Originally Posted by AlkyMadness
Time for me to act like I know what I'm talking about again.
The question shouldn't be how many people does it take to make a big event, but how much does it need to pay (especially if this big event entails a long tow by the teams).
I've said this before, I'll say it again: Any/all series need to be more worried about building a strong home base as opposed to playing Captain Kirk and boldly going where no series has gone before.
Unless drastic changes occur, gas will be approaching $5/gallon by the end of the season and diesel will probably be $6/gallon. Inflation is creeping into everything. Corporate (or even local) sponsorships are being cut back as everyone trys to survive. Record numbers of home foreclosures, soaring credit debt and layoffs. Add all this up and people are starting to circle the wagons, watching their expenses.
Anything that results in higher team (and fan) expense needs to be put aside (for now/not forever).
That is unless the sanctioning body is going to start paying a minimum of $10,000 to win, $500 to start for every race run outside of Indiana (in addition to paying tow money of $250 to any team that participates in at least the non-qualifiers race).
And that would still be an average race when measured against the other successful touring series (ie WoO sprints, and numerous dirt late model sanctions). A truly Big Event should pay at least three times that much. Again, look at the successful touring series.
Another aspect of growing the series out of Indiana: You stand a great chance of dis-enchanting your current loyal fan base. All you have to do is look at NASCAR for that (they won't admit it, but they now regret some of their moves away from tradition). Their loyal fans feel betrayed and left behind. I used to be one of them and now, I could care less about going back even if they gave me tickets. I've moved on and that void has been filled by something else.
Another concern: will your teams even elect to do the travel? If you've got a race 500+ miles away and MSCS or POWERi have a good paying event close to home, will at least 30 plus make the trip, or race close to home.
And then their's the idea of marketing to the younger crowd and winning new fans. Again, this comes with the possibility of turning off the loyal fan base. USAC sells itself on being "TRADITIONAL" and "HISTORIC". And those are qualities that I admire and appreciate. But I'm 50 and, somehow, I don't think the new manifesto of growth is aimed toward people like me.
The people who this new approach is aimed at don't give a flying f... about History and Tradition. They want glitz/glam/speed and fury. Not saying USAC sprints don't have speed and fury (I think they've got more fury) but them there danged wanged sprinters why they fly. Average American doesn't want the History Channel, they want American Idol (even though the History Channel would be better for them). And, don't count on them sticking around if they do come your way. In a few years, you are "yesterday's thing" and you're not cool anymore and you'll be dumped by about 80%.
I still think USAC needs to stick to it's roots (and forget that damn spec engine ****) and stay where non wing 410s are popular. Mainly Indiana. If you want to expand, look at running more in Ohio, Kentucky, Illinois and Michigan. These are not long hauls and our kind of sprint racing is not exactly a major commodity in these markets. I mean, look at it. There is a handful of USAC sprint races in Ohio (four I think), one race in Illinois and zero in Kentucky or Michigan. Now, these are the states that you could grow a bigger fan base and these people live close enough that they could somewhat afford to drive around (as in to Indiana) to support the series. There are a lot of wonderful race tracks in these states, dirt and asphalt. Use them. After ten years, if that's successful, then grow a little further.
And, as always, forget about the Southeast. Nobody cares. After all the events run at the Lowes dirt track, I've yet to hear a single person in this area say that they missed the USAC sprints. And, they are struggling to sell tickets for this coming weekends WoO show (the biggest draw to locals is the Fastrack crate late models).
The only open wheeled show that people in this area still talk about is the super mods at Concord.
I don't envy Kevin Miller and associates. It's a thankless job and you'll never satisfy everybody (and those that are satisfied will rarely admit it). I wish him luck in tough times.
Hell, even Humpy Wheeler has announced his retirement. That should tell us all something. He could care less about his age, his enthusiasm is still as strong as ever. But, he sees the writing on the wall and I think he wants to go out on top and not live thru the decline.
Hopefully, I haven't put you all to sleep.
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