love the races  (by: Partying in sebring  -   3/27/2009)

I love the races and everything that goes along with them I go every year, I've been going since 86, total blast everyone needs to loosen up and have some fun once in awhile, unfortunalty it's the ones who can't control themselves that ruin it for everyone. Lighten up!!!

TO JOHN HOWARD  (by: Rusty Shackleford  -   3/26/2009)

By any chance are you the same Howard that if Im not mistaken,ran a drinking establishment downtown?You know,the one where kids were regularly caught drunk as hell,puking in the parking lot every night it was open?Fights were so bad even you're bouncers threatened to quit if their "hazard pay" wasnt increased.If you are not this person,then forgive me,but if you are, you are the biggest two faced hypocrite that ever pranced around Sebring pretending to be 'Mr Community".By the way,the "Cage,and "Hive" did inspire a slang term.Honestly!!!You see,all of the girls that would get loaded on colorful cocktails in the club(many underage)would inevitably regurgitate those drinks in the parking lot toward the end of the night. They would leave very colorful trails of vomit on the ground before being hauled by their puke encrusted hair into waiting vehicles by their new "boyfriends".We laughingly referred to these deposits as "ASPHALT RAINBOWS"!!...Man,talk about a smell!!!You sometimes had to do a "hop dance" of sorts,dodging the asphalt rainbows to get to to your car!!..If you are this man John,shame on you,if youre not,then my comments were still a testimonial to debauchery that has occured outside of the races,and this was three nights a week!!!!!!!!!!!!

Legalize??  (by: mentalRay  -   3/24/2009)

Why would they legalize marijuana which causes, on average, 0 deaths per year when people can consume alcohol which is responsible for 85,000 deaths per year. Remember, Marijuana is an illegal controlled dangerous substance, Alcohol is a legal controlled dangerous substance.

Beeramid  (by: JM  -   3/24/2009)

John Howard is a plant by the Indy Racing League to discredit fans of former ChampCar. The former ChampCar fans have always supported Sebring and real racing in North America; CART, ChampCar, Formula 1, ALMS. If Tony George and his merry band of clowns comes anywhere near Sebring it will mean instant death to the race. Ask St Pete, Milwaukee, Portland, Road America et al what Indy means to them. (Here's a hint, a drastic drop in attendance and Indy pulling out).

TG fix what???  (by: Spicoli  -   3/23/2009)

By John Howard "Sebring needs to bring in Tony George to manage this. He'd stop the party in no time at all. Come to Indy in May and you'll see what I mean." Tony destroys parties and races in one fell swoop....Go to Indy and you'll see what I mean. See how that argument always come back to bite you. No more kisses for you.

Terrible time  (by: Harlan Fengler  -   3/23/2009)

I have to agree with John Howard. Although some things have calmed down, there are still a bunch of young (and old) hoodlums who should just stay home to get drunk and smoke their illegal drugs. True race fans don't act like those people and their pyramid. Probably from the north, anyway. If Tony George can get rid of the "Snake Pit" Sebring can, too. Maybe a dose of the Fraance family would help.

Protect and Serve  (by: Disgusted  -   3/23/2009)

When a person enters the race track of the 12 Hours of Sebring they don't expect to be arrested no less arrested for something I can't even fathom as to why! I guess a persons bail of $600 will help the county put a 12ft piece of curb along the ridiculously planned phase of the Parkway going on right now. When a person is intoxicated to the point of being unable to function I understand the consequences, but when a father can't ask an officer as to why his son is being arrested without being arrested himself is beyond me. Some people can get carried away I know from experience, but when an innocent bystander or friend of the persons being arrested is trying to calm that party down, to throw him in jail too is just getting a little unbelievable! Three men were arrested on Saturday, one for a legitimate reason I'm sure, the father may have been a little uncontrollable from being intoxicated, so ill give the HCSO that one, but to arrest a man, trying to get his buddy's father to calm down, for "Obstruction of Justice" was completely unnecessary. I think there were a lot of bigger fish to fry out there guys and this one I believe it's safe to say, he was just one less person out there to worry about, so they locked him up too!

Waste of money  (by: bnrios  -   3/23/2009)

All those cops are NOT needed there. Complete waste of money. I didn't see any entrapment tactics like years past, what happened, someone sue the city? I hope so. I don't see why there isn't just a designated 'family area'. Probably because it would be virtually empty compared to the rest of the place. The cops should only deal with actual crime there. A little pot smoking and flashing should just be left alone.

What a terrible time  (by: John Howard  -   3/23/2009)

On Sat. afternoon I was walking by that quaint pyramid made of beer bottles shown in the picture with this story and those youthful racing enthusiasts were out of control. Kept yelling "beer" real loud and saying "your favorite driver sucks" over and over. I'm not sure what they were on but I'm pretty sure it wasn't just beer. Real race fans? I doubt it. Sebring needs to bring in Tony George to manage this. He'd stop the party in no time at all. Come to Indy in May and you'll see what I mean.

Family Affair  (by: Vern  -   3/23/2009)

I noticed many more families in attendance this year. As long as they keep the partying to the Green Park area, families can enjoy the race as well. I only noticed the craziness in Green Park and that wasn't until late in the night. We camp in Green Park, but if I was to ever bring my family, I would camp somewhere else.

I Am Wrong  (by: Preston H. Colby  -   3/22/2009)

I am wrong!Regards...PHC

sebring races  (by: flowerpot  -   3/22/2009)

family affair!!! good grief... it is a giant drunk hole.. witha bunch of druggie losers in attendance. yuk

The Great Race  (by: Preston H. Colby  -   3/22/2009)

I realise that I fell of my rocker on this one.I forgot to take my Geritol's pills,so you will have to forgive me on this one please.I had a great time at the races.There was a lot of people there.I hope there will be many more people at the races next year.Regards...PHC

12 Hours of Sebring  (by: Preston H. Colby  -   3/22/2009)

Carefree: OK, we seem to agree... "thoughtless fun" may well describe the "event", but "thoughtless fun" is not something that should be paid with public tax dollars. Pt & David: As a matter of fact I've done a study of the March sales taxes and room taxes; and would you believe that they do NOT spike like the SRA and various people using tax dollars would have you believe. The sales and room tax numbers do NOT reflect individual establishments, rather they reflect totals remitted by month, county, and city. So all this hype about what a big stimulus the "RACE" is just doesn't pan out, unless you are one of those getting paid to work there, then it just about flatlines with normal pay amounts. It is "thoughtless fun" in an almost Consequence Free Zone (for some). But that's not a reason to use public tax dollars. Regards... PHC

Fun  (by: Carefree  -   3/22/2009)

Who really cares how many people attend? It's fun and everything in life shouldn't be taken so seriously. It's thoughtless fun.

colby  (by: Citizen of Highland County  -   3/22/2009)

It is so old seeing Mr. Colby's name again with a complaint. He isn't ever happy. I guess he needs to get a job, or a hobby that will make him happy. Did it cost you any money for the race??? Did you go to the race?? If not, go to Disney for the week. Get a life, get a hobby, move.

Race Attendance  (by: Pt & David  -   3/22/2009)

Gosh Mr. Colby, we were there also and feel there were significantly more in attendance than your estimate of 20,000 people. The attendance count that would be the closest to accurate, would be the number of tickets issued. As regards to the cost analysis to determine if the expense justifies the continuation of the race..are you volunteering to perform that onerous task? Don't forget to include the impact on all the local businesses: gas stations, grocery stores, hotels, motels, restaurants, fast food eateries, department stores, etc. It would be interesting to see if they sustain a profit or loss during the week of the race! To all that attended: we hope you enjoyed the experience as much as this retired couple did!!!

marijuana  (by: john  -   3/22/2009)

legalize marijuana, and you will have less drunk rednecks causing trouble. it sickens me that those make up the bulk of the arrests, after seeing widespread idiotic behavior of people who are unable to drink responsibly, most of which were likely underage

Sebring Race Attendance  (by: Preston H. Colby  -   3/22/2009)

Give me a break... 100,000 attending??? Only if you count everybody at least five (5) times over. Twelve (12) years ago SRA admitted the attendance numbers were grossly over stated... why not use accurate numbers? Would that confuse bthe public about the "tradition" of the RACE? It might also case the public to a benefit/cost calculation and conclude the RACE costs the public much more than it benefits them, but we sure don't want that do we? Regards... PHC