The Pace Lap - August 20, 2010

- August is often called the “month of money” with the numerous specials run during or near the month. It’s been the “month of misery” around here...a track shuts down, a driver suffers serious injuries, big shows get rained on...been kind of tough on the fans and the racers too.

- Eagle hasn’t had a rainout since the beginning of the season. I wonder if maybe a little of the financial strife some of the teams are going through right now is due to the fact they’ve had so much racing. The most expensive part of running a race car is...running the race car.

- Stayed home Monday from the Tour N’Topless sprint show at I-80 after I saw that giant yellow blob on the radar around 4PM. I used what little meteorology knowledge I hadn't forgotten from my degree and determined that this race would get cut short. I was right. Thursday night they ran the A features for the Sprints and Late Models, with 12 of the original 16 (with one obvious and certainly understandable absence) returning to finish the show. I had other plans for Thursday and did that instead.

- I’ve always thought the “complete heats=complete show” custom shouldn’t apply to touring series, because at most weekly shows they run double features (with their purse) the following week - thus justifying charging twice. But with touring events, I’d like them to run it all or run none.

- In the same vein: Same thing goes for the cut-short POWRi midget race at JMS last month. I don’t care if you paid out the purse - the fans came to see a full show. Logistics an issue? Time the next night? OK - then be creative.

But being creative is something nearly all midget sanctions are rarely accused of. Tech inspections, 2, 5, 10 and 20 lap records, more time spent on the hometown of the car owner than working a crowd, and hour-long intermissions to give crews time to set the car up - THAT’S what I call fan friendly!

- With Butler County’s woes, there as been some question about the 9/11 ASCS show. The track is looking for funding, but it’s possible there is a plan B in the works for another track. Which one? Not sure yet and nothing is finalized - could be a standalone show at one track, could be a two day Nebraska cup, could be something different and until we hear otherwise, the 9/11 show is still scheduled for BCM.

Update: The 9/11 show has been moved to Junction Motor Speedway, paying the winner $3000. Details here

Interesting point: after lights were permanently installed at Memorial Stadium a few years ago and with the increase in TV coverage (particularly pay-per-view), Husker football games were moved to the night and running against them was financial suicide. This year, the 9/11 Husker game is in the MORNING...

- Went to Eagle for the first “sprint free” weekly show in a long time. Despite some anecdotal accounts on message boards, the crowd was down a little bit according to my comparisons, despite a buy one adult ticket, get one half off special via text message. That’s not saying it was desolate, you know - like a midget crowd.

I took off my shoes so I could use my toes and counted the people in the middle sections - like I do most weeks to get a gauge on the crowd. Having also worked at the track for 9 years and having to look at the gate receipts, I got pretty good at eyeballing it.

But was it because of no sprints? Maybe a little of it (Knoxville attendance on Saturday was up BTW), but you could pin other things too. Lincoln’s Ribfest and concert, a blazing hot week that really didn’t relent until the races were well underway, the last weekend before school, and the fact that most of the time, the crowd trails off significantly in August anyhow. Why do you think all those years Eagle ran its fan appreciation nights around that time?

What I’m saying is, you can’t read much into it either way.

- Still undecided on what I will do this weekend. Gotta be honest, I’m getting kind of burned out. We'll see how I feel. I'm looking forward to the end-of-season specials.