The Future (2010) of Vintage Racing at the Rock

Jeff, I'm going to give it some thought before replying with too much but I will say that the CapeFear-CARS is a dirt track racing club. Not to say that any one of the members won't switch over to asphalt tires but it's unlikely the majority will to run races. However, we are always up for some exhibition laps and display.
Since our club neither races for money or trophies I will not form an opinion on this.
My advice is too contact every club to get your answers since many members may not be using the internet.

I know this sounds crazy, but money may not be the best idea as a vintage prize. If one wants to race for money, there's a lot of opportunities already out there.

Yea Jim, I was thinking about your club when I mentioned to Andy that there needs to be an exhibition option...and a racing option. He came up with what I think is a grand idea. It's kind of like bracket racing that the drag cars do. Send out 4 cars at a time with transponders on them...the car that runs the closest to their set time wins...no mater how fast they run. Adds a new wrinkle to just exhibition...and gives a competitive opportunity without the risks of racing...tearing up cars...and getting someone in the stands..or on the track hurt.

Jim Wilmore said:

Jeff, I'm going to give it some thought before replying with too much but I will say that the CapeFear-CARS is a dirt track racing club. Not to say that any one of the members won't switch over to asphalt tires but it's unlikely the majority will to run races. However, we are always up for some exhibition laps and display.
Since our club neither races for money or trophies I will not form an opinion on this.
My advice is too contact every club to get your answers since many members may not be using the internet.

After giving it some thought here's my two cents...
"...money...trophies. What is an acceptable entry fee?" I like the trophy idea, money might/would encourage drivers to put their car where it don't belong. As for an entry fee, the cost to cover insurance, if we're not racing for money the entry fee should be kept to a minimum.

"And we would need to guarantee a minimum of 10 cars per show." If the vintage race is a part of a weekly modern racing series, yes, 10 cars is possible. If the vintage cars are the feature racing of the night I'd include all the clubs on the same night.

The deal with CapeFear-CARS is we are an "all inclusive" racing club at the moment. Bottom line is if you own a vintage stock car with a pre-1949 all steel bodied american made car you can race with us. As of now we don't have a latemodel sportsman class so anything that does not fit in our V-8 and 6 cylinder class falls under the "Open class" where the limits are much broader. Our club is designed for driver and fan entertainment, hence "Classic Auto Racing "Show" however we do end up racing as hard as any, just that the odds are stacked a little higher for some due to the lenient rules on what is acceptable.

I stated earlier that we are a dirt track club but I'm sure we could muster enough cars for a show on asphalt. As of now we are in the infancy of being a club so the car count is a little lean, but should reach the 10-12 cars mark by summer.

Is $20.00 considered an acceptable entry fee nowadays? I think y'all are right about the trophy being the best purse/prize. We could combine clubs with similar cars/goals to ensure adequate car count for a show. There are two opportunities here. One...to run with the regular weekly class which are legends cars. there are 17 races scheduled...each one could include a different vintage group...or rotate three, four, or five groups.
Two...an all vintage event sometime this year that includes all clubs...even road course and open wheel that uses all three tracks.

I'm only speaking for myself here....to get 17 races scheduled with vintage cars might be on the high end until you could persuade clubs outside of NC to join ie. DAARA, VAARA, NVRA etc. We currently are scheduled to race once a month (hopefully) at Carolina Speedway, Lakeview, SC. and maybe Dublin, NC.CFCARS has a meeting scheduled where we will discuss where we could fit in. There's much to do and work out.As for entry fees, we currently are charged $12 per car for pit passes and no entry fee to race. The fee should be negotiated as low as possible since there is no winnings and in order to attract clubs to drive 4-5 hours it should be enticing. One thing vintage racing brings to a track is fans that would otherwise stay home unless the vintage cars are racing. From our experience at Hammerdown more fans came out to see the vintage cars than any other class near the end of the season. Once the word got out that old modifieds were racing more and more fans starting paying to come out. Not to say that Hammerdown is a good representation of what could be but it gives you an idea of just how important the vintage cars are to putting butts in the seats. With some wide spread advertising and everyone doing their part by posting flyers, posting news on different sites, and word of mouth I believe the vintage racing fans will show.I will say that Rockingham needs to distribute tickets to the local sponsors so folks can pick up tickets to the races locally. A lot of people do not know what "Will Call" means and do not realize they can save money by reserving or purchasing tickets early. IMO advertising is absolute MUST! One place that tracks fail to recognize is Fort Bragg and the 60,000 soldiers there wanting something to do on the weekends close to base. They have a news paper called "The Paraglide" which would be a golden opportunity for tracks to advertise races. It can be found on the Fort Bragg website http://paraglideonline.net/

Here's my 2 cents worth and in return I've got a 2 cent question. A $12.00 trophy may be worth a million dollars in bragging rights, therefore no purse is needed. Keep the entry fee at $25 or less, if the tow money is feasible, great! If not there are alot of folks that would save their lunch money to get to the track with. Let them race, not be timed or parade around. The last time I saw vintage cars (of all eras) on the track was at Gordon Park (on dirt), and these guys didn't parade, they RACED!!! It was great!! I don't care if it's dirt or asphalt, just love to race or see them raced.
Now the question, who or what will be the sanctioning body? Rules? and how many? and how elaborate or detailed? Can a guy like myself, who has no affiliation with a club or sanctioning body, show up and run? If so what are the year model limitations going to be?

trophies to me is a cool way to show what you did when you went---money draws cars true but really thats not the idea i dont think -- keep a points value through the year and then have a grand party at the end of the year and the players will stand out-- maybe show up money might not hurt -- it may intice some guys a little further out to come ---,heck you might get them crackerheads in ga to show up

but the majority of us just wanna race dang it whether its tricycles or ---its going to take some input on everybody to see their thoughts on this but im all for it -- entry fee is probably mandatory but a modest one so us poor folks can afford to come play because transportation to and from with a car in tow is pricy at the best ---. lets hear from others and then compile notes then you will have a maybe thought to work with--- oh boy oh boy we gonna go racin boys ole D.W. will have fun with this