Just an observation from a former racer that grew up in the sport and gave my heart and soul to it for years. As I have followed the Monday – Friday Love Fest of Positivity promoting the track and then the quick change of tides as soon as Saturday comes around and the green flag drops I felt the need to share my feelings. It seems that more than ever the cost of racing and the time needed to properly maintain a competitive car is to blame for car counts and subsequent poor quality of racing. Granted there are plenty of side by side battles and rivalries still to this day, but the lack of full fields lends to a certain “entitlement” amongst drivers. When there were full fields that included Heat Races and Consolation Races plus a Feature that started 24+ cars the racing was better. I’m not saying I have all the answers, but I think some of my thoughts and ideas could help lead to a healthier future for our beloved Riverhead Raceway. In reading some posts last week some of them really hit home. So many of us developed lifelong friendships etc. through the track, but unfortunately so many of us have also faded away from the scene because the environment has just changed. I miss the old days when you raced each other hard lap after lap and then ate each other’s hot dogs in the pits over a few beers afterwards. I miss the days of late night pit parties, etc. and although I am fully aware that not everything is the fault of the drivers, track, etc. I do believe that they can make more of an effort to stop the decline before it’s too late. The reasons in my opinion that the racing was better in the past than it is now are simple: 1-“Competition and Stress” To me the stiffest competition these days is self-inflicted. Too many drivers over extend themselves so much to race that they end up putting too much pressure on themselves before they even tow out to the track . Whatever happened to FUN? Seems like a thing of the past 2-“Seat Time” as Rookie Drivers and Inexperienced Drivers had the chance to improve their skills under RACE conditions. Sure, Warm-Ups are great for practice, but nobody burns up their car in Warm-Ups. There is no reason to, but the difference in RACE Conditions and Shaking Down the car are completely different. 3-Cost” In the day and age of people barely staying above water with simple survival due to living on Long Island, the DREAM of racing is lost for so many (myself included). How many people work 2 jobs just to get by or have both parents in the household work full time, if not more just to live? 4-“Car Count” The cost of racing is such a huge contributor to lower car count. Over the years every division has pushed for and most times received enhancements to their rules packages which let’s face it are most often a product of the better funded teams finding an advantage somewhere and then everyone else having to play catch up. Way too many good cars just sitting because people can’t afford to keep up with the Jones’. There are ways to limit the spending in racing which could attract some of those cars back. Who really wants to over-extend themselves to simply show up to be field filler? Finding ways to tighten up the competition and give “Joe from Brentwood” a chance to dig his car out that has been sitting for 2 years any chance to be competitive would bring back more cars. I have always felt that limiting the amount of tires for teams would help tremendously. There is no money injected into a point fund any longer through tire purchases so why force teams to buy 4 new tires almost weekly? If allowing “Joe from Brentwood” a chance to buy someone else’s used tires and soaking them to level out the competition then more cars would at least consider making an appearance. If soaking tires for ¼ of the cost means “Joe” can still race with in the Top 5 and not just run around the back of the pack, then maybe “Joe” would have more interest in taking that car off jack-stands. If not him, then maybe someone who wants to break into racing will knock on his door and make an offer for the car and it wouldnt be rotting away 5-“Officiating” This comment is based on 3rd party information since I admittedly have not been to the track this year and only went a few times last year. Inconsistency seems to be the most common complaint. I have sat on the ramp and I understand how difficult a job they have and how impossible it is to see EVERYTHING that happens. These guys are there for the same reason as the drivers are, for the love of the sport. Nobody gets rich being an official and in fact plenty of other part time jobs would provide them with better money and a whole lot less aggravation. In my opinion the days of a true Rules Meeting during the offseason between competitors and officials would cut down on most of the communication gaps and the complete “Us versus Them” mentality. A good team is supposed to find gray area in the rules and the officials are there to keep that gray area as minimal as possible. Working together will produce better racing and better car counts 6-“Penalties” At some point there needs to be more punishment handed out whether it is fines and suspensions or things like “starting in the rear” or “black flags” for aggressive driving. Like everything else in life it’s easy to get stuck in your ways, but dumping cars, over aggressively moving cars for position, etc. needs to have a little more in terms of “black and white” and less in terms of “discretion” I’m sure the officials would like some stricter rules to apply without them being held accountability for the old “it’s who you know” mentality. If “Pete from Wantagh” gets black flagged for dumping “Frank from Islip” for position then he deserves to be sent to the back. Enough calls like these and you would see less drivers abusing each other every race. Making drivers start last in a 10 car field doesn’t carry the same weight as it does in a 24 car field, but it would make a point. 7-“Expectations” When faced with a field of 8-15 cars in most divisions, the drivers that have been able to continue racing despite the financial burden and time constraints simply EXPECT to win or walk away with a Top 5 every week. The EXPECTATION is that if they are still somehow making the sacrifice to be able to race and support the track that anything less than a Top 5 is unacceptable. The amount of time and money that is involved in fielding a competitive car can financially and emotionally push people over the edge and the lower car count inevitably creates that ENTITLEMENT to a great finish each race. Maybe if everyone realized that 75% of the cars they are racing against were living the same struggles each week to even get to the track, then maybe there would be more give and take on the track. If it’s not your night, then it’s not your night. Driving the car in one piece onto the trailer with a 4th place finish has to beat a wrecked car, financial implications, possible fines and not to mention bad blood with a competitor. Its time to lower some expectations and make this all fun again so people like me can actually regret missing a night of racing when getting a re-cap of the nights events instead of saying the same old Riverhead line
Posted on: Sun, 08 Jun 2014 18:42:49 +0000