1990 winner $ vs. today
 

I follow a page on FB called Sprintcarstats which posts interesting results from races from many speedways from years ago. In addition to the final feature results they also occasionally post the winning payout. They recently posted the results from Lawrenceburg Speedway from May 9, 1990. Bill Rose won and for winning received $800.

I looked at several different “then vs. now” dollar calculators and while they vary slightly, all indicated that $800 in 1990 would equal $1760-1775 today. The point of all this? Racers complaining that purses have not kept pace over the years would seem to be valid as per Lawrenceburg’s website, they pay $1500 to win in 2022.

Re: 1990 winner $ vs. today
 

I can't speak that this is true or not. I remember 1000 in that time period and even more earlier with wings was 1200. Staab would say if he won and the shop was about twelve miles away he broke even.

It is possible though and times got good with a big car count. We were down to about eight for wings when it was drying off.

Re: 1990 winner $ vs. today
 

Originally Posted by openwheelfan1:
I follow a page on FB called Sprintcarstats which posts interesting results from races from many speedways from years ago. In addition to the final feature results they also occasionally post the winning payout. They recently posted the results from Lawrenceburg Speedway from May 9, 1990. Bill Rose won and for winning received $800.

I looked at several different “then vs. now” dollar calculators and while they vary slightly, all indicated that $800 in 1990 would equal $1760-1775 today. The point of all this? Racers complaining that purses have not kept pace over the years would seem to be valid as per Lawrenceburg’s website, they pay $1500 to win in 2022.

In order to raise purses, we would need to raise ticket prices. Have you done the same comparison on front gate admission? Would fans be willing to pay more? There is so much more competition for the entertainment dollar today. Unfortunately, competition for that dollar has created downward pressure on ticket prices. You have to make up the difference in volume of tickets.

Re: 1990 winner $ vs. today
 

Originally Posted by Ray3:
In order to raise purses, we would need to raise ticket prices. Have you done the same comparison on front gate admission? Would fans be willing to pay more? There is so much more competition for the entertainment dollar today. Unfortunately, competition for that dollar has created downward pressure on ticket prices. You have to make up the difference in volume of tickets.

Unfortunately, I have not been able to find what admission for a weekly show was in 1990 @ Lawrenceburg or any other IN weekly track for that matter. Using the same multiplier, today’s $15 admission would equate to about $7 in 1990.

Re: 1990 winner $ vs. today
 

I remember winning a feature at the Green County Speedway (now defunct) in 1993, this was a special race and I won $1000, The next night I won a special race at Brownstown and won $800. Most of the time the mods got around $300 and never more than $500. Now the going amount is around $600 to win at most tracks. So, the mods are really racing for less and most have big dollar engines that cost from $20,000 to $50,000 and I won lots of races with a $2000 engine back in the 90's. So now no one would make any money if they won every race in a mod. Back then gasoline was about $1 per gallon and now it is over $4 and raising. When I first started racing years ago gasoline was about 25 cents per gallon and I used 100 avgas at 50 cents per gallon. In 1962 I remember working as an equipment operator out of the union for around $3 per hour and now they are paying over $34 per hour. In about 1968 the price to get into a race track was $2 and the pits was $3. Most everything has raised to 10 times as much except the purses at the tracks.

Brownstown paid $1000 to win for late models in the mid to late 80's I seem to remember. I don't remember the admission price.

Re: 1990 winner $ vs. today
 

I have some old paperwork from my old man's car owners. In the late 60's, he ran super modifieds in Michigan. One of those items was a pay sheet of what the car won every night. The one that stuck out the most, was a show on July 5 in 1968, it paid $1000 to win. My father took 3rd in the heat race, and 6th in the feature, and he won a total of $17. $2.00 for the heat, and $15.00 for the feature. That is what I remember, usually big money to win, but peanuts for everyone else. May not have been that way for the national touring stuff, but it was that way for the local "big shows".

Seems like gate admission to weekly sprint races in Indiana in 1990 was more than $7. I’m thinking 8 or 10 dollars. I think gate admission today could be raised slightly without losing fans.

Originally Posted by ThrowbackRacingTeam:
Seems like gate admission to weekly sprint races in Indiana in 1990 was more than $7. I’m thinking 8 or 10 dollars. I think gate admission today could be raised slightly without losing fans.

I think so also, but at most tracks, it includes the entertainers to, so it raises their rent also, which I don't agree with. Just sayin!

Re: 1990 winner $ vs. today
 

Tri State this week is $2000 to win with a $20 gate price. Usac Sprints 2011 ISW $5000 to win $20 gate price. Not sure exactly what year went from 4k to 5k but do recall all the promoters agreeing on $20 and ONE support series.

Re: 1990 winner $ vs. today
 

Originally Posted by openwheelfan1:
I follow a page on FB called Sprintcarstats which posts interesting results from races from many speedways from years ago. In addition to the final feature results they also occasionally post the winning payout. They recently posted the results from Lawrenceburg Speedway from May 9, 1990. Bill Rose won and for winning received $800.

I looked at several different “then vs. now” dollar calculators and while they vary slightly, all indicated that $800 in 1990 would equal $1760-1775 today. The point of all this? Racers complaining that purses have not kept pace over the years would seem to be valid as per Lawrenceburg’s website, they pay $1500 to win in 2022.

Kind of a narrow view, don't you think? So using your logic you would be paying what $40 a night for a ticket to a weekly show, and $75-100 for specials such as USAC or WoO.

There are weekly shows that used to draw 2-300 people, now are lucky to draw 800. Not everyone wants to sit in the sun, or rain, and get showered in dirt.

There are also fewer "promoters" these days, the guys that would do what it took to get people in the front door. Now we have a lot of race "organizers", who do a great job putting together weekly shows or event, but don't really "promote" very well.

You don't take into account racers themselves, many of whom never promote themselves or the sport outside of some message board, social media posts. Generally, they aren't out in the public to promote their local track or a big event. A few do, but far fewer than in years past.

Racers and race teams have also increased their own costs with NASCAR haulers taking a UMP modified around for what, $6-800 to win on a weekly show? Is that really necessary? I don't think race fans should have to pay more at that gate to support team's choices in equipment. And I think open trailers with a race car draw far more attention than some large trailer with graphics on it.

Social media and message boards can and do have as much of a negative effect as a positive effect on the sport. It doesn't take too many "keyboard jockeys" to damage the reputation of a track, promoter or event. Social media has given a voice to people whose only audience previously existed in a bar or coffee shop.

Simply putting it solely on the promoter to pay out more and charge fans more, seems very short sighted.

Re: 1990 winner $ vs. today
 

I lived in Findlay, Ohio back in the 80's and remember Millstream Speedway had a weekly Sunday night winged sprint show that paid $2,000 to win. I can't recall gate prices but $8.00 or so seems right. The place was usually packed and they normally had a great field of cars since nothing else ran on Sundays and they drew sprint cars from Ohio, Indiana, Michigan and occasionally Pennsylvania. The ran the "wedge" outlaw dirt late models and street stocks as support classes,and you were out of there early enought that going to work on Monday morning wasn't a problem.
You could expect to see Rick Ferkel (he lived in Findlay), Duane Lieber, Fred and Jim Linder, Mark Keegan, Hank Lower, Rick Hood, Johnny Beaber, Jack Hewitt and Kenny Jacobs on any given nght, plus Blaney, Doty, Haudenshield...man I miss those days!!!