It just has to be said that in the racing sporting world we inhabit today, as fans, as sponsors, as competitors, as owners--any of us--it can't be denied that what floats the average person's boat, if all else is equal, is SPEED. Not only do the winged cars go faster than the traditional sprinters, the sensation of that increased speed is dramatic on the smaller tracks that are the lifeblood of the sport.
Now, we who watch both traditional and winged sprints may know with absolute certainty that all things are NOT equal from a competitive and aesthetic standpoint between the two disciplines. But in any geographic area where the predominant version of sprints to watch are winged, the first impression many fairweather observers have is that the traditional sprints are demonstrably Slower.
So these folks, if they are inclined to watch maybe a race a month or so, are inclined to feel that "bang for their buck" means seeing the fastest go at it. Thus, an entity like the WoO is absolutely ideal for them: they come into town sparingly (optimizing buzz), put up a track record to verify their alpha status, and move on down the road. Crowds may be down these days, but there was nowhere to go BUT down when capacity was the norm only a few years ago.
What this essentially does is put pressure on bodies like USAC to have their product 's house in order to such an extent that the undeniable superiority they possess from an on-track-action standpoint somehow wins the day when the "swing voters"--those who aren't addicted the way most on this here board are--decide to spend their money.
Well, USAC's house is...not..entirely Ordered that way. The Silver Crown Series is an anchor as an expense to the teams, and an albatross around the necks of management, who haven't figured out the way to maximize that division's value since....I give up. Someone tell me. Quasi-fenders; No fenders; Starters; No starters; Mostly dirt miles; Mostly paved supertracks; Stand alone division; Craftsman Trucks's stepchildren; Day Races; Dusk Races (after Nascar's flavor of the day has finally finished). Oy.
We can only hope that we aren't going to live to see the demise of traditional short track racing, but who would want to wager that possibility? For sure, the Heyday is long gone. As in, loooong gone. We can all strive to keep this sport relevant with our moral and financial support, but even from last year to this year there has been a depreciation: As of now, Hockett, Clayton, Ballou, Bacon and Schuerenberg are outside looking in. Or maybe not. Maybe looking forward. If every race last season would have been a top five tussle between just those names, would that not have been a time capsule event? Now, they're subtracted from the show (at least for now--hopefully to return).
Someone asked last week about the "If you won the lottery"-scenario. I'd hope almost any of us would invest in the payout improvements to the teams that compete, just to make it so that they didn't have to grovel for sponsorship just to exist. Hope one of us is holding the winning ticket.