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Post by guest on Dec 3, 2008 23:38:43 GMT -4
2009 Tentative Schedule Schedule Key LM = Outlaw Late Models M = Modifieds S = Sportsman PS = Pure Stocks CS= Cyber Stocks Ticket Information Adults: 16 and older Teens: 12 to 15 years old Youth: 11 and under Ticket Prices Date Program Adults Teens Youth Time April 4 Meet and Greet Open House FREE FREE FREE 7-10PM 11 Open Practice FREE FREE FREE 1-6PM 18 Enduro Race #1 Belle Tire's Spring Fling 200 $15 $8 FREE 6PM 22 Open Practice FREE FREE FREE 4-8PM 25 Opening Night..... $15 $12 FREE 6:30PM May 2 Full 5-in-1 Show $12 $8 FREE 7 PM 9 Full 5-in-1 Show $12 $8 FREE 7 PM 16 Full 5-in-1 Show - No Modifieds $12 $8 FREE 7 PM 23 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 24-Sun Memorial Day Weekend All Star Bash at the Zoo & Enduro Race #3 BelleTire's Veterans 200 $15 $8 FREE 7 PM 30 Full 5-in-1 Show $12 $8 FREE 7 PM June 6 $ Low Dough Show at the Zoo $ Sponsored by the Kalamazoo Speedway Drivers $5 $5 FREE 7 PM 13 Bus Mania -2009 No Weekly Classes $15 $12 FREE 7 PM 20 Full 5-in-1 Show $12 $8 FREE 7 PM 27 Full 5-in-1 Show $12 $8 FREE 7 PM July 4 Enduro Race #3 Belle Tire's Stars & Stripes 200 Fireworks Fireworks Fireworks No Weekly Classes $15 $12 FREE 7 PM 11 Full 5-in-1 Show $12 $8 FREE 7 PM 18 Full 5-in-1 Show $12 $8 FREE 7 PM 25 Monster Truck Mania No Weekly Classes $15 $12 FREE 7 PM August 1 Full 5-in-1 Show $12 $8 FREE 7 PM 8 Full 5-in-1 Show $12 $8 FREE 7 PM 11- Tues Klash Practice FREE FREE FREE 4-8PM 12-Wed Kalamazoo Klash XVII This is the Big one! $25 $15 FREE 7PM 15 Enduro Race #4 Belle Tire's Enduro Nationals No Weekly Classes $15 $12 FREE 7 PM 22 Full 5-in-1 Show $12 $8 FREE 7 PM 29 Full 5-in-1 Show $12 $8 FREE 7 PM September 5 Season Championship Night - 2009 $15 $12 FREE 7 PM 6-Sun Enduro Race #5 Belle Tire's Kalamazoo Klassic No Weekly Classes $15 $12 FREE 7 PM 12 No Weekly Races 19 Call of the Wild $15 $10 FREE 7 PM 26 Night of Destruction No Weekly Classes $15 $10 FREE 7 PM October 2-Fri Super Shoe Nationals XXIII Hot Laps &Qualifying FREE FREE FREE 7PM 3-Sat Super Shoe Nationals XXIII Heat races & Last Chance races $12 $8 FREE 4PM 4-Sun Super Shoe Nationals XXIII - Features Features-Features $15 $10 FREE 12:30PM 17 Enduro Race #6 Belle Tire's Pumpkin Patch 200 $15 $10 FREE 6PM November Kalamazoo Speedway Banquet ©1997-2008 Kalamazoo Speedway. All Rights Reserved
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Post by thanks on Dec 4, 2008 19:35:22 GMT -4
thanks for posting that, its almost readable
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Post by guest2 on Dec 5, 2008 9:21:14 GMT -4
heard kazoo spent half the banquet telling racers to promote the track for fans cause of empty seats last summer. now they run five classes per night? that will pack them in til midnight
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Post by LMFAN on Dec 6, 2008 7:48:05 GMT -4
I have driven from Goshen Indiana to Kalamazoo to the races the last 15 years or so to watch the weekly races. I would have to say it is the best run speedway in this area. One thing that would be nice would be if the late model feature could be earlier in the show. People want to watch that feature. I have noticed the causal fan with kids have to leave earlier in the evening. Those are the people that will help fill the stands. If those families know that when they pay $ 12 dollares they will be able to see the late model feature they may come back again. This would also help the people from distances. Just a thought but I know with 5 classes racing weekly the late model show will get done very late if they keep them as the last race.
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Post by dayracing11 on Dec 6, 2008 15:41:26 GMT -4
The big thing was gas prices being so high that many of the people who used to travel to the track from far away didn't they just couldn't afford it. I know os several people from Traverse City who used to follow me down there couldn't and I know a few people from Indiana that couldn't afford to drive there so they started watching at Plymouth. Its nice to see gas prices down but I just hope there are enough people still working to be able to afford the cheaper gas prices and can make it to the track.
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Post by Agent Marketing on Dec 7, 2008 11:56:19 GMT -4
Gas prices are only part of the problem with attendance at small tracks these days. Only a few years ago NASCAR's Richmond event was the only major Sat night conflict local tracks had to deal with. What has happened to local tracks since NASCAR added Saturday events and encouraged CUP drivers to race in the lower divisions weekly? Crowds have dwindled at short tracks. Fans want entertainment today, not endless parades of different classes and dozens of yellow flags. Ask yourself how many classes the short tracks had in their hey day's years ago? Many tracks packed the stands with one class spread across a A,B,C format with consolation races allowing backmarkers a change to move their programs up. Today at many tracks 4-5 classes exist and each one is a whole different type of chassis, motor combo, tire, etc. adding cost the can't be recaptured.
Any racing promotion seminar with tell you to get your fans in/out within a 3-3.5 hour window or face empty seats. Today's promoter better put their "racer" intuition aside and lock into marketing mode.
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Post by Tim on Dec 7, 2008 14:04:51 GMT -4
Some really good points there, but I think that some of the promoters believe that the more classes and the more cars, the more family and friends of the racers will attend. Almost like gtenerating your own crowd. I tend to think this is wrong, but I don't own a track. I have no family racing and go to see good racing and hope to be out of the track by 10 or 10:15. A lot of fans are racefans and not family and I think the many different classes that all look the same kind of dilutes the enjoyment of full bodied or even open wheeled. Late Models, Super Stocks, Modifieds and 4 cyl in Berlins case would be great. Have 2 classes of 4 cyl so the youngs guns can gain some seat time and still race in cars that are not so fast they will get in trouble. Just a casual observers thoughts.
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Post by guest on Dec 7, 2008 20:18:57 GMT -4
Adding classes is just padding the back gate. Most successful tracks have three classes with three B features or last chances.
One problem not often addressed is the fact that many of todays "Dads" aren't mechanics. Most of this generation of young fathers have driven computer module cars the last 20 years. The last generation of racers came from shade tree mechanic backgrounds. Today's father/son don't have any experience under a car so they have no clue on how to build a racecar. Even the body shops today scrap 60% of the cars because it cost too much to repair them, good body men are a dying breed. All of the above are the men that built short track racing the last 50 years.
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Post by bridgeman84 on Dec 7, 2008 20:49:46 GMT -4
Reading the the tentative schedule. I take it that the Klash series was a 1 year thing and that its going back to the one race format??? I personally liked the series. There was alot of good racing that happened in those races...
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Post by Kzoo Fan on Dec 24, 2008 13:51:16 GMT -4
I have a question for the drivers. Looking at the updated schedule, between June & July you have 8 racing nights, Of the 8 nights, SLM's get 3 nights off, the pure stocks, Mods & sportmans get 4 nights off, then cyber stocks get 5 nights off out of 8. Throw a rainout in there and they might not race for a month.
I was wonder if the drivers like this much time off or would they rather race. I know the economy is not going to be good and an extra night off would help, but this seems excessive especially during the summer months.
Just curious.......
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Post by dayracing11 on Dec 24, 2008 21:12:12 GMT -4
Yes I like having time off from the weekly racing. I like it so we can go to other tracks and race during the off weeks if we want and not have to worry about points and all that. It would be nice if tracks worked together and ran their big shows on nites other tracks had off then returned the favor. I think they would find they would get more cars when people wouldn't have to make the choice between a big money show or points. Another reason its good to have time off is its easier to budget. We travel 200 miles each way every week and that got very very expensive the past few years. Kalamazoo does this better than any other track around my hats off to them.
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Post by koolaid on Dec 27, 2008 22:04:27 GMT -4
I like having time off from weekly racing. This allows me to either go check out a different track or have a more relaxed week for maintenance. Also allows some time to catch up on other projects that pop up (brakes or water pump on daily driver, put a roof on the house, etc...).
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Post by Guest on Jan 5, 2009 1:49:50 GMT -4
Some really good points there, but I think that some of the promoters believe that the more classes and the more cars, the more family and friends of the racers will attend. Almost like gtenerating your own crowd. I tend to think this is wrong, but I don't own a track. I have no family racing and go to see good racing and hope to be out of the track by 10 or 10:15. A lot of fans are racefans and not family and I think the many different classes that all look the same kind of dilutes the enjoyment of full bodied or even open wheeled. Late Models, Super Stocks, Modifieds and 4 cyl in Berlins case would be great. Have 2 classes of 4 cyl so the youngs guns can gain some seat time and still race in cars that are not so fast they will get in trouble. Just a casual observers thoughts. As a driver that runs at Berlin in the 4 cylinder division.. I would welcome the young guns to be there instead of running what they are going to be running in.. I know that crystal right now is allowing anyone without racing experience to run the 4 cyl. division there and they can be any age from 12 to 80, if the can turn a wheel and see over it they can drive. Now i know ashpalt is a bit different and you can and do run ALOT faster. I would think 4 cylinders is a good place to start... Now onto the subject at hand.. We had an upwords of 54 cars one night and if i am not mistaken was 1 of the largest crowds of the year. as the crowd was entertained the entire time with 4 wide racing. action packed at all times. I can honnestly say by bringing into the mix the cyber stocks at kalamzoo and the 4 cylders at berlin have brought a new crowd and brought back a true STREET STOCK division that many fans have been wanting for MANY years..
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Post by knight54 on Jan 5, 2009 16:40:42 GMT -4
As Gary metioned at the banquet people are simply looking for enertainment! With the Bus Mania, Night of Destruction, the enduros all bring lots of enertainment those are the ones getting the bills paid! If you noticed Late Models are running a feature the day of the enduro before the enduro to show those fans what the Late Models are all about! Bringing enertainment is the key to get people to watch.
The Cyber Stocks which i race personally is filled with good racing and action crashing and all that fun stuff which i believe will start to bring those fans from enuros over to come watch. How many LM or modified races can you save that after 15 or so laps you have a 10 car race for the lead and they are two and three wide. Or are you ever going to here Jason Seltzer say "oh wow i counted five wide! sporty sporty" in a LM class. Thats enertainment but as a driver in the class i understand if my car looks like it went through an enduro at the end of ther year. I mean it did but its fine!
If you look at the tracks that are makeing money and are very succesfull it's because the lower level classes are succesfull and the track makes there money in the back gate! Kzoo is succesfull based on enertainment with the events mentioned above! (and super shoe)
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Post by dayracing11 on Jan 8, 2009 21:11:07 GMT -4
I think every track needs a class like the Cyberstocks I love watching you guys most of the time. I do think they should turn them around some nites to see who has their cars set up for just turning left. It would be a good suprise when the pace truck pulles out on the track and was going the other way. I think that would add some entertainment. The cybers are affordable to build unlike the pure stocks and street stock type classes as thos are getting as expensive to build as a sportsman or a late model since most of the cars got taken to the junk yards and crushed so good frames and parts are hard to come by and now there are tons of frontwheel drive 6 cyl cars. I think the cybers are really going to take off this year. I think running the late models before the enduro will be great and I was saying last year they should have a few of the cars in the midway at the track for the enduro fans to check out.
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