Wednesday Notebook: January 13, 2016

So what does it say about our society when, on the morning after President Obama's final State of the Union Address, the featured guest during the first fifteen minutes of ABC's Good Morning America is Khloe Kardashian? Yep, we all need to know what is going on with her and Lamar first, then we can discuss all of that other stuff.

I have been writing the Back Stretch since 1979 and when I was young and dumb I had a tendency to spout off about some stupid stuff. After a few years I'd like to think that not only did maturity set in, but also an appreciation for the opportunity that I was being given by Keith Knaack to promote the sport and to encourage readers to be race fans and attend more events, so my approach changed and evolved to the same way that I write about racing today in a predominantly positive manner. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that I would be under public criticism for "not saying enough bad stuff" about the race events that I cover, but as I mentioned in the previous entry of the Back Stretch, that has happened following the re-posting of another writer's blog on the Iowastockcars forum.

In his blog titled "Social media is a scapegoat for unsuccessful racing endeavors" T.J. Buffenbarger (aka TJ Slideways) takes issue with the fact that Cherry Raceway promoter Roger Steig posted this on Facebook:

"I have no reason to do this post there is nothing to gain or lose for me personally. Short track racing across the country is dying at a rapid pace. Having experienced it as a promoter, racer and fan of the sport I have come to the conclusion that we are our own worst enemy and face book that i am using right now to reach out to you does far more damage to the sport than good. It allows people that will not discuss any hate or discontent they might have to hide behind the scenes and rant. These face book warriors are the reason that i have chosen to sell Cherry Raceway so for the record you are the reason short track racing is dying and there is no more Cherry Raceway. I am only talking about a small percent of people that call them selves race fans. For the most part we have made many friends and most of our trouble makers only showed up at the track once and a great while or maybe not at all but yet bashed on me and my family and Cherry Raceway. I watched them do it to the prior owner and thought we could come in and make a difference. No chance so in the end a small percent ruins it for all. 
To my friends and supporters of mine and Cherry Raceway I want to set the record straight. Threw the sale of Cherry Raceway I never spoke to Mr Batzer only his attorney. This was the deal I was paid to stay on as a consultant for one year. I was paid to not compete or own a race track for five years with in 100 miles of Cherry Raceway. He was insistent on buying all of the inventory and equipment. He bought all the property and bought the business. Mr Batzers was made aware by his attorney that I would not sell if his intent was to close because we bought the track 6 years ago to keep it from closing. After the sale was complete and done now Mr Batzer says its closed. Now you all know the whole story, good luck in your future racing. All I can say to my friends and race fans is sorry it turned out this way. As for you face book warriors go ahead and take your last shots at me, my family and Cherry Raceway you win track is closed you can move on to your next track and destroy it I know you will."

Since he is based in that area I would guess that TJ had some idea of what had transpired on Facebook, at least I hope he did before writing his piece, but I have to think that it was Buffenbarger's line of "recently I have seen a movement of people that feel that nothing critical should ever been said about a race track, and that fans and teams (customers) should just be happy they exist" that looped me into the conversation in Iowastockcars.

First it was Johnny Oberthein (raceaholic) continuing his tired mantra stating that "blogs are usually where you go to hear that everything was just fine at a race event" that is aimed at myself and the other writers at Positively Racing and then it was Andrew Bieber (slidersideways) who brought me specifically into the conversation with the interesting conclusion that guys like me "are what ruin the sport."

First of all I have to take a moment to thank those who came to my defense in the thread as it was greatly appreciated especially after my emotions were worn thin after personally witnessing Christian McCaffrey and his Stanford teammates thrash my Hawkeyes at the Rose Bowl, not to mention how the Stanford band made fun of us! Seriously though, I had no idea what they were doing until the Iowa fans started booing, but I digress.

It was both frustrating and amusing to read and my first thought was to just let it pass, but since we are in the dead of the offseason I thought that I would go ahead and once again point out some common misconceptions about not only the Back Stretch, but Positively Racing as well. Plus, as those who actually read these words know, I'll make a few comments below that just might not be so "positive".

Let's be clear, I have never, ever, ever, never, not even remotely suggested that nothing critical should ever be said about a race track. Yes, my efforts are based upon the premise that if you don't have something nice to say, then don't say it, but that is for me and what I do here. Not once have I ever preached or dictated to someone that they should not say negative things about a race track, a promoter, a driver, a fan, a series, etc., etc. I would never dream of telling somebody that they cannot say something!

If you go back to January of 2009 and read Another New Racing Website....Why? you will see the reasons why Positively Racing was created and why it sill exists today. "The bottom line is this, we feel that the AWP's are detrimental to the sport and we hope that we can provide an alternative going forward"

"Alternative" is the key word there and in 2009 there was little to nothing out there to offset the crap that was being spewed by Anonymous Weasel Posters, or AWP's on the internet. Obviously our alternative has been quite successful, not only judged by the number of page hits that our writers are seeing on their individual blogs, but also by the statistics for the website and the number of followers that we have on our Facebook page where you will get notifications of new content as well as where you can find our library of photos.

As I reviewed my writing from 2009 it does strike me that there has been one big change in regard to the use of the internet since then and that is the fact that the "A" in AWP is no longer applicable in most cases. Back in 2009 most of the negativity came from people with anonymous screen names on forum boards several of which, interestingly enough, no longer exist. The fact that many people now use Facebook or Twitter is actually a good thing because when somebody expresses their thoughts on those platforms, good or bad, it is no longer anonymous. The commenter is now known and, as I describe in more detail in that 2009 blog entry, I can better decide whether to believe them or not.

Even on the forum boards more and more people either have identified themselves (Andrew Bieber puts his name and phone number in his signature) or it is just known who they are (everybody knows that raceaholic is Johnny Oberthein) and that is a good thing. Others though continue to find comfort in remaining anonymous such as plunks7 who says that I don't "tell people what they want to here", or hear for that matter, and that he would like to sit with me at a race "and trade what we saw and then post it or write it."

I'm going to look forward to that social experiment primarily so that I can at least take away the "A" from AWP with him going forward!

It was plunks himself who posted Buffenbarger's blog on Iowastockcars stating "This Writer Nails It" immediately crowning T.J. the new dark lord of the crowd that feels like they can make a positive change to something by bitching about it on social media. I doubt that it is a leadership role that he will embrace and his new followers will be disappointed to find that 99% of the stuff that he writes is positive and promotional. Just like somebody else that you might know.....

As I read the original piece I too agreed that a promoter should not use negative social media as a scapegoat for failure. But as I continued to read I could see that he was making the same assumptions that so many do when it comes to social media. It is a proven fact that a consumer is MUCH more likely to post a comment or a review when he or she has a negative experience than when they have a positive one. That fact alone means that even the best racing programs are more likely to receive complaints rather than compliments and in racing those complaints are often based on one specific incident that for one reason or another effected the complainer.

It is not a zero sum game when it comes to social media, so quit making that assumption!

T.J.'s blog was also shared on the 4m.net forums and after some discussion similar to what was on ISC, a gentleman whom I respect the opinion of very much, Kelly Carlton shared his thoughts.

"I think that there are some right and some wrong answers on this topic. This is one of my major discussion topics with promoters during my seminars.

First promoters SHOULD absolutely use social media to promote their events and their facility. Every time. Every event. Social media provides instant AND interactive information in today's world of instant gratification.

One of the points I promote is you have to have someone who is dedicated to do it and has the correct temperament to do it. Social media can be a double edged sword for sure. However if you use it properly for the most part you can avoid that. But it starts with you. You have to be willing to TRY to do all you can to make your facility and events great. You must be able to accept some criticism when it is warranted or you make a mistake. And you must be willing to admit it when you do make a mistake. I also think you should answer questions on your social media. You can also answer to unwarranted negative comments.

Let's face it. Some people want to complain because it is fun for them. Many times these people don't attend the facility they are slamming. They are just looking to create an argument for the sake of an argument. And to that end as race fans we do have a responsibility when we make a complaint. We should make sure that the complaint is valid first and foremost. Then we should make an attempt to address it respectfully. My phone number and email address is posted everywhere. If someone calls or emails me about an issue I respond. If it is something that needs to be corrected, I make every attempt to correct it. When an issue continually falls on deaf ears then it may need to be addressed in a public way.

Understand though that race promoters have a TON on their plate on a regular basis. Things that the average fan or driver may have no understanding of. Making any profit at all in race promoting can be a tough row to hoe, so things that cost money to rectify may come much slower. Items of safety, of course, should always take priority. But because you had a cold hamburger ONE night does NOT mean you should go and bash a track and its food. Sometimes it happens but as long as it doesn't happen consistently maybe you should cut those people a break.

Social media is a responsibility. It is a responsibility for both promoters as well as fans and teams that use it. There is power in words. Use your words wisely and intelligently. Be responsible. FANS: When something you complain about is better - let people know. If there is something consistently good about the place you go - let others know. PROMOTERS: If you get a complaint - address it / answer / fix it if you can. If you make a mistake - own it. Apologize or make it right if you can. Be transparent. Do nothing in the dark.

Yes bad promoting and management can lead to facilities failing. But misguided negativity can certainly contribute as well. Everyone just do your part."

Well said Kelly.

After letting it sit for a week, I had a nice conversation with Andrew Bieber via the Private Messages option on ISC and we found that we had attended the same event five times this year. We agreed that all five were pretty darn good nights of racing, not only as how I wrote them up but also how he had commented on them himself with his live updates on the forum. Andrew still says that I exaggerated some things in my stories, even though he would not point out any specific examples after being given the links, and he still maintains that my "positive" way of covering events sets the expectations too high in that when somebody goes to that track in the future and things don't go just right, that they will be disappointed and that is how I am ruining the sport. Well, if that line of thinking holds true, I have a lot of writers to track down who said that the Rose Bowl was going to be a good game!

Andrew likes to stir the pot, I get it, that's his thing, but I wrapped up our conversation reminding him that the best way to turn his young son, whom is so proud of, into a true "race fan" will be to point out the good things to him on a race night, not the the bad things. I am confident that Andrew will raise a true race fan!

When it comes to Johnny O I don't know how to say it any better than I already did here back in September and other than making it known that he didn't like to have me write about him "off forum" where he couldn't control and manipulate the conversation, he still makes the same argument that he provides "unbiased reporting of racing" while I, and other bloggers do not.

In 2015 I attended 66 race events and wrote 130 blogs. In the event stories, if you read carefully, you might find that a show started late, had too long of an intermission, had a rough track, a dusty track, a one grooved track or the show got over later than I might have thought it should. You also will find general blogs about how I hate having two B-Mains, qualifying formats that only prima donna drivers like, as well as other general suggestions that in my opinion would help the sport. Apparently Johnny, and anybody else who accuses me of never saying anything "negative" just don't actually read the Back Stretch?

I couldn't find a raceaholic event report from 2015 so you will have to look at those links from the September blog for his definition of unbiased reporting as a comparison. And as I have said before, thank you Johnny for all that you have done for the sport as an official, a promoter, a car owner, a sponsor and now a mentor to all of those who feel that making your complaints known on the internet will somehow make the sport better. But most of all Thank You for sending more readers to the Back Stretch!

And the sad conclusion to this story, whether it had anything to do with negative social media or not, is that a race track that was loved by many is gone forever.

Now to some actual racing news......

Compiling race schedules for our Calendar page at Positively Racing keeps me in the racing spirit this time of year and I noticed that on this week's Badger Midget schedule that the Friday night of the Yankee Dirt Classic, September 2nd is on the list. Midgets at Farley during the Yankee would be pretty cool, but I am surprised that this is the only place that I have seen it mentioned so far.

The 2016 edition of the Ice Bowl was run this past weekend at the Talladega Short Track despite the fact that a devastating fire took out the scoring tower, the announcer's stand and the VIP room just a week prior. The Ice Bowl has suffered from some "one groove" track conditions over the past few years, but video from this year's event showed that both a low and high line were in use throughout both the Super Late Model and the Crate Late Model main events. David Brannon of Elora, Tennessee, emerged from an early battle with track regular Tim Roszell and then held off Donald McIntosh to score the $6,000 Super Late Model win while William Thomas took the $3,000 win in the Nesmith Winter Series portion of the event. For many years as people suggested that the Ice Bowl should pay more in order to attract "bigger name" drivers I have maintained that promoter Lynn Phillips should stick with the theory of "if it's not broke, don't fix it", so this suggestion breaks away from that. Yes, the racing was good this year, but would it be even better if instead of qualifying and starting the fastest cars up front, the 2017 Ice Bowl used the passing points method of qualifying like they are using out in Tucson? Think of it, no prima donnas in attendance anyway so nobody to complain about it, but what a radical change that would be for a track in that region. If they did it, I would go!

Speaking of Tucson, the video that I have seen from Dirt On Dirt is showing that once again the racing action in the Late Model division has been fabulous. Issues with the scales after his qualifying heat bumped Jonathan Davenport into a B-Main during Saturday's opener and he raced his way all the way up to fifth in the feature that was won by Don O'Neal. Then on Sunday evening Davenport muscled his way past Jimmy Mars late to take the win. Will Superman win the remaining four events and take home a $100,000 bonus from Keyser Manufacturing? Racing continues tonight and you can watch it live on Pay Per View at Dirt On Dirt.

In the companion Modified action from Tucson Louisiana's Cade Dillard is two for two thus far while Iowa's Brad Dierks finished fourth in Sunday's main event.

The Chili Bowl kicked off its five night run in Tulsa on Tuesday and it was perhaps a bit of a surprise to find Pennsylvania's Alex Bright in victory lane. Bright made the finale at the Chili Bowl in 2014 and was one of three drivers to lock themselves in to Saturday's 55-lap main event from the first night of qualifying. Sprint Car star Joey Saldana surprised himself by running second and stating "I don't know how in the hell to drive these race cars" as he locked himself into the show for the first time. POWRi midget stalwart Zach Daum from Illinois finished third. Action continues the rest of the week and you can watch it live on Pay Per View at The Racin' Boys Broadcasting Network.