Editorial - A Victim of Success

Made my first trip to the racetrack Memorial Day weekend - making to Eagle’s “Superganza” (AKA Driver Appreciation, AKA Free ticket night).

Once again, the place was packed, prompting the track to open up the wooden Southwest grandstand. Fans were treated to the normal program, with unseasonably high mid-90’s temperatures, along with additional features as the Sprints and Hobby stocks made up their races from the previous week’s rainout.

I thought I got there early (around 5), but others arrived early with promises of pit tours and pre-race festivities. I ended up parking somewhere near Palmyra.

Much ado has been made over the dry, hard track conditions and the toll it’s taken on Sprint Car tires. The criticism on the message boards and over the phone/in-person grew on owner Roger Hadan’s nerves so much he barred a former sprint car owner and a crew chief from entering the pits for the remainder of the season.

For the record, I think he’s in his right to do so. Using a term I’ve said before, “his hut, his rules.” You can voice an opinion...doesn’t mean it comes without consequence. I won’t argue ‘freedom of speech’ because insisting that is so dumb it doesn’t merit further thought.

OK. About the racing. The track went dry again, no help from a lengthy red flag when a person suffered a medical emergency in the pits, necessitating the need for both ambulances on the grounds. Totally understandable. Some jackass had the audacity to complain about it on Eagle's facebook page. It's part of racing. It happens rarely. I hope if I have a medical emergency, anyone who can put on a band-aid is helping me. Man, people and their First World problems...

The races clicked on, oddly with a hobby stock and modified flipping during their heats. Intermission was not to be track repair time, but Roger’s dismay at what was to be another rubber-down track was obvious over the radio.

I decided to drop off some of my excess baggage back at the car, and come back with just the camera, for one-off shots. I found my vehicle, sat down, grabbed an icy Gatorade out of the cooler and determined I had enough for one night and headed home. To be honest, I actually had to wait for traffic - there was a small, but noticeable stream of cars heading out.

And that brings me to this: the show is a victim of its own success. Roger, for many reasons has made Eagle a destination for fans and cars. Contrary to some belief (and lining up with hard evidence), “cars bring crowds” isn’t true. It is more “crowds bring cars.” There isn’t much that stokes a racer’s ego like running in front of packed stands. The crowd brings energy along with revenue.

But the sheer amount of cars...on a good night is too much for me anymore. The delays and additional entertainment events led to a show that ended at 12:30. My legs, butt, family life...can’t take that on a regular basis.

I’m not bashing Roger by any means. He is blessed with the proverbial “nice problem to have.” But it’s a culture, a way of being that is foreign to me and I’m just not built for it anymore...or at least not now.

The following Saturday, Eagle changed the order of the races to put the sprints first. The result by most accounts was a one-laner in the heats because it was tacky, with rubber down conditions at feature time. By the end of the night, pictures tweeted showed a dusty haze across the track.

I think the major, underlying issue is this: Eagle, because of the great car counts and a desire to end, well..on Saturday forces them to start at 6:30. They hotlap at 5:30. The track is being baked just an hour removed from the usual daily temperature peak for this time of year. The sun is still relatively high in the sky. You’re asking someone to run a day show and expecting the track to be tacky at night. Last year, the water was dumped and dumped leaving a wet, but rough track. To stave off the roughness this year, the track is beaten down like a rented mule, leaving a smooth as (and abrasive as) concrete surface.

Getting that ‘perfect’ track is such a fine line. Do you want it tacky and smooth? Probably ain’t going to happen with that assortment of cars. Dry? OK...I like dry tracks personally, when there’s passing. Can there be some balance here? It’s tough to gauge and it’s an art, not a science. To think Roger is trying to set the track up that way to run off sprints...and more funny, bringing in late models is just ridiculous.

Repeat after me: Roger owns the track. If he wanted sprints out, he would’ve got rid of them a long time ago.

He wouldn’t be paying close to a half-million dollars in purse over his tenure to a class he wanted gone from day one. He wouldn’t be running a season ending sprint show as a big-money event if that were the case. He’d have a lot more late model specials...maybe would’ve run them as support more often. By the way, Late Models will squeeze out a track as quick as sprint cars, with wide-ish tires and more weight.

Contrary to a rumor: he is not under contract to run sprints. Where does that come from?

This weekend’s Eagle Nationals will be interesting - from the track conditions standpoint alone. A 7:00PM start, and only three classes has a major impact on how one sets up the track. If the track holds up and produces an exciting show, the people will yell, “see how it’s done!” and cite the fact that the show was independently promoted.

But that would be unfair. The conditions are totally different.

I plan on attending both nights - and my hope is that it’s a great show, with a lot of cars, great racing and a good time, ending at a reasonable hour. The conditions lend themselves to it.

What happens next week? Well, the game changes again. I’m not saying we need to deal with it, but it’s a problem yet to be solved. I honestly believe Roger is trying to solve it.

-Jason