When did USAC start paying race purses? Last I checked (also last contract I read), it was the track putting up that cheddar. WoO (with the exclusion of some select places like Eldora) lease tracks and they DO pay the purses.
22 USAC races in the state of Indiana alone for 2019. USAC is not strong enough outside of Indiana to be able to market an event at the scale of WoO and $30+ tickets.
USAC has a good balance within Indiana right now. Tours like Eastern Storm are doing wonderful things for broadening brand awareness on a national scale.
Doesn't everyone in the industry DESERVE more money? The track prep people? The ticket sellers? Drivers? Car Owners? Crew Members? Sure, but unless someone has that famed money tree, it ain't going to happen. Everyone always wants more, but with the nature of local racing being the way it is while society as a whole is steering away from sporting events in general, there needs to be the understanding that growth will be very slow and returns low, if at all.
Originally Posted by streetglider:
Here is another analogy of how far USAC is behind the times. AJ Foyt made $23,728 for winning the Hoosier 100 in 1968. Tyler Courtney was victorious in this years Hoosier 100 and was paid a whopping $10,000. You can spin your defense of USAC any way you want, but it doesn't take a genius to figure out the math on that one. 51 years later and racing for almost 14k LESS!!! Even I know that's bass akwards
did you look at the stands from both years? Maybe you could talk to the PROMOTER not the sanctioning body, y'all need to use your brains, in 1968 the Hoosier Hundred was part the USAC CHAMPIONSHIP Trail, it had drawing power because of Indy drivers, you can all stop ******** when there are no more silver crown races, that'll probably make you happy
Originally Posted by Spi-nex:
When did USAC start paying race purses? Last I checked (also last contract I read), it was the track putting up that cheddar. WoO (with the exclusion of some select places like Eldora) lease tracks and they DO pay the purses.
22 USAC races in the state of Indiana alone for 2019. USAC is not strong enough outside of Indiana to be able to market an event at the scale of WoO and $30+ tickets.
The Outlaws do promote SOME shows on the schedule, but the majority they do not. It’s no different then a track having a USAC show, the track is responsible for the purse.
Originally Posted by cshuman:
The Outlaws do promote SOME shows on the schedule, but the majority they do not. It’s no different then a track having a USAC show, the track is responsible for the purse.
Every encounter I've had and every "non elite" track I've spoken with has had to go through SLS Promotions.
Originally Posted by racefan20:
I think since Casey is actually in the business of overseeing a major series I'll take his word for it.
I used to work for a track (Hartford Speedway, MI) and was with the owner in every step of the process (including the face to face talks with Larry Hillerud) that had to deal with WoO and when we inquired about doing the show ourselves instead of using SLS we were repeatedly told that the only way to have a WoO show was to go through SLS. Now if things have changed since 2016, great! Happy to hear it.
I don't claim to be 100% up to date on the latest happenings (haven't even gone to a race in 2019), just speaking from my personal experience working behind the scenes. I respect Mr. Shuman's input as the foremost authority on the subject.
Maybe it's time I post the old contracts (SLS/All Stars/ASCS/etc) for everyone to see how things get broken down (or at least used to get broken down) and how little tracks get left with.
WoO lets SLS Promotions which is Steve Sinclair, other Track Promoters & Owners, along with some races The World Racing Group/WoO has a hand in the shows, too. They are selling Tickets for the Terre Haute Wabash Clash USAC/WoO 2 day Combo again this year, for instance. A USAC Purse with sanctioning fees for a standard 5,000 to Win $500 to start show is around 30 Grand. A WoO standard purse for a single day show of 10 Grand to Win & $800 to start is around 80 Grand! Some WoO shows run for a reduced purse of 8 Grand to Win & $600 to start & then obviously several run for substantially more money.
Coming up with that kind of purse is tough for these smaller venues, especially if the weather is iffy, etc.
Side note, USAC ran for 4 Grand to Win & around $210 to start back in the early 2000s, when I ran with them, for some Sprint Week shows, with 50 plus cars at most shows.
Nearly 20 years later, I agree, the Purse hasn't increased enough to offset rising costs to run a Top Notch Race Team.
SLS currently promotes roughly 5-10 WoO shows a year. Plus other events that usually involve the IRA sprint cars.
They have one WoO race left on their calendar this year in October at at Lakeside.
