Dont Understand

Crushem

Veteran
How can Lancaster pack the stands for an Asphalt modified race and Lake Erie an hour and a half away has a mediocre crowd for thr ROC 250 ???
 

marks

Newbie
How can Lancaster pack the stands for an Asphalt modified race and Lake Erie an hour and a half away has a mediocre crowd for thr ROC 250 ???
I'm with you. The race had a big payout, weather was perfect. Maybe a Saturday show would draw better so you don't compete against a good Bills team? Maybe it's just too far West for asphalt mods.
 

owego26

Newbie
Maybe it is time to go back to Pocono, (they have time now) ... Either the 3/4 mile track or even the big one, better to have something there, than hardly nothing... They used to pack them in there back in the day ...
 

owego26

Newbie
Well, it is sort of same subject = I sure am glad that this "non-facebook" race fan still gets the AARN race paper, as this site and ROC site won't tell you anything about the Race of Champs = this used to be the biggest best race every year ...
 

marks

Newbie
Pocono 3/4 mile would be awesome, of course you would have to knock some buildings over to put it back in. When your done with the ROC put dirt on it and run Super Dirt Week. Big shows belong on big tracks imo
 

leadfoot4

Champion
Just a wild thought....as we "die-hard modified fans" get older, our desire, and/or ability to travel that far, diminishes. Back in the mid-late 70s, I never gave it a second thought, about running to Lancaster, Oswego, or Shangra-La, on a Saturday night. Those tracks were all well over an hour's drive from my home, on the east side of Rochester, meaning that if the races ended around 11PM, it was easily 12:30-1AM before I got home, while in some instances, driving on dark, secondary roads, through the "middle of nowhere". I just don't relish the idea of doing that, anymore.

Yes, that's somewhat of a general statement, and I realize that the picture that "CWM" posted, above, was taken during the daylight hours, meaning that the races were run early in the day. But it appears that Lake Erie, despite being an excellent facility, hasn't developed a strong following of fans in it's immediate area, which would give it a good base to work with, and when a show such as the ROC modified show comes to town, it brings "extra" fans to the facility.

I initially didn't mention Spencer's, because given that track's location, about 20 minutes east of Rochester, going there for a race, at least for me, is a "slam dunk"......however, given the less than efficient "time management" that they displayed a few weeks back, I still didn't get home until close to midnight.
 

BOZO6106

Veteran
I hear that Lake Erie has too many petty rules like no tail gating.The cost of ROC weekend is well over a $1.000 when you include tickets,lodging,food and drink,gas,and maybe a t-shirt for 3 days.I had to miss this year but will be back next year.
 

owego26

Newbie
Yes, I tend to agree leadfoot4, in that pic, I sure hope by the size of the crowd, that this was maybe atleast the back strait !!! You are so correct about home base fans, they have a beautiful facility there, BUT, NO HOME FAN BASE to work with, I think the ROC show is one of maybe a couple of races they may have all year, just maybe monster trucks, or something like that, what a shame, it is to bad ...
 

raceguy

Champion
The fact that the show was run on a Sunday made it a "no go" for me and my tribe. Work early Monday + long drive = Nope.
 

owego26

Newbie
I guess I should have included a " crashem-up demo-derby too" , but my self, sorry but I don't consider these fans what I call "RACE FANS " , JMO! Normally, ANY track that hosts the Race of Champs Show, DOES HAVE A HOME BASE OF RACE FANS, again , JMO ...
 

uticamike

Racing Genius
I'm old
I like being old
....cause why?

BITD (back in the day) everyone's favorite saying....we didn't bitch about driving to Trenton or Pocono or Flemington .
it was...cool...going to a track we hardly ever get to....It was special
The ROC isn't the ROC anymore. ( not blaming the current management) but times have changed.
MAV TV kept fans away I'm convinced ( as did 3.30 gas and what Pa gets for hotels)

The race track itself is superb. It's also the old ..it is what it is...in play. Forget covid for a moment and consider
if the race was at Jukasa. The big track that some say the BIG race should be on. The bitching about the border
would cover these pages. It's 78 miles from Cheektowaga to North East, Pa and people say it's too far away.
Would you go if the track was in say Victor,NY? 77 miles from Cheek?

Lancaster, lancaster lancaster would that make you peeps happy?
The Tour doesn't even feature a year end be all end season ending event but where is the hand wringing on that?

Like I said I'm old.....and glad to still take in Modified racing no matter where it is.
 
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luvtorace

Newbie
Lancaster is a great track. So is Lake Erie. The ROC race at Lake Erie with crowd count down was only because of bad weather. Sucks for Lake Erie owners. Lancaster did the right thing to cancel the show for Sunday with weather and Bills game. I can promise you that Lancaster Speedway come Oct. 23rd with good weather, stands packed!!!! Pits packed!!! Tough being a small business owner now a days.
 

uticamike

Racing Genius
Lancaster is a great track. So is Lake Erie. The ROC race at Lake Erie with crowd count down was only because of bad weather. Sucks for Lake Erie owners. Lancaster did the right thing to cancel the show for Sunday with weather and Bills game. I can promise you that Lancaster Speedway come Oct. 23rd with good weather, stands packed!!!! Pits packed!!! Tough being a small business owner now a days.
Sorry luv..but I don't see a snowballs chance in Getzville of a "packed" pits or "packed" grandstand. Andy J and Patrick E won't be there as they have other racing commitments that day/ Matt Hirschman will be at TTOM event in Seekonk and I know 2 other teams that will (reportedly) not be supporting this event. The Saturday events of this years Open was a flop and I don't see how it improves going in late Oct.
 

Turbo01

Veteran
I agree with Utica. The ROC isn't what it was when I was growing up, going to Pocono. It was the race you waited all summer for. It was a track you only got to race on once a year. The who's who of drivers in only 2 classes (and pulling in over a 100 cars combined). Erie is not a unique experience like Pocono was. Great track, great racing, but not unique, just another event. Also, the star power is not there like in years past. To me, that makes a huge difference. We don't need 6 different classes, as fans, but the back gate would suffer, so I understand. Bring back the best of the best drivers and make it unique again.
 

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