Originally Posted by yeleyfan76:
A couple of things to note. It was mentioned here that the costs at Perris/California is why the Western swing is done. If memory serves correctly the track announced it wasn’t going to host the ovals this year due to the uncertainty of the project with the dam at the lake. Usac is going out west with the midgets thru California again in November. So I don’t know that cost is the issue. Non wing sprint cars do not have the following they once had. It’s that simple. If it cost way to much to race out there then all of the tracks up north that run wings would be empty too. I was fortunate to see the SCRA and UsacCRA many times. Perris was packed and I didn’t always go to the ovals. Traffic sux but you plan accordingly. There are plenty of places to go for a meal before hand then maybe only need a snack during the nite. Have a few in the parking lot then you can nurse an expensive one inside. I travel the 3,000 miles to see them race. Sure it would be easier to go out to the car for a beer like at Kokomo since I don’t like what they sell. Sometimes you need to adjust to the conditions. The stands are empty because non wing sprint car racing isn’t as popular as it once was. It’s always been expensive to watch them race no matter the time period.
Maybe some of our California readers can help me out with this, I understood the parking fee went to the fair board not the promoter.?. Also please help me I believe pit passes were 40-45$ in the mid 2010s. Point is people were still interceded back then.
While I will give you that non wing doesn't draw as big of crowds as wing cars. Wing cars are really good at drawing casual fans. Yes, I agree that in AZ and CA, they are not doing well. In CA it has been going down since Ascot closed. The SCRA did a good job keeping it alive for a while, but no new car owners or fans were coming. I think you nailed it with traffic. I would venture that less than 5% of the people who live within 60 miles of Perris have never heard of it or a sprint car. I am not sure how you could affordably reach those people, or if they would come if they did.
AZ has never recovered from the loss of Manzanita. Tracks die out there at a rapid rate. Hard to build a fan base at a different track every year.
I think that in some parts of the country, things are on the upswing. I think your state of PA has helped with that. I also see USAC taking Sprints to places they have never been, or haven't been in a long time.
Purses are up. Yes they are not as high as wings, or late models, but for the smaller tracks they are pretty good. One time coming home from an early Eastern Storm, I stopped at I70 and US 127 for gas. There was a van with 5 guys who had been to the dream the night before. I asked them who won and not 1 person knew who won. You have to draw thousands of those type of fans to pay those purses. Those people are not going to a track every weekend. Just a couple of times a year.
I am pretty optimistic about this year. I am looking forward to getting to some new tracks. Mostly looking to have fun. You should try it sometime.