It’s time to finish up SuperFans 2007 with a quick run through the second 10 in the “ticket buyers” feature.
Nebraskan Jim Harris was 11th with 94 races, a noticeable drop attributed to “not as many races in the area as before and nine rainouts close to home.” He enjoyed sprint cars at a number of venues, but found his “main gripes” to be universal: “Tracks running too many classes, killing the track for good racing and making the shows last too long.”
Tennessee’s Bruce Carley says, “Being an old man, I had a fair year at the races with 91 races at 46 tracks in 10 states.” He says the “best bang for your buck” is at Duck River, Tenn., or Moulton, Ala., but the weekend that’s the most fun is the Gobbler spectacular at Cleveland, Tenn. He also loves any show at Attica, Ohio.
Harold Brossman of Palatine Bridge, N.Y., hit the stripe in 13th with “only” 87 races due to fewer mid-week shows around the Northeast, although he did drive 16,000 miles and buy $1,250 worth of tickets.
That included seven weekend trips for his beloved central Pa. sprints. He likes the twin-50 format for the Super DIRT series “because the fans get to see two races instead of one marathon” and dislikes Saturday Super DIRT races.
Doug Brown, a 50-year NSSN reader from California, ran second in the rookie of the year standings with 69 races, all but one on dirt. The Oval Track Nationals at Perris topped his list with two and three groove racing all three nights.
Brown says that Elma, Wash., has the best concessions and that the worst race of the year is “any night you go to Hanford (Calif.), which used to be the best track on the West Coast.”
Reta Litton, whose husband Bob checkered fourth, was 15th. She still works and saw “only” 63 races at a cost of $770.50.
Jeff Wilke was 16th with 58 races, topped by the IRA sprints and modifieds with “three-wide racing and slide jobs aplenty” at Minnesota’s Deer Creek Speedway. He also liked the Little 500 at Anderson, Ind., where he’s seen six of Eric Gordon’s eight wins.
Pennsylvania’s Gary Grim caught 51 races at 22 speedways, good for 17th in the standings, despite working most Saturdays at the post office.
Grim says the area’s best racing is seen when the ARDC midgets perform at Susquehanna Speedway Park, but also lauds the midgets at Grandview and the Race of Champions asphalt events.
Bruce Spencer of New Hampshire also dropped in the standings this year. He still hit 50 races but “gave up Friday nights to play guitar at the local open mic night.” Bruce liked The Pines Speedway in Rumney, Vt., which “has decent racing and good crowds despite a rustic appearance” and the speedy show at White Mountain, which often let him catch the races both there and at The Pines.
The “entry” of John Cross and Carolyn Kesler spent $828 each, saving $150 through membership in the Dayton Area Race Fans club. They saw 49 races at 30 speedways and put the Knoxville Nationals atop their list, followed by Bloomington (Ind.) Speedway, which they call “the cleanest dirt track with a good plan and very little dust even during the features.”
Twentieth spot went to Ralph Powers of Indianapolis with 28 races at a dozen tracks. He liked the Indy 500 best, followed by Kamp Motor Speedway, Mount Lawn Speedway, Knoxville and DuQuoin, which tells us his season was as diverse as anyone’s.
If you’re thinking that your totals would have put you well up in the standings, you’re probably correct, so be sure to send us your numbers and comments at the end of 2008. After all, Allan Brown will have a National Speedway Directory SuperFans plaque just waiting for someone’s name to be inscribed on it.