The State of OUR sport; Past, Present, and Future

A continuing series of interviews through the eyes of YOU, our Teams, Promoters, Tracks, Sanctioning Bodies, and Fans...

Randy Kerr

Randy Kerr – Just havin’ a great time!

"If the people involved in making the track a fun place to race are not having fun, how do you expect the drivers and fans to have fun?" 

We conclude our three part series on Magic Valley Speedway with former MVS Race Director Randy Kerr.

These two pictures say all you pretty much need to know about Randy and the approach to his sport. 

My entire article series comes from the perspective of personal relationships. Personal relationships with racers and team members, with officials, even with a concrete and asphalt race track  (yes, they do “talk” to me,…………..and yes, I am seeking help for this condition……lol)

In the case of my late November visit with the remains of Champion Speedway in Carson City, the conservation was sad indeed.

This article series was grown out of a relationship with numerous racetracks we lost, and more importantly, the racers that went with them. Goals are simple. If I could keep one racer racing, help one track to improve and share some ideas, it was worth it.

Simple, attainable goals, gaining people back to our sport one by one by one. And that is the real story about Randy Kerr and others interviewed in this series.

Individual effort in the best interest of our sport.

Let me tell you a quick story before we get into the interview. Last race of the year, Madera Speedway. What a fun night!  My son Drew and I hadn’t seen an Enduro race since the closing of Saugus over 12 years ago. After our usual trek through the pits afterward to say hello to a few racers, we were headed back out to the parking lot for the long drive back to Saugus. It was dark, most all the cars had left, and a single car was driving out from the ticket booth area. The gentleman opened his window and asked “Hey, did you guys have fun tonight?” Somewhat surprised I turned to see it was Madera Race Director Al Gonella. He had no idea it was us before we turned around (we do know each other from years past), but in that moment it said everything to me about how we continue to bring fans back to our sport.

He could have just driven by, but instead cared enough to ask if his “clients” had a good time. And I’m sure if we didn’t have fun, or had a problem, what he could do to make it right. And that is precisely how I believe we win fans back to our sport, one by one. Personal relationships and interest shown by the people that know our sport best, and how awesome it is. Those people are…………US.

If each of us went out and brought just one new person to our tracks, where would we be in 5, 10, or 20 years?

It’s really just that simple, and that difficult. 

Each one of us has the ability to show others about our sport, and Race Directors Randy and Al are great examples. As RD’s, neither one is expected to do more than run their races, but each goes out of their way to quietly make much more than that happen. And except for this article, without fanfare or praise, just a love of this cool sport we all share.  That’s how I believe we get back to where we were, and then some.

And that is the story of Randy Kerr. He answered a simple posting I had a couple of years ago, and it grew into a personal visit to Twin Falls and the Magic Valley Speedway, an enlightening visit indeed.

http://www.racingwest.com/specials/andyd/RW-StateofourSport-MVS.pdf (PDF File)

That weekend, my family and I discovered a cool new racetrack, and the best part, numerous new friends were made.

The first night I visited MVS, and after near 40 years of being a fan and sponsor, was invited to The Tower for the first time ever at any track. This particular race was a runaway, with the leader a half a lap out front. I remember Randy mumbling, “We need a yellow”, and I was thinking the same. Well the race ended, no yellow, and there really were plenty of borderline opportunities. When I quizzed Randy about it afterward, his response was……I can’t do that to these guys, that’s more important than a single race”.

Integrity.

As I reported in the main MVS article, this whole series on Magic Valley started with a simple posting at Racing West. He didn’t have to respond, but did, in a positive way. In fact, in preparation for this article I recalled all our emails about racing, totaling well over 400 pages. (Yikes! Obviously neither of us has much to do in our spare time……lol)

There was so much good info in there, much of it I have recalled, discussed, and with Randy’s permission and review, added to his perspective. Some of this will sound a little past tense, as this interview was started well before the sale of MVS to Eddy Mckean earlier this season. (And Yes, I will be getting to Eddy to get his perspective on going from racer to track owner in the future)

Hours and hours of personal attention to detail no one will ever hear about. Integrity, no one will ever know about. He just quietly goes about his passion never taking personal credit for all the cool things that were created at MVS. Instead, he credits ALL the “MVS Partners” for the remarkable things that happen there.

So here it is, a years worth of chatting back and forth, ideas and thoughts of one of the truly good people in our sport, race director Mr. Randy Kerr.

THE BEGINNING

Andy Daddario: Where did you grow up, how did you get involved in racing?
Randy Kerr: I grew up in Santa Maria Ca. I guess I was about 5 or 6 when I went to Santa Maria Speedway for the first time. My grand parents lived in Nipomo, and when I would spend the night at their house, I could hear the cars practicing and racing. I would beg my grandpa to take me. He wasn’t really into racing, but my grandma made him take me a few times a year. I would say I was hooked the very first race I went to, and like just about everyone, I wanted to be a driver. My dad was into drag racing, but took me to a race or two a year. I moved to Idaho in 1980, we lived 50 miles from the race track (Nat- Su-Pa)  It was a small ¼ mile dirt track. I went to a few races a year there, but the distance and starting a family kept us from going every week. When Magic Valley Speedway opened, we had moved to Twin Falls, and it was a lot easier to get to the races. The first year we never missed a race, and we started building a racecar. I think I missed 2 races the second year the track was opened, and haven’t missed one night since. I didn’t actually start racing until 1992, I won rookie of the year and raced again in 93. We never missed a race either year, and it played a toll on the entire family. We were really under budget, and seemed to spend about every night patching the car back together. In 94 I wanted to stay involved in racing but wanted time to spend with the family so I figured I would work at the track. It would keep me involved and free up my time during the week. I spent 2 years as the Street Stock tech inspector. In 96 the guy that worked the entry corner took a job out of state and I was offered the position. I worked the corner for 2 years. In 1998 Steve came to me and asked if I would be the Race Director. I didn’t know what a Race Director was, we had never had one. After he explained the details I told him no, I didn’t think we needed a Race Director. I thought we had all worked together really well, and Steve was an awesome leader. When I wouldn’t agree to even try it, Steve went to Cindy (my wife) and offered her a trip to Daytona if she would talk me into taking the job. We went to Daytona!

COSTS AND TIME

AD: How do you see our current issues? What are our problems? What do you see as our biggest challenges? Fans in the stands, race teams, lost racetracks?
RK: Time, it used to be about money but not any more, I think time is the biggest issue. I think that is not only the issue with racers and crews fixing and building cars, but I think it effects everyone including the track workers, officials…..and most of all, the fans.

I used to hear people say it costs too much to go to the races or to race a car on a local level. Now I seem to hear, “it’s the time it takes”. I’m not sure how we ever got to where we are as a society, but there has definitely been a shift from money to time. I find myself doing it all the time. “Let me see when I can squeeze it in”. When I ask someone if they are coming to the races, and the answer is “no”, the reason is almost always something else they have going on. When I talk to racers that have quit, somehow it always seems to be the time it takes. Even the Warriors (Hornets at most tracks) tell me the same thing, and they only race 5 or 6 times a year in a car that is far from time consuming to build or maintain. Currently we try to give every local division one weekend a month off to offset some of the time commitment.

Here is a scary number for you. A few years ago Steve and I were discussing the Limited Late Model class we wanted to start. I was worried about the drivers we have today, he was worried about the 5-year plan. I still insisted we needed to accommodate the drivers we have. He said, “We only have 3 racers total that were here 5 years ago”. I called BS on that and you know what, he was right! A few (only a few) had moved up, most had moved on to other interests. I was fast to blame our rules, our officials, our politics if you will (hate that word but seems to fit). I made it my mission to call as many of these guys as I could and ask them what it would take to get them to come back. I found most left because of the time involved in racing and maintaining a race car. Sure some blamed the costs, but it came down to wanting to do other things that they couldn't do, and race at the same time. Your turn on that one HOW DO WE FIX IT?

AD: Simplify?
RK: Remember we think we control costs, we give one weekend a month off, we have a nice track, the gate people and officials are friendly and fair, the promoter goes to every pit meeting and says " I know you have a choice where you can race, and I appreciate you choosing Magic Valley Speedway" the drivers know he is serious. The rules are enforced. What are we missing?

We did a report once. We called the drivers that had only ran once or twice and asked them what it would take to get them back more often. I think it goes a long way with the driver when your staff calls them with a friendly, “how are you doing, we miss having you”..... just letting them know you care.

AD:  Tell me how MVS keeps its racing costs in control.
RK: I think we do everything we can to control cost. If you want to race in the feature division, you are looking at a 3,000 crate motor (the only allowed motor) 50.00 shocks, 350.00 spec carb, 150.00 headers and a spec muffler in the late model cars, and so on. Sometimes I wish we were a little smarter in that direction, but cost is considered with every idea we have or change we consider making.

I would like to say we have that all figured out. We have what I think are some of the most cost effective rules for our Limited Late Models. We were in a great position when we wrote those rules, we had no cars. I talked to many promoters and they all had good ideas. Most also said, “don’t do this or that, we do and now it’s too late to change it because everyone has already bought it, and it really drives the cost up”.

We spec a lot of parts on the cars, motor, headers, muffler, carburetor, shocks, and tire usage. It really seems to help. I can also tell you we have some issues in our Grand National (Street Stocks) class. The cost in that class is too high. The problem is when you change a rule you cost the drivers you have money. If you don’t make changes you keep the cost too high and don’t move forward.

AD: I think we can all agree it took us a long time to get into this position, and probably should take a long time getting out. What about setting an easy goal of say 5 percent a year so the impact short term is minimal, but the impact long term is significant?
RK: I have had this discussion with many promoters and have to agree the cost is an issue. The biggest problem is getting back to where it should have been all along. The 5% deal is a great idea long term, the short term could hurt a little for the racers you have today. I have say $300.00 shocks, and you want me to run the $50.00 shock option. Magic Valley has you just cost me as a racer $50.00 X 8 or 10 shocks. Yea you saved me from buying more 300.00 shocks and saved the new racer from buying them, but at the same time you cost the racer money. This has always been the issue with changes to any rule. I also think we all need to be willing to make those changes as hard as they are and as much heat as you will be getting from the racers, I think it is needed to survive. The up side is if you are at the first track to make these changes you have a great market for all those 300.00 shocks in your trailer. If you are racing at the last track to do it you were probably buying 300.00 shocks used for 50.00 already. 

AD: How has racing technology changed us? Is it really for the better? As a fan, I don’t find the racing today any better than yesterday, it’s all good.
RK: I can tell you from when I raced out of my driveway to where these guys in the same class are today, I suspect I would be a second or two off the pace. Computer software is being used on mini stocks, I bet a few Thunder Stocks (Bombers) use it to set the cars up. The software cost isn’t really an issue, but I think most local racers don’t have the experience to use the software to it full potential. That’s where the cost comes in. To be up front you almost need to have a speed shop set the car up for you. If not, you need to spend a ton of time studying, taking us back to the time deal again. Most don’t have enough time, they pay to have it done. Is it better? Actually I think it is in a lot of ways. I think the cars that are built in the speed shops have some safety stuff built in that the average guy would never think about. When they repair a car I think they know where to look as far as related problems are concerned. I also think a better handling car is a safer car. So, as much as I say I don’t like the idea of the racers spending money on this stuff, the truth of it is it probably saves them money in the long run. 

MAGIC VALLEY SPEEDWAY

AD: Tell me about MVS and how your facility is run, what makes you different than others?  Can MVS be duplicated elsewhere?
RK: That’s really hard to answer, it almost feels like it runs itself. We are fortunate to have the team we have in place. When it comes to the people that make everything happen, we have basically had the same people for the last eight or ten years. Steve and I seem to get a lot of credit for the hard work the other people do. I build a time line for the night, and we make sure every official and team has a copy. I’m not sure how they do it, but the racers, officials, safety crew, announcers and flagmen always seem to keep us on that schedule. We might get behind from an oil down or big wreck, but they always seem to get us back on track before the last race is over. It’s pretty awesome.

I think a few of the things that stand out when I go to another track is the time line. We advertise the green flag flies at 7:05. We have cars on the track and throw the first green at 7:05. I think race tracks are getting better at that all the time, but I go to a lot of other things that are scheduled to start at a specific time and they are late, sometimes 15 to 20+ minutes. We run a really tight time line, when one class takes the checkered, the next is ready to go. Drivers come to race, and fans come to see them, so dragging your feet for no reason isn’t fair to the people that are paying you. We do have some non-race stuff we do, I wish we didn’t but we have to. It’s either sponsor driven, something for the kids or something for entertainment for the semi-race fan.

Can MVS be duplicated? I would say it is everything we do is something we stole from some other track. I try to go to a new track every year and almost always come back with something they do better than we do and we try to use it. Steve is in constant communications with promoters all over the United States exchanging ideas. I think we were the first weekly track to do the chase for the championship, but I think everyone knows where we stole that idea. Running 2 divisions together may be new to the short track deal, but other organizations have been doing it for years. The difference being our cars are all racing in the same division rather than having separate winners like the others have. The green flag flying at a specific time and keeping on a schedule TV was doing it before Magic Valley Speedway was built.

AD: Tell me about the MVS Partnership.
RK: I think you give our people way too much credit. We don't do it all right, I would bet our staff made many mistakes the night you were here. I haven't heard about them yet, but I will and we will try to improve from the mistakes. The partnership deal we have preached in pit meetings, to our staff and sponsors for many years. I believe it 100%. The facts are, without any one piece we are done. You pick it racers, fans, sponsors, officials, pace car drivers, safety crew, you name it. If we're all not partners in the deal, and we work against each other, we will fade away. I can tell you our purses are low compared to many tracks. The dollars to win isn't what brings drivers, it's the desire to have fun and have a good night on the track. For the staff I think if we told them today we couldn't pay them for the rest of the year, I bet they would all be here for every race. Well not the kids in the concession trailers, but you know what I mean. For that matter I would say you could tell the drivers we couldn't pay them anymore, we wouldn't lose a lot of cars, maybe a few but not a lot.

KIDS, FAMILY, AND FANS

AD: The kids are our future. My Dad took me to Saugus when I was 8 years old, and that was my beginning, as it was yours. My plan is that my son Drew continues the tradition to his kids. I believe we need to look 10 years or more down the road as these kids will grow up to be your fans, your team members, and your drivers. I met Mike Curb (Busch Series Owner and our former LT. Governor of Ca.) at the West Coast HOF banquet in 2006. He got hooked on racing because he was taken to a local Gardena track as a kid by a neighbor. I’ll bet most of us were exposed to this at a young age, and become life long fans of this sport. I keep harping on kids and or family pricing. At worst, it's an investment in your future hard-core fan, rather than an investment in a boring newspaper ad that only returns 1 in 1000. Thoughts?
RK: The kids ARE our future, you only have to look at Mcdonalds to see that. We had 400 kids meet the reading goal for the year at a local elementary school, and each kid got a free ticket. Had a soccer tournament in town, and offered free admission to any player that came in uniform. We use kids for trophy presenters and have a Jr flagman and winner of a pace car ride out of a kids drawing. We took a Legends car to another local school, and sent a free ticket home with every kid in the school. We do give a ton of kid tickets away. I would estimate around 1,000 last season, and jump on every opportunity I get. If a kid is under 12, someone has to bring them, so we make that happen. I feel it has endless possibilities.

Some of the other things we do are Penny Gold Rush, Kids-N-Kars and Box Car races help to get the kids involved. I think it is really important to not only get the kids to the track, but to get them involved.

The night you came to Magic Valley, I put 2 kids in the pace car for a ride. I happen to know one was a race fan and the other really wanted to be back home. Before the night was over I think we gained a new race fan. I don’t think that would have happened if she would have been left to sit in the stands watching cars where she had no idea who the drivers were. I will admit the Roll Over Contest probably had more an effect on her becoming a fan than the ride in the pace car, but I want the credit for the new fan J. I don’t think I ever turned a kid away from a pace car ride. If they were willing to come to the tower and ask, I was willing to get it done.

AD: I just see creating just ONE lifetime fan like either of us is worth it. (or another future team member for your divisions)  It's a win/win as you have built your track around.  

EQUALIZING RULES

AD: I have a very strong belief in this area, and want a Race Directors opinion. If I own a Late Model that runs at Mesa, I should be able to compete at any track that runs this type of car. (like the Legends).

From a fans point of view, the guys from out of town (the black hats) come to town and race against our local heroes (white hats) which equal Drama. From a racers perspective the benefits are being able to travel, learn some other tracks, and sell that car nationwide when it’s time. From a tracks perspective getting more cars for their show is the clear positive. And if the tracks are able to have complementary schedules, and a team can race two facilities, even better. Please explain to me why this doesn’t happen.
RK: Rules between tracks have always been an issue.  Drivers feel like the tracks try to make rules so they can’t travel, or even worse can’t move to another track if they don’t like the way they are treated. I don’t think that is the thinking, at least it isn’t here. We were the first to go to the GM crate motor program in our Grand Americans, we tried to get RMR to do it at the same time but they wanted to hold out and see if it worked here first, and if the motors were going to hold up. They did and RMR went to a similar program the following year. This season Meridian speedway just outside of Boise has adopted the same rules. We are excited!! This is great for our drivers and the drivers at those tracks. Now for our other classes, we have Grand Nationals, Meridian has Street Stocks basically the same thing but we have different tire deals, different weight rules, headers no headers, 4 barrel intake 2 barrel intake, automatics allowed automatics not allowed, weight jacks no weight jacks, 10.5 compression no compression, restrictor plate no plate, you get the idea. Our rules are conservative we are the ones with the no headers, no jacks, no automatics, 10.5 compression and a plate. Not to say we are right, but I see why they have the rules they have, and I also know why we have the rules we have. I don’t see us allowing our guys/gals to spend money to basically go faster. They can’t see making their drivers spend money to go slower.

Meridian has similar car counts, competitive cars, and happy racers. So how do we get those rules close without messing up something that works? We have had cars go there and race because our cars are more conservative, they are legal, just have a little disadvantage.  

NASCAR  

AD: You and I have debated at length about Nascar and its place. Thoughts?
RK: NASCAR is a tool like any tool you have for your racecar, if you use it properly, it will help you. If you expect to leave it in to toolbox and never get it out, you are not going to get your moneys worth. I think it is simple as a track you are part of a bigger picture. When you go to prospective sponsors you are not a little race track looking to get into their pockets. You are partners with NASCAR and they can be a part of that partnership. As a fan you see NASCAR Races Saturday Night you expect to see quality races. As a driver you are a part of the big picture, our guys can’t wait for the NASCAR updates on the website to see where they stand in the nation. The average person would never see it, but they have had a lot to do with the success of Magic Valley Speedway.

THE SHOW

Before I get into the questions, quick story. Long time sprint car racer Walt James told me about So Cal. car dealer and West sponsor Jim Rush Chevrolet. A used car would come in, they'd paint a temporary number on it, and go race it. (I’m assuming a very slow division with no roll bars) After the race they'd run it backwards to roll off the miles. The good ole days, man was I born in the wrong generation, I love it! There's nothing wrong with that type of racing at all !!!  (and I think I got one of those used cars……LOL)

AD: Tell me about the Caution Cone, what is it, what does everyone like about it? (I loved it!)
RK: “Everyone hates to see a caution, well if there was a really cool wreck it’s o.k., but those safety guys better get it cleaned up fast, I came to see racing not some sweeper truck on the track”. That is what cautions used to be about, now it’s more like “give me a caution I want to see the cone”. The cone is used with “one to go” after a caution. Drivers must go above the cone or below the cone. If you go below you are in the inside roll, if you go above you are in the outside roll. If five cars go low then the sixth car can go high, it moves to the outside of the front row. It not only gives the fans double file restarts but also adds to the involvement for the fan. I stood in the tower every night saying “what was that guy thinking, he should have went high or he should have went low”.

I think every track needs double file restarts, and using the cone will allow the driver who feels better driving the bottom of the track, to stay there if he wants. I hate seeing restarts where a guy is just holding on to second, and a caution puts him to the outside and he starts going backwards fast. If I were that guy, I would give one spot up to stay low, and have a shot at a top five.

AD: What is your opinion on Inverts? I'm just gonna say it .........."I love full inverts".
RK: Not necessarily full if it means I can sandbag and take the pole, but yea I know what you are saying. When we timed cars (a long time ago) we had a one second rule full invert inside one second of the fast time. Anyone outside one second started at the rear of the invert heads up. The one-second deal was a good breaking point for us. Some tracks may have to use a half second or a second and a half depending on the class and size of the track. We lined cars up by the driver’s average finish in his or her last 3 events. We inverted from that number. We took the top four and the last week’s main event winner to the rear of the main. The remaining cars have to run a Qualifying race for starting position. Another one of those deals where the fans were behind the thinking. If I am a fan and see the heat races that most tracks run, I walk away saying, “what was that race about”. Replacing them with qualifying races gave a real meaning to the race we could get across to the new fan.

AD: I think long practice is a complete waste of fuel, tires, engine, etc. , which is why I like your late 3pm pit opening time. Thoughts?
RK: And the driver doesn’t have to get out of bed at four A.M. to get to the track on time. Look at it this way, I have to get up early then race around getting everything secure for the trip to the track. Get to the track at 8:00 a.m. wait in line, get unloaded by 10:00, the inspector wants me to take the carb apart I just got done putting back on last night. Practice is now starting, and I can’t find the spare gasket, I think I left it in the shop. Finally, I get on the track and get some laps. I adjust on the car and wait for another practice. Get through it and find the changes I made, screwed something else up and we’re adjusting again. (sound familiar?) Anyway, you get to the main event and the idiot race director just screwed you on a call. It’s 11:00 p.m. and you’ve been at this place for FIFTEEN hours all to get screwed out of a good finish. I bet you’re pissed, I would be. If I was the Race Director at a place like that do you think I would be willing to say, “man I screwed up I’m really sorry” or would I be a little grumpy as well after spending the same fifteen hours at the track.

I’m not sure how you can have fun on a day like that. Now let me get up when I wake up, take the family to breakfast, go home to hang out for a while then head for the track and guess what, I’m in a good mood when I get there. It doesn’t matter if I’m a driver, official, fan, sponsor whatever, it just sets the stage for a good fun night at the track. Let me come play have fun and go home by 10:00 p.m and I’m a happy camper. If I choose to leave at 11 or 12 that’s o.k. it’s my choice not the track holding me there because my race hasn’t started yet.

AD: I touched on this in the Intro, what’s your opinion of “entertainment yellows”?
RK: I take a lot of pride in never throwing a caution to make a race better. I've seen it in a lot of levels of racing and even if it would make it better for the fans, it wouldn't be fair to the drivers. I had the former truck series director tell me he wanted a caution because the leader had a half a lap lead on the field. I told him if he wanted it he could have it but after throwing it I would go straight to the microphone and tell every fan in the grandstands that the series director wanted a caution to bunch up the field. He elected to not throw a caution. I told him if he had an issue with a truck or trucks running away from the field he needed to find the hole in the rules they found, or he needed to find what was illegal on the truck. If there wasn't either, they earned the right to leave the field behind, and it wasn't up to an official to take that away.

FUN EVENTS

AD: Since I really started watching things these past few years, I really am noticing the special events as being a factor. Almost without fail crowds are up when scheduled in conjunction with our normal race night. In addition, you can't get a Trailer, Boat, DD, Fig 8, Roll over, Bus Race,  on TV.
RK: We get 3X's sometimes 4X's the crowd for a trailer race than we do for a weekly show. This still holds true after adding the Chase for the Championship, double file restarts, caution cone, limited cautions (fast restarts when we have them), no intermission, green flag flies a 7:05 prompt, a feature division that puts Modified cars and Late Model cars in the same race so we don't have 2 classes with 8 cars for a main event.

We think we do the race thing right but we don't pay the bills with the racing program, we hope someday that will be the case, but not today.

AD: As you may have read in my opening Intro to the series, as a "hard core fan", I don't care what you need to do to fill the stands. I have no problem with trailer races, figure 8, destruction derby, drifting, train races (not sure why the promoters don't run this fun event any more) or any of those.
RK: I would say you’re right, people like to see wrecks. Be it a demo derby, trailer race, figure 8 or whatever. Going to the races may or may not give them the wrecks they are looking for. Until last night our races were pretty clean. We did get a new driver in the Thunder Stocks (our bombers) that is a wild man!! This guy is totally out of control driving so far over his head it scares me to death but the fans love the guy. I haven't seen the guy make a lap without getting loose and over correcting. I told Steve last week we need to talk to him, he had to take out a dozen sprinklers in the infield. Steve responded back, "I'll buy as many sprinklers as it takes as long as that guy keeps driving like that, the fans love that guy" The cars are slow enough and I have radio communication with all the cars so we hardly ever have a caution in the class and it makes it pretty exciting. I think the guy was 3 laps down last week, but most of the attention was on him the entire race.

AD: I think that is an important part of stock car racing.
RK: We had a recent truck race that was fun. Had to Black Flag 2 of the guys, one was brake checking in the corner the other kept hitting him harder the harder. The guy in the front locked up the tires and the guy in the back was smoking the rear tires pushing him through the corner. The guy in the front finally let off the brakes and when the guy in the back went to pass the guy in the front left turned into the side of him. Fiberglass everywhere and the fans were into it.

AD: Yup, I agree on this. I think every fan out there wants to see this kind of stuff. (they'll never admit it of course)

The more you as a track can show them (emotions running high, etc) that Cup can't, I really feel the better off we’ll be. Also, a little "in your face", shaking fists, etc. between drivers never hurt anyone. (no gang, I'm not calling for all out brawling, you know what I mean) You must have Bad Guys and Good Guys. When you are hearing booing in the grandstands, that’s what I’m talking about.

Here’s a very recent story that was told to me by Les Kynett (former promoter of Champion Speedway). At San Jose, a driver was black flagged and refused to leave the track. He was so angry he was doing donuts underneath the flag stand, then got out of his car, banged on his hood, then went stomping up to the flag stand breaking the black flag in two and throwing it onto the track. The crowd went wild,…………………all a setup by the famous promoter Mr. Bob Barkhimer.

There's one thing I'm pretty certain of now. Simply running 4 divisions of racing, like we've been doing for 50 years, I don't believe is going to be enough any more.
RK: Not if you want to be in business more than a week or two.

AD: What is your spin to win race, tell me about some of the others.
RK: Spin to win- The leader is given the move over flag on lap 2 and lap 5 (of a 7 lap race) and have to spin the car on the front stretch. It gets pretty exciting seeing the first place guy loop it in front of the entire field of cars.

Second to win – It’s a 5 lap race, second place is the winner, first across the line is last.

Road construction race - cars have to run an obstacle type of course.

Drag race - the best cars staged, and when we got down to 4, we had the guys out of the cars and put them in dresses and high heel shoes and had them run in drag to the start finish line and pick a purse. Purses had prizes for the drivers.

AD: Yikes, I know a lot of your drivers……….I have a really bad mental picture of one of them particular as I write this......LOL!
RK: Wheel chair race – blind folded drivers push the wheel chairs through the course, while the officials, in the chairs, were giving directions.

Pole race - cars have to circle the poles set in the infield. One at turn 4 and one at turn one.

Roll over ramp, gauntlet race, bus race, trailer race, Dukes of hazzard car jumps through a trailer.

AD: That all sounds FUN! Where did the Roll Over ramp idea come from?
RK: I absolutely fell in love with a track in LaGrand Washington a few years ago, we were driving to Seattle for a graduation and spotted cars on this little dirt track, my wife agreed to let me spend an hour or so there. We spent several hours and didn't miss a race. High dollar, not even close, probably the lowest dollar track I have ever seen. Small tight narrow, the biggest pine tree in the infield blocking the view of turn 2, railroad ties for a front wall, a scoring tower that would hold about 3 people. We had a blast the fans knew every driver and the history of everyone of them. They were true local heroes. The fact they rolled 3 cars in one night added to the entertainment, and before it was over everyone wanted me to come back, said they hadn't rolled a car in years and if I could bring that kind of excitement with me they wanted me to come back. I compt’d 4 tickets that night and got all 4 back a few weeks later. I don't know if that track is still around and running or not but that night was fun and I brought back some good ideas ............ we built a roll over ramp.

AD: I saw an interview on Windtunnel with Tom Curley, very successful promoter back East. It sounded like he was reading my mind on all the issues. Lower racing costs, pack the field with cars which packs the stands with people. Break it up, run many different divisions, lots of fun stuff. Keep it fun, keep it different.

This sport doesn't click with everybody, and sometimes it takes something "different" to make it click. I dragged my dad out to LVMS for the Trucks a few years ago. He seemed to hate it, just enjoying hanging out with his son more than anything. Then, I took him to the Bullring, and now he's bugging me to go again. It clicked. You probably have to go through thousands of people to come up with a few that will become hard-core long time fans.
RK: Tom Curley now that is a guy you need to interview! I had the privilege of being at the promoters meeting the year he was the keynote speaker. I’m not sure you could get the enthusiasm and energy he has on paper. I think it was about 6 or 7 years ago and I can remember it like it was yesterday. Did you know he races on THURSDAY nights, and packs the house. The front stretch wall looks like it is slightly tilted. I asked if it was an illusion he said it wasn’t, then I asked if cars would roll when they hit it, he smiled and said every week! The track has lights hanging from the wires right over the top of the track, he calls it mood lighting and to think we spent thousands on fancy lights. He said it’s like going to the movies the focus is on the track. I have my top 3 list of tracks I haven’t been to and want to go to, his is at the top followed by Lacrosse and Rockford.

INTERMISSIONS

AD: I know you have a strong feeling about intermissions.
RK: We don't do intermissions to speak of. Long food lines, long beer lines, long bathroom lines. Yea we want them to buy as much as they can when they are here, but if you have an intermission they will wait for it to spend the money, and sometimes just walk away because of the line.  The concession people work like crazy for 15 minutes and stand around for hours. The way we do it seems to keep a slow steady stream. I can tell you a little story about a track I went to. I went to buy Cindy a pretzel, they said it would be 6 minutes before they would be done. No big deal right, returned 10-15 minutes later and they were closed. Here's the kicker, all booths were closed and they still had a full hour of racing left!! What were they thinking? The pretzel was in the oven, I saw it there and suspect it went to the garbage.

DRAMA

This section comes from a series of emails concerning nights that were different, memorable, not racing necessarily, yet added significant Drama to the events.

“Engage your race fans, give them something to talk about at the water cooler”

AD: Short story. SLM driver, has been racing for a while, never wrecks anyone, never really gives the RD a hard time, just an all around good kid. I think he got "hard charger" or something like that, first time ever in the winners circle. Decides to climb the fence ala Tony Stewart. Goes only about a quarter of the way up, the crowd was going crazy, $125 fine issued.
RK: So is it in the rule book you can't climb the fence? I understand the insurance issue, but it would be o.k. with me if we had it happen. Hell I'd probably pay the guy something extra for getting the fans into it! Too bad we never had someone do a back flip in the winners circle. We do have some guys that really have the burn outs down pretty good.

AD: Here’s another memorable one for me. Get out of your car and sit on the Start/Finish in protest! Off the chart one of my most memorable nights ever. I'm guessing you heard about one of our West drivers sitting on the start/finish a few years back. It was hysterical and the crowd was going crazy. But it's hard-core entertainment. He is now solidly in the "bad guy" category, and gets booed almost everywhere he goes. But it's ok, it's all part of the show. I like this particular driver, watched him race for years, and think he's quite talented.

Randy, I know as a race director Andy liking these antics will probably make you crazy, but think about it. I’ve now attended well over 1,000 race nights through the past near 40 years, and that is one of them that sticks out. Well, and Jesse James of Monster Garage fame launching the Irwindale pace car into the air wasn't bad either.  (slammed the pace car......yes, he fixed it..)

And Yes, of course there are dozens and dozens of memorable races and event weekends too, don’t email me everyone…….lol.
RK: I actually brought this up in the planning meeting Monday I said we have spent so much time and energy on being politically correct that we are losing the free entertainment value that is right in front of us every week. Heated tempers in the pit. We cause distraction in the grand stands to keep the average fan from seeing it. What are we thinking?

About 4 or 5 years ago we had the local paper at the track writing about the races. An out of town class was racing and a fight broke out. The writer was in the tower and heard the radio calls for security in the pits, he bolted from the tower. The next day the headline read something like The racing at Magic Valley Speedway was hot but the TEMPERS were even hotter. It went on to say the fight broke out after two cars got together on the race track. The truth was we had some pushing and shoving in the pits. I was hot! How dare he write something like that, it wasn't true? That afternoon I went with a friend and his son to a monster truck show. We were sitting next to some kids (maybe 20ish) they had no idea who I was. The one girl turned to the guy next to her and said hey we need to go to the races next week. He said why, that's gotten boring.  She said didn't you see the paper today they had this big ol fight in the pits and we missed it!! All the sudden I was o.k. with the article. Even with that in mind, we still work hard to be correct in what we let people see. It's a family atmosphere, that's what we want to portray. After Monday's meeting I think that is going to change a little, for us to have Hero's we need Villains.

People loved to hate Eddy McKean, Scott Lynch and others you would have never heard of. That love/hate for Eddy is still strong. Eddy was running a NW Tour race awhile back. If he won, a local C-store was going to sell gas for $1.19 for 2 hours after the race. Lap 149 turn 4, McKean’s winning, the crowd is on their feet, McKean gets spun out. The lovers of McKean we screaming and the haters were cheering, not one person was quiet. That is the Magic we need at every race.

Warriors had a few late model drivers run in it and mix it up a little (these guys were starting to think they were race car drivers so, got the racers to beat and bang a little and make it fun. (They agreed not to win). One went air borne off turn 3 the fans went wild. Had a guy that blows an anvil in the air about 100 feet, fans went wild, Tee-shirt launcher people screaming for a tee-shirt, Gauntlet race they loved it. IP4 race got a good cheer for the heat race that was decided by inches, but nothing compared to the “fun” stuff. I realize it isn't race fans, but maybe those days are becoming a part of history?

We bought a Warrior in front of the fans and did a teaser with it letting them know they need to come back next week to see if we jump it, roll it, blow it up, or drop it from a helicopter.

AD: Sounds fun!! Also for me, so much action also happens in the live pits. I feel strongly the Tours lost a bit of its edge when they did away with live pit stops. Mesa was great for that because you saw it pretty close too.

One cool thing they have at Shasta is that under 16 are allowed in the pits. My son got to hang out with his Tour heroes for the first time "in the heat" of battle. He's a big Rip Michels fan. The team was having trouble getting the ride height correct, and running out of time before qualifying. Rip was “quite agitated” I guess is the right word…lol. Jumping under the car himself with a tape measure to get it right, barking out orders, then running the car down through tech at the last few seconds. My son Drew was just loving it. Watching his heroes in the heat of DRAMA.
RK: I know that is why turn 1 grandstands are the most popular if you noticed the top rolls in the far grandstand next to the pits were the first to fill. I'm sure that is why. We have talked about building an elevated VIP platform above and behind those stands for that purpose.

THE SEASON OF CHANGE

AD: Tell me about the Season of Change.
RK: We had left the RPM meetings and several long time promoters announced they were done. We didn't want to be in that group. Things were good for us but nation wide short track racing wasn't looking really good. From that we decided it was time for change, we couldn't keep doing the same stuff and expect to grow. That year was called "The Season of Change" We changed a lot. I would say more going into that year than in the previous 5 years combined. Running the Premiers as the Premiers, The Chase for the Championship, The cone, built a roll over ramp. I'm sure we changed more than that but those are the things that stick out. It was a big risk. What if it all backfired, we could have been another statistic.

I guess I never thought about whose idea things were. I suspect over the years I've stole a ton of ideas and as a team we have taken those ideas to work for us. The premier deal started as either myself or Steve saying wouldn't it be cool if we had all those cars in the same class. (Late models and modifieds) Not really talking about the cars, but the drivers from a full field stand point. That happened somewhere between Reno and Vegas driving down the road. The same trip produced bringing the cone back. It was used several years before for the Thunder Stock class and for whatever reason it just went away. The conversation all started from what could we do that might keep us from being another track that was.

It reminds me of Steve's speech in Reno and Daytona. He talked about the popularity in Texas Hold'em. How people never knew what it was 5 years ago, and now you can't hardly turn on the t.v., and not find it. He admitted to liking the game and plays a little in Jackpot every now and then. He said he sees a lot of promoters like the players in the game, as the pot in front of you gets lower you start playing more conservative. When that happens it's only a matter of time before you’re out. He challenged every promoter in the room to go all in. If what your doing isn't working you need to come up with something you think might and go for it. I remember our first trailer race, 3 maybe 4 trailers and I would guess, maybe 800 people in the stands. We could have given up but instead we went and bought a bunch of trailers, we paid 50.00 each. Found people to put hitches on the Demo derby cars they were building and told them they would have a blast and we wouldn't charge them to get in. I think we gave a few free passes for the wife and kids. Last trailer race had 25 trailers and nearly 3,000 people. I would say that was worth the effort. The time planning and making the changes for the Season of Change was hard, Drivers not wanting the cone, Late Models saying the mods would take the fenders off every race, Complaints about losing the big point lead after working so hard to build it, Top 4 drivers being pre qualified meaning they don't get to race until the main, then have to start in the back. Man we took some heat. We just asked the teams to give us a chance and a promise to change things as needed.

AD: It all seems to have worked out pretty darn well. 

FINAL THOUGHTS AND ADVICE

AD: What do you think about the future of our sport in general (Saturday night short track racing)
RK: The days of racing have been over for some time now. We are in the entertainment business and racing happens to be the entertainment we try to deliver. Along with the racing we are forced to do other stuff, trailer races are our biggest deal of the year. It kills me to see the grand stands on a trailer race night then look at them on a race night without the trailer race. We keep looking for other ideas that will bring people to the track. If we can get them there one time, maybe they will figure out racing is fun.

AD: Does Saturday night cup racing affect MVS?
RK: Many feel they are affected by the NASCAR Saturday night races, I'm not sure we are a victim of that. We are in the entertainment business and choose to use racing as our primary source of entertainment. We don't compare to the Cup tracks and would never try to, we are short track racing. We offer something totally different, we offer live entertainment, we have the feel of racing, the smell of fuel burning and the rumble you feel when the cars go by. We offer the opportunity to meet our hero's up close and personal at the end of the racing night. You can't get that with the big boys for $12.00. Don't get me wrong Nextel Cup is the biggest thing going. We don't offer the big names they do, but we have local heroes.

We feel we lose more fans to camping, fishing, boating, and other out door activities than we do to a Cup, and that is what we are trying to dodge.

AD: Advice to our other sanctioning bodies, our racetracks, our racers?
RK: I think we can all learn something from IMCA, they have a rules package that is used at tracks all over the nation. I would love to see that from NASCAR and ASA. I’m sure it would have to be something that the tracks would have to work towards for several years because we are all so different but, wouldn’t it be awesome if you could market or buy a Street Stock or Mini Stock from any NASCAR sanctioned track and know it should be legal for your NASCAR sanctioned track. On a weekend off you could take your car to another track and maybe tire up and be legal. I would think with the amount of tracks that are sanctioned with that rule package should be awesome. They would get input from some of the best in the business making for a rule package that should be better than anything we can come up with on our own. I hear a lot about tracks that are close together and don’t work to get along. I think that is something that they need to work on. I also hear about tracks that don’t treat the racers as partners, remember we all need each other to survive. To the racers, I know I’m not going to make friends on this one. I would say you really need to focus on the positive. I read so much negative stuff on message boards and interviews, do you really love racing? If you do and you want to have tracks to race at you need to unite and focus on the positive things your track has to offer. I’m sure some of the things you complain about are legitimate but GET OVER IT! The things you post and say will only help the people that are trying to kill the sport we all love.

AD: Is there anything that can be done to unite Sanctioning, Racers, and Tracks? 
RK: That would be hard for me to answer I think we have all that at Magic Valley Speedway. Sure we get someone upset about something usually a bad call I made, but I think for the most part, we are a big happy family. We have an awesome relationship with NASCAR, I have a plaque on my wall for the drivers choice award from an ASA sanctioned series that runs a few races a year here. Our drivers are our partners, officials are our partners, and sponsors are our partners. We figured out a long time ago we all need each other to make this work.

AD: If you had the power to make any changes in our industry you could, how would you fix it step by step, how does Randy Kerr bring us back on track?
RK: Having the ability to travel to several tracks this season really helped to see what other tracks do, right and wrong. I can say that in general we need more giving back and reinvesting. The focus seems to be on making money. I guess that needs to be the goal of any business, but in this industry it seems that everyone is looking at the short term rather than the long term. The issue I see is that may help short term, but long term it very well be what closes the track down. When stuff like this is done, the odds of going backwards and fixing it are slim to none. If I have to pay too much for the show, I will not go back. If I'm a racer and the cost keeps going up at the gate or because the rules keep changing, I will not go back.

I’m not sure I’m smart enough to fix the issues that face all the tracks. It seems like every track or series has different issues. I think we can all play a huge part in fixing the issues we face today. Everyone including the fans, racers and promoters can play a part in getting short track racing back on track.

As a fan, we can……….. As a racer, we can………… As a promoter we can………..

Thank you Randy for your enlightening take and thoughts on our sport. I know I’ve learned a lot, and I hope everyone out there has taken something good from this too.

To a great 2008 season everybody………..Andy D.

Andy D’Addario
Saugus, Ca.

Comments about this article can be sent to andydadd [at] yahoo.com

WHAT DID WE LEARN?

1. Bring your kids, your kids friends, your neighbor kids, and get them hooked on our sport before they find other interests, and never find racing.
2. Time is the biggest issue. MVS opens pits at 3pm to limit the time involved to race for competitors and officials.
3. Keep it FUN!
4. Costs are kept low utilizing crate motors, lower cost and spec parts.
5. Have a “time line” for your race day. Start and end on time.
6. Everyone is a partner at MVS.
7. Keep the kids involved using Boxcar races, kids in cars, pace car rides, Penny Gold Rushes, etc, and keep it fun for them. They are our future fans and competitors.
8. Keep race procedures fun and interesting. Caution cone, inverts, double file restarts, etc.
9. Fun Events. Spin to Win, Road Construction, Trailer, Bus, Drag, Gauntlet, Roll Over, etc.
10. No Intermissions
11. Allow drama to happen.
12. Common rules are a win-win for everyone, tracks need them as much as the racers and fans need them.
13. We’re all in this together. Fans, Racers, Sponsors, Officials, and Promoters.

Lastly, I’m going to leave us with an article Randy wrote a number of years ago called “The Gentleman Racer”. Enjoy…….

The Gentleman Racer Part one - In The Pits

What makes a gentleman racer?  Many different people define a gentleman racer in many different ways. The following is based on a personal opinion and not necessarily that of the management of Magic Valley Speedway.

In the pits, the gentleman racer is always willing to help the new guy get his car to a competitive state. He’s not only willing to help with the car set up, but he’s also willing to teach the driver and crew why the changes are made. He’s willing to help find the right line around the racetrack and helps him to understand proper acceleration and braking.

The gentleman racer would never intentionally put anything illegal on his car and would immediately remove anything he thought might be illegal. He doesn’t spend all his time trying to find holes in the rules. Instead he spends his time trying to get his car to handle well enough to put it in holes in traffic. He always focuses on what it will take to make his car better, instead of what someone else might be doing.

He doesn’t talk negative about his fellow competitors, crewmembers, officials, fans or the speedway in general. He always expresses a positive attitude about the sport even when he’s having a bad night. When he feels he has gotten a bad call, he comes to the payout window with not a complaint, but a question as to why a call was made the way it was. He also realizes that when a bad call is made against him, someday he’ll get a break or he remembers when he was involved and didn’t get penalized.  

Part Two-On The Track

On the Track, the gentleman racer is the type of driver that would never intentionally wreck another competitor. He might miss judge a corner and accidentally bump a competitor, but if either one of them spun out, he would insist on starting behind the driver on the restart. He would never bump a competitor to try to gain position. He would never drive in the grass on the corner entry, and would never make a 3 wide situation going into a corner. If he found himself in one, he would do his best to get out of it without doing damage to anyone’s car. The gentleman racer is the type of driver that will let things sort out before he tries to make his way to the front. He never tries to win a race on the first lap.

The gentleman racer always does his best to hold a steady and consistent line on the track and is always willing to move up the track out of everyone’s way when his car isn’t handling or he’s down on power. He would never try to over drive his car. When his car is drastically off the pace he doesn’t wait for the black flag instead he exits the track so the race can continue safely.

The gentleman racer would never try to bring out a yellow flag to stop the race. If he lost power he would do everything he could to get as far off the racing surface as he could so the race could continue under green.

When the gentleman racer is setting on the pole for a start or restart, he always tries to give the field a smooth and steady start.

Under a caution situation a gentleman racer would never bump, hit, rub, or do anything else to damage another car or cause injury to another driver.

Part 3-After The Races

After the completion of the races, a gentleman racer goes through post race inspection knowing his car is legal. He also shows no concerns for his competitor’s inspection knowing that the officials will be fair and reasonable to everyone. He’s always friendly and positive to the officials assigned to the inspection of his car and when he doesn’t agree with something at the inspection, he asks questions instead of arguing.

After the inspection is complete, the cars are returned to their pits where the gentleman racer avoids any conflicts. He’s always willing to accept responsibility for any contact he caused on the racetrack and is willing to apologize to the other driver before any conflicts can start.
The gentleman racer works close with his crew to make sure that they never argue or complain to any of the officials especially when the official is trying to do his or her job. When one of the crewmembers does this, the gentleman racer would ask the crewmember to stay home until they can act appropriately.

The gentleman racer comes to the pay out window in a timely manner. When he comes he comes alone and when he has a question or concern, he asks the Race Director if he can visit one-on-one. He expresses his concerns and accepts the explanation he is given even when he may not totally agree, he never argues, yells, screams, or causes a scene.  He understands when he gets a bad call against him he will probably get one for him. 

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