Some News, Some Thoughts

The new owners of Quincy Raceways have released a tentative schedule for 2018. As might be expected, there was a lot of reaction, both positive and negative, but I will leave it at that. Highlights of the schedule include a loose rotation of eight classes along with a September 16 visit by the Sprint Invaders. The season is set to kick off with a Quincy Mall car show on March 17 followed by a couple of practice nights. Racing is set to begin on Sunday, April 8 with UMP modifieds, IMCA sport mods, IMCA stock cars, IMCA (I assume) sport compacts, and mod lites. One week later, the crate late models make their first appearance of the season, followed one week later with 305 sprints as the featured class. Beginning in May, the crate late models and 305 sprints will basically rotate Sunday nights through the month of August, with things changing up a bit in September. Midgets also make a few appearances on the schedule. The owners will also be working on a date for the UMP late model Summernationals, with more information to follow. The schedule appears on the Quincy Raceways Facebook page. A post on a racing forum this week concerning the name of an upcoming event got me to thinking - plenty of time for that now that I am retired and racing season is winding down. The poster was pointing out that the first running of an event should not be called the 1st Annual and I started to think about ads for races in general, which led me to consider what I look for when searching for information. So here is what I look for: 1- where is the race? I have seen tracks use ads that apparently appeared in the local paper, and the track location is not given 2- when is the race, date and time, including hot lap and race times? 3- what classes (and sanctions) are running, and if it is a multiple night show, what classes on which night? 4- what is the cost of the event, grandstand and pit prices? 5- some information about the purse, just so I have an idea of who might be inclined to show up 6- is there a pre entry list? 7- if the event has been held in the past, who was last years winner? 8- contact information, especially for race day in the event of inclement weather. Did I miss anything? Then there are the things I do not care about 1- What the promoter chooses to name his show. The release of the Quincy Raceways schedule is just the first salvo of what figures to be an intriging off season, so buckle up, here we go!