53 replies to this topic

[sicario]

Who has run Thunder Mountain in the past?

[BRC27]

I have Sicario.  great place to race.

[sicario]

Sorry, wasn't specific on that. I mean management wise. It does seem like a neat track to run. Different approaches to both corners, multi-groove. I've always been intrigued by the place.

[714d]

The Geer family owns it, and ran it initially. It closed briefly before they then leased it to Bo Lockwood and now to Rob Leonard and Maria Pirazzi, who have definitely figured out how to bring the place to its full potential.

[BRC27]

I think Bo was influenced by Jeff Taylor....Probably not the best mentor when it came to track promotion.  Robbie and Maria seem to have a really good grasp on how to run a track and balance their focus to make it not only a great place from a Driver perspective but also a good show that draws in the fans.

[honeybadger1]

do they run hot laps up there? or is it just heats at 7:30 pm?

[trailorintow]

And once again Rob and Maria have stepped up and announced an increase in pay out for all divisions. This place is growing fast. I feel it is slowly becoming what Lernerville once was. Great car counts in all divisions, great side by side-3 wide racing, and not a problem that can't be solved if you approach Rob in the right tone. I give them 2 thumbs up.

[sicario]

They have a great schedule. A littld bit of everything. I'm very interested in the UEMS show there. When we were at practice the people in front of us made a big deal when emods came out and said how they were their favorite cars to watch so i'm interested in attendance for both drivers and fans.

[BRC27]

Honeybadger, they usually run Hot Laps at 7.  

[BaconBits]

And once again Rob and Maria have stepped up and announced an increase in pay out for all divisions. This place is growing fast. I feel it is slowly becoming what Lernerville once was. Great car counts in all divisions, great side by side-3 wide racing, and not a problem that can't be solved if you approach Rob in the right tone. I give them 2 thumbs up.

 

Lol. If it's slowly overtaking Lernerville where are the 410 sprints and big block mods?

Edited by BaconBits, 24 May 2018 - 09:16 AM.

[Walt Wimer]

Right on!!!!   Thunder Mountain may be doing a good job and becoming one of the better tracks in western PA. However, there is only ONE Lernervillle!!!  No other track in the entire country runs all three top dirt racing classes!!  Glad it is only a half-hour from my house!!

 

GOOD RACING TO ALL!!!

 

Walt

[sicario]

The problem is that how many regional tracks run sprints and/or big blocks weekly? Just Lernerville and those 2 classes are barely hanging on. I can see Sharon switching completely back to sprints in coming seasons and then were does that leave big blocks. I love big blocks, always have and i'm very sad about their regional state but big blocks aren't a draw here. We know people love sprints here but weekly sprint shows aren't anywhere near what they used to be in large part to there being no circuit. Lernerville has that claim as the only track that runs the big three and has that famous name but those two things are about all that place has left.

At this point I'd consider the lates and emods as well as complete show at Eriez to be THEE weekend show more so than Lernerville. Will be a great show Sun with the BRP tour there. Lernerville is still an awesome track and has that heritage, I am glad they went our of the box with the wednesday shows but resting on your heritage and famous name isn't going to bring tracks into the future, at least in this region.

Edited by sicario, 24 May 2018 - 10:21 AM.

[sicario]

But more to the comparison, no TM is not Lernerville but it doesn't claim to be. Fans compare the two because they both run LM's on Friday nights but that's where everything ends. Lernerville is what it is, sprints, LM's, & BB's. That'a what iit's built on but that's also a downfall of sorts. They can't really make foundarional changes without a gigantic uproar where as TM can and did by adding open supers a few years back and continue to run a solid program as well as have a great schedule.

Is it Lernerville? No, it's Thunder Mountain and it is fine being that. If you prefer 1 to the other, that's fine but they are completely different entities who happen to race on the sams night and share 1 class.

TM continues to grow and hopefully becomes an important destination for LM's but with thst growth will come resistance to change and complaints. It's a fresh new thing and the people talking about it are the people who frequent it and typically you don't go somewhere you don't like. With more fans can come more problems but that's a bridge to cross for later...

Edited by sicario, 24 May 2018 - 11:05 AM.

[Walt Wimer]

Keep in mind that Lernerville and Thunder Mountain are too far apart for many fans to change from one to the other.  They are not like Mercer and Sharon have been for decades!!    The only "real" competition between the two is for cars in the Late Model class which is hurting overall.  Remember Dog Hollow had only 5 cars last week. Doesn't make Lernerville's 12 look quite so bad!!   Thunder Mountain's ULMS race took several from each, but not all that many.  There are not enough Sprint Cars or Modifieds left in the area for two tracks to run on the same night and the overall car count for Late Models is decreasing as well.  The Stateline-Eriez circuit has always been strong for Late Models and I expect it to continue to be that way, long after some other tracks may be forced to give up the class such as Pittsburgh and Roaring Knob have recently.    

 

GOOD RACING!!!

 

Walt

[sundance]

Thunder Mountain has come a long way in a few short years. They should be congratulated on that. Comparing them to Lernerville is silly. The facility, the program, the seating capacity, the total purse, the big sanctioned shows that Lernerville has are far beyond Thunder Mountains capabilities, and probably always will be. Eriez has a great program. They are at an ownership crossroads. I hope it all gets settled. I love attending there on Sundays when possible.

[Justin314]

To save the lates at lernerville, they need to A. drop the tire rule B. Have either thunder mountain or dog hollow move to Saturdays C have that track work with them. Like a mini series. That would benefit everyone. Same with the sprints and mods at sharon.

[sundance]

I hope the Late Models pick up at Lernerville. As I have said before, I hate the tire rule. In the end though, Lernerville would survive without them if necessary. They have run B Mains for both the Sprints and Mods this year.

Edited by sundance, 24 May 2018 - 02:58 PM.

[Hot Dog]

The tire rule isnt going anywhere. So you can forget that. From what I understand theres a written agreement thats in place for a few more years.

[sicario]

I always assumed that the tire deal was lumped in by WRG and that's why they've kept it. An actual agreement wouldn't surprise me.

Thunder mountain increasing payout again and having various types if cars is nice for their fans to get to see different types of racing as well as gauging interest from drivers. I'd love to see them add E-mods weekly if the driver participation is there. With it being a lease on farmland idk if the potential is there to add anymore seating really or to reconfigure the pits to add room for additional classes or to potentially add more seating off of turn 1. There is a cap on TM as it sits and we're not there yet but sprint shows like the patriot series years ago and the ULMS shows really max that place out. The BRP race there is also an intriguing one from a fan attendance stand point.

From a promotional standpoint and fan interest, they're killing it right now.

Edited by sicario, 24 May 2018 - 04:02 PM.

[D1RT]

My opinion is screw WRG.
They need Lernerville more than Lernerville needs them.
They want to play hard ball bring in Lucas Oil, All Stars, USAC, and BRP.
It's my opinion that WRG has been the biggest factor in the decline of Lernerville and for that matter dirt track racing in general.

Edited by D1RT, 24 May 2018 - 04:22 PM.