I think there's two trains of thought towards that. I can see taking the money that goes into bringing touring divisions and putting it into the weekly program, to bring more regular competitors into the fray and to develop special events with the home divisions. I also can see using the profits from bringing in the high-profile touring series towards boosting the weekly program as well and/or bringing in/maintaining more touring events. The former takes longer but, when done right, can give you a solid weekly competitor/fan base. The latter can work much more quickly, but its success or failure isn't necessarily directly in your hands, either. I don't think it'd be wise to not attempt to bring in some of the larger touring events (such as ARCA or Pro Cup, especially with the rumored TV deals for each) but I wouldn't do so if it were to have a negative impact on the weekly divisions, either.

Can someone expand on what the rumours are for the tv deals ? I hope Hooters will be going back to the former format of two hour coverage at the least.

In todays age of racing you have to draw fans to the track by having specials(ISMA,NCTS, ARCA ,ETC).Willthe regular fan keep coming to the track if they (track ) can only get fields of 14 to 22
cars for a given night ( average ) I donot think so.Todays fans are looking for full fields 28 cars or close    to start features.Will tracks make money off of just regular shows no they have to have specials to show possible profit.Specials cost to get them these groups (Specials ) have to make money also so when you say you donot like up front charges well then you loose the big crowds ( Approx 4000 plus ). Will a track draw 3000-4000 fans a
night on a regular night constantly I donot think so.This is why I say even thou the racing is good you still need the specials to have a good to excellant year at the end.If you want to gamble on just the regular fan night in and night out on regular shows I wish you luck you may need it.

I respectfully wonder where you got your information about what "today's fans" want. I'm also curious about where your numbers come from.

Today's fans, now just like any other time, are looking for good racing, spills, thrills, and a night out having a good time. You forget that ultimately, and as much as we hate to admit it, its the once-in-a-while fan that makes the track its money...not us. Its only the hardcores that complain about car counts. What's the diff if there's 28 cars or 16? As long as the fans are seeing a good exciting race, it doesn't matter. As long as the people are having a good time at the races, it doesn't matter. Here's a prime example: look at Flamboro...they've been getting car counts thru the roof, and the racing has been good, but still no large crowds. And Flams history is at least as storied as our own. Its not enough. (why is a topic for a diferent thread)

Is Delaware perfect? No. Will 28 car fields bring the crowds out? Nope. There's things that need to be done...but they're not the things everyone is thinking about. You can stone me to death for saying this if you like, but getting the track repaved is way way down on the list of importance as far as drawing out fans and improving their business. You think the casual family that happened to be out the night Manning and Ouellete has their amazing finish were even aware that we have outer groove issues? (or could even tell you how many cars were in the race?)

As far as visiting series, those are mainly for the hardcore guys like us...the ones that would travel a long distance to see a race. If Del gets an OSCAAR race, rest assured that it is aimed at us...the types of people that are nuts enough about racing to inhabit a messageboard such as this one. Its not for the casual fans...though of course they want them to come too

Ultimately, if they dropped all the touring series, I somehow doubt that it would affect the bottom line a whole lot...might even save some money. As I've said before, the CASCAR super series was successful here and drew huge crowds, not because of the product, but because of 2 things 1. The advertising dollars were behind it to be able to draw the crowds. and 2. It all started here and had the chance to build up a following...and of course, the product itself was good too. (but what would you say if I told you you could draw 8,000 fans, have a phenomenal race, and still barely break even? I'd betcha dollars to donuts that the management team that just sold Barrie might have a story or 2 to tell about that.)

They'll keep having travelling series coming in, because the travelling fan/hardcore fan's money is good too, and its good to shake things up once in a while, give the regular racers the night off, and be a part of the larger racing community.

But I wholeheartedly believe that, if they wanted to, and with a little creative marketing (read: grassroots marketing...which IMO they are still sorely lacking), AND a little creativity with the regular show, (which, IMO, has gotten a lot better) they could totally pull off a season with no visiting classes.

food for thought the specials at ACMS draw 60% more fans at a higher gate price with more beer ,food and souvenir money. our track could not survive with out both local and traveling show.

Can someone expand on what the rumours are for the tv deals ? I hope Hooters will be going back to the former format of two hour coverage at the least.

I've heard Pro Cup will be going back to 2-hour coverage, and that Speed will have all of the ARCA races covered in some capacity (live or same-day tape) for next season...