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I am not a driver, car owner or track owner/promoter. I am just a fan trying to understand the logic. Over the last couple of years there have been some threads and several comments about how purses for nw sprint car racing needs to improve, or costs need to come down (yeah...like THAT will happen!).
So this past Saturday night, Paragon drew 32 cars paying $1400/win and (I think) $150/start. LPS drew 22 cars and paid $1500/win and (again, I think) $150/start. Plymouth drew 15 cars and paid $2000/win and ?/start. Waynesburg (WRP) drew 25 cars and paid $3000/win and $300/start. Lawrenceburg/BOSS drew 29 cars and paid $1500/win and $250/start. Tri-State/MSCS drew 17 cars and paid $5000/win and $250/start. Using Indianapolis as a base, approximate driving distances (per Google) are: Paragon, 40 miles; LPS 47 miles; Lawrenceburg, 98 miles; Plymouth 122 miles; Tri-State 145 miles; and WRP 171 miles. Using 10 mpg and $3.00/gallon for diesel, the min and max costs for round trip fuel are $24 (Paragon) and $102 (WRP).
Yes, that is 140 nw sprint cars, which I agree is a LOT of cars. What I don't understand is why the track paying the largest purse had the second lowest car count. Is this due to the travel distance? Is it due to the sanctioning body? Is it due to the fact that a track upset a bunch competitors? Is it because the purse is "front end loaded" and not spread far down he field? Or is it drivers/car owners want to "cherry pick" and try and guess where the weakest field will be to get the best finish?
With that said, looking at the situation Saturday night, what incentive does a promoter have to take a risk and up the purse? If upping the purse means less cars, how is that logical?
Steve
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