Stock Car Racing's Future?

[Definitive]

I just thought I would throw this out there and see what happens.Anyone have any predictions?I'm sure it is making a big difference in a touring series racers budget,but will it deter that racer from racing?I am crossing my fingers that the answer to that question is no.25 gallons times $5.00 per is $125.00 per fill up.Ouch!!That is awfully expensive for a race fan to make an out of town trip,much less a racer with a heavy tow vehicle.

 

Racers....please give us some positive news.

[rebelracewriter]

Well I'm not a racer but I see a lot of talk on other racing boards about the same topic. Most guys are staying close to home and not intending a lot of travel, unless the "to start" money justifies it. It will be interesting to see how it effects at the Super Nationals in Boone, Iowa next week. The past few years participation has been on the increase. Wish I still had last years numbers to compare....oh wait, I was there, I just might have them!

 

Me personally, doing my traveling out of my own pocket unless it's a USRA SLM/ARTS or USRA/SAS race, is having to cut back on my out-of-town stuff. That pretty much limits my choices though. If prices keep going up, I'm going to have to ask Terry for a raise just to cover gas costs or find an independent sponsor of my reports for other travels.

[w2racing]

My thought is that racing @ sas will be dead after next year. The price of tires, fuel and torn up race cars. Will kill it for the hobby racer. The fans left years ago and have not return yet. Don't think they will either. Even Terry Dickerson stated that this past saturday. ( ELbow room, I think he called it )

[Budman]

Can't speak for anybody else TD, but I plan on filling up between now and Saturday, and being out at THR Saturday night. It's about 70 miles round trip for me. But I plan on thoroughly enjoying myself. Beats the heck out of what I've been watching on TV.

 

By the way, good to see you post. Just wish the circumstances could be better!

[turbotoddie]

Hate to say it guys but on my limited budget/schedule and mediocre performance, I won't be making the trip to SAS this weekend. $160 roundtrip is doable on a limited schedule but $210 is too hard to justify. Hopefully, it will come back down after a couple of weeks

 

Todd Farris

LM 96

[ProTree]

i know we have a big labor day race this weekend with racers coming from other states and i dont think they were expecting the added expense that cropped up from the hurricane-just going to the track tonite and watching the prices of gas and diesel,it changed going and coming home and that was from 4pm till midnite.I myself filled up and my truck as it was just getting to 3/4's of a tank and it took a little over $40.00 to fill it up at $2.79 a gallon.And after talking to my brother in northeast Alabama before I left for the track, I asked him how much gas was at home and all he said was there was fixing to be some Southern Justice laid on some gas station owners A#*.To know what that means, you would have to had been raised in the south.I'll give you a hint,means some lead going to fly and Hakkeem aint seen Sh@* yet till he piss's off a bunch of southern redneck hillbillys by price gouging,and when it happens in my hometown, the police will ask if any body saw anything and the answer will be NO and they will say OK,guess he got in the way of a stray bullet.His family will get the idea pretty quick that the mountain people dont play that game.It's tornado alley and the people in my home town help each other in the time of need,but the people from the east have taken over the gas stations the last few years there and since they aint from around there,they will learn real quick or get run out of town

[tsrsfan]

Dickerson said the fans wont return? WOW, thats a message there.

[gundogC3]

I'm gettin a little scared about whats fixin to happen..I for one dont want to miss any races, but it's probably gonna be a 800.00 trip to CCMS...it was 600.00 last time...dont know how long my better half is gonna take it.........

[tsrsfan]

Lets see, the options are car pool, do not stay overnight to save a few $$, or get rid of the better half.......j/k my choice would be easy

[gundogC3]

38 years,,she's a keeper.....

[The Shrimp]

Maybe the series should pitch-in $50.00 for teams towing over a 100 miles. Just a thought, I know that my trip to Kyle this weekend is going to cost me at least $150.00 in my truck to pull to the race.

I'm not sure where the money would come from but all of us are going to need some help to finish the season. Hopefully gas prices will be better for next season.

[arts22]

If prices stay the same it will cost us $400 for the hauler, thats around trip to race in Corpus. At 400 miles one-way we rent rooms for 2 nights. Plus food and the race, looking around $1000 min...

[REBELRACER]

asking the series to pitch in to offset the cost of fuel is not fair to the series.........it isnt their fault that the fuel prices are thru the roof........i agree it does suck, but most series are struggling as it is and to hope for them to help with costs of fuel would really be stretching it..............just a bad deal right now, but if you ask the president he will say the economy is growing and is stronger than ever...........yeah maybe the oil economy

[tqj3]

RebelRacer-

The answer to short-track racing's problems is the same as it has always been: get more paying customers in the stands.

[Budman]

I think to draw more customers, tracks need to look at the product their offering. How much longer can you continue to run V-8 Camaros. They don't even make them anymore.

Look around you if your in the crowd this Saturday night. See many late teen, twenty something or thirty something males out there?

 

Relatively few you'll find. THAT's the portion of the population tracks and series need to tap into. That or die a slow death. There are way too many of us "older" fans out there in the seats, and too few young folks.

 

I mentioned on a different thread a month or so ago tracks should look into starting up a class of those little two seat roadsters car manufactureers have been putting out for the last 15 years or so. Those mazda miata's come to mind. My 26 y/o son drives one.

 

Put a roll cage on those things and race them. The young males of today can relate to those!

[ProTree]

tq-hate to say it,but i think tracks will see less and less paying customers in the stands regardless of how much promoting is done-expendable cash is going to become dependable cash rather quickly once the full effect of katrina hits the nation.

[tqj3]

Tommy-

My point is that the current situation is irrelevant, in a way. Regardless of what happens for the next few months, short track racing is doomed if they don't start pulling in more fans, and I'm still not seeing the effort that it will take to do that, despite Terry Dickerson's time money and effort and a lot of time, money and effort being put out by a number of other people, including me. We'd better figure this out, or we are finished.

 

Budman-

Very good points, and there is, in fact, a Mazda Miata class that races just about anywhere and even runs short tracks. There are many things the short tracks could do to increase both fan interest and cash flow, but most either don't plan for next season, or don't bother to tell anyone what they are planning. Again, Terry D. may be trying to change that, but he won't do it by continuing to do the same things other tracks have done unsuccessfully. Some track operators seem to proceed as if they only own the track on Saturday nights six months out of the year, but there are many things they could do in the "off season" to bring both interest and revenue to the track.

For instance, Terry D. is planning a "San Antonio Racing Experience" at the track, with two-seat cars available for both rides and drives.

The worry is, can Terry D. hang on financially for as long as it will take for his efforts to bear fruit? And, what do the other tracks have planned? The current gasoline situation won't last forever (though get used to $2.50 per gallon or more), but when it's over, we'll still have the same problems in short track racing that we've had all along.

[fishracer]

There seems to be multiple issues with the state of short track racing. Like someone said on this subject, the new gas prices have just started to take effect ,the problems at the short tracks have been an on going problem. First you have to have a show and yes some tracks do have a show, lack of consistent marketing seems to be the biggest issue with the current customer base being comprised of people in the racing circle. New customers are hard to get and harder to hold and without the wow product being offered the return customer does not exist. Whats really laughable is when the USRA latemodels come to SAS the stands are full and the racing show usually sucks, 2 or 3 cars up front running away from the rest of the field, the field really spread out (until a caution bunches them up again and then they spread out within a few laps) and just really boring, and yet you talk to people in the stands and ask them about other shows at the track where the racing is closer and more exciting they discount it as the same old thing everyweek. The mind set seems to be that the super latemodels are the pro's of this areas racing and will put on a show worth coming to and paying extra for. What makes them think this when the quality of every race is the same, yet they keep coming back. Find what it is and maybe thats the key to a successful weekly show. Now I know some of you will say its because it something different, yeah then what about when TAMS comes, or TSRs or the PRO sedans they don't seem to fill the stands and they are different than the weekly show. I believe that SAS problem on a weekly basis is that it is a large track and unless you have 20-30 cars racing with races going on all over the track filling the track with cars its flat boring. The other problem is the speeds, no matter what class you are in when you crash, it may be car ending or you will spend a whole week away from your family repairing it, after a while people just give up. The answer, thats a tough one. Maybe reduce the horsepower in all the classes, use power to weight instead of adding weight, the heavier the weight the harder the impact. Weekly latemodels, make the cars easier to repair and work on, reduce the horsepower and weight , all will save. Consistent and competent teching(not that there is not right now), this is a huge advertisement to the racers that all of their time and money spent building a rules legal car was for nothing. A well policed tire rule, 1 or 2 tires a week maybe. A sport compact class maybe to attract the younger crowd, the hot rod shows have the same problem right know the old hot rodders are purest and will not usually mingle or even invite the sport compact guys to be around even though some of their creations are admirable. When is the new blood going to come from, last time I looked cloning of humans was not legal. The answers are probably right in front of our faces, just we might have to take our blinders off.

[jracer98]

A sport compact class maybe to attract the younger crowd, the hot rod shows have the same problem right know the old hot rodders are purest and will not usually mingle or even invite the sport compact guys to be around even though some of their creations are admirable.

Generationally speaking, I am out of touch with sport compacts. I appreciate them mechanically but I have no clue how they get it done financially. You look under the hoods (carbon fiber) and it's turbos, foggers, intercoolers and tons of custom fabrication. What does all that cost? Have you priced those really low aspect ratio tires !!!Painted with the broadest brushstroke, some of the drivers don't look like they could afford the gas much less the car. A puzzlement.

 

On the original subject, I had a call today from a fellow that was asking my opinion about getting into paved oval racing in the truck series. This a good friend, a regular guy with a regular job and no beginning inventory of anything including a pull truck or trailer. On the one hand, paved racing needs new people. On the other, it is possible that he could end up with a white elephant if the tracks fail in a year or two.

 

What do you think the most "responsible" answer would be if your friend asked you the same question?

 

Jay

[REBELRACER]

mike brings up some good points, i also dont think the latest fuel prices are the reason for the empty seats currently being seen.............

[NickHolt]

If anyone has a problem with a certain tech official, the way races are called, or if you feel you have been picked on by a certain track or official, please take it up with those officials who can actually do something about it.

 

Thanks.

 

Nick Holt

[abrungot]

Ahhh…I know I always chime in on these… and do what I can to help the track.. But things will have to change…

 

I believe they should change in the way of how NASCAR is running the event 10/1… why… Because the event would fail without the bands.

 

Treat the race track like a club… you don't just get racing you get music as well… For the special events like USRA Bring a band that has a pretty good following in.

Create a main way with vendors give the fans something to do beside just watching the races….. When the gates open at THR (5:30) until 7PM there isn't much to do.

Practice is over.. And most series don't qualify. So if you have something for them to do when they first get there they will come early and find it more enjoyable.

 

I know local racing can grow.. And it will take a $$ investment to do it.. More so it will take a lot of commitment from Racers and staff.

 

Just an example.. The city of Kyle last weekend opened its doors to THR *(Thanks to the Stapp's and Keith Roach being there at 9am!!!)

 

They have asked us to come back on the 10/1 date and a 10/5 date that is a BBQ cook off.. This partnership is critical!!! As the city of Kyle grows…

THR benefits.. It becomes a local attraction.

Less travel is the key right.. The race track is closer than a movie for most people in Kyle!!

[neon14]

I was sitting in the pit stands at CCMS at the last USRA car and truck race, and my dad looked at me and said "This looks like club racing, there are no fans in the stands but the pits are packed". I thought about it and he is right. We have no more spectators. My boss races jet skis and my sister drag races motorcycles and it is pretty much just the racers and there family. Very few fans. Is it because Nascar on TV puts on such a good show on Saturday nights and Sundays, who needs to leave there house? Is it local events in the city like football, baseball and concerts? Do we not put on a good show? As a racer there is nothing worse than to look up in the stands and they are pretty much empty. Thats what I have seen the last several years. Neon Will

[supertx]

neon14 I have to disagree with you on NASCAR putting on a good show This past weekend was boring just like most. I will agree that it is cheaper than going to the race track with your family. I read on here that oh what should we do must have crate motors or must slow the cars down, hell what happened to a racers wanting to go faster,slow the cars down another half second and put a motel in where you can take a nap. In my opinoin I think people are bored with racing,and untll you put the thrill back into it you are going to see a decline in spectators and race tracks.

[KahneFan]

Simply put most people unfamiliar with racing probably see it as "Nascar is a 'to-do', and short tracks for the red-necks".

 

I don't personally feel that way, but I think MANY outsiders still do. I used to have a work friend who every time I told him I was going to the races that weekend he would say "Oh, you're goin' redneck racin' this weekend huh?" and he was WAY more redneck than me. And yet, I could never get him in the stands with me because he thought it was "too redneck". I'm convinced that if you can get someone to attend 3 races they will be 'hooked'. 3 races is just enough for them to get 'their favorites' and plenty enough for them to get some villians . But, trying to get someone to attend 3 races, let alone 1 is sooo hard in today's materialistic world. All of us on this board know that racing is not just for rednecks and is WAY more involved than just doing circles, but that's how the 'outside world' still sees it. And until someone can figure out a way to show newcomers that short-track racing isn't just for rednecks, the tracks will continue to be dominated by PS2, XBox, Plasma TV's, Cell Phones and whatever else. Society has been on an EXTREMELY fast track in the past 40 years, but short tracks haven't really kept up. Granted, you have the "late-model" class which are the newest vehicles, but other than that, the races I watch each Saturday night are almost the same as I saw 20 years ago, just with different cars. I personally don't know if there's a way to make racing "main-stream" (main-stream = cool to outsiders), but until it is, it will just keep dying.

 

Also I think racing sometimes might be too affordable. Follow me here, I've known people who for several years would sit in the stands and say "I'm going to get a ?? stock some day". Then the day comes, they buy the car, race it, get low on funds, low on tempers and end up burnt out all together. Or, if they don't race, one of their buddies does and the cycle still happens. I don't make a lot of $$, but if I wanted to I could probably figure out a way to put my tush in a Hobby Stock, but I won't. I enjoy watching the races... actually... my Wife wouldn't let me If she did, I have been tempted to do just that. My point is, the people who truly enjoy racing, would like to do it, and many times find a way, then get burnt out. I'm not saying 20/30 people start racing a week, but I know you drivers have seen the 1,2,3 race guys who never come back... and neither do their friends/family.

 

Just my $3.42