UNION COUNTY - Midget Week

hacksaw · 8/8/08, 8:11 AM

I thought USAC was a more professional group that showed last nite at UCS Speedway. Never was any type of announcement made regarding what was happening until after 7:00pm, which was the listed starting and then suddenly haulers were loading and leaving the facility. Tony Barhorst did a wonderful job of promoting this event as evidenced by the crowd and thanks to Bob Jenkins for coming and staying throughout the evening. The show put on by the group of drivers who stayed was excellent. I chose not to ask for a ticket refund as support for Mr. Barhorst.

767 · 8/8/08, 8:12 AM

Real simple I will tag my name. For you guys that are talking all saftey on here, if it was so dangerouse why did usac not pull the plug? THEY PUT IT TO A VOTE! Because of this situation Bllomington, L-burg, and Probably Kokomo will now suffer at least from my group. We will be headed to florance tonight.

JR ROUSE

FishBurger · 8/8/08, 8:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mud Packer

Having been at this "event", here are some questions, concerns and thoughts. Lord only knows there is enough blame to go around here.

1)To Billy Daniels, Promoter/Track Owner and your right hand man Tom Wiek. Take a look around your facility and I am sure you can see some of the obvious safety concerns that the competitors saw. I doubt if you are blind so I certainly don't need to name them. Also, whoever took over the microphone and "questioned" the drivers calling them pansies, perhaps you need to take a lession in PR and tact. From this point forward I will always think of Union County Speedway as the CLASSLESS TRACK.

2)To Tony Barnhorst, Promoter. After attending an early season regular show at Union County Speedway, I questioned some of the safety issues that I saw and Tony came on this board and assured everyone that they were addressed and fixed. Did you really discuss these issues or were you just blowing smoke and turning your head. I believe this was your call to race here in the first place. I would be interested in hearing your thoughts on this.

3)USAC. Do you have someone in the office assigned to track inspection prior to the event being held? Please don't lay the blame on Greg Staub since he isn't employed there any longer. This should have been done early in the week at the latest and then competitors, drivers and fans wouldn't have had to show up to this fiasco. To Kevin Miller. As president of USAC you oversee an organization that is responsible for the sanctioning of this event. Exactly what is your organizations responsibility to the drivers, car owners and the fans to put on a show that has been advertised for months? This type of issue should never occur on race day!

4)The Fans. I thought the fans were great in a very difficult situation. Most sat there with no explanation as to what was happening behind the scenes, yet when the announcement was made by the track "questioning" the drivers and their bravery, you didn't become totally insane and cross the line. Please don't take this out on Bloomington, Lawrenceburg or Kokomo by not attending the balance of midget week. These tracks certainly had nothing to do with this racing be non sanctioned by USAC.

5)To the drivers & car owners. First the ones that choose to leave and not race. It takes a great deal of courage to make this kind of decision. Safety must ALWAYS be first and foremost in your minds. I understand your position and I appreciate your concerns. You made a decision and you stuck to your principles which certainly was difficult to do I am sure. To the drivers & car owners who decided to stay and race. My personal opinion says you need to reevaluate your priorities. With what has happened in the last couple of weeks, we now have 3 drivers who have been hurt racing. To push the limits of safety certainly isn't in your best interests no matter how much money is on the line. Is your health and well being worth so little that you would put it on the line by racing at a facility like this when so many of your competitors said no way.

On the hour and a half trip home last night I reflected on the event and how this should never happen. It could have been a lot worse than it was as in a driver getting seriously injured or worse, fans rioting and injuring themselves and others. I am sure we will see the PR spin in trying to lay the blame on someone else. To all parties involved, take the time to do YOUR job and make sure this NEVER happens again.

I too was there and have thought about this since leaving the track at 7:00 p.m. yesterday. Was all set to get up and make a long post this a.m. but Voila , Mike has said everything I had intended to say and far more eloquently than I could have. Well done, Mike.

The correct decision was made IMO, albeit at least 48 hours too late.

I quoted Mike's post in its' entirety because some of you folks need to read it again. IMO.

Redbone · 8/8/08, 8:28 AM

Mud Packer, absolutely a perfect assessment!:applaud:

Quote:

Originally Posted by E.P.

When you are on your soapbox being all high and mighty ripping USAC for making the right decision try mixing some proper grammar.

Eric, actually this should read:

"When you are on your soapbox being all high and mighty, ripping USAC for making the right decision, try mixing some proper grammar."

Forgot two commas.

Sorry, had to do that!

Brolzy · 8/8/08, 8:32 AM

There is no wayt his should have happened the day of the race...that's just being short-sighted and unorganized. You can't tell me that someone couldn't take the drive over from 16th Street earlier this week even and inspected the track. Instead, they wasted a lot of people's time and gas money when it easily could have been avoided.

PJ Wright · 8/8/08, 9:07 AM

Mud Packer; Thanks Mike for saving me a lot of typing.

Stagger · 8/8/08, 9:08 AM

I am not shocked.... To me as a fan, a driver or owner can decide for them selves if they pull into a joint and want to load up and go home and not race. That is not really the issue for me. What gets me is we all make mistakes now and then but god god USAC has been around how long? They should be running like a well oiled machine by now. How can you not inspect a track before your race teams show up? I don't mean just once a year or a new track on the schedule. They should do spot checks all the time regardless of what track it is if they preach the Safety thing. There is no excuses for what USAC let happen. If you read through some history of USAC as a sanctioning body, There is always some kind of controversy or drama on many levels through the years. I respect the past, present, and future, of sprint and midget racing and all of it's hero's and legends that have had ties to USAC. It just seems odd that they can F

ck up a wet dream some times.

D.O. · 8/8/08, 9:15 AM

I do feel sorry for one person. Bob Jenkins. It's his hometown and was to be an honor for Bob Jenkins for all the years he spent working races on TV with ESPN and the Thunder Series. I'm sure Bob kept a smile on his face and talked with all, but what shame to let him down. Bob always has given his fans the best and deserved not to be dissed.
:dologob:

Clydesdale · 8/8/08, 9:42 AM

I had never been to Union County Speedway before and when i pulled in at 6:30 and had to park on the motorcross track i knew that there was gonna be and issue. I walked in and when i saw the rusty equiptment and grater with the USAC officials wallking around turns one and two i knew something was going on. I was up there around where the refunds were taking place. Did anyone else hear one of the gate workers throw out the F bomb at a fan wanting their money back? The facility as a whole was not ready for a big event like last night.

Amzie · 8/8/08, 9:43 AM

I have nothing bad to say about the drivers and teams that thought the track was unsafe and didn't race. They're the ones who are putting their life and equipment on the line. This also applies to the drivers who felt that the track was safe enough to run on. USAC is a different story.... Given the history of this track they should have visited this track and this race should have been canceled weeks ago if it was so unsafe. I wasted $50 in gas and 5 hours of my life driving to a USAC race that didn't happen. Well at least it's never happened before...Oh wait...maybe it has:doh: Will I go tonight...yes. Tomorrow night...yes. USAC simply has the best of type of racing that I love to see. That's why they can screw us over and over and we keep coming back. But like I heard one redneck say to another..."If you keep doing that to your dog, he'll eventually stop coming to you when you call his name." And hey, if it wasn't for USAC what would we have to complain about???

8/8/08, 9:08 AM	#37 Re: UNION COUNTY - Midget Week
Stagger Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 243	I am not shocked.... To me as a fan, a driver or owner can decide for them selves if they pull into a joint and want to load up and go home and not race. That is not really the issue for me. What gets me is we all make mistakes now and then but god god USAC has been around how long? They should be running like a well oiled machine by now. How can you not inspect a track before your race teams show up? I don't mean just once a year or a new track on the schedule. They should do spot checks all the time regardless of what track it is if they preach the Safety thing. There is no excuses for what USAC let happen. If you read through some history of USAC as a sanctioning body, There is always some kind of controversy or drama on many levels through the years. I respect the past, present, and future, of sprint and midget racing and all of it's hero's and legends that have had ties to USAC. It just seems odd that they can Fck up a wet dream some times.

8/8/08, 8:11 AM	#31 Re: UNION COUNTY - Midget Week
hacksaw Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 57	I thought USAC was a more professional group that showed last nite at UCS Speedway. Never was any type of announcement made regarding what was happening until after 7:00pm, which was the listed starting and then suddenly haulers were loading and leaving the facility. Tony Barhorst did a wonderful job of promoting this event as evidenced by the crowd and thanks to Bob Jenkins for coming and staying throughout the evening. The show put on by the group of drivers who stayed was excellent. I chose not to ask for a ticket refund as support for Mr. Barhorst.

8/8/08, 8:12 AM	#32 Re: UNION COUNTY - Midget Week
767 Senior Member Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 1,052	Real simple I will tag my name. For you guys that are talking all saftey on here, if it was so dangerouse why did usac not pull the plug? THEY PUT IT TO A VOTE! Because of this situation Bllomington, L-burg, and Probably Kokomo will now suffer at least from my group. We will be headed to florance tonight. JR ROUSE

8/8/08, 8:32 AM	#35 Re: UNION COUNTY - Midget Week
Brolzy Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 143	There is no wayt his should have happened the day of the race...that's just being short-sighted and unorganized. You can't tell me that someone couldn't take the drive over from 16th Street earlier this week even and inspected the track. Instead, they wasted a lot of people's time and gas money when it easily could have been avoided.

8/8/08, 9:07 AM	#36 Re: UNION COUNTY - Midget Week
PJ Wright Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 3,951	Mud Packer; Thanks Mike for saving me a lot of typing.

8/8/08, 9:15 AM	#38 Re: UNION COUNTY - Midget Week
D.O. Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 2,915	I do feel sorry for one person. Bob Jenkins. It's his hometown and was to be an honor for Bob Jenkins for all the years he spent working races on TV with ESPN and the Thunder Series. I'm sure Bob kept a smile on his face and talked with all, but what shame to let him down. Bob always has given his fans the best and deserved not to be dissed. :dologob:

8/8/08, 9:42 AM	#39 Re: UNION COUNTY - Midget Week
Clydesdale Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 450	I had never been to Union County Speedway before and when i pulled in at 6:30 and had to park on the motorcross track i knew that there was gonna be and issue. I walked in and when i saw the rusty equiptment and grater with the USAC officials wallking around turns one and two i knew something was going on. I was up there around where the refunds were taking place. Did anyone else hear one of the gate workers throw out the F bomb at a fan wanting their money back? The facility as a whole was not ready for a big event like last night.

8/8/08, 9:43 AM	#40 Re: UNION COUNTY - Midget Week
Amzie Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 183	I have nothing bad to say about the drivers and teams that thought the track was unsafe and didn't race. They're the ones who are putting their life and equipment on the line. This also applies to the drivers who felt that the track was safe enough to run on. USAC is a different story.... Given the history of this track they should have visited this track and this race should have been canceled weeks ago if it was so unsafe. I wasted $50 in gas and 5 hours of my life driving to a USAC race that didn't happen. Well at least it's never happened before...Oh wait...maybe it has:doh: Will I go tonight...yes. Tomorrow night...yes. USAC simply has the best of type of racing that I love to see. That's why they can screw us over and over and we keep coming back. But like I heard one redneck say to another..."If you keep doing that to your dog, he'll eventually stop coming to you when you call his name." And hey, if it wasn't for USAC what would we have to complain about???