LARRY COLLINS - A FAMILY TRADITION

Source: The State of OUR sport; Past, Present, and Future
Date: 07/06/2008

A continuing series of interviews through the eyes of YOU, our Teams, Drivers, Promoters, Tracks, Sanctioning Bodies, and Fans…

Report from Reno: Thanks to the hospitality of Mr. Stewart Doty I was allowed to attend the 2007 RPM Promoters Conference on behalf of our article series. I’ve read for years on the boards that the conference is not much more than a party. So naturally if that’s true, sounded like the perfect place for me to visit…LOL. Well, as it ended up, it is far from that. With my expectations dashed, instead I found everyone very involved, very concerned, and focused on improvement.

However, if you are asking about after hours? Well let’s just say it comes nowhere near any of my race team parties I’ve had after leaving the Bullring, (or the Saugus Café after a win) which became nights I will remember forever!

Racing is still about having fun!

At the conference I wanted to see and hear what our promoters are thinking, the current state of short track racing, and advice being taught by the panels. As you can imagine, Andy was more than ready to grab the microphone and correct bad advice. But, I could only learn, listen, and take copious notes. I enthusiastically agree with all the advice given, they do “get” it.

If I had to boil it down into a one sentence it is……..

“Engage your fans, give them stories to tell at the water-cooler”.

And that is a piece of advice we all could use. I do believe as a group, they are rebounding and doing the right things. Speaking as that “elusive fan”, apply what was taught, (the tricky part) and they would indeed see improvement in fan and participation counts. Thanks to everyone at the RPM Promoters Workshops for allowing me to listen and learn on behalf of our series……..Andy D.

MESA MARIN U.S.A.

If there was a single event that this article series was created by, it wasn’t El Cajon, Champion, Stockton, or even my beloved Saugus only two miles away from me. Those were all tragic and significant losses to our sport, (along with the enormous loss of hundreds of race teams at each of those facilities) but the announced closing of Mesa Marin is what really triggered by outrage. Yes, outrage is the correct word. (and no, I’m not “over it” yet). Of course, not outrage at the Collins family who did what they had to do in a very difficult situation, but outrage at the complaining neighbors who moved TOO CLOSE TO A RACETRACK, and not taking responsibility for that decision.

(Personal Responsibility; a problem rampant today in our society, I still don’t understand where we lost that)

So for me it was the outrage of our sport not coming together to do all it could before the end that was a most troubling aspect, and still is. We still have much work to do as a group protecting our rights to enjoy this sport.

Although KCNHTN is an important milestone in our future, it is just one of many on our road back. Our sport is going to continue to need to be militantly protected from out of control neighbors, “beautification groups”, City Councils, Counties, and anyone else that insists on trying to spoil our fun.

As I reported in an earlier article, the Kern County Planning Commission approval vote for the new Mesa was exactly how we need to work as a group. We all came together as one racing family not allowing any of those special interest groups to beat us, and that was indeed a milestone to be thrilled about. (I still get chills thinking about that evening) We know, understand, and thrive on competition. That’s our edge, that’s our racers advantage, and precisely how we need to look at these fights for our rights on behalf of our family known as, “Saturday Night Racing”. I for one am not going to allow outsiders to beat us.

I will never forget pulling up to Mesa Marin in the late 1980’s for the first time. Wow, might as well have been Daytona with that huge banking, those endlessly long straightaways, the steep transitions into and out of the turns, and that cool bump in turn 3…….just………

Wow, what a track. She truly became my Daytona.

There wasn’t any of us in the stands on that final night in October 2005 that didn’t want to yell out, “Marion, build a new one”, but all were stone cold silent taking in Marion’s every word, thinking this really was……..the end. Mesa was just a young 29 years old when the gates were shut for the final time.

Thankfully, the “end” was short lived. With a standing ovation to the Destefani and Collins families “the end” was really just a new beginning. We will shortly have a new track for us to enjoy and protect for decades to come. Of course, you’ve all seen the releases concerning the track financing, and our new track will be delayed for a bit, but have no doubt it will be back on track shortly.

KERN COUNTY’S NEW HOME TO NASCAR

We interviewed Larry and took these pictures the Friday before Christmas, and were able to see our new home up close. My son Drew and I have watched construction at a distance from the road on and off since the track was announced two years ago. We would drive out every month or so to see if any dirt had started to be moved. “Nope, planting crops, it’s gonna be awhile”. But then one day a small house showed up at the far end of the field (I learned from Larry this was the Destefani home previously), then some palm trees, and after the County approval, the real work began. Dirt grading, then banking, then grandstands, and now lights, asphalt, and concrete. It’s all happening.

It was certainly a highlight of my holiday season to be allowed to wander around our new racing home. Quite simply, our new track is going to be wonderful. Reminiscent of Mesa in many ways, but with many modern day improvements such as variable banking, a car tunnel to the infield under Turn 2, and four level tower with suites. Let’s go further, it’s going to be awesome!!!

Many of the ideas that will be implemented into Kern County's New Home to NASCAR come from the Mesa we all loved and miss so much. Kern County will have all the bells and whistles, but without Mesa and the Collins family implementing everything they learned along the way, it would only be a showpiece. We can't wait to see all that we enjoyed put into a new home that will be safe for years to come. Kern County will be everything that worked at Mesa, plus many new ideas focused on the teams, fans, and sponsors.

As a near 20 year fan, Marion would recognize me and my son or daughter sitting in the stands, and would always stop for a short chat if he was on our aisle. Even if it was just a wave, it felt great to be appreciated. Knowing many of the Mesa racers through the years, most felt the same……….appreciated. Marion, Shirley, Gary and Larry Collins are “us”, they are racing people.

Taking his turn in our interview chair, President of Kern County’s New Home to Nascar, Mr. Larry Collins.

THE COLLINS FAMILY

Andy Daddario: Tell us about you and your family. How did the Collins family get involved in racing?

Larry Collins: My father Marion started a retail tire business in the 60’s, which is still in existence. He and his brother Frank were partners and they were hard, hard workers. They made it a very successful business, which allowed Marion to start stock car racing at short tracks throughout the state. He drove everything from mini-stocks at Santa Maria Speedway, to NASCAR Grand Nationals (Sprint Cup) at Riverside and Ontario. He drove for about fifteen years. As I grew up with the sport, what I always found interesting was that he never cared what kind of car he raced. One weekend he’d have a Grand National car at Ontario or Riverside racing with Petty, Allison and the guys, and then the next week he’d drive a Volkswagen out at Bakersfield Speedway, and the next weekend we’d be at the 605 Speedway in a ’57 Chevy stock car. He was one of those guys that if had wheels, he was going to race it.

AD: Never knew your Dad raced.

LC: Yeah, he’d work till noon on Saturdays at Oildale Tire, we’d load up the van, hook up the trailer and all of us would head to the race track. After his race, we’d get back home about 2 in the morning and then around 6am we would reload the van with our motorcycles and my mom and dad would take my brother Gary and I motocross racing. I don’t know how they did it. He’s one of those guys that never runs out of energy. In 1975, a couple of gentlemen here in Bakersfield thought it would be a good idea to build a new racetrack. We had Bakersfield Speedway, and they thought we should build a bigger track since the sport was really booming here. They came to my father, and it took him about two minutes to decide that he was “in” on the deal. So he had two partners originally (one of the original partners came up with Mesa Marin, named after one of his daughters “Marin”) and that lasted about six months. He ended up being the last man standing and he and his brother Frank just pursued it. He’s not one of those guys that spend much time making decisions. He’s all about “make a decision and move forward”. That’s what he did, and by April of 1977, we were racing. We raced there until October 2005.

THE NEW

AD: The closing of Mesa was announced around June of that year. There was no announcement or plan at that time to create this new facility, nor later at the October Classic. What was the series of events that made this happen?

LC: Going back into why we decided that Mesa was going to close, or actually why we chose to close it down. When we first built the track, the closest home was one mile away. When we closed the track, the closest home was ninety feet away. The City officials were putting some pressure on us to make some improvements. Do some things to mitigate some sound issues, some landscaping issues, they were basically throwing about two to three million dollars in improvements at us that we had to make right away to stay in business. The real problem was there was still no guarantee that three years down the road, we were going to be allowed to stay. With Marion and my mom Shirley both pushing 70, it was decided, that we didn’t need to go through the uncertainty and heartache. So we made the difficult decision to step away and close the track. As hard as it was, we decided to step away from it, and we had no idea what we were going to do. But, we knew it was the right decision for the time, both business wise, and for our family. We made the announcement that 2005 would be Mesa Marin’s final race season, and within two weeks we had seven different offers from people who wanted to keep the sport going in our part of the State. They were saying, “we want to be involved with you to do another track”. Due to the overwhelming response we thought, “wow, let’s move forward and at least explore the possibilities”. Of the seven offers, we talked to five different groups. We personally knew the Destefani family, they had raced with us at Mesa Marin and we were well acquainted with them. They owned 500 acres of property along Interstate 5 which would be perfect for a new raceway. They had been in the farming business in the area since the 30’s. In their heart, they wanted to keep the sport going. “This community has been good to us, so let’s keep it going”. I was amazed how many people reacted and got emotional when we made the announcement of closing Mesa Marin Raceway. To me it was unbelievable. This outpouring of appreciation for what we had done in the past, and how much they were going to miss it. Many people sensed the loss so many people felt, and the Destefani family definitely did too. One thing led to another, and next thing you know we are breaking ground on a new state of the art track. They say in life, “as one door closes, another opens”, this is a prime example. We would have never been able to get Mesa Marin to this level. It was a 30 year old facility, and you can never make enough improvements to get it to a point where it needs to be in this day and age. As we look back, what a blessing the way the whole thing went down.

THE CHALLENGES

AD: What do you think the challenges are in the sport currently?

LC: It’s important that the sport and short track industry are strong. Not just in our region, but nationally. Short track racing needs to be strong to draw people to it. When things are booming, people are drawn to them, they want to be part of it. In the last five or six years we’ve seen too many racetracks in our State, go away. Building a new track is important, nobody wants to see things going downward, if they plan on being part of it. The racers need to see strong programs at their home track or their touring series. They want to be part of something that is meaningful, something they can be proud to be associated with when they compete. That’s why it’s important that the sport stay strong, and that all the tracks and divisions are doing well. We are all in it together, and the stronger the sport is, the stronger all the tracks are going to be.

AD: We talked about it earlier. There’s plenty for everybody.

LC: Absolutely.

AD: We had discussed earlier that all you needed was the majority of the nearby town Taft coming out to the races, and “we’re good”!

LC: As racetracks we need to work collectively to build the sport. There are a lot of reasons why we need to work together. The main reason I always turn to is that a team that has invested in that race car. They can race their local track every week, but during an off weekend or a special end of the year event, they can load up and travel out of town to compete. That’s important. And plus if that racer is going to invest in a car that is only appropriate or accepted at his racetrack, when he goes to sell it, he may not have much of a market to sell to. The decision to invest in a race car becomes easier if he knows that there is a market out there to sell that car someday.

COSTS AND TIME

AD: What do you think about today’s costs vs. thirty years ago when Mesa opened? Is it a factor in your car count, or not an issue?

LC: Oh yeah, definitely. We look to try and save on the cost of building the race car wherever we can. That’s step one. Step two is the cost to maintain and bringing that race car to the track each week. If we can keep those costs down, more people can come and participate, there’s just no doubt about it. You can’t have a field and rely on the top 10 teams to put your show on. It’s that second half of the field that builds your car count, it’s important. Everyone has their breaking point. If the guy is barely making it to the track each race and if that person crashes he’s going to be gone for awhile. We don’t want to lose any cars. Our ultimate goal is maximum race cars through the back gate, and then put on a good show with those race cars. Anywhere you can cut the costs is going to make a difference, but it’s tough. We try everywhere we can to cut costs, but it’s not an easy fix, and there is a critic for every idea you come up with. (big laughs from both of us). And that’s one of the toughest parts of being in a position to try and run a series, or run a track and make decisions, especially for the race teams. They all are in different situations. If you are making a decision just for the guy that has all the funds he needs, that’s easy. And if you’re making a decision for the guy that is barely making it to the track, barely getting by, you can make good decisions for him too. But to try to make good decisions for both those race teams and everyone in between, no one is ever completely happy with your decision.

AD: That makes your job very difficult

LC: Absolutely. It’s hard because your ultimate goal is to please everybody, but yet your decisions aren’t great for anybody. But for the “big picture”, they are pretty good. (big laughs from both of us). Bill France Jr. was the best, he made decisions that were good for his sport, as a whole. Unfortunately, someone has to be in this position to make decisions today that are going to be best for the long run.

AD: Many of the promoters and racers have commented on the time investment. What do you think about the time investment? What concepts do you use to keep that down?

LC: I think in today’s environment, the way we have structured our society, time is our most precious asset. In racing it used to be the cost of the car was the biggest inhibitor. I think today the cost of the car, and costs to maintain it are secondary to the time involved in preparing the car and coming to the racetrack. And when I mean “time involved”, I mean time away from the family. It seems to me the days are over when you could count on five or six guys coming to your garage five nights a week, and work on your race car with you, and then spend another long day at the race track with you on Saturday night. For whatever reason, those days are over.

AD: Our lives are busier than they were 20 years ago. Not sure how we got to that place, but our “time” is completely used up. For me, I already do 60 hour work weeks, add with that kids baseball and soccer, my daughter was in club Volleyball, PTA, helping with schoolwork. It goes on and on. We try to fit in as much as we possibly can. To me it makes it just that more difficult to field a race team.

I believe every single interviewee has mentioned “time” as being a top priority problem. And that is something we can actually do something about.

LC: We are working really hard to create an environment at the new track, and make some policies where there is a place for the families to come and be with the racers throughout the course of the day. Especially if you are traveling and leave at six in the morning and drive three hours to the track, you are gone all day. But if your family is traveling with you, it’s not so bad, especially if they can spend some time with you in the pit area. And then if we can have things for the families to do at the track, and you can still get together and see them throughout the day, that’s my goal.

AD: I love that idea Larry. My son Drew isn’t 18 yet, (the minimum age at most of our tracks here in so cal) and would love to be closer to his heroes in the pits. In my last article I mentioned we were able to hang out with Rip’s crew up in Shasta in 2006, he had a great time. I’d love to see a common area similar to the Neon Garage at LVMS.

LC: Yes, it’s beautiful. We are definitely going to create a “fan zone” in the pit area so the spectator that came to the grandstands, can make their way to the pit area through the tunnel, and be down in the infield close to the competitors. If you’re a competitor, your family can come down and have dinner with you. It’s about interaction, and spending as much time with your family as possible while still being a competitor. I really think there has got to be some thought put in on how we make this more appealing to the competitor’s family. We need to make it more appealing for the family to get into that rig or motor home and come to the race with the race teams.

AD: Almost like a camping trip.

LC: I’m working real hard to have the option of being with the teams in the pit area. There is a few things we have to work with there, but we are definitely working towards that. AD: That’s awesome. I just think it’s so important in this day. Also, we need the kids close to their heroes. We need the teenage kids close to the “High School Racing Series” competitors that are also their friends in High School. That’s when we really lose our fans, that 16-35 range. That’s the time, that’s when you want them part of this and involved. And the bonuses to the families of being able to be close to their competitor parents will only improve upon that. Let’s make racing as little a “time” burden as possible, and I think we will see major improvements.

LC: As a teenager, he is done with sitting in the stands and just watching. But if you can take that same teen, and he plays an active role in what the race team is doing, he’s now a part of the action. Boy, that just brings them in, those are the hooks right there.

AD: Absolutely Larry, couldn’t agree more. The more we have of this type of interaction, the better off our sport will be.

KEEPING THE BALANCE

AD: Learning from your family’s long history, do you have any advice to the racing community; for our sanctioning bodies, our race tracks, our racers, from your perspective? How can we make things better as a group?

LC: There are components to success in a race track, and a race series. Those components are the race fans, the race teams, the race track, the sanctioning body, the sponsors, and the media. All of them are important, and we have to nurture the relationship between all of them. If one is left out, or the scales are tipping heavy to the spectator, or tilting to the competitor, or tilting heavy to the racetrack, the balance falls off. All those elements need to be in balance. You have to think about that fan coming through the front gate because they are paying the bill. You have to think about the race teams coming through the back gate because they are putting on the show. You have to think about the track so we have a place for the events. The sanctioning bodies have to be doing the right things for their teams so they want to be part of that series. When that series comes to the race track, it’s strong; it has value to the track, which then has value to the paying spectator. If those elements are going well, the media will be drawn to it. The media reports on that series, and makes the fans more aware, and makes the teams feel like they are part of something important. Just like in your family life, we have our work, and we have our fun, you’ve got to create a balance there. And it’s pretty much the same way, if you stop paying attention to one, it begins to suffer, and then you get out of balance. Once things are out of balance, you then have to devote more time to it. Devote just a bit too much time, and one of the other areas then falls out of balance, it’s no small task.

AD: You’re spinning plates, trying to keep one from falling.

LC: Yeah, this plate here starts wobbling, I gotta really work on that one, by the time you get done with that, this one over here starts wobbling about ready to fall off. Balance is key.

I’m glad we were racers before we became racetrack operators, we have a full understanding about what it takes to get a race car to the track on a Saturday night. (Larry is banging on the table here, quite emphatically) That race teams effort to get to that racetrack may have started weeks or month ago. The wife and family may not be happy with you four of those nights before the race with you trying to get the car ready, and you probably stayed up later than you wanted to on Friday getting the car finished, so by the time you come in the pit gate, you might not be in the best of moods, even though, you are supposed to be there doing something you enjoy. !!!!

I can remember times you ask a race team to park in a specific area, and you have your reasons, it may be you need this type of trailer in this part of the pits so it’s out of the way of the spectators, but he’s madder than hell now because he can’t park where he wanted. He’s had a long week and a long night, and what you’re telling him is not fitting into what his objective is for that moment. (laughs from both of us on this one)

AD: Anything we can do to unite sanctioning, racers, and tracks so we are all working on the same team? What’s your thoughts?

LC: Ya know every racetrack operator will agree that they are so busy, that they barely even have time to notice what other tracks are doing, and worry about what they’re doing. When we built Mesa Marin my father thought, “boy I’ve been working hard most of my life, and this racetrack deal is going to be a piece of cake”. “We’re going to open the gates on Saturday, clean it on Monday, and come back again next Saturday”. And well, the truth is, we worked seven days a week for thirty years out there. What I’m getting at is you just do, what you do. But to get back to your question, we need to keep the lines of communication open between other track operators, or sanctioning bodies we may be dealing with. It’s not that you have to call them every week to see how they’re doing, but just making sure everyone is comfortable with picking up the phone, calling and saying, “we’re having this issue, or we’re getting ready to try this, what do you think?” I really think that’s the biggest thing, we need to have a good relationship with other promoters and the sanctioning bodies. We should be able to pick up the phone to ask questions and also give advice to each other. I think that’s important.

AD: One of the concepts I am constantly trying to convey is, we are not competitors.

LC: Absolutely!

AD: We are all working for the same things.

LC: (an emphatic) Yes!

FAMILY, TEENS AND KIDS

AD: For those that don’t know, Mesa for years had a division called the High School Racing Series. I believe this is so very important for two reasons. One, it gets the kids involved at a critical age in their lives, because I believe it is in the 18-35 range that we lose them. Two, it gets all their high school friends involved also during those critical years.

LC: The high school racing series we started at Mesa Marin in 1997. It may be taking place at other tracks now, but at the time we were the only track doing so. It was tough to do because of the liability issue. The school districts always think this is an issue. But the reality is, compared to football and some other contact sports, it’s no big deal. The race cars are safe, they’re running appropriate safety equipment. Things do happen in racing, but things happen on the football field. We were able to get it done because Marion my father, doesn’t take no for an answer. And he just kept on. They would say, “no, because of this”, and he’d fix that. And then they’d come up with something else. Liability. Marion would respond with, “ok, how much liability insurance do you need”? He just kept on until finally we put it together. It exposes a lot of young kids to our sport that would have never had the opportunity to.

AD: Absolutely!

LC: And even if they don’t continue their career in auto racing, it teaches them an understanding of what it is to be an adult, and what it takes to be successful. They have to work as a team, and have to work hard for a payoff. It’s a perfect lesson in preparation and teamwork, that will get you rewards on race day. This is all much like real life. With the new track we had a great fundraiser with Kevin Harvick in town last year. We raised enough money that we have bought fairly new vehicles and all the equipment necessary to turn them into race cars and are presenting them to the high school teams. The race series has had many positive aspects on the kids we never thought of when we started. Our original thought was, “let’s expose kids to the sport”, but it’s gone way beyond that. This program has put students on the right track in school, it has increased GPA’s, increased attendance, and in some cases has been the reason students have graduated.

AD: There are so many positives, all our tracks should be doing this in some form. If I’m a kid I’m telling all my friends, “hey, I’m driving at Mesa Marin tonight, come on out and see me”. What a perfect way to expose this group at a young age that may become a lifetime participant or fan. It’s a great thing. On top of that you’ve got the “connection” between racer and fan which I believe is critical. This leads to my next question…..

AD: Do you believe the connection between racer and fan is important? If so, what can we do to strengthen that connection?

LC: You must establish the connection. If you don’t have that connection, otherwise to the spectator all you have is race cars with numbers on them running around in circles. The autograph sessions are good, if it fits in the program. Always get the kids involved with the drivers. Bring the driver to the fans. If you have a hospitality tent for a company, you are going to have a lot of new fans at the hospitality tent. It’s an opportunity to get a couple of racers over to the hospitality to talk to the guests. It’s so important when those people sit down to watch the race they think, “oh, there’s Rip Michels who I just met”. You have to take every opportunity to create that relationship. However you can nurture that relationship, DO IT.

AD: You’re right on Larry! I believe every word of that is exactly how we increase the size of the pie. With those kind of strong racer/fan connections, each of our tracks will thrive.

FINAL THOUGHTS

AD: What are your thoughts on spicing up the race procedures such as inverts?

LC: From where I sit, the bigger the invert the better. We have to put on the best show possible, if we want to compete with every other form of entertainment that our customers are offered in the marketplace.

AD: Enthusiastically agree!

AD: How can we make the experience better for the fan?

LC: We can’t always insure a last lap pass for the lead, or side by side racing. We have no control on how entertaining a race will be, so we have to do our very best to insure the fans enjoy the experience of being at the race track. The experience has to be much broader than just the time they spend in their seat watching the races.

AD: If we were to grant you the power to make any changes sport wide, what would Larry Collins do?

LC: If we could have a total of six short track racing divisions in America, under the same six rules packages...that would be great for all of us in the sport.

Thank you Larry for the all the great info, and thanks to the entire Collins family for all that you’ve done for our sport!

Andy D’Addario
Saugus, Ca.

What Did We Learn?

1.) It’s important that the sport and short track industry are strong. Not just in our region, but nationally. Short track racing needs to be strong to draw people to it. We are all in it together.

2.) You can’t have a field and rely on the top 10 teams to put your show on. It’s that second half of the field that builds your car count, it’s important.

3.) I think in today’s environment, the way we have structured our society, time is our most precious asset.

4.) Make things easier on the competitors and their families. It’s about interaction, and spending as much time with your family as possible while still being a competitor.

5.) Balance. There are components to success in a race track, and a race series. Those components are the race fans, the race teams, the race track, the sanctioning body, the sponsors, and the media. All of them are important, and we have to nurture the relationship between all of them.

6.) High School Racing Series. It exposes a lot of young kids to our sport that would have never had the opportunity to. And even if they don’t continue their career in auto racing, it teaches them an understanding of what it is to be an adult, and what it takes to be successful. They have to work as a team, and have to work hard for a payoff. It’s a perfect lesson in preparation and teamwork, that will get you rewards on race day. This is all much like real life.

7.) You must establish the connection between fan and racer. If you don’t have that connection to the spectator, all you have is race cars with numbers on them running around in circles.

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