A shame something like this couldn't happen these days

Bob Jenkins is and was the best.
Larry Nuber, God Rest his Soul; not so much. At the time in the mid 80's I thought he was good also. But how mistaken I was because he is just plain awful. I was just watching on you tube some videos of 1981 and 1983 sprint car races on the Syracuse mile broadcast by ESPN and Larry is horrible. He describes everything as if he got a thesaurus for Christmas. He has Claire B. Lang syndrome, use 50 words to describe something when 5 will do.
Think about it who stayed at ESPN, and who got fired or left. Larry!!
 
Nuber didn’t say a damn word.

Thesaurus not necessary ... rather like the criticism.
 
Log Cabin was one of the premiere tracks during its day. Satch Worley spent a lot of money to build that track. Went there several times and saw some great racing.Even had a tunnel leading into the track. Sad that it was closed down. But even though Richmond won that race, he would have never gotten by Pearson if he hadn't had mechanical problems. Still believe he was the best to ever sit behind the wheel of a race car.
 
This reminds me of when Tony Stewart started the Prelude to the Dream at Eldora. Each year it seemed more and more NASCAR drivers were showing up running the dirt late model race. I really believe that NASCAR shut this down by giving Tony the truck race. Tony first said that there was too much going on the first year for the Prelude to be run and the truck race. You knew that had to be bull, then nothing was ever heard of the Prelude again. The other issue was that the Prelude was on Pay per View and I seem to think a certain amount of the proceeds went to charity. I really miss that race.
 
DIDIT said:
This reminds me of when Tony Stewart started the Prelude to the Dream at Eldora. Each year it seemed more and more NASCAR drivers were showing up running the dirt late model race. I really believe that NASCAR shut this down by giving Tony the truck race. Tony first said that there was too much going on the first year for the Prelude to be run and the truck race. You knew that had to be bull, then nothing was ever heard of the Prelude again. The other issue was that the Prelude was on Pay per View and I seem to think a certain amount of the proceeds went to charity. I really miss that race.
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Can you imagine what that race would be now with Larson, the Dillons, Bell, Kasey Kahne, and all the other dirt racers in NASCAR today? I really want the Prelude brought back.
 
DIDIT said:
This reminds me of when Tony Stewart started the Prelude to the Dream at Eldora. Each year it seemed more and more NASCAR drivers were showing up running the dirt late model race. I really believe that NASCAR shut this down by giving Tony the truck race. Tony first said that there was too much going on the first year for the Prelude to be run and the truck race. You knew that had to be bull, then nothing was ever heard of the Prelude again. The other issue was that the Prelude was on Pay per View and I seem to think a certain amount of the proceeds went to charity. I really miss that race.
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I did too....there were some serious fish out of water it appeared for some on dirt.
 
Not 100% sure about this, but I believe the Predule was canned because of owner's concerns over their drivers' safety. Once a couple of owners declined to let their drivers participate, they couldn't get enough of the top-tier Cup drivers to have it. Those sure where fun.
 
I don’t blame them honestly. Eldora is a dangerous track. The wrecks are just violent, so much speed and momentum on those high banked turns
 
The truck race that counts is a better deal than the exhibition race with cup drivers. The truck races have been pretty good there IMO. Lots of dirt ringer talent are entering and trying their luck. Pretty interesting.
 
dirtguru said:
Log Cabin was one of the premiere tracks during its day. Satch Worley spent a lot of money to build that track. Went there several times and saw some great racing.Even had a tunnel leading into the track. Sad that it was closed down. But even though Richmond won that race, he would have never gotten by Pearson if he hadn't had mechanical problems. Still believe he was the best to ever sit behind the wheel of a race car.
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Was by the entrance to Log Cabin a couple years ago... still has a "For Sale" sign, but apparently nobody is seriously marketing it (the grounds and facility are overgrown and dilapidated - even the "For Sale" sign was weather-beaten and partly covered by overgrowth). Never got to watch a race there because it closed a few years before I was in that area... the track only operated a few years.

311 Speedway (near Madison, NC - about a half hour away) used to run special late model races on Cup race weekends for Martinsville. Used to draw some big name NASCAR drivers - some even brought their own late model cars. Some drivers were impressive - Bill Elliot, Ken Schrader, and Carl Edwards put on great shows (in different years). Casey Mears ran what was supposedly his first dirt track race there... not sure if that was true, but by the way he struggled it might have been. On some nights other than around the Martinsville races we might get a visit from Clint Boyer and Austin Dillon (back when Boyer drove for Childress and before Dillon was full-time in the Xfinity Series). Sadly, after several years of bad promoters 311 doesn't draw big names any more.
 
gone said:
Was by the entrance to Log Cabin a couple years ago... still has a "For Sale" sign, but apparently nobody is seriously marketing it (the grounds and facility are overgrown and dilapidated - even the "For Sale" sign was weather-beaten and partly covered by overgrowth). Never got to watch a race there because it closed a few years before I was in that area... the track only operated a few years.

311 Speedway (near Madison, NC - about a half hour away) used to run special late model races on Cup race weekends for Martinsville. Used to draw some big name NASCAR drivers - some even brought their own late model cars. Some drivers were impressive - Bill Elliot, Ken Schrader, and Carl Edwards put on great shows (in different years). Casey Mears ran what was supposedly his first dirt track race there... not sure if that was true, but by the way he struggled it might have been. On some nights other than around the Martinsville races we might get a visit from Clint Boyer and Austin Dillon (back when Boyer drove for Childress and before Dillon was full-time in the Xfinity Series). Sadly, after several years of bad promoters 311 doesn't draw big names any more.
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I have been to 311 Speedway many times. Even got to see Dale Earnhart sr. attempt to race there once. He didn't last long, got taken out in the heats. Micheal Waltrip drove my friends car in one race their, of course he blew the engine. Show you how old I am, I even got to see Curtis Turner run a match race there once. The driver he was racing against had to keep slowing down to let him catch up. Don't know for sure but I was told it wasn't what was in his tank that made him run slow but what was in the bottle. Lol .The track was closed last year but I see on their website the owner plans to run a full season this year. Great 1/2 mile track.
 
A lot of times promoters paid some big name drivers to show up and start the race. Dale Sr showed up at many small tracks, signed autographs and shortly after the start his car would break and he would head home. It was nice because many people couldn't afford to go to Nascar races but they did become TV fans and did buy on line souvenirs. Schroeder would run longer but he to never challenged for the win. (planned)
Of course this was all before the KB days.
 
Team Penske said:
A lot of times promoters paid some big name drivers to show up and start the race. Dale Sr showed up at many small tracks, signed autographs and shortly after the start his car would break and he would head home. It was nice because many people couldn't afford to go to Nascar races but they did become TV fans and did buy on line souvenirs. Schroeder would run longer but he to never challenged for the win. (planned)
Of course this was all before the KB days.
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I was told by someone that knew the owner of 311 Speedway that they had to pay $10000 to get him to race. And that was back in the 80s. Drew a big crowd though.
 
I like the 311 track, but it's a shame that it hasn't had good promotion in a long time. The current promoter likes to fight with his customers - racers and fans alike. We still try to support this track, but he makes it difficult.

Near the end of last year, I went to help some buddies run a modified 4 cylinder car. 311 staff decided to play some of their games on us. Because the car had been winning recently they made us bolt a lot of extra weight onto the nose of the car, to screw up the handling - punishing us for working hard on the car to make it successful. Then we heard rumors that they weren't going to run our class any more the rest of the season. When we got to the sign-in gate we noticed that there weren't a lot of cars in the pits, but they assured us that there were cars already there to race against in our class, and more were coming. Baloney. We were the only one there all night. They just wanted to collect our entry fee plus pit pass money for all of the people we brought. Since there was nobody for us to race, they didn't want to even allow us onto the track to make practice laps (we wanted to see what the weight penalty was doing to the car)... and they weren't going to refund us any money either. After arguing they finally allowed us to take five laps at the end of the heat races for the other classes, and that was it. Too bad nobody else showed up to race us because the extra weight had our handing miserable and somebody could have collected a bounty (assuming that the track would actually pay it).

Just another episode of how we get treated there, and we're not alone. Don't think it's all our fault - we don't have these problems at other tracks. They wonder why they can't keep their car counts up! I still wish them good luck and will probably still try to support them since they're a nearby track, but they manage to take the fun out of racing.

And again I apologize for the negativity. Sorry, but racing life in the trenches isn't all lollipops and rainbows... I'm tired of so much phony PR while stupid stuff goes on unchecked. But don't take my word for it - attend the races and decide for yourself. I hope they get their acts together and prove me wrong. It would benefit all of us.
 
gone said:
I like the 311 track, but it's a shame that it hasn't had good promotion in a long time. The current promoter likes to fight with his customers - racers and fans alike. We still try to support this track, but he makes it difficult.

Near the end of last year, I went to help some buddies run a modified 4 cylinder car. 311 staff decided to play some of their games on us. Because the car had been winning recently they made us bolt a lot of extra weight onto the nose of the car, to screw up the handling - punishing us for working hard on the car to make it successful. Then we heard rumors that they weren't going to run our class any more the rest of the season. When we got to the sign-in gate we noticed that there weren't a lot of cars in the pits, but they assured us that there were cars already there to race against in our class, and more were coming. Baloney. We were the only one there all night. They just wanted to collect our entry fee plus pit pass money for all of the people we brought. Since there was nobody for us to race, they didn't want to even allow us onto the track to make practice laps (we wanted to see what the weight penalty was doing to the car)... and they weren't going to refund us any money either. After arguing they finally allowed us to take five laps at the end of the heat races for the other classes, and that was it. Too bad nobody else showed up to race us because the extra weight had our handing miserable and somebody could have collected a bounty (assuming that the track would actually pay it).

Just another episode of how we get treated there, and we're not alone. Don't think it's all our fault - we don't have these problems at other tracks. They wonder why they can't keep their car counts up! I still wish them good luck and will probably still try to support them since they're a nearby track, but they manage to take the fun out of racing.

And again I apologize for the negativity. Sorry, but racing life in the trenches isn't all lollipops and rainbows... I'm tired of so much phony PR while stupid stuff goes on unchecked. But don't take my word for it - attend the races and decide for yourself. I hope they get their acts together and prove me wrong. It would benefit all of us.
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I can understand the frustration with the owner now. I think the best thing he can do is hire a promoter to run the track and let the owner just keep his nose out of the operations. It seemed the races that Tony Hicks ran the worked very well. Good crowds and great racing. Wish he could run the track, he's been a racer and knows more about what needs to be done.
 
dirtguru said:
I can understand the frustration with the owner now. I think the best thing he can do is hire a promoter to run the track and let the owner just keep his nose out of the operations. It seemed the races that Tony Hicks ran the worked very well. Good crowds and great racing. Wish he could run the track, he's been a racer and knows more about what needs to be done.
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You can ask Tony - the owner can't resist meddling. Other promoters have come and gone due to the same reasons (although some of those promoters were just as bad themselves).
Owner has been trying to resell the track for years. Has had it listed for $2 to $2.5 million, but the dummy also stated on a 311 Speedway - specific forum site that he started (and has since taken down) that anybody who pays more than a half million for a race track is stupid... good luck trying to negotiate a business deal with this guy.

On what they have for a website, their first rule is "311 speedway has the right to change any rules at anytime." And they do, especially if you are beating one of their favorites. But don't worry because most of them don't stay favorites for long, the rules will change again, and more cars quit coming back...

When they soaked us the last time (post #18) we responded by calling it quits for the season. They had a couple more shows scheduled, but we (about 10 of us) didn't go. Some other cars in that class might be happy that they won't have to compete against us, but they won't be able to collect the bounty either if we're not there. Lol, 311 posts bounties to try to attract cars, but then chases cars away so they don't have to pay it. We're building a Crate Model so we can race at different tracks with more consistent rules and more choices of tracks without having to majorly rebuild the car for each track. Might bring it to 311 for test sessions, but doubt we'll race there much - which is a shame since our car is garaged nearby. But they even change the rules in Crate Models on the fly. Went there with a Crate Model team a couple years ago and they told us that we had to buy new tires - at the track from their parts guy only - because suddenly they had a new track tire. Fortunately they told us that at sign-in so we turned around and left before we wasted any more money. (That team had been racing there all year up to that point - on the tires that had been specified until then.) Usually they wait until after we've signed in and paid our entry fees and set up in the pits before they come over and tell us about "new rules"... Several years before, when NASCAR stars used to run at 311 during Martinsville Cup race weekends, they tried that "have to buy our tires" trick on Ken Schrader so he loaded back up and left. So I guess at least 311 staff is consistent.

I hate participating in negativity on social media, but sometimes I can't keep smiling and stay silent. So I should go away now.
 
In the Summer of 1989, Bill Elliot, Harry Gant and Rusty Wallace showed up at the Fairgrounds in Nashville to run a 200 lap Late Model event. The place was packed, With a seating capacity of around 19,000, I'm guessing there was probably around 21,000 folks there. They signed autographs. They all drove local cars. I don't know what they brought with them, but the cars they were in looked better (faster) than normal. All three completed the race if I recall correctly. They put on a good show for sure.
 
gone said:
You can ask Tony - the owner can't resist meddling. Other promoters have come and gone due to the same reasons (although some of those promoters were just as bad themselves).
Owner has been trying to resell the track for years. Has had it listed for $2 to $2.5 million, but the dummy also stated on a 311 Speedway - specific forum site that he started (and has since taken down) that anybody who pays more than a half million for a race track is stupid... good luck trying to negotiate a business deal with this guy.

On what they have for a website, their first rule is "311 speedway has the right to change any rules at anytime." And they do, especially if you are beating one of their favorites. But don't worry because most of them don't stay favorites for long, the rules will change again, and more cars quit coming back...

When they soaked us the last time (post #18) we responded by calling it quits for the season. They had a couple more shows scheduled, but we (about 10 of us) didn't go. Some other cars in that class might be happy that they won't have to compete against us, but they won't be able to collect the bounty either if we're not there. Lol, 311 posts bounties to try to attract cars, but then chases cars away so they don't have to pay it. We're building a Crate Model so we can race at different tracks with more consistent rules and more choices of tracks without having to majorly rebuild the car for each track. Might bring it to 311 for test sessions, but doubt we'll race there much - which is a shame since our car is garaged nearby. But they even change the rules in Crate Models on the fly. Went there with a Crate Model team a couple years ago and they told us that we had to buy new tires - at the track from their parts guy only - because suddenly they had a new track tire. Fortunately they told us that at sign-in so we turned around and left before we wasted any more money. (That team had been racing there all year up to that point - on the tires that had been specified until then.) Usually they wait until after we've signed in and paid our entry fees and set up in the pits before they come over and tell us about "new rules"... Several years before, when NASCAR stars used to run at 311 during Martinsville Cup race weekends, they tried that "have to buy our tires" trick on Ken Schrader so he loaded back up and left. So I guess at least 311 staff is consistent.

I hate participating in negativity on social media, but sometimes I can't keep smiling and stay silent. So I should go away now.
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It is sad that the owner seems to be so incompetent and has more money than sense. I think he really wants to turn it into a place he can sell his junk.
 
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