I have been discussing this with some people I used to race with in the St. Louis area at Pontoon Raceway. Mike Kelm who just won the ROAR region 8 4-cell stock race calls it home, and he is not always the winner at Pontoon! There are some really fast guys racing there.

The problem is that even though it is about 15 minutes from downtown St. Louis ther are times when not enough people show up to race!

How do you promote racing at your track? How do you bring new people into the sport? Is oval racing dying out?

Let's hear what you people running the succesful tracks are doing! thanks for your input. Ralf 13

I don't run a track, but around here there's just alot of people that love the sport, and plan there free time around racing.
Speaking for myself only, I think it's the safest form of motorsports, and I HAVE to race something or I'll go crazy.

Onsite Hobby shop, food, warm clean, good lighting and plenty of pit space are priorities for long term success :thumbsup: .

Later, Bret

i run the track in Plattsburgh NY,and we have seen an increase of interest,we have been open now for 4 years and our numbers keep going up, the biggest thing that i found is we started a sportsmans class with club motors,we gained 10 racers this year alone in that class,plus we run the place as a club so everyone has a say in what's going on.i hope everything works out for you.

Dan Dubuque

What are "club" motors? Some sort of spec motor or a motor rebuilt and handed out randomly by the club? Thanks Ralf 13

I don't own a track either but I'll tell you this: I'll only race at a place where EVERYONE is welcome, whether they are sponsored or not. I'll only race at a place where EVERYONE has a shot of winning, not the same 2 or 3 guys every week (ie heat stacking). And finally, if I get negative vibes I don't go back. (Just remember, its usually not the sponsored drivers that keep your shop in business)

I too don't own a track... but what keeps me comming is the following... First off, I love RC racing but then all of us do, but what I like to see at a track...

Clean, comfortable, parts, other racers my speed, friendly people (both racers and staff), food near by if not at the track itself, operating hours that are not too inconvienent, not to far of a drive, nice pit facilitys (power for sure and hopefully tables/chairs), and a race director that keeps things moving smoothly.

I think that's most of what keeps me going to a track... I do know that there are somethings that are beyond control of the track... Sometimes racers can get fickle and there is ussualy a group of guys that will go anywhere to race, and sometimes these guys find a better facility and move on and/or don't come around that often... once you start to loose people, it seems to feed on itself... So, I think it's probably mostly about keeping people happy, and trying not to give them any reason to want to avoid your track once you get them there to start with.

Ralf, at Dirtrunners we use a club motor also. It is a motor that we get from Trinity that has no label. They are inexpensive so you can sell them much cheaper than buying a stock motor in a hobby shop. They are Trinity's latest stock motor but no label.That way anyone who wants to run stock can do so without worrying that he has to run against a guy that spent 50.00 on a stock motor. We also have them in our 19 turn classes. Also from Trinity, their Ultrabird motor. We also run a much wider variety of classes than most other raceway's. We averaged about 145 entries at every race this indoor season. You can check out our website www.dirtrunners.com to see the classes. We run Spec cars too. Those account for a whole lot of entries. They are not expensive and it comes down to set up and driving, not how much money you spent. We are a club also, so everyone has a say in what changes are made. So far we are on the right path. If you want to talk more you can give me a call at 862-268-1632. That number is our club cell phone and a message can be left anytime................WAYNE

Our club motors are gm3 that we purchased from trinity,plus we had people donate there old ones,we put cheap brushes in them and made a gear rule,the racer love it, at first they were leary of it ,now they say they don't want to go back to pro type motors.

Dan Dubuque

Every week we add about 4 or 5 racers... a good ratio. We built a decent track that has access to a on-site full line hobby shop... that is the #1 importance I think (right now)... the 2nd would be location... although most RC enthusiast will travel... if you are located in a higher traffic area you are bound to pick up a few extra racers every now and then... having the shop on site helps. Also, having places to eat or to "shop" around does not hurt either. The problem with this type of setting is RENT... you will pay out your butt.... ask me again in about a year and I'll let you know if it is worth it. We also have creative points series and try to use our neighbors by getting them involved with sponsoring races - such as giving away coupons for their store, etc. Every little thing helps.
More info on www.steelcityhobbies.com
Mike
:wave:

mike after visiting your web site , im impressed , its no wonder you guys have a good racing program , looks like nice place to race , i wish you were here in st louis
..............................thanx, brad hoehn

to help the track grow you cant just depend on pan car racers. try to get a stock oval truck class goin, street spec, Novice classes. thats what will help your track grow.

joe ivo

Brad,
No problem. ...and thank you! Feel free to call and/or email if you have any questions. Good luck!
Mike

mike after visiting your web site , im impressed , its no wonder you guys have a good racing program , looks like nice place to race , i wish you were here in st louis
..............................thanx, brad hoehn

SORRY if i make anybody mad but,i feel when we have anybody come new at the pontoon speedway, first they surprise of the pit equipment we all have ,but they dont realize that most of the pontoon guys has been the sport 15 plus years and it has taken that many to collect this stuff,we WELCOME any type of racing at are place if it has foam tire we will race it, I think we are to busy working on are stuff and not helping the new guy in the sport , but the new guy think how hard can it be you just go down the straight you turn left ,but you have to make that little car do that,because it ALL CHASSIS SET UP,not motor& battery not that dont help , but you have to get the car to go thru the turn motor &battery dont do that for you,I also think when the new guy come in he know without investing alot of time he dont have a chance in winning, HE RIGHT . it has taking me 12 years to get were im at ,and i still dont win but im having FUN in sport that my heart is dear tohttp://www.hobbytalk.com/bbs1/images/icons/icon10.gifhttp://www.hobbytalk.com/bbs1/images/icons/icon10.gifhttp://www.hobbytalk.com/bbs1/images/icons/icon10.gif

All the other post have listed valid and good suggestions. The main track that I race at has a points series race. We race 7 weeks and you get points for your finish in the mains. We use the best 5 out of 7, that gives you 2 throwaways for a bad race or not being able to race a certain week. Plaques are givin out for top 3 in each class. There is 2 weeks off then the series starts again. Not everyone is there for the points but it helps. In the end you still need a good track, fast moving program, avalible parts, close food, friendly racers that can take time to answer questions once in awhile, and a good core of faithfull drivers so that there is always enough to race on race day. Nothing worse than going to the track and have to turn around and go home, because of not enough to race, that will kill a track fast.