Loudon observations

[Magicmiler]

Haven't been to my favorite place since after September 2017. Taking the September race was sad, so we attended other tracks. Bristol twice in a row. Finally returned to Loudon this weekend.
Here are some thiI noticed

 

[Magicmiler]

Let me try this again..
Here are some things I noticed. I am not bad mouthing , just things I noticed.
The t shirt midway has shrunk to half rhe regular Loudon size, considerably. Multiple drivers are now in one trailer, Larson, Elliot, Chastain had their own trailers. Even Dale Jr. had a trailer, an old pup tandem. The rest were grouped under manufacturer banner.
Cashless. All SMI related vendors were cashless. Independent vendors on the midway, and t shirt trucks took cash.
No event pin, decal or souvenir program with the diecast car.
SMI merchandise: hat- $38.00,t shirt-$38.00, Hoodie, $70.00, etc. Etc.
No bleacher hawkers( ice cream, pretzels, etc.)
The NHMS gift shop used to be good size. Now, I had to go outside to change my mind ,it was that small. If it was 20'×20,that was generous.
And finally. The sold out thing .Yes, it was a good size crowd. Here is some is some of the reason why.
The main grandstands were 'improved' with drink rails. At the expense of every other seating row eliminated .
The bottom 5 rows, eliminated.
The Laconia grandstands were tore down years ago. A track that once held over 101,000, now holds about 55,000.
Loudon is one of my favorite tracks, but things change. And I was somewhat taken aback, having not been there for 8 years.
The Mods, Trucks and Cup races were absolutely fantastic, and That is the reason I went back..
Main grandstands bleachers...

 

[Brentford]

Let me try this again..
Here are some things I noticed. I am not bad mouthing , just things I noticed.
The t shirt midway has shrunk to half rhe regular Loudon size, considerably. Multiple drivers are now in one trailer, Larson, Elliot, Chastain had their own trailers. Even Dale Jr. had a trailer, an old pup tandem. The rest were grouped under manufacturer banner.
Cashless. All SMI related vendors were cashless. Independent vendors on the midway, and t shirt trucks took cash.
No event pin, decal or souvenir program with the diecast car.
SMI merchandise: hat- $38.00,t shirt-$38.00, Hoodie, $70.00, etc. Etc.
No bleacher hawkers( ice cream, pretzels, etc.)
The NHMS gift shop used to be good size. Now, I had to go outside to change my mind ,it was that small. If it was 20'×20,that was generous.
And finally. The sold out thing .Yes, it was a good size crowd. Here is some is some of the reason why.
The main grandstands were 'improved' with drink rails. At the expense of every other seating row eliminated .
The bottom 5 rows, eliminated.
The Laconia grandstands were tore down years ago. A track that once held over 101,000, now holds about 55,000.
Loudon is one of my favorite tracks, but things change. And I was somewhat taken aback, having not been there for 8 years.
The Mods, Trucks and Cup races were absolutely fantastic, and That is the reason I went back..
Main grandstands bleachers...
View attachment 87743View attachment 87744

Kansas did roughly the same thing with their bleachers, except instead of a drink holder, it’s a bench/counter that you can sit your food and drinks on. The confusing thing is that they didn’t completely remove the row decals, so it’s a bit tough for first timers to know which row they are on.

 

[MRM]

All tracks are downsizing their bleachers by either taking down sections, covering up sections, or condensing sections with table tops/drink rails. Bristol has done two of of three of these. Las Vegas covered up huge sections of seating with dirt.

Almost all professional sporting events are cashless. Even many college events are that way now.

I guess they don't sell enough programs to justify making them. They still print them at the University of Tennessee, but they are now free. I only grabbed one last season because I had the chance to get Rick Barnes' autograph.

I went to Nashville in June for the first time as a fan in over 15 years. I was surprised how much the fan experience has changed. Some of it good, some of it not good. Not dealing with as many people was a positive.

 

[Greg]

All tracks are downsizing their bleachers by either taking down sections, covering up sections, or condensing sections with table tops/drink rails. Bristol has done two of of three of these. Las Vegas covered up huge sections of seating with dirt.

Almost all professional sporting events are cashless. Even many college events are that way now.

I guess they don't sell enough programs to justify making them. They still print them at the University of Tennessee, but they are now free. I only grabbed one last season because I had the chance to get Rick Barnes' autograph.

I went to Nashville in June for the first time as a fan in over 15 years. I was surprised how much the fan experience has changed. Some of it good, some of it not good. Not dealing with as many people was a positive.

Rightsizing is the Nascar language for downsizing.