Colin C

The calendar has been relisted , check out this link https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/293349721302?ViewItem=&item=293349721302

The calendar is now available on ebay https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/292773032675

2020 Stock car calendar on sale this Saturday @ Stoke for an early bird price of £13.50 (Normally £15 - as it has been for many years) . A3 sized packed with around 200 photos of your favourite drivers. Get your Christmas presents early, and get a bonus of a 2019 calendar free, (While stocks last). The original and long running Stock car calendar will be on sale from this weekend at Stoke. It's over 20 years since Mike Greenwood and ASF of Holland started this tradition, since Mikes retirement Coin Casserley & James Bowles have stepped in to keep the tradition going #MakingStoxFunAgain

Shame to see another track going, I remember going there in the first year of F1s, the track was out in the middle of nowhere then, no houses or industrial units nearby. The pits were where the car park is today, and the public car park behind the back straight. The track was longer, and there was a large area around turn 3 & 4 where the cars were staged for the heat races. I am told that before F1s race at Stoke there was a long track that wet right up to the banking behind the turns, that banking can still be seen behind turns 1 & 2. I have never seen a photo of the long track, and I don't know for sure that anything raced on it, anyone got any photos of it, or know any more about it?

Forecast I have seen, chance of showers in the morning, overcast bit no rain from just after mid day, I'll take that!! I on went to a meeting where they gavce 90% chance of rain, guess what, it didn't rain brilliant sunshine and it was a great meeting.

I suspect the Dutch have booked in early as they have to arrange ferries etc, I would immagine UK drivers will be added next week.. What a great effort by the dutch to come over in those numbers, wouldn't it be great to see as many UK drivers head over to Holland and race in their major dirt track meetings

wow, great turnout from the dutch, and they always provide some great on track action and great atmosphere on the terraces.

number of cars racing on the same day is irrelevant! :-) folks at one meeting didn't care how many a the other as it had no impact on the racing at the track they were at :-) But your point about same drivers racing at each meeting these days is a valid point, and that F1s still have decent car counts compared to other motorsport formula. I have been saying for many years now we need to learn from other sports, not just Motorsport, as to how to put on a show. and make it entertaining. It's the down time between races, the amount of time spent at tracks that can kill a meeting. Simple things like drawing out of aha for final line up, or 4 wide parade as they do in the USA just make the final seem different from the heat races. They cost nothing but just add something, ask anyone who has seen racing in the USA and they will tell you how the 4 wide salute to the fans just adds to the spectacle. As for sponsorship, again we need to look at how other sports do it, just asking for money with nothing but a name in the programme is not going to encourage any sponsorship other than for those folks who already love the sport, and they too do need something back in return. It is still a good sport, but does need some tweeks, and we all need to be in it together to encourage drivers to race, and fans to get along

Paulf, what happened the night before had no bearing on the folks who attended Aycliffe, they were only interested in THAT meeting, The racing is not much different than in the old days, but I do agree it needs to become more of a show, rather than a series of races. For instance Aycliffe used line the cars up against the fence and then pick a member of the public to draw where each car started in their respective grades. Fans used to go along in the hope they would be picked out to do the draw, and then boo and cheer as their favourites (or not) were drawn out. Little things like that and som other forms of entertaining the crowd needto be brought back.

one of the problems these days is that folks look back on the old days and don't recall it as it was.. everyone moans about car number etc, and eveyone goes on about tracks like Aycliffe and how good they were, but 30 car tun out at Aycliffe was a good one, they hardly ever got 40 cars at a meeting.. And look at the top 10 attended meetings, most are since the turn of 2000, when allegedly we are suffering with car numbers!!! 1 2016 Sat, 3rd Sep Coventry Championship of the World / Harry Smith Memorial 144 Mick Sworder (150) 2 2006 Sat, 2nd Sep Coventry Championship of the World / Harry Smith Memorial 113 Frankie Wainman Jnr (1) 3 1980 Sun, 27th Jul Brafield / Northampton Champion of Champions 106 Len Wolfenden (190) 4 1977 Sun, 11th Sep Brafield / Northampton Race of Champions / Jaguar Championship 104 Mike Close (199) = 2004 Sat, 4th Sep Coventry Championship of the World / Harry Smith Memorial 104 Mick Harris (8) 6 2018 Sat, 15th Sep Skegness Championship of the World / Harry Smith Memorial 103 Nigel Green (445) 7 2014 Sat, 20th Sep Coventry Championship of the World / Harry Smith Memorial 102 Mick Sworder (150) 8 2010 Sat, 4th Sep Coventry Championship of the World / Harry Smith Memorial 101 Dan Johnson (4) 9 2001 Sat, 15th Sep Hednesford Championship of the World / Harry Smith Memorial 100 Andy Smith (391) 10 1976 Sun, 29th Aug Brafield / Northampton Race of Champions

hope this helps, it is off the Buxton Raceway facebook page, I know the Whaley Bridge am thing has been a problem, I understand the track office is nearby. Got to bear with them in those circumstance. anyhoo Apologies about delay in getting back to people, we have been at the track all week getting ready. Camping is available at the track and will be located around the speedway track. They have practise on first thing in morning on Saturday so it will only be available from 12 Noon on Saturday to come and get set up. Cost is £10 per unit.

They will know before the start of the meeting who is not going to take their place in the semi so reserves already allocated, but let the other reserves race in heat one and the if needed let them go in the semi If a driver has to pull out due to mechanical problems..yes, they might have already raced in heat one, but let them in the semi, we are to bogged down in rules and regs

Not always about car numbers, the 100 car meetings at Brafield were not memorable ones, The Nelson semi final meeting in 1976 ( I think) has 20 car semi and 14 car heats.. Was a good meeting, and places like Long Eaton had 18 car heats, but racing must have been good as folks got hooked on the sport back then.. Sheffield is one of those track where the number of cars isn't always a factor, anything can happen at any time, may not always be the destruction derbys that folks seem to think stock car racing is, but always edge of the seat stuff.

Don't forget this is a hobby, we need to encourage drivers to race when they can, for various reasons drivers can not race every meeting the same as us spectators can not attend every meeting

The social side doesn't have to be about drinking a lot of alcohol, Some people want to fire up the barbie and sit around talking racing, having a bite to eat and a beer. That would be fine for me, but I don't want to be eating at midnight!! Again, there has been a lot said about how things feel different in Holland in the pits, If you look at how they do it there, most teams have food on the go all day long, feeding the team and sponsors. share a beer or two after the meeting and talk racing. Again, you won't please everyone, but the lack of a social side was something that several of the grass trackers commented on a few years back, we tend to rush to meetings and rush home again. perhaps a band playing or something similar, or even giving out the trophies on Saturday night might help bring folks together. Sometimes things have to me more than just the racing tomake it an event rather than just the racing. Look at most sporting events these days and they have a heck of a lot going on apart from the racing. Trade shows, face painting for teh kids, interactive things to do. Not everyone who goes racing is a 100% die hard.

case of darned if you do, danged if you don't// lot of people calling for the social side to be brought back, earlier start time allows for that.. a lot of people on this forum have said how that the social side of Texel is important, and that starts at 12:00am both days, But I can understand the early start is a problem for a lot of people, I struggle to get to some meetings, but perhaps that is more a reflection on our society and having been lucky enough to do a bit of travelling around the world we don't seem to be able to spend our leisure time as well as they do in Holland,USA and New Zealand!

Dave, I think it indicates that there are a lot of folks who go racing that want to sit, or have to sit down during meetings. sadly we are not all as fit as you are! It is a shame that the health and safety overkill in the country has put paid to having simple American style bleechers, I know my friends who have come over from the USA to our tracks are surprised at home little seating there is.. As I mentioned earlier, and as has happened at Kings Lynn, areas for chairs that are marked off would be a simple solution.

At Eldora Speedway they have a designated area for people to bring their own chairs, maybe something like that could be introduced at some tracks in the UK. However, we are creatures of habit and most fans like to stand in the same place that they have stood since they started going to a track.

should be a good weekend, no support formula in my view, just triple headliners :-)

Good read Carl, brings back memories of those early days of the internet, used to take about an hour to send a couple of photos in those days, spent countless hours scanning and sending photos,

I don't think it is a nothing meeting, anyone who races goes out to win and get points, both are up for grabs today. But some research does need to be done as to why turnout is not the highest. As mentioned earlier in the thread, cost of travel is a factor, gone are the days when a majority of drivers had a half hour or at most an hours travel to a meeting, there are other factors such as lot of recent shale meeting causing damage that can't be repaired in time, and several others factors. not an easy fix, not one that requires a knee jerk reaction or a reaction to one thing, but a considered response to find a way to increase car counts is needed

yes it has been relaid. I have no reason to doubt mt source of info, he was the person who relaid it! :-)

Track was in good shape for F2 meeting, I am told on good authority that the shale is the same as at Kings Lynn..There might be a bit of dust, but then again there has been at every shale meeting I have ever been too.. And always good to see a different support formula every now and again. And let's enjoy things instead of moaning about everything all the time! :-)

People rave on about the old days, and how tracks llke Aycliffe and Nelson were the best there has ever been. But I raced at a 29 car Aycliffe meeting, 2 heats of 14 & 15 cars and a 9 car consolation were the top 8 went to the final.. As for Nelson, the semi final meeting of 1976 had 48 cars, for a 3 heat meeting. 2 hears of 14 and a 20 car semi final.. Yes, I enjoyed racing back then, but often we have more cars in races these days. Lets enjoy the modern era while we can,

I think damage from last weekend is the problem, this is on the "wanted" thread. I hope someone can help, chances are Nigel won't make it out this weekend if parts are found, http://forum.stoxnet.com/topic/32693-ford-9-inch-cwp-wanted/?do=findComment&comment=417100