STAFFORD – The exuberant emotion of a first-time winner was flowing in victory lane at Stafford Speedway following the SK Light Modified feature.
Conversely, the angry emotion of a driver feeling like a victory was stolen from him was flowing in the paddock.
Nick Anglace of Ansonia scored his first career SK Light Modified win in the division’s 20-lap feature Friday at Stafford.
“Anyone can put four tires on and go out there and lead 20 laps and win a race, but [Alexander Pearl] drove away from us and we had to battle back on those [late] restarts,” Anglace said. “We had to do some things to get into victory lane and I had to do whatever I had to do to get my father to victory lane. He deserved it more than anybody.”
Pearl, of Salem was second in the side-by-side controversial finish at the line. Steven Champman of Ellington was third.
“I’m going for my first win, I’ve got to send it, no half send, full send,” Anglace said.
On a lap 19 restart it was Anglace powering by Pearl for the lead off of turn two in the outside lane. But on the final lap it was Pearl finding a low lane under Anglace going into turn three.
“He ran me up the track going into turn three and I was like ‘Hopefully this thing sticks,’” Anglace said.
Anglace and Pearl came off turn four on the final lap side-by-side with Pearl slightly ahead in the low lane coming onto the frontstretch.
The pair came off the final corner with Anglace’s car hugging the outside wall. Contact between the pair coming to the checkered flag allowed Anglace to grab the lead away just before the finish.
Pearl said Anglace turned left into him coming to the checkered flag. Anglace denied that accusation.
“I didn’t turn left,” Anglance said. “… I was right against the wall and he came up into me. I had a really good run, I wouldn’t jeopardize that. I had a really good run coming off turn four and it was going to be close. I feel like he turned into me. It might have been 50-50 at most. I certainly didn’t turn left into him. I don’t need to race like that.”
Said Pearl: “We come here to win and we had a really good car and I thought I was wronged there. I’ve run everybody with respect the past four years and that kid just drove me like I wasn’t inside of him. It is what it is. We move on to next week and hopefully we’ll win. We were racing for the win. The kid is going for his first win so anything goes coming to the checkered, but I just don’t appreciate that.”
Sequence 1 – Nick Anglace (10, outside) and Alexander Pearl (7, inside) come off turn four on the final lap of the SK Light Modified feature (Photo: Floracing.com replay) Sequence 2 – Nick Anglace (10, outside) and Alexander Pearl (7, inside) drive toward the checkered flag the final lap of the SK Light Modified feature (Photo: Floracing.com replay) Sequence 3 – Nick Anglace (10, outside) and Alexander Pearl (7, inside) drive toward the checkered flag the final lap of the SK Light Modified feature (Photo: Floracing.com replay) Sequence 4 – Nick Anglace (10, outside) and Alexander Pearl (7, inside) drive toward the checkered flag the final lap of the SK Light Modified feature (Photo: Floracing.com replay)
Side by side coming down for the win. Nobody crashes. One guy crowded the other. Other guy came down. Fair racing great finish. Case closed
Looked like a wonderful finish.
Snowflakes in May?
Well Pearl didn’t handle that very well. Racing out of turn 4 side by side for the win and tires rubbed a bit turned into “he turned left on me”. No he didn’t or you wouldn’t have made the finish line.lol In the interview Pearl calling Anglace a kid multiple times is laughable at best. Your a kid yourself there sir.lol Saw Pearl try and stick Anglace into the turn 1 fence. Now that was acting like a “kid” who definitely turned right.
Listen emotions high after race thought it was good hard racing back and forth they put on a hell of a show Nick showed never give up attitude and it paid off. Best story of the night I remember watching Jeff Pearl and Vinny Anglace battling at the bowl many years ago and now their kids are doing the same just remember guys win and lose with respect it shows your a good human being best show of the night.
Nick Anglace Facebook last night:
“Now that everything is calmed down and im home i would like to make this post. It’s gonna be long, warning you now. Here it goes. I started going to Stafford Motor Speedway when i was a kid. I went to cheer on Ryan Preece every week and made sure that i was in all of the victory lane pictures (Down Below). This feeling of winning is more than a story of a kid who went to stafford and then won. This story is the tale of a kid who broke a 26 year streak of not winning. I always had the goal since the day i got into a racecar to make my father proud. To make sure that the way he saw me was in a positive manner when im behind the wheel. Im sure we’ve all seen the comments about how “aggressive” i am along with many other things. That mindset stems from a hard working team that deserves to win more than some of the others. As i said before, My father started racing back in the ’90s, he went on to finish 2nd hundreds of times in either sk’s or sk lights in his on and off career. To win today means that we finally got our name in the record books forever. We have this memory forever. Call me aggressive. Call me stupid. Call me a winner. I dont care about the money. i dont care about the trophy. i dont care about the name in the records. i care about the fact that my father got the win that he’s deserved and been waiting 26 years for. This ones for you dad. All of the arguments, late nights, early mornings, wrecked racecars were all worth it. I dont say it as much as i should but i love you dad, not many people get to drive racecars every friday but you’ve given me an incredible opportunity that im glad i was able to get it done for you. I can’t stress this next part enough. HE BUILT THIS RACE WINNING CAR. Vinny did everything on that car. He bent all the tubing, welded every little bit, set everything up. All him. Not many of these other guys can say that everything was done in their shop, thats why this means so much. This wasnt a bought setup. It wasnt a rented car. There was no outside input on setup. This is my fathers 26 years of experience all put into this car. Thank you for everything you do Vincent Anglace Jr. you can enjoy this one. On May 21, 2021, the small team that could. Became the small team that did.”
FloRacing had a great slow motion of the last lap. The 10 had an in car shot of the last lap on Facebook as well. Pearl definitely drove the 10 up the track but not too much and it looked like a good racing move. Anglace was pretty well pinned against the wall coming out of 4 with his foot in it and had every right to nudge down away from the marbles but that’s not what I saw. As far as I could see he was sawing on the wheel a bit just trying to keep the car going straight after some looseness near the wall so if it was drifting down on Pearl oh well. I don’t know what that move by Pearl was in 3 and 4 post checkers but if it was not some good natured chops busting it was very uncharacteristic.
Subtect is two racing families. One with extraordinary multi generational success, the other Rocky’s doing it for the love of racing and Rocky finally won one.
Nick Anglace may not have won before last night but he may have passed more cars in more races then any other driver before getting his win.
Not concerned about the finish. Just hope Stafford made their beer sales quota last night by not letting fans go out to their cars between races. The next time you go to Stafford please buy a beer flight. That seems to be very important to Stafford speedway!
Great race, Stafford rough riding calls continue to be horrible- couple of weeks ago they penalized the 10, this week the penalized the 58 – the 69 was bouncing off everything and started his spin going into 3…,the 58 had no where to go
Thanks for the Anglace response on Facebook Doug that speaks volumes on this young man’s determination and dedication to racing and family.
Ed J I think you may be right about Stafford wanting to sell you a beer versus you running to the parking lot for one. I wondered if the new deal with Flo racing was going to hurt the front gate take considerably with the option of staying home and watching the races versus driving to the track buying a ticket and then spending another $20-$30 on food and drinks for the evening. With them stopping people from going to there cars I’d say they are trying to squeeze every last dollar they can out of a customer. I don’t know the particulars on the flo racing deal and I love being able to stay home if I wish and still enjoy the races but it’s got to be hurting the front gate take and I’d say probably a little bit more than management originally thought.
Wow (or Slapnuts or Brian Nye or whatever other name you’re using on occasion),
I’m not speaking for management, but I’ll say this on the topic. The no re-entry rule was put in place before the 2020 season at Stafford, so this is not something that just popped up this week or this year. I’ve been covering professional sports at all levels, from the NFL to NCAA football to World Championship Boxing all the way down to high school sports and everything in between for 28 years. Outside of short track racing, I’ve known of no other sporting events that allow you to enter the facility where the event is taking place and then come and go as you please after your initial entry. The fact that short tracks are reaching the point of stopping this has been a long time coming. I think what people need to realize is that this is a liability issue for the track. The fact that right here people are complaining that they can’t go back to their car for the sole reason to drink alcohol they brought should be enough to tell you how long overdue this has been. I know that over the years numerous tracks have had to deal with issues regularly of fans going out to the parking lot during events to drink or do drugs and then they return to the event heavily intoxicated or under the influence and cause problems. If you go to your local bar they won’t knowingly allow you to go out to your car and drink all night and keep coming back in the bar because it’s a liability issue for the bar. The same holds true here. At a bar or a restaurant or even a sporting event the servers have control on how they serve people and when to stop serving people because they deem those people to have had enough. If you allow people to just walk out to their cars and do whatever they want you’ve abandoned that control.
I thought the not letting you leave during the race was part of the Covid protocalls. Now that it’s over, i agree it should end. I don’t think they are hurting for attendance due to flo racing The crowds seems good ,especially on the Mod Tour and Open Mod events. That place is also going to be packed on SRX night!
I think many people thought the no re entry rule was covid related. At Waterford back a few years ago you could come and go as many times as you wanted. Then they changed it to only one or two re entries. Last year was the first I can remember where now once you’re in you’re in. Except for weather or an emergency. Is Stafford still doing the stupid no cooler rule?
Shawn, I never said I wanted to go out for a beer. I get up at 5am for work. On a Friday I have just enough time to get home from work, shower and make it to the races. When a division is racing that I am not interested in, I like to go out to my vehicle, recline the seat and shut my eyes and relax for a little while so I hopefully won’t fall asleep at the wheel on the way home. Not everyone is looking to go in and out to get a beer!
I personally like to go back to my car during the full fender car races to get a bite and a drink, weather a water or beer. There is re entry for pit passes. Sometimes a long red flag or weather related issue. I wouldn’t mind a one time re entry but not a no re entry. Some of us also bring campers for special events, my kids like to go back to the camper sometimes because they get bored… taking away the family atmosphere is not a good thing
Ed J, this was the comment you posted that began this narrative: “Not concerned about the finish. Just hope Stafford made their beer sales quota last night by not letting fans go out to their cars between races. The next time you go to Stafford please buy a beer flight. That seems to be very important to Stafford speedway!”
I would say that’s a comment that centers around alcohol and not being able to leave the track after entering.
I’ll say it again, this is something that has been a long time coming. There are very few public sporting/entertainment venues that allow fans to come and go as they please after their initial entry into the facility. Stafford is only falling in line with almost all other professionally operated public sporting and entertainment venues.
I can hear Ben and Matt perfectly and they are definitely pushing the Double Hooked and those samplers the “Flights” a lot. On the other hand I don’t recall hearing as many reminders on responsible drinking and designating a sober driver as I’ve heard in the past. .
The return to a more normal race night returned starting days before Friday and the adjustment was taking place while the race event was taking place. The rules as printed as of this morning are Covid19 oriented. If they are going to keep a no exit policy they are going to have to update the written policy. Maybe it is a good time to eliminate exits since the the fans are somewhat conditioned to it. They also seem to be conditioned to distancing cause tell you what, there was some nice spacing going on there from what I could see from my Barkalounger. Good regular show crowd as well. Very typical pre pandemic for a nice night so I don’t agree FloRacing is hurting attendance much if at all.
Shawn, come on man are you saying the policy is permanent or is there still a question of what will happen? You’re right there and talking to all the decision makers so if you’re saying the Covid19 policy with regard to exit and re-entry is now permanent then that’s that. If you’re expressing an opinion that’s quite another cause you’re not losing anything. First you’re at work you’re not recreating. Second you’re not a beer drinker according to an Unmuffled and you don’t stand to lose customers based on a big policy change which is the risk Stafford is taking. And you’re clearly very well off so saving a few bucks on beer or food were you to drink beer wouldn’t be important at all for a person of you station. Just joshing you on that one.
Of course it’s a good idea to keep folks in the gates once they’re in. However the exit and entry policy goes back to at least to 1980 when I first started going there so you’re changing a long standing policy. You’re also telling guys like Barry who goes out to his camper with his buddies and tunes in the race on the radio during slower times they can’t do that any more…..ever. Then there’s rain and wall repair delays or the lights going out. Fans understanding when there is a pandemic hanging over their heads maybe not digging it so much when that policy does not return to normal with everything else.
They need to really think this one through which they will being Stafford if they haven’t reached a decision as yet.
Hotel California… 🎶 🎵
Doug,
My understanding is that this is a policy that will likely remain in effect with no expected return to the previous rules.
Allowing re-entry was a practice that helped make short track racing more fan friendly than many other commercial sporting events. If re-entry will no longer be allowed, I hope Stafford will explain the change.
Yea Shawn i have to say your responses are kinda ho hum so what!!
Yes you Know when you go to a concert or STICK N BALL Major league events that you enter 1 time and thats it BUT FROM the Top on down meaning CUP TRACKS TO the smallest of local tracks Re entry has been always the case for the 40 years i have been going to race tracks, now Yes since the pandemic the policies have changed for supposed SAFETY reasons and mandates, But to now say No more because NOBODY else does it so why should we is a change that should be explained and not just done!!!!!!!!!
And i dont go to my car to guzzle beer between races but being able to gain my seat and walk the grounds and go to my car is something i do most races !!!
Wmass01013,
I’m not being “ho-hum”, I’m just responding in a fashion from the perspective of someone who has been around a lot of professional sporting events and never seen anything else quite like what was allowed in racing.
I think what people are failing to see is that times change.
You used to be able to drive around town with kids riding in the back of a pickup truck too, but you can’t do that anymore.
Remember we live in a litigious society where businesses face more and more liability for the actions of customers every day. I’m quite certain Stafford Speedway isn’t looking to stop anyone from going to their car for a nap or a sandwich, but unfortunately like with a lot of other things, a few bad apples ruin the basket. People going out to the parking and returning to the track drunk or under the influence causes real problems. Those are the types of customers who cause issues with other customers. Those are the types of customers who then cause issues with track employees because they go try to get a beer and get declined because of the state they’re in.
The track is not in business to have to babysit people and break up fights at 10:30 pm with an angry drunk because he sat in his car from 9 to 9:15 drinking. I’m certain putting this rule in place is far more about people abusing the privileges they were given for a long time than about the track selling more beer.
Then explain why there is re-entry to the pits… I’m thinking it’s about increasing concessions sales $$. The difference in day time temperature and night temperature is usually a trip to the car to change from shorts to long pants for me. If it was about liability then they would stop entry from pits to grandstands (like it was before) and age limit back to 16 for pit entry
Anecdotes, I love them. No one goes out to the car to drink inexpensive beer and woof down cheaper eats that in most cases are less harmful for them then track food. There’s all these other good reasons aren’t there? Except for me. I definitely am guilty as charged.
My view what other sports do is irrelevant. Going out and coming in has been the tradition forever and changing it has to be based on some pretty strong reasons.
Stafford management has all the information. From their own decades of experience and observations, feedback from their own staff and law enforcement and insurance company risk assessments. Of the entire population at a race event exactly what percentage tend to exit and re-enter? Is it really that many?
If they make it official you can bet they darned well have determined the benefits exceed the blowback they’re going to get. And there will be blow back. The very fact is there has not been a story in RaceDayCT announcing the permanent change is an indication that it’s a topic Stafford probably would like to see fly under the radar.
Steve,
Because the majority of the people who do spend the bulk of their time at the track in the pits during events have shown themselves to be responsible enough to not re-enter the track heavily under the influence. Simple as that. The same can’t be said for the general admission areas. Not for nothing, but you act like this is some new phenomena happening. I’ve been covering racing for 25 years I’ve seen it. I can count one two hands how many times I’ve seen a very drunk person stumbling through the pit area at any race track. You rarely, if ever, see that. The same can’t be said for the general admission areas. Again, change happens and this is standard operating procedure for public entertainment venues. I’ve been to New England Patriot’s games as a fan where when I arrived it was cold and it warmed up, but I can assure you they’re not letting me go back to my car to take my jacket off or change into shorts. I totally understand the pushback on this, but this is a business that is trying to protect themselves and the customers they serve. I’m not discounting the fact that there are people who may want to go back to their cars for reasons that don’t involve drinking, but I’ve also been around this sport long enough to know that the bulk of people that want to be able to come and go as they please during the night is because they want to drink on their terms, and that’s not a responsible way for the business to be run. Go to a bar and spend the night going back and forth to your car drinking and see how long they let you stay after they see what you’re doing. It’s a liability issue. The track has enough responsibility ensuring patrons aren’t over-served at their own concessions or facing down being blamed for over-serving someone who has actually been drinking at their car in the parking lot all night.
This is absurd… I get to the track and prepare for a day AT THE TRACK. I carry everything I’ll need for the duration. This going back and forth to the car is absurd. I do not want to go back and forth to the car. Back when Stafford used to stamp your hand, I turned it down because I didn’t need the stamp to leave and re-enter. How hard is it to carry a jacket and radio?
So, I’m carrying keys, wallet and my phone, maybe a jacket, maybe a radio. Big deal. Depending on conditions, I may bring a cooler with my lunch/dinner and eat before I go into the track. Conditions being timing, and a huge crowd and exceptionally long food lines. There was an absurd event at Loudon when they only opened a couple stands. But usually, I bring lunch or dinner in my wallet and enjoy track food, it’s part of the experience. SUPPORT YOUR TRACK!!!!!
For those of you that need to go out to the car to get a fix, that’s your problem. Seek rehab. For those of you that can make it own one or two beers 🍻 🍺 , SUPPORT YOUR TRACK.
Be fan, support the undercards.
I’m still shocked that tracks allow people to bring in coolers. People are getting sloshed at Loudon. The wagons used to carry the coolers from the parking areas are locked up near the gates, hundreds of them. That’s one reason I get out of there right after the Mod race, to evade the crowd of drunks that will be driving after the event.
Wow thought this page was about the first time winner and the battle with Pearl didn’t know it was about beer sales topic changed quickly kid gets first win and everyone’s on this page arguing about re-entry and beer sales sorry was seeing if anymore comments
This is absurd… I get to the track and prepare for a day AT THE TRACK. ” I get to the track” 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣. Since Stafford wants to be like Fenway and Gillette, expect very soon no outside food will be allowed next.
Modfan, the finish was a rather tame, if not a lame finish. No harm, no foul. But a whiner, snowflake and sore loser has to make some drama. So many snowflakes ❄️.
Then those that complain, do what they do best, went off the rails, complaining about beer prices. And it just snowballed.
Go to the track to watch the races and be a fan. SUPPORT THE TRACK.
I know it’s a business and making money is the bottom line. But there is a thing called customer satisfaction. I will say the change to the heat race format is a great improvement (finally). Been saying less than 10 cars in a heat race is a waste of time. Made for exciting heat races and out by 9:30. The first two shows I went to this year I left early mostly because it was so cold but getting past 11:00.
Shawn while i get your points, the bottom line makes NO SENSE besides DADUMB who has never entered a track and went back out to the car because he is so PERFECT, if People want to get drunk without buying track ALCOHOL then surely are ways, i have seen beer cans opned in the stands pre pandemic when NO ALCOHOL allowed and bag checks happened, if you reallly want to bring in booze, a water bottle can be emptied and vodka in, twisted tea out Whiskey in coke 1/2 out RUM in, so Not allowing re entry now because of alcohol liability is foolish AND i remember about 8 yrs ago at Thompson i was sitting about 10 rows Up end of aisle, a gentleman across the stairs end of AISLE would get up and go to the beer stand about every 15-20 minutes, about 3 hours into the show with a 1/4 cup beer left, down the stairs he went for next round, 3 stairs from the bottom he missed a stair and down he went to the concrete with rest of his beer spilling all over him, he was helped to his feet and i thought SURELY ok this embarrassment will end his DRINKS, NOPEEEEEE 10 mins later here he came back up with a fulll cup bought from the BEER STAND, SOOOO liability is just not from the return to car to get hammered or high
I miss the old days, (Two years ago) when I could go do a line in my car during the limited late model feature.
For the primary subject, congrats to Nick Anglace for the win! Always rooted for his Dad; he always had a cool looking car. Didn’t know he never had a win previously in all those years, what a great family achievement!
Second, when I go to a race, I like to get there at the start of practice, and I’m always staying until the end. For me when possible a race is an all day/night affair (my version of camping!); substantially longer than traditional sports events. I am usually by myself and hang with other people when I get there, but it’s not easy to think of everything you need every time you go in for what could be a 10+ hour day, particularly with unpredictable weather. I’ve had races that started in t-shirts with 3 more layers by the end of the night. I don’t want to be waiting in lines at the races, so food and drinks come in with me. I’m buying t-shirts and programs when available for additional track support (Miss the Stafford & Thompson programs!) All that plus a camera, seat cushion, and in some cases an umbrella for shade, not easy to haul in one trip. The only track I knew before COVID that didn’t allow re-entry was Seekonk. It would be nice to allow at least one time to grab the thing I forgot or to adjust for a change in weather. I feel bad for people with campers not being able to go in and out, as it eliminates the advantage of mid-event breaks for them to eat or relax, one of the purposes to having one in the first place.
wmass01013,
You can rationalize all day, but it still comes down to the fact that the facility is just catching up to standard operating procedures for most professionally operated public entertainment facilities and protecting their business. I can sneak a flask into a restaurant and avoid paying for drinks while out to dinner, but it doesn’t make it right. There always going to be people trying to find ways around certain rules, but it doesn’t mean that you just decide to abandon those rules because of that. There’s nothing “foolish” about alcohol liability for any business where customers are being served.
You’re the big guy here Shawn and know the inside scoop but could it with with regard to one aspect of this chat you may be a bit over your skis.
If the crux of the argument which you have stressed and is valid is intoxication and the liability it presents for race tracks then where do we stand at Stafford now? From the Double Hooked lounge to “flights” to the Broad Brook Brewery and the myriad of choices they are pushing is liability that big a concern? Or is it that if you have liability they want to be the ones making money on it? Not that I’m blaming them mind you.
You speak of it as eliminating an element that can reduce exposure and it may true on the margins. But will the person that identifies leisure time, racing and beer change their behavior or simply buy more track offerings?
Being semi retired now from drinking I’m thinking about how 2000 Doug would view this more rigid policy and I do believe I could adjust nicely. Hang out in the parking lot on a beautiful night, eat some munchies and have whatever you want for drinks and then retire to the track edifice knowing that it’s for the night. So what’s the problem? It’s like masks……….adjust.
Doug,
I would say it’s not different than any other entity that handles the responsibility of serving patrons within their business. That could be a restaurant, a bar or even an NFL game. If you go to any of those place they’re likely promoting the sale of alcohol. But they’re promoting it with the understanding that alcohol is being sold by trained servers who understand to recognize when a patron is reaching the line of over-served. While you can’t control every variable, you can at least have some visible understanding of the state of intoxication of the customer within your business. And that’s an understanding you want to know not only for that fact that you don’t want to responsible for sending someone out on the road intoxicated, but it also stands that overly intoxicated customers are just not good for a business. That’s a fact. Overly intoxicated customers cause a more likely chance of fights, issues with employees and property damage. So again, if they’re serving they have their eyes on who they’re serving, how many a particular person has had or just a visual observation of the state of that person. The second you let people go out the gate and serve themselves from their car you’ve abandoned that control that you had of trying to not let the customer on your property turn into the belligerent drunk that is going to be your next issue.
So what’s the insurance liability about a personal sized cooler with water bottles? Wasn’t allowed at Stafford last year. Are they afraid I’m going to splash someone?
Fair enough. We’ll agree to disagree. I’m the guy that drank too much beer at Stafford in the past and the people serving me never seemed to be concerned what condition I was in as long as I could say one Bud. If that’s changed and the servers are keeping their eye out for it then fine. As of the 2019 season in ordering my one beer geezer ration I never sensed that the servers that are just part time folks had changed much from twenty or thirty years ago.
I don’t think having a no re-entry policy is going to cut down on people drinking alcohol- it might increase it. When I get to the track, usually at 6:00 there are plenty of people drinking, eating and socializing in the parking lot, now that they know there is no re-entry, they will either stay in the parking lot till feature time (one more hr of drinking) or they will buy more inside of track or they will pay extra to go into the pits so they can re-enter. Now my question is they take your ticket at the gate – the ticket used to be my rain check- no more rain checks????!
The re-entry policy will simply change where and when people will consume and tank up with their precious beer 🍺 🍻, that’s all. People will tank up before they enter, drink more from the track, or less or not at all.
Now we need to see if the tracks will try to stop pre-entry tailgating in the parking lots.
Do you go to the track for the races or to drink beer?
You’re a bunch of damn crybaby drama queens. Grow the hell up already. If people didn’t drink too much and cause problems, none of this would be necessary.
Oh look at that. Dafella complaining about the beer drinkers at the track. I also seem to recall Dafella complaining or trying to rile up the speedbowl fans regarding the no alcohol sales there. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🙋🤡
🌈🦄2020, not beer drinkers per se, but those that drank too much and will be on the roads the same time I leave the track. Leaving the track, and driving away from the premises, is always a time to be on high alert.
I’d also be surprised if all of those at Stafford who dispense beer are “trained servers”. But, perhaps training is now part of the employment process. In any event, are we to conclude that problems in 2019 led to the elimination of re-entry? If not, it’s tough to understand why such a longstanding fan friendly practice has ended. Again, it would be nice to hear an explanation from track management.
If someone has to be cut off from another 🍺 , it’s already too late. ⏰
Read the news, more and more bars and restaurants are getting in trouble for serving people that had too much alcohol 🍷 🍺 🥃 🍻. Same can, and may have, happen to Stafford. This may be a result of caution and prevention, or a reaction to something that already happened. Very doubtful 🤨 that management will say anything.
Rafter,
I’m not going to speak for management and I think if they want to provide more clarity on any changes that’s their right to do so in any way they feel necessary.
I think one thing that many are missing here is that sometimes time moves on and what was an acceptable practice at one point can become unacceptable for many reasons.
I think the key phrase you used in your comment was “fan friendly practice”. I think we can all agree that short track racing has been very unique for many years by the fact that facilities have been far less restrictive on fans coming and going throughout events than many other public entertainment or sporting venues.
I think unfortunately you’re seeing what happens in any slice of life when you give people a little more than expected. There are always going to be people that take that privilege and abuse it and ultimately ruin that privilege for everyone. I’m fairly certain that in this instance this is a big part of the reason for change. Many people respected the privilege for many years, but we also know probably as many people abused it too.
I don’t care what kind of business you run, whether it’s a race track, a restaurant, a retail store or even a bar, any overly intoxicated customer is not a customer you want on your property. Being able to have some accountability on serving customers on site offers any business owner a level of control. Once you allow them to walk out to the parking lot you lose that control. And then you have a customer return to the property who in an overly intoxicated state only creates more problems for the business owner. An overly intoxicated customer on the property means more chance of verbal/physical confrontations with other fans, more chance of verbal/physical confrontations with staff or security and more chance for property damage.
Again, I’m not speaking for track management, but I can also see why after years of people regularly abusing a very fan friendly privilege they’re forced to look into making changes to protect their business and their customers.
I don’t think it’s about the liability – if it was, they wouldn’t have increased drinking options and higher alcohol content beers… happy hours…alcohol sponsors etc… Bottom line is they want people to stay in the stands and spend money. dareal, have you noticed all the breweries and wineries that have opened up in the last 10 years? (now they are entering race tracks) More people are going to these establishments now more than ever, You are the only one afraid to drive home after the races
And this is why we can’t have nice things.
The travelers that come in to watch the NWMT races or those of us that may go to a hand full of events, regular shows or opens, aren’t so much the parties that a change like this affects. It’s the backbone of Stafford Speedway the local regulars that go to most or all of the events. Coming early and gathering with friends they have their traditions that include the right to come and go through the night. It’s those fans that deserve some kind of formal announcement and explanation for the change if it in fact is set in stone.
I do believe this is the record in terms of lines written by you Mr. Courchesne expanding on a topic in the comments section. The sum of which amounts to a highly opinionated editorial. Obviously you feel very strongly about this. Moreover while you’ve made it clear they are your own thoughts respecting managements right to controlling their own messaging it’s unlikely you’d go as far as virtually saying the change is permanent had you no conversations about it with the principals at Stafford.
This could be the best time for the change seeing that the fans were conditioned a bit during the pandemic. If freedom of movement, consuming your own food and beverages are that important to you there’s FloRacing where you need not miss any of the action and Stafford doesn’t lose those fans completely.
The decision is Staffords as is the way to handle it. Hoping it goes under the radar or looking on as Shawn Courchesne acts as a proxy messenger is not the way to do it in my view. The right way to do it is a formal press release containing the solid reasons that they surely must have in as much detail possible and being completely transparent about it all. As opposed to the generalizations Mr. Courchesne is limited to respecting private conversations.
Then it will be done and like pandemic restrictions fans will understand and adjust. If you don’t and the fan base is allowed to fill in their own blanks on the reasons then that would end up being an open sore that would linger.
Steve:
You said: “I don’t think it’s about the liability – if it was, they wouldn’t have increased drinking options and higher alcohol content beers… happy hours…alcohol sponsors etc”
I can’t wrap my brain around how asinine this comment is.
So, by your logic, you think if a restaurant or bar stocks a new vodka choice with a higher alcohol content it must indicate that bar or restaurant doesn’t care about their liability in serving patrons?
So, by your logic you think if a restaurant or bar increases their selection of beer options that will automatically mean people who typically drink responsibly will then obviously drink more than they usually do?
Do you see how hard you’re trying to argue with ridiculously nonsensical arguments?
Doug posted, “Coming early and gathering with friends they have their traditions that include the right to come and go through the night.”
Wow, it has been a right to come and go through the night. Never knew that.
Idiotic.
First it was the covid that Dafella was afraid of and kept him away from a race track. Now it’s the alcohol.
Shawn, you think it’s about liability and I think it’s about making more money.. If I owned a race track and people were getting intoxicated to where its a big issue and it may shut my track down, i would start thinking about not serving higher content alcohol beverages, and stop having happy hours.(not sure if stafford has them anymore or not) I might try serving light beer instead. If I owned a race track – I would like to make money and if I need to make more money to survive I would stop re-entry That’s me – maybe not you. I do not know the reason why Stafford has changed the policy and I think you said you do not know so we are both guessing. I didn’t think I was arguing a point, thought I was giving my opinion
“If I owned a race track and people were getting intoxicated to where its a big issue and it may shut my track down”
As a frequent camper, I suggest taking a ride though the general admission parking lot around 7 AM on a Saturday morning. Make it worth your trip, collect the returnables. Plenty of non-returnable nips out there, too.
Most folks in the pits do not have to go out to their cars for a couple cold ones. Most folks in the pits are with a team. The team haulers are loaded with coolers, refrigerators, etc. We always had plenty of loaded coolers. Never had to go out to the parking lot.
Folks from the pits should not have to go out to the parking lot for cold ones, their haulers are already loaded. I don’t think a team owner would allow a team member to imbibe and expect to stay on the team.
It’s a matter of being responsible. Unfortunately, many can not self moderate and be responsible, and they end up ruining it for everyone else.
So it’s just a coincidence that Stafford is pushing their beer sales (craft beer) extremely hard lately on social media (check out the Twitter post) and the basically new rule of the no re-entry? Believe what you want but, it doesn’t take a engineer.
Wow sound like a bunch of kids whining cause they can’t go out for recess maybe some if not most of you should attend an AA meeting might help if you have to drink til you become stupid obnoxious etc maybe there’s a problem in and of itself if you can’t hold your liquor then don’t drink so much da… nothing more pathetic then some drunk moron staggering around making an ass out of themselves been going to tracks since Danbury Plainville days see it all the time some people just don’t know how to have a few and a good time if you need to drink til the stupid kicks in maybe order the damn thing on FloRacing and stay home then you can just aggravate yourself instead of all of us like I said find the closest AA meeting maybe then you’ll grow up….happy drunkenness dumbasses….
Since many of you are obsessed with my bicycle riding, and the prompt from Barry, I can report that nips are by far the most common roadside trash… by FAR. If there were a deposit on nips, one can make a fortune in collecting the disposed empties on one side of a road, maybe a mile in length. It’s deplorable.
Modfan gets my vote for best post ever on RaceDayCT. (May 25, 2021, 4:54 pm)
🏁 🏁 🏁 🏁 🏁 🏁 🏁 🏁 🏁 🏁 🏁 🏁 🏁 🏁 🏁 🏁 🏁
It is nice not to see stumbling fools and fights every week at Waterford. And since Stafford has been vaccinating people lately, maybe they should offer AA meetings also.
Mod fan -what makes u think this change is alcohol related????? Did Stafford come out and say that? Last year they said due to Covid, this year no reason explained- I walked up to the front gate Friday (1st time going in the stands this year) saw the sign, walked backed to my truck, changed into long pants, grabbed my jacket, drank a water bottle and grabbed my bag of peanuts and walked back to the stands (not a happy camper at this point because it caused me to miss 2 skl heats). No alcohol in my frustration, plus they took the whole ticket, no rain check to speak of. Stafford did tell me that next week they will be tearing them in half like before so we have rain checks in hand.
Shawn –
Yes – time moves on and things change. A great, positive example is the FloRacing/Stafford arrangement. The pandemic likely accelerated the availability of affordable all season streaming and the unconfirmed(?) permanent change with respect to re-entry.
Given the apparent level of interest in the topic, would it make sense to you to ask Stafford to comment on re-enty? I’d surprised if the track would not respond to an inquiry from you.
By the way, I never used re-entry to consume an alcoholic beverage.
Rafter Fan,
I totally understand that many people used the privilege for reasons other than drinking. I also totally understand why it’s upsetting to people. I will inquire this weekend with track management to see if it’s a topic they would like to further address in this space.
Shawn –
Thanks for listening.