Stan Meissner
When Dan Plan asked me if I'd like to contribute a monthly online version of my column it sounded like a great opportunity. I wouldn't be limited by the space requirements of a printed publication which would allow me to go into greater depth. We motorsports writers bill ourselves as experts but in reality we're simply guessing and offering up our opinions. Don't believe me? Take a back issue of your favorite racing publication off the shelf. If your collection goes back as far as mine does pick an issue that is 10, 15, or 20 years old. Open the yellow dog eared pages and find the opinion columns that are typically located in the front section of the magazine. Read the predictions for the next season, the success or failure of a new series or the prognostications about an existing series taking it to the next level. Did they sound authoritative? Were you convinced when you read it that they were right on the money? Did you present what you had read to your friends and defend it as gospel? Did the predictions they made in such an authoritative eloquent way come to pass? In most cases if their predictions and opinions are even 50% right you better pay attention to that writer. That is, if the magazine or racing paper is still being published. The oldest archives in my personal collection are comprised of old issues of Open Wheel magazine. The writers might have sounded like experts to me when they made their 1989 predictions but that publication fell by the wayside. As a matter of fact, some of those writers are no longer motorsports journalists. Not to take anything away from the efforts of the racing media but my point is that racing writers are guessing based on past experience just like the rest of us. You, my dear racing fan, are their captive audience and columnists are expert at presenting an opinion in a way that gives the appearance of authority. Strip away the air of authority and their photo at the top of our column and writers are fans of racing. If we had any sense we'd have figured out a long time ago that struggling to meet photo and writing deadlines, chasing way more races than our budgets should allow and hustling bundles of papers is a lot of work. You fans tailgating in the campgrounds and sitting in the shade drinking a cold beverage while we're out there sweating are the smart ones. But you probably already knew that.
There are different styles of motorsports journalists. You've got the ones writing for results oriented papers who travel to 100+ races per season and drop the name of everyone they talk to in bold type. You know the style of writing I'm talking about, "I drove six hours through pouring rain over two lane roads to watch the (insert sanction and class) at the (insert track) Speedway. When I walked through the gate I ran into (insert driver) and it was really nice to talking to him about his new (insert brand) chassis. After seeing a great show of (insert six entry classes that drew 12-18 cars each) I made the six hour drive home so I could be at work by 6am." This writer's work shouts out the words "look at me, I'm a fanatic and don't have anything better to do than drive six hours to the middle of nowhere." Not to pick on the superfans traveling to races in the far reaches of our region but most of us put our vacation time and entertainment budget to better use. Most superfan schedules exceed the 100 races of a World of Outlaws Sprint Car team and is way beyond anything sane people would do. You can tell that they're eccentrics when you talk to them, their eyes light up and they actually get excited about driving all night to see a race somewhere out in the middle of nowhere. Quite frankly experience has shown me that the biggest special events are confined to a certain few tracks. I have become a "specials only snob" and limit my racing to places where I can get the most bang for my buck and vacation but more on that later.
Then you've got the writers who start out like this. "The sun was shining on the happy fans as 150 cars signed in at the pit gate to do battle on a beautiful evening." Unless you're at the World 100 or the Knoxville Nationals 150 of anything signing in at the pit gate is going to make for a long night in my book. Back gate promoting, nobody dares to admit this but it didn't always used to be that way and it seems like there are a lot modern era fans who think sitting through a hodge podge of classes while waiting for the headliner is fun. The more traveling entry level cars from out of the area that show up to race for national points the better. Perhaps I have exaggerated somewhat in order to make my point but I'm willing to bet that you're getting a chuckle from my observations.
And then there are the writers who like to stir up the pot. You know the ones I'm talking about, they're quick to jump on any disagreement among competitors and milk it to death. If a driver should happen to lose his temper and take a swing at another driver or throw his helmet in frustration the incident provides them with an entire season of material. Their reporting is going to be more centered on what's going on behind the closed doors of transporters than what's happening on the track. If they do happen to mention some actual racing it's probably going to center around the driver who has the reputation for causing controversy. These kinds of writers love Tony Stewart for all the wrong reasons. Any resemblance in these examples to actual writers is purely coincidental. We're just having some fun here.
And finally we've got the least sophisticated of all the writers. These are the ones who can't write an article without mentioning how many beers they had around the campfire at their last race. They speak in vague generalities about the races they attend because quite frankly, they (a) don't give a darn as long as they had fun and (b) they can't remember who won by the time they get home. These writers spend more time than all the other writers researching their columns because they can't remember what happened the night before. They probably woke up to the sound of generators only to discover that they were in the campground of a race track and had a severe headache. Never mind who won, more importantly how did I get here?
Which style of writing do I follow? I try to emulate the best points of all of these writing styles because they're all good in their unique way. I'll never be a superfan but I talk to the drivers and mention our conversations in my writing. I'm not known for creating controvery but if an incident takes place between drivers I might mention it as it relates to the column. The least sophisticated style of writing comes most natural for me so I have to constantly remind myself to be more observant and make notes on my digital recorder. No matter how much time and effort I put into my work I'm not going to be the most knowledgeable on every subject and you will catch me making errors. I'm probably not going to get the most driver quotes and don't care which drivers are causing controversy. All we can do as writers is to do our best in our own style.
We have barely seen the end of the post season special events and the internet message board chatter is already getting busy. One recurring theme we have already seen is what I refer to as "the grass is greener on the other side" syndrome. Have you seen the posts where someone will complain about one of the tracks and suggest that a new track be built nearby to put the offending track out of business? Heaven forbid a promoter should miss the mark on track prep, change some detail regarding a race or make any sort of miscue. The "grass is always greener" folks will eat them up right along with the grader, water truck and grandstand. Fairgrounds tracks are an easy target because not only can they bad mouth a promoter but they've also got that invisible entity called the Fair Board to bash. The common theme among these people is that the promoters are socking away millions of dollars hand over fist at their expense and are out to screw them. They seem to think that it's cheap and easy to obtain enough land to build a track, secure the necessary permits, build the facility, draw a good field, pay more than the existing tracks and treat the racers and fans like kings.
Now that DTRA has been existence for two seasons we're still seeing debates on the message boards. I am neutral in this matter as I am first and foremost a Sprint Car fan and prefer special events over weekly shows. My observation the past two years is that it has been business as usual everywhere I go. I don't see any significant changes to the weekly shows I have attended as far as competitors or numbers of cars. Oh sure, a few loyalists have confined their racing to one club or the other but the weekly shows have looked the same to me. Still I read the protests from WISSOTA loyalists pleading for compromise and directing their anger at DTRA. I'm picking up an occasional copy of the "official paper" and am still seeing shots taken at the new group by their columnist. I am having a hard time understanding all of this lingering anger when nothing appears to be much different to me. I think that tracks should run their business as they see fit and that includes the decision on how to sanction their weekly racing. If that means having WISSOTA, DTRA, IMCA, USRA, unsanctioned, or some combination it makes no difference to me. The tires on the race cars for the first races I attended as a youngster were Firestone knobbys. I didn't go into a funk or become a militant advocate to stay with Firestone when that changed. Quite frankly, when I used to sit in the stands watching racing with my kids I never paid attention to sanctions or the lettering on the tires. I have posted my opinion and received nasty email from fans, competitors and promoters explaining the "error of my ways" in an attempt to get me to take sides. I prefer to stay neutral as I don't see the point in getting high blood pressure over a recreational activity that's supposed to help me relax on the weekends. If I owned a race car I would chose the options that were best for my racing team and not agonize over things that were beyond my control.
Today most tracks are doing what some of us long time fans refer to as "back gate promoting." Anyone who started attending racing at places like the Minnesota State Fair when it was a dirt track remembers going to see Sprint, Midget or Stock Car shows with no support class. The shows would feature one class of racing, the grandstand would be packed and we'd be walking the Midway by 6pm after a 2pm start. If you have attended races at Knoxville Raceway (two classes of Sprint Cars) or Angell Park (Midgets only) you have seen modern day examples of an efficiently run one or two class show. Unfortunately, week in and week out most tracks today aren't able to offer a fast efficient one class show show. They found years ago that there weren't enough fans coming through the turnstiles so they added another class. As time went on their idea blossomed into four, five and sometimes even six or more classes of racing. Great for the back gate, an excellent way to keep the track in the black ink but somewhat difficult to accept by us fans who grew up in simpler times. An example of this is what happened to the Jackson, Minnesota, Speedway. My son and I used to go there in the 1980's when it was a two class program, 410 and 360 Sprint Cars like Knoxville. The economy in that area got soft, the costs of fielding a competitive Sprint Car skyrocketed and Jackson was forced to change their lineup. Modifieds and Stock Cars were added, the only Sprints left on the program were 360's and many of the loyal fans stopped going to the races. Legend has it that the Sprint fans booed the fendered cars and Modfieds at the first post Sprints only show. This same scenario is played out by Late Model and Modified fans at many tracks in our area who don't care to sit through the accompanying support classes.
I accept the fact that tracks must rely on the back gate for their weekly programs. To their benefit, back gate promoting has produced a generation of fans who enjoy watching five or six classes of cars. The more cars the better, if the show drags on past midnight they go home happy, if it ends at a reasonable hour they feel cheated. Today many tracks share a common set of rules as well as national points funds for all divisions. Thirty years ago any track running six classes of cars would have suffered from poor attendance. Entry classes were exactly what the name implies, entry classes. Racing enthusiasts in the communities surrounding the tracks would build Hobby Stocks, Jalopies, or whatever their local tack called them to race in support of some type of open wheel or Stock Car headliner class. There might be two tracks in close proximity so the most ambitious could run two nights each weekend but most of the Jalopies only raced at one weekly track. For the most part racing was considered local entertainment and racers were content to think of it in that way. Today is a great time for racers because they have so many opportunities to race all over the region regardless of the class of racing. On the other hand, longtime fans like myself had to accept this new way of doing things. Some people I know didn't adapt to the changes and stopped going to the races decades ago. I like to build my schedule around special events that feature two or three classes and fill in with a little weekly racing. I still get to see all the divisions over the course of the season but not always all on the same night.
At this point I should add a disclaimer regarding "entry or "beginner" classes. I'm not suggesting that it's cheap to run any type of race car or that the drivers aren't talented and the people who work on the cars aren't knowledgeable. Years ago racers had to know how to weld up their own chassis and scour the junk yards for the right heavy duty parts to build a good race car. In those days a Hobby Stock was a home built creation that, compared to fabricated Sprint Car chassis was obviously entry level. Those lines have been blurred over the years as now even the "entry class" cars are produced by chassis builders. In the 1960's racers with names like Foyt, Rutherford and Andretti would tow their Sprint Cars to the Minnesota State Fair dirt track on open trailers behind pickup trucks. Today almost everybody has enclosed trailers and many racers running in classes that offer $300 to $500 purses sport NASCAR type transporters. The lines have been blurred but the basic principle is the same, some types of cars are more sophisticated and expensive to maintain and those are the ones I think of as the premier divisions. My unofficial yard stick is if drivers are able to make their living racing in the divisions I consider it professional racing. For example, NASCAR drivers make their living racing in professional divisions. Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon aren't punching a time clock at a factory during the week, they're full time professional racers. In dirt track racing this would include drivers at the top level of the sport who drive Sprint Cars and Late Models.
So getting back to my comments about people thinking that the grass would be greener at another track. I always ask myself if a new track opens how is that going to affect racing in the surrounding area? Most new tracks go with the tried and true lineup of Mods, Supers, Midwest Mods, Streets and Pures with an occasional Late Model or Sprint special. Variations of this weekly lineup are known to produce good fields that support weekly racing with special events occasionally providing some variety. When do too many tracks offering the same lineup become overkill? One need not look any further than Fox Ridge where a shuttered facility reopened and forced a newer track everyone had been raving about a few short years ago to close their gates. Once a track falls off the radar it's hard to revive it. To all those who think the grass might be greener at another track, be careful what you wish for.
There are enough weekend specials within a couple hours of home for me to put together a convenient schedule without traveling very many miles or burning up much vacation. My primary interest in weekly racing is that the tracks do well so they can host the special events that I enjoy. At this point someone might protest and say something to the effect that "you're not really a racefan if you don't support weekly racing." I would counter by asking if they have ever attended a professional sporting event or arena concert. I would ask them if they also attend minor league sports and concerts at nightclubs on a weekly basis. Likely they would respond with a no and my point will have been made. They have no obligation to overextend themselves in order to attend those types of events "for the good of the sport (or the music)" anymore than our obligations racing. I love dirt track racing and support weekly shows to the extent possible but I have become more discerning about how I spend my time and resources to pursue that love. Age, family and health concerns have all influenced me to reconsider my racing schedule. I appreciate the flexibility writing for MRC affords me in this regard.
Last night I had the privilege of attending the Princeton National World of Outlaws race which was my final race of the 2007 racing season. There will be changes taking place among the World of Outlaws teams, some have been announced already and others are strong rumors. There are reports circulating in the Sprint Car media regarding cars driven by Craig Dollansky, Justin Henderson, Danny Lasoski, Jac Haudenshcild and Kerry Madsen. The owners of these teams are said to be leaving the Outlaws tour at the end of this season. Rumors fueled by Mark Dobmeier making several starts in the Volcano Joe's #2 car while Brooke Tatnell drove Guy Forbrooke's car have raised questions about the future of the #2. Brooke was scheduled to return to the seat of the #2 after Princeton while Dobmeier wadded the car up not once but twice at Princeton. Meanwhile the word is that Brooke will be exploring his options at the conclusion of this season.
Travis Whitney said that he does not plan on following the All Stars tour contrary to what the message board experts have been saying. As has been the case the past couple of seasons Travis expects to start out the 2008 season and see how things go before committing to the full schedule. If the first few IRA races go well I would expect things to be business as usual. Travis timed well and ran well in his Heat at Princeton but tipped the car on it's side in the Feature. It wasn't a hard impact or even what you'd call a flip but he was done for the evening after the incident. Travis will admit that Princeton has been a tough place for him to get a handle on. A lot of drivers have made that same comment about Princeton. The World of Outlaws Feature peeled off 22 nonstop laps before things turned ugly with the remainder of the race run under a rash of red and yellow flags. Donnie Schatz continued his dominance of the Outlaws by winning the Princeton National.
The Princeton National drew 38 Sprint Cars resulting in the largest Outlaw field of the season in our local area. No doubt Princeton's success in drawing that many cars was aided by the early October scheduling. Mid summer Outlaw races in our area don't draw as well because there are more racing options. Princeton is tentatively scheduled for early October 2008 and it's going to be interesting to see what the Outlaw field looks like next season. Will Jason Solwold, Chad Kemenah, Randy Hannagan, Jason Sides, Jeremy Campbell, Sam Hafertepe, Tony Bruce and Chad Hillier all be racing with the Outlaws in 2008? I think the days of the 26 traveling teams we saw at Cedar Lake in July will be a thing of the past. You knew that the largest number of WoO teams following the tour in history at $3 per gallon in a tough economy couldn't last forever. The Outlaws were built on the concept of attracting local racers to join them to see how they fared against the best in the business. That concept was a good one in the early years before they drove the cost up into the stratosphere for locals to field a car that could compete with their superior equipment. Now as I see it the Outlaws are caught between a rock and a hard spot. The series and sponsorship isn't enough to support a stand alone series so they still need the support of the locals but they're so far ahead of the local racer that it's not attractive for local teams to go run with them. Prior to the creation and demise of the NST there were perhaps 15 to 18 touring Outlaws. Having two series in 2006 produced the glut of traveling teams we saw during the 2007 season. I expect that number to correct itself (due to economics) to something closer to the 15-18 we saw prior to the split.
I look forward to discussing the latest off season racing news again next month.
Princeton National photos by Stan Meissner
Donnie Schatz in victory lane
Jac Haudenschild lifts the front wheels
Jason Sowald getting some bite
Scott Winters gets up on two wheels in the B Main as far as possible without flipping
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