Oval Nationals Purse
 

Is the purse the same or has it been reduced?

Re: Oval Nationals Purse
 

Not sure the word "reduced" begins to cover it. It has been dropped to $7,500 to win Saturday night.

Re: Oval Nationals Purse
 

Didn't that race used to pay 10 or 20 thousand to the winner on the final night?

Originally Posted by jonboat15:
Didn't that race used to pay 10 or 20 thousand to the winner on the final night?

I believe it was 20 very recently, potentially even last year, but I could be wrong.

Re: Oval Nationals Purse
 

The purse has definitely been reduced.

Last year, the 24 car purse was $77,900, with...
1st $25,000
2nd $15,000
3rd $10,000
4th $2500
...
24th $1000

2019, the 24 car purse is $40,340...
1st $7500
2nd $3500
3rd $2000
...
24th $1000

Note, the Thur and Fri purse is unchanged, which are the standard 5k to win USAC purse ($22,450 for 24 cars).

Bill
SprintCarRatings.com

Re: Oval Nationals Purse
 

Glad to see someone finally noticed this took place and I do not blame Perris Speedway one bit for doing this. Everyone can thank the wonderful leadership at the Usac home office for killing another high paying event what little there was of these to start with.

Did the race in AZ have an increase in purse since it’s now the season’s concluding race, or did it remain the same?

Re: Oval Nationals Purse
 

Have not seen the purse for this years 'Western World Championships' at Arizona Speedway.

But last year (2018), the 24 car purse was $28,300...
1st $7500
2nd $3500
3rd $2000
4th $1000
...
24th $600


Bill
SprintCarRatings.com

Wow. Is there a story behind this, or is it simply economics?

I used to travel a lot more than these days; the last time I made it out to Perris was 2005. Back then, the Oval Nationals paid $30,000 to win with a $100,000 purse. And it was like that each of the 3 years I went. Also back then it was a major sprint car event with drivers coming from a myriad of series to compete- Jac Haudenschild, Brent Kaeding, Travis Rilat, Peter Murphy and many others shed the wing for this event. Now? It seems to be just another USAC race, although a prestigious one, and includes the CRA guys as well (although the left coasters just aren't very competitive as they once were).

So, what gives? Is racing dying in SoCal? Is extreme specialization within the sport of sprint car racing killing the event? Are the fans simply tired of being milked to the last drop by the fair board? I don't have a clue, but it's very sad to hear how things seem to be taking a bad turn. I'd love to hear anyone's input.

Re: Oval Nationals Purse
 

Originally Posted by Sprint63122:
Glad to see someone finally noticed this took place and I do not blame Perris Speedway one bit for doing this. Everyone can thank the wonderful leadership at the Usac home office for killing another high paying event what little there was of these to start with.

This isn't the first time it was high and got reduced. I believe All Coast Construction put a ton of $$$ behind it the last couple years.

Maybe you know a lot more than I but without sponsor $$$ whats a track to do to keep the purse that high? Charge $80 a person?

Originally Posted by Sprint63122:
Glad to see someone finally noticed this took place and I do not blame Perris Speedway one bit for doing this. Everyone can thank the wonderful leadership at the Usac home office for killing another high paying event what little there was of these to start with.

You should probably get some facts before you make comments that you have no knowledge of. Maybe it's not 25k to win because All Coast isn't sponsoring the event anymore? But let's not use logical thinking to figure out why the purse was reduced. Hopefully they can get a big sponsor but time is running out, that race made driving to the West coast worth it for the Midwest teams, now with it reduced that could be a big hit to the USAC regulars.

Re: Oval Nationals Purse
 

All 9 of the USAC cars will show up along with a few others. Throw in the CRA cars and there will be plenty.

Ossuks what is the reason that the purse has dropped? What's going on?

If you watch USAC/CRA shows from Perris on Flo the crowds are worse than horrible.
They interviewed Kruser and Super Rickie one night and they both were hopeful opnwhl racing could be saved in SC. They pleaded with the fans to bring a friend next time they come to Perris.

It's all part of a master plan by USAC to partner with CRA and other clubs to drive people away from dirt tracks so they won't have to travel out of Indiana in future seasons.
.

The west coast racing scene is complicated at best. The PAS is a top 3 dirt track facility. Lack of fan support is the primary driver to a lower purse.

Re: Oval Nationals Purse
 

Maybe the nationals should be held in Feb-Early March. I got friends that go to Arizona or Cali for the winter and do go to those CRA shows. But they aren't there in Nov. They usually stay here till Xmas.

I'd like to see the season start there!

Re: Oval Nationals Purse
 

Originally Posted by Non wing lover:
Ossuks what is the reason that the purse has dropped? What's going on?

JMO...looking at 35 cars, maybe stretch to 40, but, I think 35 is a solid number.From a spectator stand point 32 cars is a full show, so car count is not an issue. It cost ? just to have an event, I have no idea what the nut is to open the gate when you figure in rent or mortgage payment, insurance on both sides of the fence, week long prep, lights, water, electric, track equipment, salaries, sanction fee to USAC ect... then you throw in a $100,000 purse, YOU HAVE A BIG NUT TO CRACK....My guess is $ 140, 000 would be close to break even. So, with those numbers you need about 4000 people total in grandstand and pit area...and that is a break even number!!! So, you need a solid sponsor contribution to make this event have the big purse!!! Now, to be a little negative, if the purse was $100,000 you might pick up 3-5 more mid west cars. The rest will be there if it is a $28,000 purse.

Re: Oval Nationals Purse
 

Went to the 2018 Oval Nationals as a first timer and enjoyed the race overall, for me that came with a fairly large amount of spend between airfare, rental car, Hotel and food. What struck me was that good reserved tickets were fairly easy to get a month or so before the race and didn't cost all that much under $100. Not sure if it's the Southern California market that won't pay higher ticket but prices but I honestly expected it to be more. Likely spent almost as much on $10 beer that weekend as tickets.


My point is one would think for a showcase racing program they could raise ticket prices to help support expenses and pay a good purse. Hate to see this show become just another race on the schedule. Do get the point about basically getting the same cars no matter what the purse is but hopefully a sponsor will step up in the next month.