2009 Thoughts

For all but the latest of runs down south or in sunnier climates, the racing season is long over for us. But with economic uncertainty turning into a calamity of late, there are questions for 2009.

Here's what we know, and what we don't know.

• Jacy Todd's continuing with the Friday show at Butler County in 2009, with all IMCA sanction and with a promised slate of sponsors. All accounts have shown steady improvement with Todd taking risks, including free back-gate admission offers, cutting directly into the track's core revenue stream. It's a gamble, but with times such as these, sitting on the fence isn't an option. I respect that and the willingness to give the experiment more than a year's time. Also, announcing the 2009 plans so early was another bold move. Again, I like the forward thinking.
• Right now, the plans for Eagle Raceway appear to be business as usual for 2009. The track has offered 2009 season pass packages, the annual Icebreaker Challenge will take place at the end of March and their annual banquet is on schedule for the first weekend of January. However, Roger Hadan may be looking at making some changes in the sprint division, as a questionnaire was sent to teams at the end of the season. In the questionnaire, Roger floated ideas such as rule changes in attempts to cut costs. In talking to Roger at the end of the season, three years of this have given him an idea of what does and doesn't work and that he has real numbers and not just hearsay accounts of how well a show did. My guess is the bottom line will have a larger influence on the 2009 schedule than in years past.
• I-80's been the hot pot of rumor activity the past couple of years with stories of business as usual, to reconfiguring the track, to the new home of the Nebraska Motorplex dragstrip (I've been emphatically told by people very close to the situation that this is a big "NO") The special events this year received positive reviews despite the weather-related setbacks of the first Alphabet Soup race and the overall weekly program seems to have gelled into a consistent show. The August Wingless/SLMR/Mod special was again one of my top three shows of the year. The banquet's in effect for January 7.
• Beatrice Speedway is commanding the most attention right now as they're moving their program to Friday nights. Toby Kruse has received positive reviews from racers and management. The idea of a Friday show has generated some controversy but in the eyes of the management, the competition from other Saturday tracks, NASCAR, Husker Football in the fall and local graduations in May suggests that the more open calendars of Friday might bring in more fans and racers. Friday's been a gamble of late with other tracks, but again staying the course may not be the best idea. As Einstein said, "the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." For what it's worth, a late night on a Friday is less of a toll than a Sunday to me.
• Thayer County Speedway has a year of semi-monthly racing under their belts. No word on 2009 plans. Internet chatter is mixed and to me is nothing more than hearsay. The track has been quiet about next year but that can mean anything.
• Adams County Speedway in Iowa already has 2009 plans in place, with a new race director. In fact, they're mapping out plans this week (October 27-30) for their program.
• Shelby County Speedway is holding off announcing next years plans until the Nov. 8th awards banquet but any 2009 plans are a good sign.
• US 30 Speedway in Columbus seems to have found a Thursday night niche. No word yet on 2009 plans.
• Wavelink Raceway Park has their 2008 Season Banquet on Nov. 22. Other than that, no news but my feeling is a season banquet is usually a good sign things are coming back the following year.

All this leads me to believe that, in spite of gas dancing around the $4 mark last year and countless rainouts (think having your door locked during the busiest time of the year), racing around here weathered a heavy storm relatively intact. Regarding promoters that have remained tight-lipped, I'm not panicking - in most cases actually getting news for next year before Thanksgiving is news itself.

Now, would I care to make predictions? Let's just say in 2005 I threw out a prediction amongst my fellow Eagle Raceway employees that one track would fold up operations at the end of the season. Little did I realize it was Eagle! So, I hesitate predicting anything like that anymore.

But I can't resist. However, I'm going to be deliberately vague because I just don't know enough to make any specific predictions. That said, here's some guesses, hunches and "hell-I'll-just-throw-it-out theres":

1. Fewer specials. I've talked to two promoters, and reliable people who have promoter's ears. This is the most common theme. I think most are going to hunker down financially and not go for any big risks. Proven shows or ones with minimal exposure to risk will remain, but I see few new events on the horizon unless they don't require heavy risk or are co-promoted/leased.

1a. On the other hand maybe MORE specials, in lieu of weekly racing with the lease/co-promoting option. I see the Spec Late Model series as an offshoot of this theory as tracks don't need to lay out such a heavy purse payout every week.

2. Status quo in purses and prices. Again, in 'hunker down' mode, I don't see promoters upping purses. On the other hand I don't see promoters willing to jack up pit gate or front gate prices for fear of running off price-conscious customers.

3. Events outside of 'regular' racing held at the track. This one is a big hunch but I see some people willing to look at their track as an outdoor arena and schedule other events such as demo derbies, figure 8's, and other events with low overhead. Tracks are starting to do more of this already.

4. A continued itchy trigger finger on canceling shows due to weather. It's not rare anymore to see races being "colded" out, but this was the first year I saw forecasts of rain canceling shows - even with mild temperatures. I don't expect this to change. Canceling the show is the least of evils when your other choice is to get killed at the front gate.

5. But in the end - I think it's going to be business as usual. There may be fewer cars out there and maybe some classes get pruned away but overall I think the tracks are putting on decent programs.

This economy MAY have a slight upside. We've already seen people foregoing expensive vacations and activities and staying closer to home. What tracks need to remember is that a night of racing is still a relatively cheap night out. The promoter who recognizes this, gets the word out to value-conscious fans and delivers their promise could see some unexpected rewards in sour times.