#off-track events

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A Few Random Points...

Just wanted to go over a few random things from recently-covered stories and my personal thoughts, but without all of the filler...

Stafford announced early last month that they would be joining the FloRacing network, as they are to become the first asphalt track on the platform. It’s a good chunk of money to subscribe to FloRacing (according to the press release linked, it’s $150 per year to subscribe; you do get a massive amount of content to watch, however). I do remember a tweet that Stafford put out back in July about adding every available race they have archived on their (now former?) StaffordSpeedway.tv site. Would they still be interested in doing something like that? Maybe let the fans pay for past events, and monies could go towards a charity or two of the track’s choice? Honestly, that wouldn’t be a bad idea in the slightest.

Yesterday, ticket sales opened up for the Spring Sizzler weekend/opening day... And there’s one thing that surprised us about the sales process: Saturday and Sunday are considered separate events, and therefore, you could buy seats for the day of your choice. The last weekend in April is always considered to be Sizzler weekend. But 4/24 is actually called “opening day”. So the Sizzler is a one-day thing in 2021? I was going into this thinking that one ticket was to be good for both days. Guess I was wrong on that? It’s possible that the decision to make the first weekend two separate events was due to COVID. Can’t be too sure on that one, so we might have to toss this to Stafford for their comment.

After the third race on NASCAR’s Cup schedule, Homestead-Miami, there are two drivers who have finished top-10 in every race: Kevin Harvick and Michael McDowell; both of whom have an average finish of 5.0 after this past Sunday. Harvick I expected to see continue after being half of a dominant duo from last season, but who would have guessed that McDowell would be the other driver to start off strong? The early Cinderella story of 2021... But to be honest, I don’t see him continuing a hot streak after Vegas. I hate to admit it, because this is such a feel-good story after the Daytona 500 win on 2/14-2/15.

To continue the topic of winners in the Cup Series, could this be the year that sixteen+ winners find themselves “clinching” spots in the Chase come this fall? Quite a few people think so, but I’m not so sure about this. However, if you glance at the schedule, there are plenty of curveballs that could pose a threat. Bristol’s pre-Chase race is a dirt race. Four races are on road courses: COTA, Sonoma, Road America, and the race at IMS. Daytona’s second race is the cutoff to the Chase itself. So there are plenty of opportunities for more winners than allotted Chase spots. I’m not going to say this isn’t going to happen, but I’m not going to say that it will, either. I’m just going to take it one week at a time. (And question: If there are sixteen different winners, how many of them are repeats? Who won’t make the playoffs if there are more?)

There are many more things swirling in my mind, but there’s just too much to get into. I guess we’ll have to dive into my thoughts in a week or two.

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VFT1 (Written) Editorial: “Girls Night Out”

I’m not even going to write about what happened last night at the SK 5K. I wasn’t there, so why should I? It’s not worth it.

I’ll talk about the week ahead, though: “Girls Night Out”.

To be honest, I’m not sure I like this idea. It’s been done for a few years now. The date doesn’t come to me, but I know it’s been a few years since it started. But it just doesn’t connect with me like it should.

Stafford’s idea of the event is simple. All adult women who go through the main gate are charged $10. It’s discounted. That I don’t mind. It’s one week. What could possibly go wrong with that?

A few things.

You combine the week with a track walk for charity. It makes no sense to pair up two events that have nothing to do with each other. If you wanted to do the girls event, or if you wanted to do the track walk, why not hold one or the other in August? Makes perfectly logical sense to throw one later in the season. Unless this was the idea all along...

And don’t get me started on the minimal amount of the term “girls night out”. The only thing that happens is that $10 discount. And maybe a picture on the track. That’s it. There has to be some sort of incentive for women to go to this event, besides the price of admission.

I think that last year, which was the only week I went to the track, there was a gift for random women. I may be wrong. Someone correct me on this.

If Stafford wanted to do this right, they could drop the prices of things around the track. Concessions can definitely work. Lower everything by a dollar. Don’t tell me that the track makes the event, only to not do this properly.

There’s a lot of things that can be fixed, but some of those things have been talked about before on VFT1. I think that we can get this concept to work. Just think about it, before you start popping it up on the schedule.

These have been my opinions, and you don’t have to take them if you don’t want to.

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VFT1 (Written) Editorial: Paddock Parties for Life!

And this is where our story begins. On Sunday, Stafford hosted its traditional weekend Pit Party for the fans to get an up close and personal look at the cars and drivers. They get autographs, have their pictures taken with the drivers (if they want) and get candy in the process. Think of it like Halloween, but without dressing up in costume.

I say the term “Pit Party” every Spring Sizzler and Fall Final, but today, the correct term happened to be “Paddock Party”. Since the rain halted on-track action and the drying commenced, it was fairly obvious that something had to be done to keep the fans happy. Instead of kicking the drying crew off the track for the morning (and pushing everything around in terms of the schedule), the idea was that they would still hold the Pit Party in the paddock area. Hence the term “Paddock Party”.

The idea was simple - turn the cars around so that the backs were against the trailers and/or haulers, situate everything in front of the cars, and greet the fans per usual. This made the children happy, due to the fact that they don’t usually get a chance to go in that particular part of the track’s property. This made the drying committee happy, because they got the track dry enough to get everything in on Sunday.

But this also caused a lot of chaos, a lot of confusion, and a lot of pleading to get out of the paddock so that the cars could safely get around to the turn three gate. Don’t get me wrong, a Paddock Party could easily be done again… If only if Stafford followed a few pieces of advice (hell, they could use it next year when they throw a Pit Party as planned).

Open the main gates at nine o’clock sharp. Let the fans drop off their stuff at their seat, get in line, and at ten o’clock, allow them access to the drivers. The Pit Party (or Paddock Party, whatever Stafford wants to do) should be longer than an hour. This isn’t enough time for the kids to get all of the drivers’ autographs. I would extend the party by at least a half hour. End the party at around 11:30, which gives the crowd about thirty minutes to get back to their seats.

If you guys decide on doing a Paddock Party again, you need to make sure that it’s not as chaotic as Sunday was. You have to open up the whole paddock area. If you haven’t done so already, install speakers in the back, behind the backstretch, and put the first division of the afternoon back there. Allow the Tour guys to move their haulers into the dirt a little bit more, giving the fans some more room over there. And then the other four divisions can mix and match in the usual spots, over by the Tech area. Use the whole paddock area. It’s there for a reason, right?

One of the biggest things I noticed this afternoon was the way the SK crews brought their wagons out for their feature. This, in my opinion, was unacceptable. The wagons should have been out onto the track before the Tour awards were given out. Stragglers after the anthem? Another pet peeve from today. How about the wagons are out onto the track between 11:30 and noon? And all crew members are infield bound for 12:30, while we’re at it.

And while I’m on the topic of the Fall Final, here’s a suggestion: You’re going out in style, right? No offense to the high school choirs, but the last weekend needs someone who can belt the anthem out like it’s no business. I’m sure there are plenty of people available for something like this. Maybe you should pick someone who has a reputation of singing our anthem in front of a crowd? I’m not going to name names, but if this is a big event, you need someone who’s suitable for the big time.

These have been my opinions, and you don’t have to take them if you don’t want to.

[viewfromturnone]

VFT1 (Written) Editorial: It’s the Same Old Song and Dance…

I’m starting this editorial by saying one thing: Don’t get me wrong, but going out and pronouncing feuds at Stafford is a great thing. Two drivers who get under each other’s skin out on the track, battling for position week after week, is a great thing. But there’s a downside to it, and that’s when they battle for the lead… Which they do week after week.

The two brightest examples of this come from the open wheels. Not to knock on any of the guys mentioned. What I say isn’t just their fault. You’ll see what I mean under the cut.

SK Modifieds – Keith Rocco versus Ryan Preece This has pretty much been the case all season long, with the exception of the SK 100 and last week (August 26), and I might be slightly exaggerating about it. But if you think about it, these two guys have been going at it all season long. Next week might end with Preece being declared the unofficial SK Modified champion in 2011, but that won’t necessarily mean that they’ll still go at it at the Fall Final.

Each week, it feels like a broken record in the division. Preece and Rocco start fairly close to each other, in the middle of the pack with the other heavy hitters, and by the midway point of the race, they’ll be near the front of the field (if not, the front of the field). Towards the end, and this has happened quite often lately, the two of them have been battling for the win in a hard-fashioned fight. In Friday night’s race, you’d almost think that their side-by-side action would cost one of them a top ten finish, right? Thankfully, they didn’t wreck and all was well. Preece got the win with Rocco finishing second.

The reason why I say this feud has gotten stale already, however? Just look at it. You clearly understand that they’re constantly battling up front. The cars are built to blow by everyone with the purpose of giving the fans a late-race treat. However, this author doesn’t approve of it one bit – and when she says “it”, she means “the feud”. Unfortunately, all of those times that they’ve finished 1-2 in the finishing order means the SK Modified division has gotten a tad bit boring lately. (I was going to put up an editorial describing the reasons why that was the case, but I held off on it.)

Maybe if there happened to be a third wheel to this bicycle, then the feud would be a tad bit more exciting. There are other guys in this division who would fit in nicely, but for one reason or another, each one of their seasons haven’t exactly been up to par. It’s truly a shame. It would make the SK Modified division fun to watch. This “Keith and Ryan” show has gotten absolutely lackluster.

SK Lights – Joey Cipriano versus Tommy Barrett This feud hasn’t been as prominent like the SK one has, but it’s still a feud that I almost cringe seeing. Again, no offense to these two drivers – they’re talented and there isn’t a trace of doubt about that. But when it comes to a week-by-week basis, most of the time (the amount of wrecks depending), you’ll see these two fighting for position. It didn’t happen this Friday night, but it’s happened before.

I can’t go into the four-paragraph thing like I have with the SKs, because this feud isn’t as major as the Rocco/Preece one is. Why is that the case? Because there are other cogs in this machine. Other drivers have been stepping up and challenging them, which is nice to see. Most of them have been part of the younger generation, but still… At least it’s not a two-man show most nights. -------------------------------- Why do I bring up these examples? Because half of the time, the times that they do fight for position is usually when they’re going for the lead. Both my mother and I commented on this, and we both agree that the feuds for position are what drive us away from having fun. It might look fun to the casual visitor, but for someone who’s been going to the track weekly since mid-2000, it doesn’t appear to be fun anymore.

In the SKs, there isn’t enough firepower anymore to draw me into seeing the division. I’m a huge fan of anything open-wheeled. Don’t knock me. But when I’m subjected to seeing the same battle in a span of a few weeks, I might as well curl up into a ball and fall asleep. Where is everyone else? One week, Keith was in a spirited battle with Ted Christopher for the win (Keith won). But where’s everyone else? Does it have to end with both Preece and Rocco in the wall? It doesn’t. As long as there’s a third person in the party, then things look up.

This week, Dan Avery was in the mix. It was a change of pace and I was getting into it a little bit. That was, of course, until the Keith and Ryan show took over from there. If someone gets into the mix more often, then the SKs wouldn’t be such a borefest to me.

And I’ve already commented on the SK Lights. At least there’s enough firepower in that division to keep the feuds from getting staler by the week. You have that youth movement out there, and the veterans. It doesn’t hurt that most of the competition in that division helps it. There isn’t anything I’d gripe about when it comes to the opinion of feuds.

Bonus Gripe Was there a double standard in the broadcast booth? All through the night, you had been told to remain silent between the 9th and 11th lap of the Shark Cycle MRS race. Even the microphones in the press box were going to close as well. Right? Nope. I sit close to, if not in front of, one of the speakers. And I could clearly hear them still talking through the duration of the silence. Maybe someone should have practiced what they preached and kept quiet as they said they were going to. Next time, keep your word.

[viewfromturnone]

Date: Sunday, August 7 (rain date: Sunday, August 14) Location: Main Street, downtown Manchester, CT

I was there last year; you can see my pictures here. It's a fun event, and I suggest that if you're a classic car enthusiast, you check it out.