North Country Race Talk

I am not apologizing on behalf of the track... the track can do that themselves.

I want to apologize to the soldiers who showed up at the races tonight, June 6th, expecting to get free admission for themselves, their spouses and their children. I had no idea you would be charged admission at the gate.

I regret helping the track promote this event because your trust has been betrayed. Trust and respect are so hard to earn these days, and it was crushed tonight be false advertising.

AIS will be lucky if Fort Drum ever allowws another car show on Fort Drum, or allows another advertising campaign in the Mountaineer newspaper, or through the BOSS program, MWR, or any other Fort Drum organization for that matter.

I love having AIS in our back yard, but I respect my fellow soldiers and their families for the hardships we endure during long deployments in hostile countries. I feel the soldiers were disrespected and betrayed tonight. The spouses work harder during a deployment than the soldiers do. They are forced to fill both rolls of mom and dad.

Tonight was extra special for Military Appreciation Night because it is the 65th anniversary of D-Day. Many soldiers drove the 30 miles or more tonight (some less miles), only to turn around and leave after finding out that the advertising they saw and heard was not true.

In the future, these soldiers and their families can choose to drive 30 miles again to AIS (from Fort Drum) or 2 miles (to evans mills) to watch a dirt track race.

I am crushed by this last minute change of admission plans. I feel like I have been taken advantage of. I will no longer be the one who helps advertise on Fort Drum. I did it because when I was a squad leader and platoon sergeant, I hated to see the single soldiers hanging out in the barracks, and the young married couples staying at home, instead of venturing out to enjoy all that the North Country has to offer. I did it to help the soldiers find some great asphalt racing near Fort Drum. It will be extremely hard for AIS to make this up to the soldiers. If AIS wants to make it up to the soldiers they might have to go as far as making the month of August free for SOLDIERS ONLY, not the spouses and kids 10 and up. That's is, if the soldiers believe the advertising. AIS, you have no idea how severely you just hurt your reputation on Fort Drum. Or maybe I am blowing this out of proportion, I don't know.

To the drivers and teams, thanks for putting on a great show tonight. To the soldiers and their families, I am sorry you were lied to. To AIS, I hope you realize the damage you have done by false advertising. I am in complete shock and disbelief.

AIS, can you post the admission prices on the web site so that soldiers don't have to ask me? I don't want to be the guy who misleads them again. Because when leaders in the Army mislead their troops, someone gets hurt or killed, and I'm not that kind of leader or soldier.

Todd,

I feel terrible. There is no one out there promoting AIS with as much enthusiasm as you. I can't begin to say how much I appreciate your work. I completely understand how you feel and wish I was smart enough to come up with a good way to make it up to you and the soldiers.

We all know the current management has had an awful lot on it's plate to deal with and I can only hope that this was just an honest mistake caused by a major breakdown in the communication process. I can't believe anyone would have intentionally mislead the soldiers that we have the utmost respect for.

Please don't give up, all of us at AIS need your help more than ever.

Steve Burton, AIS SS #10

Steve,

The drivers and teams, all of you did your part and put on a great show. I don't know if the admission fees had something to do with the bands that were there or not. I told a bunch of people that it wasn't a good idea to charge money for the bands when people are going to watch a race, not a concert. Nascar doesn't charge extra for the Airforce to do a flyover, or the fireworks after a show, or the bands that play on race weekend. I don't know what the breakdown was. I asked Paul about it last night and he said that he has to make money somehow. I agree with making a profit, but I disagree with luring the soldiers down there and charging them or their wifes and kids to get in.

I don't care if the track charges the military $50 admission, but not after advertising free admission.

This is one of the reasons that I am not there anymore. Please call Chip at Can Am 778-3407. I bet he will work with you.

Thanks, Frank. I'll just stick to driving a race car. I stood there in front of all my peers at the Fort Drum car show, handed out flyers that advertised free admission for soldiers and spouses, and then stood in front of my Brigade at a retirement picnic yesterday afternoon with those same flyers, telling the soldiers and their families about the military appreciation night. Now I look like the jack*ss because the soldiers heard it from my mouth.

Let's say Tommy Cloce at TJ Toyota advertised a car sale for $1,000 down and $300 a month payments, and I drove all the way to Potsdam to buy a car based on that advertisement. When I get there to buy the car and he tells me it's $2,000 down and $600 a month, do you think I would buy the car? Do you think I would ever go back to TJ Toyota or refer my friends to TJ Toyota? No! That never happened. TJ Toyota leased me a truck for the exact price they said they would, and I will refer them to all of my friends because of the way they treated me with respect, as a VALUABLE customer.

This is a major blow to AIS and I think maybe an (explination needs to be posted by the big guy) and I definatly think this night should be reset to appolagize to the soldiers (Paul Lyndeker needs to make this right)

I have been coming to the track for years. At the last military appreciation nights they had the veterans, active military, and retired by having them stand and be recognized before the National Anthem. However, you can see the military appreciation (or lack there of) each week when some drivers, officials, and pit crews don't stop what they're doing to stand during the National Anthem.

i am at fualt i was trying to fix some small proubles with my car then i realize that the nation anthem was playing so i stop took off my hat and stand and listien to brain "witch did a great job" sing the anthem i would agree i think all drives and crews should stop working on car or what every they are working on IT WONT HAPPEN IN MY PIT AREA AGAIN i do apologize to everyone and to the soldiers i know better i was one of those soldiers forgive me!!!!!!!!

I called the track saturday morning and they said soldiers got in free.

Josh, it doesn't matter what the track told you about getting in for free. I asked Paul Saturday night why the spouses and some soldiers paid to get in when the flyer stated that soldiers and spouses would get free admission. Paul told me that he has to make "some money" somehow.

The issue isn't that the soldiers (some) and the spouses and children had to pay to get in. The issue is the fact that what was advertised wasn't honored at the gate. A soldier that I work with watched 3 groups of soldiers turn around and leave after the admissions gate tried to charge them admission.

That's like advertising a "fathers day race" when dads with kids get in for $5, then charging them full price at the gate. Or fan appreciation night when it is advertised that all spectators get in for $5, then charge them full admission at the gate.

I've already had phone calls from soldiers that they aren't coming back, not even if free admission is offered. Most soldiers have the mentality that when you crap on one soldier, you crap on all of them.

Let's get one thing straight... not a single soldier came to the gate asking for any special priviledges. They came to the gate expecting the track to live up to it's advertised free admission for soldiers and spouses. Most soldiers and spouses don't go around asking for a military discount at stores. Most soldiers don't expect special priviledges for the job WE do as soldiers. Soldiers live and work on a "code of honor", so to speak. I don't expect anyone to understand that if they have never served in the military, and I don't hold that against you. This is the 8th year that AIS had had their military appreciation night, but this is the first year AIS backed down from what they advertised. It's not like the track would take that much of a loss by letting the soldiers and spouses in for free one night.

One of my friends brought his wife and 2 kids to the track May 30th, and they all paid to get in because they weren't expecting any special discounts. They had a great time, but they weren't planning to go back June 6th until I talked them into it. They went June 6th and had to pay again for his wife and one of his kids, who isn't 10 years old yet. In 2007 and 2008 kids 9 and under were free anyway, but not last night? They won't post ANY information on the web site such as admission prices and OFFICIAL race results and standings. Is the track "trying" to self destruct?

Here's an idea AIS... don't offer a military discount or a military appreciation night. I don't want anyone out there thinking that soldiers are going around asking for discounts or special treatment. In fact, charge us double since we make an extra $500 a month while we are deployed to fight muslim extremists on their soil so we don't have to fight them on our own soil. Oh yeah, while we are in harms way, we are tax exempt. That puts us smack dab in the middle of the "extremely over paid" category...

To sum all of this up, you charge what you advertise, period! What AIS did is an example of how NOT to run a business OR a race track.

Forward a copy of the advertisement to Bill O'Rielly at Fox News so Paul can be featured on the Pinheads and Patriots section... Mr. Lyndacker you are a despicable pinhead!!!!

thats to bad that paul did that to the soldiers and familys. even if they got in for free, he would have made money in the consession stand and 50/50 raffel, not to mention the soldiers that had a great time and will come back on a weekly basis. i understand he needs to make money to pay the bills so he should have not said free admission, but maybe soldiers and family members $5 each or family pass for $10 or something like that. i told a buddy of mine (and one of my sponsors) who was stationed at ft drum to call all of his buddies up there about military appr. night and to come cheer us on. he told me his company is currently in iraq but he will make some calls for me. im afraid to call him up and listen to him complain about the people calling him complaining about the admission because i told him that they get in for free. its just to bad. also if there was soldiers expecting the 87 SS in the pit im sorry. we took the car up and down the street to make sure everything was ok and found a brake and oil leak and decided not to cob it up and fix it right so it didnt mess up the track.

How about the advertising $10.00 to get in and then when you get there the admission is $12.00.

brian