The Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup XXX went off without a hitch at Lernerville Speedway on July 20, with Brad Sweet earning the $25,000 winner’s check and his 14th World of Outlaws victory of the season.
The Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup XXX went off without a hitch at Lernerville Speedway on July 20, with Brad Sweet earning the $25,000 winner‘s check and his 14th World of Outlaws victory of the season. However, when it came to the buzz generated by the event, at least on social media, the behavior of several “fans” in attendance overshadowed the on-track action.
Even before the A-Main, several people began stealing the banners from the fences of the facility.
This is not the first time that this column has addressed this issue.
What‘s really vile is that, despite the majority of racing people finding these actions repulsive, there are some actually willing to stand up and defend stealing from a race track, stating that the tracks expect people to take those banners.
Whether it‘s the sponsor, or the series, or the track, someone is paying for that banner. Many tracks and series don‘t have security on staff to defend banners from thieves, so over time have begun to accept the loss and not attempt to save the banners from thieves. That doesn‘t mean that they want people to take them.
I once had a promoter recount an instance when he actually had a knife pulled on him when he attempted to stop someone from stealing a banner.
So, for those out there who think it‘s acceptable, it‘s not. The vast majority of those promoters and marketing partners didn‘t put those banners up as a gift to fans, they just gave up defending them from thieves since they don‘t have the personnel to commit to guarding them all night. Promoters and staff are busy running the actual event fans paid to see.
It‘s something most parents teach their children at a very young age. If someone didn‘t give it to you or sell it to you, it‘s not yours…it‘s stealing. It‘s embarrassing to know that there are people who call themselves race fans who can actually be seen stealing banners with their children. That‘s some lesson for kids to be taught.
And, apparently, it‘s not enough that the track isn‘t stopping the banners from being stolen, but now the jackasses want to take the banners before the event is even finished. Those marketing partners — the ones that supported that race event to help it take place — paid for that advertisement to be up throughout the entire event, not just until thieves arrived.
Before we go any further, it bears asking the question why anyone would want a vinyl sign with a company logo on it to begin with. Most of them don‘t even have graphics of sprint cars or anything remotely awesome on them to begin with; just corporate logos. They‘re similar to signs hung around a local supermarket. Are these same people stealing signs from their local Walmart? It‘s actually bizarre that this is even a thing.
Several years back, I remember reading a message board post where someone was whining that their banners had been “stolen” from their campsite during the races at the Knoxville Nationals. So, to be clear, someone had stolen their stolen banners, so they were upset. Incredible.
I‘ve heard enough promoters of tracks and series vent about the issue over the years to confidently state that buying a ticket for an event does not entitle a fan to steal things on the way out…including banners. So, for those who think they‘re entitled to take things, or that promoters are wanting attendees to take things, in most every case that assumption is wrong.
This publication has had its share of banners hung around race tracks around the country. We‘ve never had a big budget for signage, and I can assure you that we never intend for those signs to end up in someone‘s garage, man cave, or campsite. We retrieve them at the end of the event and they are hung at the next one. Of course, that‘s unless someone steals them first.
It wasn‘t that long ago that the winning car from the 360 Knoxville Nationals was left on display for the week of the 410 Nationals each year, sitting amid the vendor spaces underneath the grandstands at the Raceway. I remember when I first began seeing the owners of those cars begin zip-tying the steering wheel and other components to the car to make them more difficult to steal overnight. It was sad to see that society had changed to that point. It was even more disappointing to know that it was people who considered themselves part of the racing community that were stealing them. Cars are no longer left out overnight at the Nationals.
When Tony Stewart won his first Chili Bowl, even before the victory lane celebration, an idiot stole his fuel cap from his tank and went fleeing out a rear bay door. A fuel cap. I mean, what the hell?
Having spent my life as part of the racing community, it is a source of pride when people state that racing people are some of the best people you‘ll ever meet. In the short track community, there has always been an atmosphere that we‘re all family, as we all have the same common love of this sport. And, to most of us, that extends to the promoters and sanctioning bodies, as without them there wouldn‘t be race events for us to attend. What would make any real race fan feel justified in stealing from them?