Lots to cover regarding our ongoing Street Stock drama. Im not talking about last night specifically... but an overall culture that has developed over time where incidents pile up and create what we have now - an environment that we arent going to tolerate any longer on the track, in the pit area or away from the track. Its easy for everyone to point the finger at someone else as the cause, but most everyone in this class is responsible to some degree for the culture that has developed - some more than others. Take a moment to think through how your own actions may have contributed to the culture. We as the track will point the finger at ourselves as being partially to blame also because until now we have been somewhat lenient in wanting to make sure all of you have a place to race and can enjoy the sport. We like the class... we like the rivalries... we like the close door to door racing it brings. But everything has its limits. We are in the process of contacting several drivers to discuss where they currently stand in being welcome or unwelcome to race at Jacksonville Speedway and how close to the line they presently find themselves. We arent going to discuss those conversations with others or here online unless we need to respond to inaccurate information posted by a driver or team. Understand that a race track pays its drivers to put on a professional show for the fans. When you are in our pit area or on the race track, you are expected to act as a professional as a part of our agreement to pay you prize money. When your conduct turns unprofessional, you will not be paid, will be disqualified from an event, suspended and/or expelled. This also goes for the crew members with you. Also understand that threats made away from the track or on social media place the track in a difficult situation for liability purposes. We cannot give you the opportunity to follow-through with them and have to take them seriously. Threats made to any other competitor or any person expected to be at our facility will likely result in you being prohibited from entering if we are made aware of them. This past weekend with the incident in New York we were reminded how displays of frustration with another driver can spiral out of control. A few months ago in Indiana we were reminded about what can happen when you enter the pit area of another driver you have a problem with. In the grand scheme of things, what we do at the race track isnt THAT important. Keep your racing hobby in proper perspective and work to control your anger and emotions. We acknowledge that we as a track arent perfect or without fault and are willing to listen or read honest and fair criticism. But we reserve the right to refuse entry or participation to anyone. Social media figures into this mix. Try going to a restaurant for lunch, then spending the afternoon standing in front of the restaurant holding a sign saying the food here sucks, then wanting to go back into the restaurant to eat supper. Comments made on social media create a general impression to potential fans. We cant control whether you gripe on the internet about your experience at Jacksonville Speedway, but we can control whether we let you come back to find more stuff to gripe about. The Street Stock class is perhaps the best class of racing we have at Jacksonville Speedway and has a lot of tradition. We are committed to seeing it survive. What we are asking is that those who participate in this class take some pride in it and behave like a professional both on and off the track. Think back to your favorite old racer who you watched as a kid and who got you interested in this sport and ask... would he be proud of what this class has become? Lets change the culture of this class and turn it into what it deserves to be. We will be doing our part to make sure the culture changes. We ask that those of you who participate in it make the same effort. Our other classes seem to be able to race and enjoy the sport without much drama and the Street Stock class should be no different. My guess is that this post will just be another opportunity to throw stones and gripe at the track and each other in the comments below. We probably wont reply to many and might delete some. It would be nice if we all instead used it as a fresh start to changing the culture. Whos up for it? -KD
Posted on: Tue, 12 Aug 2014 03:38:51 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015