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The problems with the Silver Crown series and for that matter open wheel racing in general are many and varied.
Purse is one. In 1963, Roger Ward won the Springfield 100 and won just over $4700. Per the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, that same $4700 would be equal to $35,300 today. A J Fike won about $10,000 yesterday or just over double what Ward did 50 YEARS AGO!! While costs for the racer and owner may not be 7.5 times, they have increased by far more than double in the same 50 years.
I fully understand that the purse is driven by the attendance. However, for the last several years, there has been virtually no promotion for the many of these events. The blame for this falls on both the sanctioning body and the promoter. Again, I recognize the world is vastly different today than it was years ago, but I do use social media, and there was virtually no promotion of "buzz" for Springfield in anything I could find. Duquoin is two weeks away and apart from this forum, I haven't seen any promotion for this event either.
Lastly, and I know I'm going to catch a lot of flack for this, Silver Crown races can be VERY boring. Yes, the Silver Crown cars are graceful and almost poetry in motion on the mile tracks, but the fact is MANY of the races are boring "buggy pole" parades. There is often little side by side racing and when passes do occur they are usually on or at the end of the straight so the cars can be single file again in the corners. Today's audiences want entertainment and excitement.
Unfortunately, I'm not as smart as many on here....I don't have all the answers. Racing was and is an expensive hobby. However, there has to at least be the OPPORTUNITY to break even or possibly make a little money. That opportunity doesn't exist today. This isn't the 60's, 70's, 80's or even the 90's. Not just Silver Crown but the whole sport of open wheel short track racing needs to evolve and reinvent itself to attract new fans and controls costs to get new owners interested in the sport. If changes aren't made, then not only Silver Crown but midgets and eventually sprint cars are going to be as relevant as the horse and buggy.
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