Motor City Throwdown

Motor City Throwdown Bakersfield Tuff Magazine and Motor City GMC have teamed up to bring you rockin' events and features

Barrel racers: What are the most enjoyable events? NFR qualifiers, big money events or competition with friends?
04/15/2026

Barrel racers: What are the most enjoyable events? NFR qualifiers, big money events or competition with friends?

Let’s do a pair of tickets to Bakersfield Speedway at KCRP. It’s going to be off the chain this weekend. No seat reserv...
04/15/2026

Let’s do a pair of tickets to Bakersfield Speedway at KCRP. It’s going to be off the chain this weekend. No seat reservations! First come, first get!

Pick your number 1-300 and let us know how many corn dogs you can eat at a single race.

I just saw Motor City has a deal on tires right now, get 3, get one for a buck. If you're due call down and see if the ...
04/14/2026

I just saw Motor City has a deal on tires right now, get 3, get one for a buck. If you're due call down and see if the tires you need are on the list. Considering Motor City sells large amounts of trucks and SUVs, I'm sure there will be some good options.

04/14/2026

Nothing but the best for Sunnie's race program. Buying the Shanghai special aluminum radiator for $115 to see if it can be used in Sunnie's race car. There's an element of sketch to this. I thought it would make good content, so here we are. She takes the risk, I get the bargain. What could go wrong?

MCT Editorial: What Do Spectators Want In A Typical Saturday Night Show?If you ask racers what we can do to improve regu...
04/14/2026

MCT Editorial: What Do Spectators Want In A Typical Saturday Night Show?

If you ask racers what we can do to improve regular Saturday night shows, most will say: “Throw more money at the purse, that’ll draw more cars.”

I’ll argue that putting more money into the purse doesn’t pack the stands. Sure, it might bring a few extra cars, but the person sitting in the grandstands isn’t going home talking about the difference between a 16-car field and a 28-car field. From their perspective, the entertainment value is about the same.

The average person on your block is going to get more excitement out of watching a Tesla truck go head-to-head with an ’80s square-body Chevy in a grudge match. Why? Because they’re thinking: “How is this going to work out?” That curiosity, that unpredictability, is what hooks people. You're showing them something they've never seen before.

That’s exactly why the old 200-lap factory enduros were so popular. Not American Stocks, I’m talking about true run-what-you-brung chaos. Smash the front window out, throw a seatbelt in it, and go race. A guy working at Arby’s could drag out a junker, line up, and have his buddies laughing in the pits. It wasn’t polished, it was a spectacle.

If tracks want better shows, they need to move away from the old playbook. Mix in the racing, but start building events around entertainment. Give fans something they didn’t expect.

Credit to Santa Maria Speedway for trying this with a fan zone, big-screen TVs, and fire pits. That’s a step in the right direction. Because at the end of the day, it’s about the fan experience, not just what the racers want.

We can spend all day talking about how to keep racers showing up. But the bigger issue is that fans are leaving faster than the racers. Even open-wheel shows at Perris, with some of the best racing surfaces around, are seeing lackluster attendance. If that doesn’t draw a crowd, then we have to start asking: what are we missing?

I don’t have all the answers, but maybe it’s time to experiment. What do you have to lose at this point? Add off-road elements to Saturday night shows. Tough trucks. Crazy 8 races. Tug-of-war. Side-by-sides. Tractor pulls. Maybe even rodeo or bull riding. Turn it into a full dirt entertainment event, not just a circle track program. That also includes better food, drinks and the fans experience.

Because if fans aren’t leaving talking about what they just experienced, it’s going to be tough to get them back.

And if every show feels the same, night after night, eventually they’ll feel like they’ve seen it a thousand times.

Let’s kick off the day with a pair of Salty’s cards. Show us your best spring fun photos and post a number 1-300.
04/13/2026

Let’s kick off the day with a pair of Salty’s cards. Show us your best spring fun photos and post a number 1-300.

Sammy Swindell at Ascot Park, 1986. If Sammy was there, so was Steve Kinzer. Those two were the racers to watch in the...
04/12/2026

Sammy Swindell at Ascot Park, 1986. If Sammy was there, so was Steve Kinzer. Those two were the racers to watch in the World of Outlaw series.

I was watching a Tony Stewart interview and he said the racing gets better when the track slows down and it widens out. ...
04/11/2026

I was watching a Tony Stewart interview and he said the racing gets better when the track slows down and it widens out. Do you think he’s on the right track or do you think keeping a bunch of traction in the track is the best racing?

04/11/2026

Merle Haggard, Johnny Paycheck and Willie Nelson. Dang, what is Johnny Paycheck on, lol. Cool video.

Here's something crazy to think about. A blow torch cuts metal at 2,500 degrees. This return capsule sees temps up to ...
04/11/2026

Here's something crazy to think about. A blow torch cuts metal at 2,500 degrees. This return capsule sees temps up to 5,000 degrees for 6 minutes. That's some insulation on these.

Pretty amazing watching the astronauts return. The timing of splash down was almost perfect. Incredible technology.
04/11/2026

Pretty amazing watching the astronauts return. The timing of splash down was almost perfect. Incredible technology.

A movie is coming out this Summer, “the Adventures of Cliff Booth. It’s a sequel to Once Upon A Time In Hollywood. Br...
04/10/2026

A movie is coming out this Summer, “the Adventures of Cliff Booth. It’s a sequel to Once Upon A Time In Hollywood. Brad Pitt is the lead role. A bunch of the Okiebowl Hardtops were used in one of the scenes at a racetrack. It will be cool to see those cars.

Might be cool to have an Adventures of Cliff Booth night at the speedway when the film comes out, where people can see the cars. Maybe even an exhibition race.

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