Tony Jones Says USAC Owes Him $$$

RichC · 3/1/08, 1:06 PM

Mr Miller,

Thank you for taking the time to explain where the points fund money comes from. I would think it's also likely that Mr Jones is/was aware of where the points money comes from. The main point of contention appears to be a difference of opinion about how much money was to be paid out in the point fund. You were not an employee of USAC at the time and it's understandable that you were not privy to promises made by past management. Having said that, the underlying issue is that USAC appears to have not honored a promise it made to it's "members" and your statement really does not address this issue. So far you are saying the right things and deep down, people really would like to see USAC be successful. However, people will also only take so much when it comes to abuse of trust. I think you are aware of how badly broken the Silver Crown division is at this point. Please be aware that you have other divisions that are broken too.

sprinter25 · 3/1/08, 1:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kevin Miller

As I have stated before...I will post facts or positions when I see the need to clarify some of the discussions here.

Points funds are made up from 2 sources...money collected from track promoters which comes from the individual race revenue, and series sponsor money In our type of racing, there are many variables (such as race cancellations and rainouts) which often lead to a purse being determined and paid at the end of the year.

In 2007, USAC collected a total of $24,850 from track promoters. There were no series sponsors for the CRA series, with the exception of several races aired on TV to help owners with individual sponsorship.

USAC added $15,150 to make the $40,000 total purse. USAC has historically recognized both driver AND car owner in their annual payout. We paid the top 15 drivers in CRA in 2007. The top driver received $4800, and the car owner received $4800, for a team total of $9600. These checks were mailed and paid at season end. Tony and I have had several discussions to review numbers and rationale.

In the past, the CRA series has had historically higher points funds. In fact, I have heard stories about ASCOT paying $10,000 to champions many, many years ago. Payout's today are directly related to economics of the sport today.

For payouts to increase, in any of USAC's series, we must increase demand for our sport and get more fans in the seats at local tracks. That's our #1 job at USAC...create better shows and increase fan support for the sport. We get more fans, then we can justify increasing the race purse and contribution to the points fund from promoters.

Those of us with a vested interest in sprint car racing must understand we all have the same goals. Promoters want to make money, racers want to earn more for their efforts, car owners want to at least break even. All of this is funded by the paying fan. We must work together to increase fan support to create bigger events and bigger payouts.

While your explanation is logical, and quite clear, you fail to address Tony's issue/question. Why did someone tell Tony $10,000? And if USAC is losing money on its USAC/CRA deal as stated in the article, why does USAC continue to support a monry loser?

Like I posted on the SCRAfan board, all USAC has managed to do is drive up costs for the racer's, and make a lot of unmet promises from the Rollie Helmling days. Seems to me that the Press Enterprise gave you an opportunity to address Tony's question - you chose to NOT answer his, or the reporter's query.....just like here.....

Pat O'Connor Fan · 3/1/08, 5:20 PM

One of the many wonderful things about America is that there are so many auto racing categories and venues from which to choose. Those who have posted some quite negative things in this thread have choices. Make your choice, naysayers; stay away from USAC events if it is even a fraction as bad as you infer.:headbang

CTtoPA · 3/1/08, 6:00 PM

I curious to know what USAC has done to drive up costs for racers? Also:
Q: What's something from nothing?
A: Nothing.

How do you expect somebody to get paid when there is no money to pay them?

DonRacer · 3/1/08, 8:51 PM

[QUOTE=Stagger;31298]y left Shuman Hanging. The SCRA was growing and and had ever thing clicking under Shu and the SCRA banner with good paying shows"

$1500.00 Less per race, to the winner than Frank Lewis Paid, by the way.
Don

Wolfe-e · 3/2/08, 1:25 AM

I applaud Mr. Miller for taking the time to come on this board and address this post. Although his explanation my not be what you wanted to here, "and if I were told one thing and got another, it would not please me either" at least it seemed to be honest. Its also much more than you would have gotten from the previous group.
USAC, for all its problems is Still the #1 draw for Sprint Car Drivers and Fans!....Though they might not admit it, USAC Sprint Shows and Indiana Sprint Week Shows are often the difference between a Track making a profit for a whole year or taking a loss...
The co-sanctioning of SCRA shows with USAC to me is more of a Reward for those Drivers who travel to Indiana each year to compete against The Very Best in the World, than it is a must do for USAC. Its True that USAC gains some Great Shows out west, but make no mistake, The Best of the Best come here to prove themselves just as they do at Indy or even the NHRA..
My Guess is that those tracks out west, regardless of SCRA, must feel that USAC improves the Bottom Line... IF not, they would not schedule the shows... On the other side of that, with the Cost of Travel alone these days, I can;t really see how many of these teams can continue to follow a schedule from coast to coast, without the influx of Major Sponsor Dollars...
I do hope that if possible, Mr Jones and USAC can find common groundand move forward Togather. USAC will always need Great Racers and Great Racers need USAC........

AlkyMadness · 3/2/08, 3:07 AM

Concerning Kevin's response that the way purses will be increased is to get more fans in the seats at local tracks.

I don't know anything about the West Coast tracks and their attendance, but, in the Midwest, where are the tracks supposed to put these additional fans?

When USAC runs at Gas City, you can hardly move the people are packed in so tight. Bloomington is usually at full capacity, as is Kokomo. And then there are the tracks that are not SRO, but don't have much more room to make a substantial difference in the purse (Lawrenceburg, Haubstadt, Winchester, Salem).

As I see it, the only tracks that could handle a much larger crowd are Eldora (which has cut the number of USAC shows in half), Terre Haute and the asphalt tracks like IRP. The crowds at Toledo and Mansfield last year could have been a lot better.

I believe some of these tracks would draw more people if they invested in some expansion. I know fans that won't even consider going to Gas City because of the lack of seating and parking.

Our sport is best displayed on the short bullrings, but, that usually means limited seating capacity. So, what's the answer? If the tracks can't expand, then the admission has to go up. And then you find yourself with WoO-like prices.

Perhaps if the number of events run at the core tracks was doubled/tripled, the track owners would take that as more of an incentive to invest in increased seating (and parking).

Of course, all of this is supposed to happen in today's economy? Hell, my job went to Mexico in December and I still haven't been able to find a new one yet. One night at Volusia, got to talking to the fans around me and four of us had recently been laid off. Gonna be a tough year to try and increase fan turnout.

3/1/08, 1:06 PM	#21 Re: Tony Jones Says USAC Owes Him $$$
RichC Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 76	Mr Miller, Thank you for taking the time to explain where the points fund money comes from. I would think it's also likely that Mr Jones is/was aware of where the points money comes from. The main point of contention appears to be a difference of opinion about how much money was to be paid out in the point fund. You were not an employee of USAC at the time and it's understandable that you were not privy to promises made by past management. Having said that, the underlying issue is that USAC appears to have not honored a promise it made to it's "members" and your statement really does not address this issue. So far you are saying the right things and deep down, people really would like to see USAC be successful. However, people will also only take so much when it comes to abuse of trust. I think you are aware of how badly broken the Silver Crown division is at this point. Please be aware that you have other divisions that are broken too.

3/1/08, 5:20 PM	#23 Re: Tony Jones Says USAC Owes Him $$$
Pat O'Connor Fan Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 8,029	One of the many wonderful things about America is that there are so many auto racing categories and venues from which to choose. Those who have posted some quite negative things in this thread have choices. Make your choice, naysayers; stay away from USAC events if it is even a fraction as bad as you infer.:headbang

3/1/08, 6:00 PM	#24 Re: Tony Jones Says USAC Owes Him $$$
CTtoPA Senior Member Race Count This Year: 6 Race Count Last Year: 4 Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 489	I curious to know what USAC has done to drive up costs for racers? Also: Q: What's something from nothing? A: Nothing. How do you expect somebody to get paid when there is no money to pay them?

3/1/08, 8:51 PM	#25 Re: Tony Jones Says USAC Owes Him $$$
DonRacer Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 117	[QUOTE=Stagger;31298]y left Shuman Hanging. The SCRA was growing and and had ever thing clicking under Shu and the SCRA banner with good paying shows" $1500.00 Less per race, to the winner than Frank Lewis Paid, by the way. Don

3/2/08, 1:25 AM	#26 Re: Tony Jones Says USAC Owes Him $$$
Wolfe-e Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 124	I applaud Mr. Miller for taking the time to come on this board and address this post. Although his explanation my not be what you wanted to here, "and if I were told one thing and got another, it would not please me either" at least it seemed to be honest. Its also much more than you would have gotten from the previous group. USAC, for all its problems is Still the #1 draw for Sprint Car Drivers and Fans!....Though they might not admit it, USAC Sprint Shows and Indiana Sprint Week Shows are often the difference between a Track making a profit for a whole year or taking a loss... The co-sanctioning of SCRA shows with USAC to me is more of a Reward for those Drivers who travel to Indiana each year to compete against The Very Best in the World, than it is a must do for USAC. Its True that USAC gains some Great Shows out west, but make no mistake, The Best of the Best come here to prove themselves just as they do at Indy or even the NHRA.. My Guess is that those tracks out west, regardless of SCRA, must feel that USAC improves the Bottom Line... IF not, they would not schedule the shows... On the other side of that, with the Cost of Travel alone these days, I can;t really see how many of these teams can continue to follow a schedule from coast to coast, without the influx of Major Sponsor Dollars... I do hope that if possible, Mr Jones and USAC can find common groundand move forward Togather. USAC will always need Great Racers and Great Racers need USAC........

3/2/08, 3:07 AM	#27 Re: Tony Jones Says USAC Owes Him $$$
AlkyMadness Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 233	Concerning Kevin's response that the way purses will be increased is to get more fans in the seats at local tracks. I don't know anything about the West Coast tracks and their attendance, but, in the Midwest, where are the tracks supposed to put these additional fans? When USAC runs at Gas City, you can hardly move the people are packed in so tight. Bloomington is usually at full capacity, as is Kokomo. And then there are the tracks that are not SRO, but don't have much more room to make a substantial difference in the purse (Lawrenceburg, Haubstadt, Winchester, Salem). As I see it, the only tracks that could handle a much larger crowd are Eldora (which has cut the number of USAC shows in half), Terre Haute and the asphalt tracks like IRP. The crowds at Toledo and Mansfield last year could have been a lot better. I believe some of these tracks would draw more people if they invested in some expansion. I know fans that won't even consider going to Gas City because of the lack of seating and parking. Our sport is best displayed on the short bullrings, but, that usually means limited seating capacity. So, what's the answer? If the tracks can't expand, then the admission has to go up. And then you find yourself with WoO-like prices. Perhaps if the number of events run at the core tracks was doubled/tripled, the track owners would take that as more of an incentive to invest in increased seating (and parking). Of course, all of this is supposed to happen in today's economy? Hell, my job went to Mexico in December and I still haven't been able to find a new one yet. One night at Volusia, got to talking to the fans around me and four of us had recently been laid off. Gonna be a tough year to try and increase fan turnout.