Every track has its own problems. My tracks have problems but if most fans are like me, they want to help and they don't want to lose their tracks or their extended families. When racers you know and love leave the track, it does hurt. When track personnel leave, it hurts. When the people you must trust that run your tracks won't listen, where do you go????

Every way you turn, someone is calling "the kettle black". Track owners say you can come to them with any problem but is that true?? Nasty rumors fly, people get hurt, and the track goes down hill. So what do racers, their families, and the fans really want out of a racetrack or even a racing series here in Florida?????

Fairness is extremely important. Yes, most tracks seem to have what they call "track favorites". Even when they do wrong, they are excused where some other guy or gal might not be. That is great for the track favorite but bad for all the other guys. Rules are made for ALL and rules must be the same for ALL.

Local racing and racing in a series here in Florida is shutting the doors for alot of very good guys and gals who just cannot afford what use to be affordable. Series racing should be more expensive than local every weekend racing but since when do you need a semi to go racing? Yes, an enclosed trailer will protect you from the rain but I have seen racers carry as much gear for the cars in an open trailer and van or truck as the enclosed trailers. Big rigs don't make the racer.

How many guys really make their living racing locally or in a state series?? How many are backyard mechanics and maintain their own cars or how many have crews that do that for them? How many work their butts off to race and getting wrecked does hurt and how many just go home and get another car?

Racers need higher purses today to race because it does cost more. And fans need lower admission prices because it cost too much to go to local racing? So, how do we pay out more and take in less? One way is by having full stands and high car counts and this will benefit everyone but I have only seen this done at special races and some dirt tracks.

How do we make our racers and fans happy? How do we get fairness for all with no exceptions? How do we make sure that the rules are always followed? How do we stop losing our guys to the high cost of racing and get racing back to where it was??? And how do we say we were wrong in a bad call and make it right?

Florida racing should be some of the best in the country for local short track racing. We have the tracks, we have some great fans, and we have some of the best drivers around. So why are we so unhappy with our tracks and how they are run?

There is one thing that I know for a fact and that is alot of very good people love these tracks. They don't want to lose them but if we don't start working together and listening to each other and treating everyone the same, we will have weeds in our tracks instead of cars.

Jane Smith

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