nitrosaint
Nitro Member
Did they put this track togeather with extra used parts from old tracks? The seat suck the parking well its just plain out of control i hope they do sell cause i for one wont return till they do!!!!!!!!!!!
Gateway Raceway! What a dump!!!!! (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter nitrosaint
- Start date
mastertone
Nitro Member
It could be worse, it could be National Trail in Columbus, Ohio!
Joker
Nitro Member
Oh, I don't know. The place has kind of a "quaint" feel about it.
George Rays Wildcat Strip?
I don't know how many tracks the original poster has attended, but if you compare GIR to the other national event tracks I'd say it's in the top tier. It was just "there" for a long time until the current manager Lenny Batycki came to town. He's very customer-oriented in the Bruton Smith / Bader tradition and I can see big improvements.
The place is clean and kept up. Nobody pits on dirt. Staging lanes are roomy and easy to get in and out of. They just spent a ton of money on a new timing system and the latest shut down area. Trust me, that's not the description of a bad track.
As for seating, the pit side is permanent and I don't think you'll find better seating other than at the tracks providing backs to the seats. The spectator side is added to when big events come to town - I believe the bleachers are rotated among GIR, Memphis, and the Dover circle track.
I agree that parking is a problem but it's not really the track's fault. I know they've been trying to address that problem but so far nothing has been possible.
When the track was originally rebuilt, the state/county development districts promised that land on the north side of the complex would be provided. Unfortunately, their promise came because they intended to use eminent domain and make the land available that way. A lawsuit was filed and the county lost. The landowner has since been unwilling to sell or lease the land which would provide on-site parking.
I've been at a whole bunch of national event tracks, and I hate to admit that the majority of managers seem to be the "take their money and **** em" style. Batycki is as far from that attitude as you can get and is working hard with the budget he's able to get out of the owners. That's the main reason i hate to see the track slammed in this way.
If you don't like Gateway now in 2009, I can't imagine what you would have thought of the old Gateway, Pacific, Alton, or any of the others that once were St. Louis' home track. There are a NUMBER of current tracks that don't come close to Gateway's facility.
The place is clean and kept up. Nobody pits on dirt. Staging lanes are roomy and easy to get in and out of. They just spent a ton of money on a new timing system and the latest shut down area. Trust me, that's not the description of a bad track.
As for seating, the pit side is permanent and I don't think you'll find better seating other than at the tracks providing backs to the seats. The spectator side is added to when big events come to town - I believe the bleachers are rotated among GIR, Memphis, and the Dover circle track.
I agree that parking is a problem but it's not really the track's fault. I know they've been trying to address that problem but so far nothing has been possible.
When the track was originally rebuilt, the state/county development districts promised that land on the north side of the complex would be provided. Unfortunately, their promise came because they intended to use eminent domain and make the land available that way. A lawsuit was filed and the county lost. The landowner has since been unwilling to sell or lease the land which would provide on-site parking.
I've been at a whole bunch of national event tracks, and I hate to admit that the majority of managers seem to be the "take their money and **** em" style. Batycki is as far from that attitude as you can get and is working hard with the budget he's able to get out of the owners. That's the main reason i hate to see the track slammed in this way.
If you don't like Gateway now in 2009, I can't imagine what you would have thought of the old Gateway, Pacific, Alton, or any of the others that once were St. Louis' home track. There are a NUMBER of current tracks that don't come close to Gateway's facility.
none
Nitro Member
That would be an affirmative...
vlad the impaler
Nitro Member
The main problem with Gateway is the parking and the outragous parking fees.
And, the parking is Gateway's fault. If a customer has to pay $20 to park two miles sway or in an area that they can't get out of after the event it is in the tracks best interest to find a solution, whatever that may be.
The only good thing about parking is if you ride a motorcyle. Motorcycle parking is juts behind the specator side bleachers and a mere $10 per bike.
And, the parking is Gateway's fault. If a customer has to pay $20 to park two miles sway or in an area that they can't get out of after the event it is in the tracks best interest to find a solution, whatever that may be.
The only good thing about parking is if you ride a motorcyle. Motorcycle parking is juts behind the specator side bleachers and a mere $10 per bike.
Terry
Nitro Member
Loved the segment on George Ray's strip on Horsepower TV. Anyone see it? Good ol' Joe Elmore even wrote a song in honor of the place! Looked a bit scary to me to see 4 and 5 second eighth mile cars running there, but everyone seemed to be having a good time!
yoda
Nitro Member
Oh, I don't know. The place has kind of a "quaint" feel about it.
Looks like a track in Huntsville, AL I went to in the mid-Seventies....
The tree thing along the track is a trip...
Terry
Nitro Member
and during a race, the fans are packed solid behind the safety (?) of that chain link fence!
mw6789
Nitro Member
Oh, I don't know. The place has kind of a "quaint" feel about it.
At least George has plenty of parking!!!!!!!!!!!!
yoda
Nitro Member
Sitting on their ice chests, beer in hand Terry!!
I'm not saying I wouldn't like to see better parking but I still think you need to get out more before you call a good racetrack a dump.
Distance: Try Pomona, Indy, Brainerd, Sonoma, Topeka, and Seattle off the top of my head. Throw in mountain climbing at Denver and Sonoma. Pomona charges at least $15 the last time I was there.
As for quick emptying of parking, the ONLY track that's even close is Vegas. Period. Try leaving Maple Grove, Englishtown, Gainesville... heck, any track that holds over 5000 people has problems.
Terry
Nitro Member
No, Martin, you are just a bit confused--those are the DRIVERS in the staging lanes!!!
Actually Wildcat looks like a kinda fun place to race in a dangerous kinda way...back in the day, I've done my fair share of barreling down tracks that I probably wouldn't run on now (of course, that's back when 12 second cars were the "big dogs" at the track!). I ran in the finals of a Sat night all run deal once at a track without lights that was delayed at mid race by a rain shower. It was totally dark for the finals, and to their credit, the track management gave us the choice to split the pot, or run it off for first and second. My opponent had headlights--I did not. Of course we chose to race for it--all I could see at the end of the track was the infrared beams at the finish line--quite a site! When I got there, all I knew was I got there first cause I saw the beams hit my opponents tire slightly behind me--but I sure wasn't sure what lane I was in!
And there is a track in Colorado that has been operating off and on for a long time--I attended my first drag race there as a spectator when I was 8 or 10 or something. It was a pretty bigtime track at the time, and they just happened to be running as the T-bolt team was traveling through, so I got to see Gas Ronda, Bill Lawton, and Richey all run at my first race. A unique feature of the track was it was at a small airstrip, and they had struck a deal with the airport authority to use the runway, but the runway was still an active runway, and if a plane wanted to land, they shut things down for a bit, moved the tree, and let the plane taxi or land down the track (runway, whatever). Since I was at my first race, I guessed this was just standard operating procedure.
About 10 years ago, I returned to the track which had just reopened recently and was being managed by a racing friend of mine, so I took my car out there to support his efforts. Sure enough, while I was sitting in the staging lanes waiting for the semis, he came back to my car and told me "ya might as well get out, we got an incoming Cessna we need to wait for". Cool.
My apologies for the rambling trip down memory lane. I'm now on the onramp of "today" and I now return you to your regularly scheduled thread. Thanks for your patience.
*******
Nitro Member
Terry
Nitro Member
Thanks for the link, Mike! Cool stuff. Neat idea for a school project--a good way for kids to learn about the history of the area also. The George Ray track is our roots, where we all came from, and it's really neat that its still around after all these years so younger folks can appreciate how far we've come and still have a time capsule to race at!
nitrosaint
Nitro Member
your right parking is good "if your a racer and in the staging lanes" We had to move around up and down because the seat were not numbered and for all thoes fans that just show up for nitro qualifing its a mad mess when they come looking for their seats at the last min, hell you miss have of it standing up and down. i was at the first race held their and the parking has not changed if its been this long i know their in no hurry to fix it now. Indy, Joliet, have some of the best parking and seats around if been to indy for 25 years stright and seen all the changes its time for Gateway to spend some money!
Terry
Nitro Member
Hey, T, is Gold Key parking available at all NHRA events? I know it's at the Div 4 and 5 National events I have spectated at and raced at, but is it a regular deal at all events?Aaaaah, the advantage of Gold Key parking.
Other than the parking, Gateway isn't a bad place at all.
The best thing that could've ever happened is moving the NHRA race to early May. Maybe the parking situation could be next some day.
Oh, and just gotta ask...have the Zizzos ever raced at George Ray's?
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