Great Rant: Auto Racing and the Economy

[cjforumadmin]

http://www.bangshift.com/blog/Great-Rant-Auto-Racing-and-the-Economy.html

[Leon]

Re: Great Rant: Auto Racing and the Economy

Good point, but I was waiting to see if he'd get back to talking about the racing.

[horsewidower]

Re: Great Rant: Auto Racing and the Economy

Here, here, nice rant.

Funny, just this morning I was thinking, as I was driving the beater into work, what would happen if racing just stopped in the country?

[milner351]

Re: Great Rant: Auto Racing and the Economy

Any chance anyone of any importance at Nascar will actually read that?

I wonder if the attendance at less expensive closer to home circle tracks has gone up or down with the economy?

Have the nascar fans parked the old school buses and started driving the car an hour to the closest dirt oval to watch sprints, outlaws, modifieds or ??? instead of the $$$ nascar weekend races??? I gotta wonder.

[Falcon67]

Re: Great Rant: Auto Racing and the Economy

To comment about local conditions - all drag tracks and circle tracks are down on car count. Many 50% or better. This includes DFW too. All tracks around here close (close = 150 miles or so) now schedule payouts based on car counts. This doesn't really bother the diehards like me and the people that remember we are racing for fun. It does piss off the spoiled brats with the $100,000 bracket dragsters hauled around in $250,000 toter homes when they win $300 for Top ET. (KMA I say). We get a few spectators at $10 a car load. Nice - but not nice when they trash the rest rooms, set fires, leave trash every where, etc. The circle track still draws a good crowd which is nice considering they don't have enough cars for an A and B main. The situation is not good for poor boy racing right now.

Another problem we see - that may also be reflected in the big buys spectator counts - is that for 100 entries, we might have 250 ~350 people in the pits. Not this year. Maybe half that or less. Some people still come, but they are not bringing anybody with them. That really hits the track bottom line hard.

[mtownneon]

Re: Great Rant: Auto Racing and the Economy

Things aren't bad all over.

I'm the Regional Executive for the Indy Region SCCA and in some areas we're seeing increased car counts and participation. Our Solo (autocross) program has grown as the economy has taken a dive. Our car counts are strong. Now I have to admit that Region membership has dipped some, about 10%, but those folks by and large are still participating, just paying the nonmember surcharge when entering events.

I also spend a lot of time as a spectator and can say that not all tracks are suffering. Was just at Florence Speedway in Ky last weekend for a regular show and the stands were pretty full and the car counts were strong enough to require conselation features for both the late models and modifieds. Kokomo Speedway is another track that everytime we've gone this year they have good crowds and good fields of cars. On the other hand, ORP's bracket program is struggling some but rake in the cash on the Tuesday Night Street Legals and Midnight Madness races.

Of course NASCAR, NHRA, Indycar, et-al are struggling, they were pushing the limits of pricing themselves out of the market before the economy went sour and have done a terrible job of controlling costs within their series. Why would I spend $100 a ticket to go see the Brickyard 400 literally 15 minutes from my house when I can watch it for the cost of my cable bill in the comfort of my living room? Same for the US Nats.

I d

[realsteelfreak]

Re: Great Rant: Auto Racing and the Economy

Maybe I am off track ,I dont know.
Lots of vintage drag racing, lots of great shows, lots of great Rat Rods and Retro everything, except Retro NASCAR stuff.
If it ever comes around it needs to be done without NASCAR, just a track other than they race at, a stand alone event.
Maybe ARCA will come to the rescue. Someone please do it.

[Barry Donovan]

Re: Great Rant: Auto Racing and the Economy

good read.


It is no doubt my age group... I get tired of the rants. I only learned mine is similar... to everyone +/- my age

hang onto a tradition, and slap it with facts demanding evolution. Not in a hippy way either.
The mention of the thunderbird for his mom, avoiding live axle, going for european in an american.

It is no doubt my age group.

All entertainment is hindered when large scale home (usa) business is crushed. I have read and even understood someone blaming world trade opened too much. It is not balanced. In fact it is so offset the see saw has usa up in the air without a wiggle of coming down to earth for themselves. Like that fat relative laughing , owning the whole see saw...intentionally not letting USA down gentle..torturing his own family.


This to me is leads to my own next crazy rant:

War.

three letters, like usa.

[SpiderGearsMan]

Re: Great Rant: Auto Racing and the Economy

well the spectator interest of near stock import daily drivers competing in such venues as parking lots is about ZERO
fun for some , but lets go back to say 1990 and nascar winston cup ,rusty , roush , big E AND BIG MOUTH DW ...NHRA sportsman has gotten a bit too bracket racey lately
safety rules , dictated by the insurance companies , are throwing a wet blanket on things
trailering long distances to a venue is real impossible for the fast , street racer types , who stay close to home and count as close friends - the 68.00 ann hour roscoe in his cruiser , , unless you are still at home with dad footing the cable bill and mom dishing out the home cooking ,seems to be the only way the working man can go into the arena racing

[Falcon67]

Re: Great Rant: Auto Racing and the Economy

It's interesting to see "street" programs that seem to work in some places and I wonder why it doesn't work here. We had one and it's dead and gone now. No participation. Tried all day Sunday, $20 a head - dwindled to maybe 50. They wanted to run at night, so we limited the Friday gamblers to give more T&T time - nothing. Maybe 10~15 cars. Last Friday T&T we had maybe 60 people in the pits. Result - no more street brackets, no more Friday T&T. Track Op tired of kissing off $400 on a Friday. Guess it depends on where you are. "only" about $120K people here and an air base, you'd think we could gen more interest.

[Leon]

Re: Great Rant: Auto Racing and the Economy

A lot of the kids I talk to want to race but don't want to have their cars teched. On the street they can cobble up any piece of junk and show off, on a track they would have some minor things to make sure are done right.

[SpiderGearsMan]

Re: Great Rant: Auto Racing and the Economy

lawyers and insurance are the reality