a different day, JMO.

[kip77]

Hell since were spitballing ideas. What about a three or four class show earlier Saturday afternoon. Run the Lates and 305's. Then maybe rotate the stock divisions and or the Semi's. Start around 1 and be done by 4. Any class count under 10 runs a feature only. Of course this would mean the track prep better be spot on to run in the afternoon. Just an idea.