Ah (the recent) good old days of Houston Speedway.... Does anyone remember 1997-2002. 100 per class entry fee, 25 per head driver and crew 6" tall trophy if you were lucky, sometimes a plaque. Oh yeah here is your "show money" 100 tickets to give to whoever you want.
ROMCO was the big show If you wanted the 2500-5K to win (I know not all shows) Romco was the way to go. In later years TSRS was as well but not sure on the TSRS purse structure.
We were real lucky to have had someone step (Bakers) in and take over at great financial risk to themselves and try to make HMP work. I think the late model pay out to win was 300 to win when the first crate late model class was established (600 to win for the occasional 75-100 lap special event) and grew to a respectable size class. All the classes did for that matter. Car counts increased, fan base increased, PURSE increased, fans got out of the stands, some bought cars, some sponsored cars but many got interested and involved. You could hardly find a seat. $1 beer, $1 hotdogs didn't hurt.
We now have another group who has been willing to take the risk. THANK YOU should be the first and IMO the proper response.
If I recall, what ultimately became NASCAR was formed from a bunch of guys who wanted to race their cars and see who was faster... What was the purse then?
If you can, get involved, race, volunteer either at the track or on a crew, or just buy a ticket and watch. If nothing else vocally support the ONLY LOCAL ASPHALT TRACK LEFT IN THE STATE.