BigO
10-05-2009, 09:56 PM
Greetings, all. After getting a chance to sit down and collect my thoughts (and recover a bit from Martinsville), I decided to put them out there to see what everyone else thought.
First off, I won't go through everything on the NA$CAR Whelen Southern Mod Tour Super Fast 150 except to say that put on a pretty good show, giving proof that the series is still alive and viable, and that the track itself can support some great competition. Actually, the track staff seemed to keep things going much better than I have seen lately. The announcers did a very good job, as well. They were still no Randy Joyce (the hardest working announcer around - and great at it, too), but worked hard to keep the crowd hooked in.
Attendance was decent, but somewhat low. Then again, they were up against high school football, and this race was wedged between the big Martinsville mod and late model races.
The RWYB races were fairly entertaining and had many of the elements we were looking for, but where are the local drivers? Yes, the late models were in Martinsville, but there were very few regular drivers there. I think that there were more UCARS from 311 than from Ace. (In fairness, it was won by an Ace UCAR running mini-stock rims and tires.) Most of the mini-stock race cars seemed to be from Wake's Mod 4 division as well. I'd love to see a mod 4 race at Ace, though. Those boys had it right.
The most interesting RWYB race was the modified/ limited sportsman race. You had some competition, but an interesting mix of cars that was still fun to watch: one tour mod that didn't pass inspection, two "Ace mods", a vintage mod with a Ford Flathead V8, a limited late model that had borrowed someones carb that runs UARA-STARS, and a road-racing late model (complete with brake lights!). Awesome mix - now what do they need to do to get more out there?
Competition cautions: This is the only case where I like them, since you had only one great car in each RWYB race. They should be throwing them at lap 15 of 25 each race, and lap 20 if it gets out of hand again.
Admittedly, I ate dinner before going to the race, but I did eat some food there. Duggins' Concessions still puts together a great funnel cake. The main concession stands were half-closed, leading to very long lines at the beginning. When I went soon after the WSMT race ended, the service was lackluster, and the pizza nearly inedible. If you want to see how concessions should be done, go to 311 Fastrack or Rolling Thunder Raceway. The food is good to great at both places, and priced right.
I won't say things are wonderful there, but it actually seems to be headed in the right direction. They still have problems (car counts, concessions, budgetary issues, concessions, some issues with becoming "gimmicky", and did I mention concessions?), but all the elements are coming into place to really make things go.
First off, I won't go through everything on the NA$CAR Whelen Southern Mod Tour Super Fast 150 except to say that put on a pretty good show, giving proof that the series is still alive and viable, and that the track itself can support some great competition. Actually, the track staff seemed to keep things going much better than I have seen lately. The announcers did a very good job, as well. They were still no Randy Joyce (the hardest working announcer around - and great at it, too), but worked hard to keep the crowd hooked in.
Attendance was decent, but somewhat low. Then again, they were up against high school football, and this race was wedged between the big Martinsville mod and late model races.
The RWYB races were fairly entertaining and had many of the elements we were looking for, but where are the local drivers? Yes, the late models were in Martinsville, but there were very few regular drivers there. I think that there were more UCARS from 311 than from Ace. (In fairness, it was won by an Ace UCAR running mini-stock rims and tires.) Most of the mini-stock race cars seemed to be from Wake's Mod 4 division as well. I'd love to see a mod 4 race at Ace, though. Those boys had it right.
The most interesting RWYB race was the modified/ limited sportsman race. You had some competition, but an interesting mix of cars that was still fun to watch: one tour mod that didn't pass inspection, two "Ace mods", a vintage mod with a Ford Flathead V8, a limited late model that had borrowed someones carb that runs UARA-STARS, and a road-racing late model (complete with brake lights!). Awesome mix - now what do they need to do to get more out there?
Competition cautions: This is the only case where I like them, since you had only one great car in each RWYB race. They should be throwing them at lap 15 of 25 each race, and lap 20 if it gets out of hand again.
Admittedly, I ate dinner before going to the race, but I did eat some food there. Duggins' Concessions still puts together a great funnel cake. The main concession stands were half-closed, leading to very long lines at the beginning. When I went soon after the WSMT race ended, the service was lackluster, and the pizza nearly inedible. If you want to see how concessions should be done, go to 311 Fastrack or Rolling Thunder Raceway. The food is good to great at both places, and priced right.
I won't say things are wonderful there, but it actually seems to be headed in the right direction. They still have problems (car counts, concessions, budgetary issues, concessions, some issues with becoming "gimmicky", and did I mention concessions?), but all the elements are coming into place to really make things go.