22 Short Observations about racing, part 2 (11-22)

Part one is here

- Two words: Time Limits

No reason to run an hour-long feature. Just because it isn't late to you, doesn't mean they haven't been there for too long. Why are movies less than 3 hours whether it starts at 5PM or 9PM? The seat's a hell of a lot more comfortable, too. If the logic that "it's only 10 o'clock, what's the rush" were true, then afternoon matinee movies would run four hours, and the 9PM showing would only be two. It doesn't work that way. Boring is boring. Too long is too long.

- Tacky tracks are for time trials

They tear up race cars after that. One look at the WoO show at Eagle tells you that, and it's happened more times at more tracks than I care to count. Speed kills, so to speak.

- If people aren't paying $8-10 to see your show, ask yourself why they won't even pay that much?

Is $5 that much of a difference? Really, is $10 a big deal once a week? I know plenty of people in that demographic that will spend far more than that in a bar tab or for a concert, on crap like fast food, or just junk. The question is: is $10 the barrier or...is 3, 4 or more hours of someone's time for not much entertainment the true barrier?

- Too many racers confuse "being able to afford to race" with "being able to afford the big dog's shiny, expensive and new parts."
That mentality, along with the realization that promoters and sanctioning bodies can quickly raise money with pit fees, sanction and registration fees has led to the creation of nearly infinite subclasses. In politics, they call it "balkanization", where a large body is divided into smaller and smaller, competing subgroups, none of them able to stand well on their own. What's wrong with buying used parts as long as they're safe? What happened to earning your stripes? Need money, get sponsors. Race with what you got.

- The fan of the weekly show is an endangered species

Your diehards won't sustain you and are too small of a group to pay the bills on these big facilities and they aren't growing. I've seen too many marquee, "big time" shows with a few hundred in the stands, and 4, 5 or more support classes, required to run for points, and paying more to get in on top of that making up the money difference. Because of this and lack of concern for the casual fans and putting on a SHOW, not just a race, short track racing on a weekly level is moving the way of SCCA Club Racing. A dozen or more different classes, neither with enough to sustain a full show - racing alone in front of friends, family and a few people who camp out on the berm. Pay your way, race for nothing. I knew a person who did this racing Porsches. Beautiful, race-prepped 911's. We're talking more than sprint or super late model money. What did he race for? Trophies and coffee cups. Seriously. But like the endangered species in the wild, there' s hope for recovery.

- The reason your class pays the same pit fees and races for less purse is because there aren't enough fans at the front gate.

But if there were enough front gate - you wouldn't be there. Fans are high profit margin items - there's no purse or insurance (well a lot cheaper insurance) to pay on a fan. And the fan can be encouraged to give MORE money over the course of the night. There's a reason for the term "support" class; they support the promoter's pocket. And, instead of trying to bring in more fans up front, it's easier to just add another class. I am NOT saying any one class is bad, doesn't have a right to be there, etc. Yes, there's the argument that the class brings the fan. But I can guarantee every promoter runs only the amount of classes they HAVE to to meet a goal - profitability.

- Sanctioning bodies whose money comes from sanction and license fees often do not care about their show. They should, it's good for their business.

Some have found out that if their show sucks, they don't get rescheduled and thus no sanctioning fee. Many others haven't. Want to see a sanction up the quality of its program? Make their take dependent on ticket sales. Put on a show with only concern for the teams (and their pit gate money) or where your employees do nothing but tech inspections and enforce regulations then the only people there will be race teams and officials - and nobody in the stands.

- All that said, a track owner making money is a good thing.
It's needed to update the facility, hire and pay employees, pay more purse, bring in more shows. No promoter who "breaks even" or worse will be there for long, I don't care how much money they made in whatever other business they have. They didn't make that money by breaking even. If they really have that racing bug, they'll learn they can just go to the show for a lot cheaper than promoting it.

- Because one track puts on a good show doesn't mean the other one puts on a bad one. They can both be good - or both bad.

July 4 weekend had two potentially great shows that flubbed (in my opinion, yours may differ) because of different reasons. Sorry, but 21 Outlaws on a one-lane track, with the support features getting called isn't much more fun to watch than 67 late models battling between yellow flag after yellow flag after yellow flag. But it happens. It doesn't mean the track sucks as a whole it doesn't mean the promoter sucks, the teams suck and all the fans suck. It just means that show on that night wasn't so good. That's it. All tracks have them and they will continue to have them, it's part of the game. They'll have great shows too.

- Racers are responsible for their own safety.

Racers, especially part-timers (99% of you) with families need to ask yourselves...what happens if I crash? The track has responsibility, but most will only go as far as the law/their lawyer/their insurance company requires them to. If their insurance is poor (if it even exists), or their knowledge of the law sucks, then it's your responsibility to pack up and go. Think of the rest of your life and those who depend on you.

- Racing was better back then. Racing is better now.
It's just different. 20,000 fans aren't going to pack a state fair grandstand for 18 cars, 3 heats and a feature anymore - but what a group of 18 it was! The only way you pull that off is something like the Prelude to the Dream at Eldora. On the other hand, there's probably more racers in about any class you could want. There are MANY ways to get into racing these days - probably more than ever. For the racefan or the aspiring racer, there's no better time to get into the program and something for everyone.