2010 Thoughts Pt. III

My original plan was to talk more about support classes and new series, but the release of the World of Outlaws 2010 schedule changed that.

-Unless changes are made, for the first time in 26 seasons, Eagle Raceway will not be hosting the World of Outlaws sprint cars. For that period, the Eagle Nationals were the track's showcase event, and one of the top stops on the tour, especially in the 90's and early 2000's. In that period, the WoO would make two stops annually. But now, with costs rising and ticket sales slowing the once premier show has become a burden to the promoters. Traditionally a two-day program, the show dwindled to a single-day, co-promoted venture. This season's cold, wet and troublesome program, with both support class races being called, and the feature being a single lane, bottom of the race track contest that looked more like an F1 parade, was a coincidentally sad back story to how far the show had regressed. 2009 marked the first year in as many as I can remember when a full field of 24 didn't take the green flag. Other races in recent years have been marked by rubber-down, single lane enduros where he with the most tire remaining won.

I can tell you that from my period working for Eagle that the World of Outlaws stops were often make or break for the season. At times, crowds were tremendous. It was the biggest show of the year and in most cases, the most financially rewarding. But, toward the end of my tenure (2005), it was an albatross around Craig Cormack's neck. I can remember trashing thousands of WoO tickets afterwards. Not pretty.

Not all was bad. Not even most of it. Perhaps some of the greatest races I've watched out at Eagle occurred during the WoO's run. Haudenschild's September Sweep, Schatz's eighth-row to first record run...there were some awesome shows. Even uneventful races still had all the pomp and circumstance to make it worthwhile. Plenty of stories abound about drivers partying with the locals afterward, WoO staff socializing with the Eagle crew - it was a festive atmosphere that usually complimented the bullring excitement, but survived any level of show on the track.

To be fair, 2009 saw the tightest points battle in series history. Also, word is that WoO, to reduce travel expenses, asked tracks to pony up for multi-day shows, and the 2010 sked reflects this.Totally understandable.

According to someone close to the track's management, the word was that Eagle would be allowed a one-day show, but Roger chose not to. All history aside, to borrow from Doug Wolfgang, "today you're a hero, tomorrow you're zero." It seems from Eagle's perspective, there have been too many zeros (and sub-zeros) to make up for all that history.

That said, while I understand the reasons, I hate to see the WoO go. I've made several friends in the Outlaws, and had a blast being part of the new organization when Cormack was the VP of Race Operations with the series. I think the series is trying to move forward. The switch to Goodyear tires will ultimately be wise in my opinion. I think it will help make it more competitive. I also think the WoO care about putting on a better race program. They're one of the most efficient in the business. But it's hard to sell a $30-40 ticket these days at a dirt track.

And, in many places the WoO is THE show, with huge crowds. I think at Eagle times have changed. With the addition of new classes, and the drop-off in numbers and competitiveness in the sprints, I think the general crowd has moved away from its sprint-centric past and diversified. I still believe that the crowd is mostly sprint, but the numbers are far fewer than before. With that comes less interest, less die-hards, and less friends of them to come out for the big event. I also believe that the interest in the event dwindled with the advent of Baseball and Hockey, and the near exclusivity of a Nebraska Football ticket. The WoO aren't one of the "big shows" around Lincoln anymore.

Perhaps most of all, I think that the average fan has gravitated to endless, mindnumbing what-did-Jimmie-eat-for-lunch coverage of Na...Nas....Nasss....(I can't say it)....NASCAR for their racing fix, and that a short drive to Kansas Speedway for the annual Sprint Cup show (with its expensive ticket packages) now supplants the dirt track as the "vacation race," and the local scene means little to them.

In 2010, Junction Motor Speedway will do the same as it did with the USAC Midgets and pick up Eagle's forsaken WoO show. A change of scene might do everyone some good, but trying to pull enough fans to make it pay off, being 60 miles from the half-million population base that couldn't sustain the show at Eagle (or I-80) will be a challenge. You can't just jam this with back-gate support classes and hope to make money. However, a creative effort could make this a success. 

Ostensibly, Eagle's summer showcase event will be a two-day Lucas Oil ASCS National 360 Sprint event with Tony Bruce Jr. going all Terry McCarl with driving/owning/promoting duties. As far as racing goes, if the Nebraska Cup, the ASCS Specials at I-80 and BCM are any indication, race wise it should be a humdinger. Will it pull in best of times-Outlaw crowds? Probably not - but it doesn't have to. A 3-4000 ticket show will be plenty. There could be more fan interest as the locals will go toe-to-toe with the touring stars at what should be a much easier on the wallet ticket price. As Roger Hadan showed with his Labor Day giveaway and Ed Kosiski showed with the Late Model/Sprint combo and Nitro Circus show this season, it doesn't require the Outlaws to hit a revenue home-run anymore. 

Part IV coming soon