For the past few years, I've done a list - usually well after the start of the calendar year with the excuse that the year really starts with the first race of the season. This year I'll really do a list before the end of the calendar year.
So, let's start with my 2009 Wish List
1. Everyone comes through this recession OK. It ain't gonna be pretty. I think it's painfully obvious that we'll not only lose cars due to the recession, but it's a very real possibility we could lose a track, even temporarily. All signs point to no racing at Thayer County and Red Cloud is still dormant according to the talk on dirtdrivers.com. While I have nothing to justify this, I'm not sure we haven't hit the low-water mark already given we've seen a lot of attrition already. If the tracks can get through this season, the worst may be over.
2. Beatrice's Friday move works. A lot of people criticized it, and after decades of Saturday night racing it's easy to see why. But as I've said before, standing by just hoping for the best wasn't going to fix anything, something had to be done. It could be argued that in recent years some of the most competitive modified racing in the midwest - in terms of talent - took place at the Gage County Fairgrounds. Certainly there's been a bit of a rivalry between the fans and competitors (or more likely their spouses) of Eagle and Beatrice, and each track has been known for years as the place where the guy p'ed off at the other track goes to race. Hopefully both car counts benefit.
On a side note: Speaking of small towns, photographer and Nebraska Auto Racing Hall of Fame member Joe Orth had a great observation: the overall decline of small towns, both economically and population-wise, could be having an effect on car counts at tracks distant from major population centers. As jobs and people migrate to the larger cities the base of people to race the "old hot rod" in the small towns is dwindling, not to mention the local fan base as well. I can't fault the logic and...I don't see the end of it anytime soon.
3. Tracks should race the classes they have. I just don't see the need for any more classes to be created. We are far removed from the boom period of the early 2000's where we could grow class after class. Now, you don't add to one without pulling from the other. If you have to add another class, eliminate the weak one. If Class "A" isn't getting it done, instead of adding lower class "B," can the A and run nothing but B...or vice versa, even if it means the lower class stepping up to the next one. Just because you can't afford all the goodies the front runner has doesn't mean you can't afford to race. Promoters, racers and sanctioning bodies have confused the two for too long. Just like all the other facets of life we've been cutting back on, yet still finding a way to make do, so can many of these racers. Maybe it's running that car one more year, getting another night out of the tire, buying used, or going with a few less graphics. If it makes you happy, just think of it as another meaning to the phrase "run whatcha brung." To those fearing the drop at the back gate: if they want to race that bad, they'll find a way - otherwise how long were they really going to feed your back gate anyway? That said though, I hope to see...
4. Good tracks. Bad track conditions, bad officiating, bad tech, etc. can ruin a program. Bad tracks tear up cars (and wallets), bad officiating leads to on-track issues that usually result in damaged gear, bad tech lets costs run amok, competition suffers and racers go packing. I would feel safe in assuming that the majority of the people who leave a track do so because of one of those three reasons, even more so than the cost of competition, and maybe even more than purse. Yes, there's always the few that think they've been screwed over no matter where they go and are usually very vocal about it, but really you can count them on one hand. Most just pick up and go - especially the fans.
I'll probably add some more (after the first of the year...)
