The last time I wrote an MRC online column prior to the holidays there wasn't much racing going on. What a difference a few weeks can make. The 2008 racing season started in mid January with the Chili Bowl and by the time you read this several Florida Speedweeks events will already be in the books.
I have never had an opportunity to attended the Chili Bowl but have heard that the racing is excellent. This year I had the opportunity to join some racing friends at a Chili Bowl party and see if the event really lived up to it's reputation. I wasn't disappointed, judging from what I saw on the HBO broadcast it's some of the best racing action of the entire season. Damion "The Demon" Gardner bested a huge field of talented drivers to win the 2008 Chili Bowl Golden Driller award.
The Cedar Lake Speedway and the Badger Midget Auto Racing Association recently announced that the BMARA would kick off their season with an indoor race at the Sandbox Arena. When the Sandbox Arena was under construction on the Cedar Lake Speedway grounds I was told they were considering using the building for an indoor Midget race. Although it's regular use is geared towards indoor Motorcycle and Quad racing the Sandbox will be temporarily transformed into a clay oval for the Midgets. The race will take place on Saturday night March 29 and Sunday afternoon March 30. I am looking forward to this race and hope the support is there so that it becomes and annual event. The oval track will be left intact so that an afternoon Midwest Modified can be held indoors the following weekend which is the scheduled outdoor opener.
The Kopellah Speedway near St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin, is rumored to be considering another alternative to WISSOTA for the 2008 racing season. Prior to this announcement I had planned on attending more races at Kopellah during the 2008 season. This news hasn't changed my plans as I don't take sides in these types of issues preferring to support the most convenient tracks to where I live regardless of their affiliation. When I power down my computer at work on Friday afternoon I leave business concerns at the office. I won't allow myself to get stressed out over the business end of running a race track. Kopellah will have another fun and entertaining season of racing and I'm looking forward to attending more races there.
In addition to Kopellah my plans for the 2008 racing season include the entire schedule at Cedar Lake with the only exception being an occasional special event at other nearby tracks. I have some concerns and questions regarding 2008 so I'm going to list five things that I will be watching closely this season. Most of my concerns involve things that are taking place off the track that could potentially have varying degrees of impact on the racing.
My first concern, and I'm sure you all share this one with me, is gas prices. We're at or near historic high gasoline prices and those prices filter down into every purchase we make in our daily life. I am a railroad rate analyst by trade and I assess fuel surcharges on every carload shipment that I rate so I see it first hand in dollars and cents. This will be my tenth season of contributing a column and photos to MRC and you have probably noticed that I'm not making as many of the longer trips as I used to. This year my longest excursion will probably be a little over 200 miles to Jackson, Minnesota for the Friday All Sprint night of the Nationals. I realize that we've all got different circumstances, some of you are probably nodding your heads in agreement and others are thinking "there goes Chicken Little again saying they sky is falling." If that's the way you feel about and you're not being impacted by high prices I'm happy for you but as you'll see later in this discussion every racefan is important to the sport, the small as well as the great.
Secondly, and this is closely related to the first item, what direction will our economy go? Predictions are for a downturn, perhaps a recession, but I'm hoping for the best and am planning to spend my "economic stimulus rebate" in support of dirt track racing. I deal with high gas prices by riding a vanpool to work and only driving two miles per day to my local park & ride and back. This season my racing budget will be boosted by my annual "sick day buy back" and the government's recently announced economic stimulus rebate. That's they way I have always done it, scrape and save all winter so I can go racing all summer. Again, my way of dealing with things isn't for everybody or probably even necessary for everyone but it works for me.
Twenty years ago when I was still raising my kids there were years when I wasn't able to attend many races due to the expense of taking a family to the races. During the past decade my nest emptied and I was able to increase my attendance beyond anything that I had imagined. I'm in denial and won't admit to being a "die hard" racing fan but many of my friends fall into the die hard category. I can relate to both as I have brought a family to the races and increased my attendance in recent years. It's expensive for families to attend races on a weekly basis and we appreciate it when we see families tailgating before the races and all the kids in attendance.
My third concern is sanctions, affiliations and loyalties. Racing is only as entertaining as the "product" that tracks offer to the fans. That product is good competitive racing with decent fields of cars at a reasonable price. Whenever a track has a smaller than expected crowd or doesn't attract as many cars as expected some have been quick to blame sanctioning as the cause. My opinion is that even if all racing was under one umbrella we would still be faced with the same issues. I think that the politics have clouded people's vision to the real issues that need to be addressed such as fuel prices and the economy. I have made it clear that I support the right of business owners to decide what works best for them. I base my racing schedule on personal convenience and don't worry about the business end. For the most part the changes that have taken place in our local racing have not produced any significant difference in what we see on the tracks week in and week out. I have been watching racing since 1962 so sanctions, affiliations and loyalties have changed a lot during that time but my focus is on the racing. Sadly, some have allowed business decisions to affect longtime friendships and dampen their enjoyment of the sport. My advice to these people is to lighten up and have fun at the races.
Fourth on my list is something that is directly related to item number two and that is sponsorship. Few if any make a profit from their race cars. On every level of the sport whether it be Sprint Cup, World of Outlaws Sprints and Late Models, the IRA, WDRL or a Saturday night Pure Stock team all rely on sponsors. Whenever there is an economic slowdown the shockwaves are felt through all of racing. One of the good things about modern racing is that it has become bigger and better than ever. The downside of bigger and better is that it costs more than it ever has to field a race car and if you want to remain competitive you can't go back to the way it used to be. Whenever there is an economic downturn it results in decreased advertising budgets and racing sponsorship is one of the first things that is affected. If you're thinking "there goes Chicken Little again" stop and consider that the Morgan-McClure NASCAR team was recently forced to shut their doors after 25 years of operation due to lack of sponsorship. Still don't believe me? Then do a search of NASCAR news websites and read about the challenges teams are facing first hand. These same challenges are being faced by many of your favorite short track drivers.
Finally my fifth area of concern, and this is directly related to the first five things I listed, is what kind of fields we're going to see this season. I know of several teams that were funded by Mortgage companies, Real Estate firms and companies involved in the building trades that have either folded or are going to have a tough year. I chatted with Justin Fegers at the Chili Bowl party and Justin mentioned that he will likely not run for WDRL points this season due to the increased travel expense. Yes, sponsorship could have an effect on the quality of the "product" tracks are able to offer the fans this season.
Are my five areas of concern insurmountable obstacles? In spite of the economy and high fuel prices we saw more World of Outlaw Sprints last season than anytime in recent memory. All you have to do is tune into NASCAR qualifying each week and you will see a dozen or so "go or go homers" fighting for a spot in the 43 car field. These two examples seem to defy my observations but not to the extent that they wipe out my concerns for this season. Tracks depend on their weekly program to do well and they also need to have successful special events to survive. I'm concerned about some of the smaller tracks that aren't located near major metropolitan areas because those tracks are the heart and soul of American short track racing. I can point to Fox Ridge as an example, some blamed sanctioning changes but fail to acknowledge all of the factors involved in their decision to shut the gates. One observation, and I probably won't win a popularity contest for this one, is that perhaps the good economic times of the past resulted in too much growth for short track racing. In other words, I fear that it was easy to bring it to this level when times were good but it might be hard to stay there when money is tight. Depending on how deep of a recession we enter the current racing landscape might not look the same a few years from now.
So what can we do as fans of short track racing? Do your best to support your local track and don't allow sanctions or business decisions to cloud your vision. The die hard racing fans will be there come hell or high water but the challenge is to get the casual fans to come out more often. We can invite friends, neighbors and relatives to the races and hopefully get them interested in the sport. How about some of those fans who enjoy other types of racing and haven't attended a dirt track race? Fans often complain about the promoters not promoting. What about us? Are we ambassadors for our favorite sport? Even though the sport is bigger than it's ever been to some extent it's still a grass roots deal that appeals to a niche audience compared to the stick and ball sports. To put it in perspective attendance figures for the biggest dirt track specials in our area have been estimated to be in the 10,000 to 13,000 range. Monster Truck shows, High School Tournaments, Concerts and a host of other events draw thousands more people to the big entertainment venues than the biggest dirt track races.
Much has been written about getting the kids who are the future of racing involved. Another area that some might be able to consider is sponsoring a racing team or an event. Sponsorship can range from something as simple as buying a tire for your favorite driver all the way up to funding a traveling team. Events such as the Jerry Richert Memorial and Proctor's Twin 25's offer opportunities for the fans to get involved in a small way. If you're in a position to help out in that way I encourage you to consider doing so. Hopefully I haven't given you the impression that I'm in a panic mode because that is not the case. Short track racing has survived two World Wars and numerous economic downturns. I am confident that we'll see some great racing this season and into the future.
Notes:
Every writer has their own personality, their unique approach to the sport. MRC's Editor Dan Plan has been likened to an encyclopedia, some considered MRC's former Editor as having an Inquirer type approach to racing news. If that is the case then I think my style would probably resemble an issue of Mad Magazine. I enjoy photography and the visual aspect of racing, am not very detail oriented and some say I've got a good sense of humor. What? Me worry?
During a recent visit to Gramdma and Grampa's house I was looking for ways to entertain my grandson Owen and granddaughter Lyric (3 and 2 years old respectively). They were getting restless after an all afternoon Tele Tubbies marathon so I asked them if they had ever seen the "Grampy show." You guessed it, I dug out my old (I can't believe it has already been five years) Race Show DVD and showed them a few of the "Down & Dirty" segments. Their eyes lit up and they got a kick out of seeing Grampy on television. I'm proud to say that it held their attention until Gramdma announced that she was serving ice cream in the kitchen. I used to say in jest that my Race Show interviews were something I could show my grandkids. Now that they've seen the Race Show my next goal is to get them out to Cedar Lake for the annual Firecracker so they can experience racing up close and personal.
The 2008 GRP Racing Trivia Contest took place during the last two weeks of January. This was the ninth year that Greg Parent aka GRP has authored and funded this popular event hosted on my gotomn.com website. I want to take this opportunity to thank Greg and everyone else who contributed their time and efforts to make the contest possible. Special thanks to Troy Powers who donated a 20/20 shirt to the winner in each division as well as the photographers who contributed photos to the contest. If you would like to help out with future contests I encourage you to get in touch with GRP at grp_motorsports@msn.com.
See you at the races!
Visit the Minnesota's Racing Connection website at theracingconnection.com
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