Funny, car counts seem to be up in a lot of places and the racing's been better than ever. And as far as disgruntled Delaware guys go, Flamboro's been an option for years.

Car counts across the board could be much higher if there weren't so many distinct classes. More importantly, if a near-common set of rules were to exist for Late Models, Thunder/SS and 4-Cylinders car counts could be higher still. The dirt guys have figured this out, and their ranks are virtually exploding outward.

Who's killing racing? No one.

1) High costs to racers and sponsors.
2) Greedy/biased promoters.
3) OTHER ENTERTAINMENT VENUES.
4) Fractured divisions.
5) Unprofessional teams/tracks that further the negative stereotype of racing.
6) The equation of all short-track racing with NASCAR.
7) The lack of interest by mainstream media (TV, radio, newsprint)
8) Increasing insurance rates.

None of these are solely responsible to the decline of stock-car racing, nor are they aiming to kill short-track racing. In tandem, however, they have roughed up the sport quite a bit to where it was not as strong as it was 10, maybe even 5 years ago. We've gotten our acts together, sure, but there's a TON more progress to be made still...

If a new track wants to dream up its own divisions, thats for them to decide. No one owes anything to the "big picture" The tracks that can grow and nurture their own racing community will thrive even when incompatible with other tracks. Those that can't and have to live on the scraps of other tracks won't.

I disagree. Having tracks that aren't healthy and are allowed to be unhealthy hampers the big picture as a whole in that it keeps people away from the track, it keeps sponsors away and it prevents revenue coming in to all the tracks from people who would follow a team from track to track. Tracks can be healthy with classes that exclude simular cars from other tracks, sure, but things can be much, much better if they have rules packages that allow cars from other tracks to come out.
Using the Pro Challenge example, their car counts have remained around 10-11 cars ever since their conception a few years ago. If they were compatible with Cup Lites, they would be able to get more cars for some of their events, and would present a stronger image. I know it's much easier to get behind a series with 20+ cars than a series that only has 10-12. You could also take the ALSTAR series as the ultimate example of keeping a common set of rules. I'm not going to deny egos and other issues were involved in its decline, but it shifted its rules to where more and more cars were not ellegible to compete, and now look where it is.

I wish Grand Bend good luck and all the best, but I don't think they're gonna cramp Delaware's style in the least.

ANd actually, and maybe I'm being naive here, but the fact that GB isn't poaching Del's divisions is a good faith move in my book.

I don't see anything wrong here. I just hope GB can make a go out of full size cars, cuz quarter mile is fun to watch.

I don't think they're going to cramp Delaware's style at all, as they're not close enough to have much of an impact. All I'm saying is that the potential for the two tracks to work together won't be there with their proposed specs. Right now they're restricting guys from doing both and are forcing guys to choose between the tracks. Like I said before, dirt racing is taking off because guys can run whereever they (and their sponsors) want to without making serious changes to do so.

Shadowracer car counts are up? from what 10 to 15 cars? show me a short track with a full field in its top 2 classes like they used to be not 5-10 years ago. Too many different divisions and greedy track promoters that want to keep the cars at home have reduced all short tracks to low car counts.

Shadowracer car counts are up? from what 10 to 15 cars? show me a short track with a full field in its top 2 classes like they used to be not 5-10 years ago. Too many different divisions and greedy track promoters that want to keep the cars at home have reduced all short tracks to low car counts.

You're right to a point, but why limit to the top 2 divisions. A full pit is a full pit, and most tracks seem to be doing OK. Yeah, fine, LM are up and down, but last time I looked, there was 4 divisions running, and they're healthier than ever and getting better. S Buxton has a crapload of cars in the pits and it looks like Flammy's the same.

Mobil1, you forgot to quote me on what I felt was my own most relevant statement...so I'll do it.

If a new track wants to dream up its own divisions, thats for them to decide. No one owes anything to the "big picture"

Not saying its ideal...but it IS true.

And even if the rules aren't the same, the 2 tracks can still work together. Del sent the trucks up to Barrie...you can do that with GB too.

1) High costs to racers and sponsors.
2) Greedy/biased promoters.
3) OTHER ENTERTAINMENT VENUES.
4) Fractured divisions.
5) Unprofessional teams/tracks that further the negative stereotype of racing.
6) The equation of all short-track racing with NASCAR.
7) The lack of interest by mainstream media (TV, radio, newsprint)
Increasing insurance rates.

I''l go along with 3 and 7. All the rest you could've said 25 years ago too.

I'm not trying to terribly argumentative here. Racing could always be better. But I do reject the whole "the sky is gonna fall if tracks dont all run common rules" mode of thought. As long as each track is taking care of its own competitors, things'll be good. Touring series come and go...so they don't even really factor in.

Besides, I've not seen one iota of evidence that guys in the top divisions actually want to travel from track to track all the time. The ones that do already are.

Shadowracer car counts are up? from what 10 to 15 cars? show me a short track with a full field in its top 2 classes like they used to be not 5-10 years ago. Too many different divisions and greedy track promoters that want to keep the cars at home have reduced all short tracks to low car counts.

You're right to a point, but why limit to the top 2 divisions. A full pit is a full pit, and most tracks seem to be doing OK. Yeah, fine, LM are up and down, but last time I looked, there was 4 divisions running, and they're healthier than ever and getting better. S Buxton has a crapload of cars in the pits and it looks like Flammy's the same.

Mobil1, you forgot to quote me on what I felt was my own most relevant statement...so I'll do it.

If a new track wants to dream up its own divisions, thats for them to decide. No one owes anything to the "big picture"

Not saying its ideal...but it IS true.

And even if the rules aren't the same, the 2 tracks can still work together. Del sent the trucks up to Barrie...you can do that with GB too.

1) High costs to racers and sponsors.
2) Greedy/biased promoters.
3) OTHER ENTERTAINMENT VENUES.
4) Fractured divisions.
5) Unprofessional teams/tracks that further the negative stereotype of racing.
6) The equation of all short-track racing with NASCAR.
7) The lack of interest by mainstream media (TV, radio, newsprint)
Increasing insurance rates.

I''l go along with 3 and 7. All the rest you could've said 25 years ago too.

I'm not trying to terribly argumentative here. Racing could always be better. But I do reject the whole "the sky is gonna fall if tracks dont all run common rules" mode of thought. As long as each track is taking care of its own competitors, things'll be good. Touring series come and go...so they don't even really factor in.

Besides, I've not seen one iota of evidence that guys in the top divisions actually want to travel from track to track all the time. The ones that do already are.

I'm not trying to say the sky is falling if there aren't common specs. We can keep up what we've got going now across the board for a long time, if we can keep costs down and adapt to the conditions around (ie. the economy, political outlook, public opinion, etc.) My key point is that the potential exists for more cars, more sponsors and more fans with common rules that allow guys to move (and for people to follow them) around for a few races, to get exposure at the big events and at other tracks. Dirt's been doing it for years and it's kept strong member tracks and allowed more guys to travel than usual.