Turn 2 Blog is a regular feature on InsideDirtRacing.com. Here, site operators Michael Moats and Richard Allen take turns offering their thoughts on the dirt racing topics of the day from east Tennessee and beyond.
The latest edition of the Turn 2 Blog is presented by the American All-Star Pro Late Models Presented by PPM Racing Products
Where is the balance when coming up with creative ways to set starting lineups?
Richard: I will start off here by saying that I like inverts … to a certain degree. I don’t like when they become too gimmicky or when they put a driver who has earned a good starting position into a deficit that would be impossible to make up.
I know it’s fashionable to say that if a driver’s car is good enough he should be able to make up what is lost from the invert. But the reality is, and Jonathan Davenport stated this in a recent interview, that everybody has essentially the same stuff which makes passing very difficult, especially in a short heat race. In my opinion, a driver and team should not be punished for showing up at a race track with the best car.
Another thing that bothers me about inverts is randomness. If some sort of invert is going to be used, it should be known ahead of time what that number will be. I am not a fan of having some sort of gimmick like a wheel that is dependent solely on luck to bury someone deep in a heat race or even the feature after that driver had done what was necessary to prove that he and his team have a great car.
To me, Eldora Speedway went a little overboard with their format this past weekend for the Eldora Million and King Royal Sprint Car races. I don’t particularly need to see drivers intentionally trying to lay back in qualifying hoping to slot themselves into the right spot for an inverted heat race.
Flipping the top-4 for a heat race in which the top-4 will transfer to the feature is entertaining but still fair. Inverting the top-8 or 10 puts the best cars at an unnecessary and possibly unrecoverable disadvantage.
Inverts are fine if they still allow for the best car to have a realistic chance to prove itself but the luck of a wheel spin or a card draw is a bit too random.
Michael: Inverts have their place in short track racing if the circumstances are right. If a race is on a track where there is plenty of passing, then inverts are an entertaining way of running a program. If passing is difficult, inverts can punish the fastest cars if they get the bad end of the draw.
One invert format I don’t like is inverting for heat races, then inverting for the feature. That’s a double whammy in my opinion. If a track or series wants to mix things up without going overboard, then take the heat race with the fastest qualifier and put that heat last. For instance, if there are 4 heat races, run the heat race with the fastest qualifier in the 4th heat race and the winner of that heat starts 4th. It’s not a huge penalty but can make things interesting enough for the fans.
I have to say the World of Outlaws redraw is probably one of the better ones out there if things are going to be done at random, as long as there are 4 or 6 heat races. I like how they let the heat race winners draw for positions 1-4 and the second-place heat finishers draw for positions 5-8. I don’t care for how they do things with only three heat races where the heat race #1 winner could start as far back as 6th.
What does crowd size at this weekend’s big events say about the health of dirt racing?
Richard: I have said many times that the Covid pandemic forever changed the sport of dirt racing just like it changed virtually every other aspect of life. But as far as racing is concerned, the proliferation of streaming and the explosion of high paying races, whether in Late Model or Sprint Car competition, changed the landscape.
People have come to love big events more than ever. Streaming has allowed fans to develop “relationships” with drivers they only rarely got to see a few years ago. Now, followers of the sport will go to the big national touring series races and the special events they can get to and will stay home and watch those which they can not make it to by driving two or three hours.
Eldora Speedway had the biggest crowds in its history for the Sprint Car races held there over the weekend and that’s a huge statement considering the massive races that place has held in the past. At the same time, you and I saw a packed grandstand at Ponderosa Speedway on Friday night for the World of Outlaws CASE Construction Late Model Series.
I believe what this past weekend showed us was that the very top level of the sport is healthy. Promoters are no doubt learning that if they want to draw a big crowd, they have to have a big race.
Michael: It seems like with the infusion of streaming the big events are getting bigger and the smaller events are getting smaller. All of the big events we have been to have seen large crowds, and in some cases, record crowds. Whereas the regional events aren’t drawing as well.
This puts a bind of a lot of tracks when scheduling for next year, especially a special events only track like Smoky Mountain Speedway. Many of the regional events have no cache with the fans, therefore they don’t come to the track. I can remember many years ago when a series like the Southern All-Stars would attract a Freddy Smith, Skip Arp, Ronnie Johnson, Scott Bloomquist, and a Chris Madden. We don’t see that these days unless a race pays at least $10,000 to win and is usually attached to another event on the same weekend. And that usually happens early in the season.
To your original thought, streaming is making stars out of the drivers that compete in these major races and the fans will flock to the track to see them race in person. That part of the sport is very healthy.
Are you optimistic or pessimistic regarding the future of Volunteer Speedway?
Richard: I want very much to be optimistic that the track located in Bulls Gap, Tennessee will have a future in racing. However, the events of the past couple of years are not helping that view. In my opinion, this is a track in a perfect location to succeed being right off I-81 and right in the middle of a racing hotbed with Knoxville and the Tri-Cities not far away. Furthermore, the track has proven it can draw huge crowds based on the two Kyle Larson Late Model Challenge events(2022 & 2023) held there and the XR Super Series $100,000-to-win show.
But with ownership of the facility being somewhat uncertain going forward and the fact that multiple promoters have been unable to make a long term go of it, my viewpoint is, unfortunately, leaning more toward the pessimistic side.
Still, there is always hope but there would have to be number of things to fall in the right direction. I have always said that if I were a multi-millionaire, I would make an effort to buy Volunteer Speedway because the location and the history of the place are so good. However, my teaching job is not elevating me to that particular economic status. But as long as the track is there, there is the hope that things will turn around.
Volunteer Speedway can draw large crowds
Michael: What many people don’t realize about Volunteer Speedway is the track is still owned by Joe and Phyllis Loven. Joe has been in declining health for some time. They agreed to do a lease-to-own deal with Landon Stallard and that didn’t pan out after 2 years. After that, Phyllis tabbed Vic Hill to keep the track open. He has been leasing the track to those wanting to hold weekly racing and he’s promoted most of the special events. Another group ran the track for weekly events last year. I don’t know why that didn’t work out. This year, the Proffitt family out of Kentucky had been leasing the track and they pulled the plug last week.
Brad Dyer, a racer and owner of a trucking company, will take over weekly racing for the rest of the year. I saw on Facebook where he had a group of people doing some painting and other maintenance work the last few days. That gives me hope he’s going to do what he can to make a go of it.
If Volunteer Speedway is to remain open and continue to be a player in dirt racing, someone will have to outright purchase the track from the Lovens. The asking price is very high considering the track needs some upgrades and spending a lot of money from the start is not a good business investment no matter how much money a person has and how much they love racing.
Every time we see a change like this past week, that only fuels the worries by some that the track could fall into the hands of a developer or trucking company like Atomic Speedway did. The sooner the Lovens are willing to lower their price where someone is comfortable enough to buy it, the sooner fans and competitors will feel better about the long-term prospects of the track. As the Kyle Larson Challenge and Spring Thaw showed, the track is still a major draw for fans and drivers.
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