Shadyhill Speedway schedule set for 2017

Shady Hill Speedway in Medaryville announced their 2017 schedule on Friday evening.

The schedule includes two dates which were previously announced. The ASCS sprint cars on July 21 as well as the Midwest Sprint Car Series (MSCS) on August 11.

New to our master schedule is non-sanctioned sprint car date on Friday, September 1. 

All dates are reflected on our master dirt schedule. For more information about Shadyhill Speedway visit their website and follow them on Twitter @ShadyhillRacing

Opinion: Things you, as a fan, can do to make this season better

I've sat around the past day or two thinking about some of the little things that you, the ordinary fan, can do this year to help support and grow the sport that we love. We could go around and around about things that are detrimental to short track racing around the country but I would like to be more proactive about things.

Before the races:

This one is huge. Bring a friend with you to the track. Tracks depend on fan turnout in order to operate. I guarantee you there is at least one name in the contacts in your phone that has never been to a race and will have a spare Friday or Saturday this year. Get them to the track, who knows, that may be enough to turn them into a lifelong fan. 

If any of you know me, you know I get to the track early. I like to make my rounds in the RV lot and visit with friends. One of the things I always see a lot of is trash on the ground. Whether its wrappers from the food fans have been grilling, empty beer cans or cigarette butts, there is always a lot of trash. Do whatever track you are at a favor and pick up after yourselves. I always have a roll of trash bags in my vehicle during race season, I tie one to my tailgate almost as soon as I arrive at a track. If you are a smoker, save an empty can or bottle to put your butts in. Before you head into the track or at the end of the night before you head home, tie off your bag and throw it any one of the many trash cans found around the facility. I promise you the track workers tasked with cleaning up the grounds on a Saturday or Sunday morning will appreciate this gesture.

Many of us cannot afford to sponsor a sprint car team but if you feel compelled to help out a team there a number of things you can do. Buy a pit pass for a driver prior to them arriving at the track so they will have that surprise waiting when they do roll in. Bring a case of water for a team during one of those hot summer shows in July or August. The littlest thing can go a long way, particularly for smaller family teams that don't have big money behind them. 

I tape my seats down at big shows at tracks that allow it. That said, if there are only two of you. Don't tape down enough blankets for five people. I see this a lot at the track, particularly during Indiana Sprint Week. Don't be that person. be appreciative. 

Finally, know the rules of the track you are at. I cannot count how many times I have seen fans upset at gates of various tracks because they are not allowed to carry in a cooler full of beer or their large boat seat. There is no reason to be rude to a worker at the gate who is simply enforcing the rules that more times than not they did not make up. We've got the links to every track's website on this blog and we have most rules posted on our various guides. Take a minute and have a look before making a trip to a track and see what is and is not allowed. 

During the races:

I am really bad about this one: watch your language when you are in the stands. Indiana sprint car fans are some of the most passionate fans in the world and we can get excited but not everyone wants to hear it. It is something I am definitely trying to work on. Same goes for drinking, if you are around perhaps a family or kids make sure you are drinking responsibly. 

If you plan on heading down to the pits during the course of the night be appreciative of the teams and drivers. Make sure you are paying attention as there are almost always cars being pushed off, coming off the track, or being pushed to the staging lane. Additionally, I know fans love to be in the pits, particularly when there are big names present such as Tony Stewart, Rico Abreu, Kyle Larson and so on. If you are looking for an autograph most drivers are very gracious after the racing is over but do not bother them while they are working on their car or trying to put tear offs on. You would not want someone constantly bothering you at work so give them the same courtesy. 

As far as racing on the track goes just enjoy the show but do not do anything that may hinder the experience for yourself or others such as standing on the fence when cars are green or trying to get on the loud pedal. This is obviously a major safety concern and some tracks will not throw the green if there are fans right up along the fence.

After the races:

I only have one for after the races but it is by far the most important.

DON'T DRINK AND DRIVE!

I get it, it is the best form of racing there is, in the capital of racing itself and we all like to celebrate it with a few cold ones but be smart. I have spent the night sleeping in my truck at tracks all over the state because I knew I was not good to drive. You are better off getting home later than anticipated than ending up in a jail, the hospital or even worse sending someone else to the hospital. 

If you're going to drink at the track get yourself a DD or a cab if possible. If you absolutely have to drive then cut yourself off whether it is after heats, hot laps or earlier. Make sure you're drinking water and you've got some food in your stomach that way by the time the feature is over you're good to make it home safely. The last thing I want to do is get on the internet or on a social media app on my phone and find out someone I know from a track has been injured or worse.

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I hope everyone has a great year at the track and I look forward to reconnecting with old friends in a month or two and making new friends as the season moves along. 

Indiana Sprint Car News

2017 Bloomington Speedway schedule

Bloomington Speedway released its 2017 schedule on Tuesday morning.

Some of the headlining events include a May 12 appearance by the Midwest Open Wheel Association winged sprint cars, the Josh Burton Memorial on May 26 and the USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Cars in conjunction with Indiana Sprint Week on July 14.

All race dates can be found on our master dirt schedule. There are also 12 305 RaceSaver dates which have been listed on our master RaceSaver schedule.

For other information visit the tracks website: http://www.bloomingtonspeedway.com/

Opinion: The trouble with live stream

It's that time again, the 31st Annual Chili Bowl Nationals are taking place in Tulsa this week and of course the majority of us cannot be in Oklahoma so many of us have gone ahead and paid money to watch the Chili Bowl online.

Last night was night one of the event and already we have seen what can happen when it comes to watching live events online. There were three main points/problems I took away that groups providing this type of service should work on to not only help themselves but also help grow the sport. I don't want this to sound like I'm just complaining because I'm not. These are takeaways that even I myself am taking into consideration since we may just be stepping into the podcast realm this season.

#1 The Feed: This one is pretty foreseeable anytime you are watching something live online. For a bit last night, screens across the country, and around the world, went dark. This kind of thing is common when it comes to live video on the internet. Hell, it happens on live television at times. However, I have to think that for the group supplying us with the coverage this week, this has to be their biggest and most watched event of the year. If there is one event you want to get right, it has to be this one.

Across social media and online forums there were many angry customers claiming they didn't get to see any racing or the racing they did see was not streamed well. Personally I missed a half of a D-Main and both C-Mains. I'm not that mad about it but if that is going to be a trend this week I may change my thinking.

That said, the group got the problem fixed and I still got to see the grand finale last night. However, I do think this is a major problem for our sport. We do not get a lot of live television coverage so live streams over the internet need to be good in order to attract new fans and keep old ones. Problems will always arise but make sure when you are faced with a problem you have a quick solution.

#2 The Commentators: I went to school for communication so this one is a personal pet peeve for me.

Whenever you watch a sports event on ESPN, FS1, etc. do you ever notice how commentators seem to know every name, every number and random facts and stats about anyone and everyone? That's because those men and women do their research before the event. They study rosters and media guides so they at least can somewhat sound like they know what they're talking about when they are on the air.

If you are going to call an event then you should know about the cars and drivers in the event. Multiple times last night the commentators messed up names, hometowns, teams, numbers and so on. There were also endless uh's, um's and periods of awkward silence.

I get it, 350+ car numbers/teams/drivers is a lot for just one week of work but when you're messing up the names of well known drivers that have won in Tulsa before, that is a bit embarrassing.

Again, by sounding unprofessional you are not going to sell your product or help grow the sport.

#3 Camera Coverage: The final one is easily fixed by a good producer. If you're a fan of Sean Buckley's GoJackslash podcast then you may have listened to a recent show featuring Dan "DO" Laycock. Dan talked about his time working for ESPN when a common problem was the cameras following the leader when the real show was deeper in the pack.

Last night was a perfect example of that type coverage more times than not. At one point there was a three car battle for second place in one heat race and the cameras and announcers were fixated on Alex Bright who had checked out on the field by half a track.

If you're going to ask fans to pay $100 for an event then give them coverage that is worth the money.

Like I stated before, this is not a complaint against the group supplying the coverage this week or anyone else. But these points can certainly be improved on. The better the coverage is during these live PPV events, I'm willing to bet the happier the fans will be and probably the better your business will do. That goes for anyone whether it's The Cushion, Speed Shift, Dirt Vision, etc.

What I do on this blog is purely for the fans, I don't charge for it but still try to give visitors to the blog or the followers on social media accurate and timely information. Groups that charge money should definitely be providing good services. Not the mediocre type services I described above.

Indiana Sprint Car News