[openwheelfan1]

This is going to be long, so bear with me.

It is true that purses have not kept up. I went to my first USAC Sprint Car race in 1967, so I started there. I did a little investigating in to the past and it appears that winning a USAC sprint race in 1967 guaranteed a driver about $800. Per various inflation calculators, the inflation number from 1967 to 2018 is between 7.25 to 7.8, so I used 7.5 as a multiplier. That says that TODAY, winning a USAC sprint race should pay $6000,versus the $5,000 most USAC Sprint features pay. As I recall (and I admit, recalling details from 51 years ago is questionable!) we paid $3.00 for admission to that first (for me) USAC race. Using the inflation rate above, that would equal a ticket price of $22.50, versus the $25.00 most IN tracks charge for admission to a USAC Sprint race.

Yes, WoO pays $10,000 to win a weekend race, but admission to a WoO event is $35 or more. The inflation rate from the first race of the WoO in 1978 to today is right at 4.0, so a $10,000 purse today would have been $2500 in 1978. Again, trying to recall back 40 years to the first WoO race Eldora held in 1978, I think we paid $7.00 for a ticket. So again, ticket prices have exceeded inflation.

While USAC and WoO seem to be healthier now than they were a few years ago and SOME local short tracks are flourishing, overall, crowds were much higher years ago. There are WAY more entertainment opportunities today than there were years ago. Attention spans are shorter. Event insurance, property taxes, utilities, etc., are all higher, some disproportionate to inflation. Margins are smaller on concessions than they’ve ever been. Fuel to run track prep equipment is WAY above inflation. All can be cited as to why ticket prices have exceeded inflation.

There are no easy answers to any of this. It is a complicated, confused web of interactions. The best thing any of us can do is support the tracks and series that you enjoy the most as much as you can.