USAC announces Jason Smith as new president

nathans1012 · 4/9/24, 11:59 AM

USAC Racing proudly announces the appointment of Jason Smith as its new President.

With 20+ years at USAC in various competition positions, he brings a wealth of experience & a proven track record in motorsports leadership to his new role.

Full Story
https://usacracing.com/component/k2/...of-usac-racing

BrentTFunk · 4/9/24, 6:33 PM

Worked with Jason when he was with USAC, and I was at Kokomo. Always thought he was good guy.

flagboy55 · 4/9/24, 10:09 PM

So what does this change or do? I see this as a nothingburger. Actually I hope it doesn’t change too much, because USAC already has the best product. Will Jason convince the racing consumer what many of us already know? I doubt it. I hope it has some benefit, I’ve seen his name around forever. As long as we don’t go backwards, you could make me the
President, and I would be ok with it. I enjoy cliches. One is the more things change, the more they stay the same. In this case, I’m ok with that

The Old Coyote · 4/9/24, 10:23 PM

It sounds to me they created the President position. Companies usually do this sort of thing so the executive management can concentrate on "the big picture" and leave the nitty gritty of getting things done to "hands on" people.

I don't know the guy, but it seems he is a "racer" and that this is a good move that will help grow the product.

flagboy55 · 4/9/24, 10:39 PM

I did forget to add one more thought to the topic. I was very concerned about the term’s diversity and equity being used in the press release. It was one word short of a failed ideology that plagues our country now. Bud Light comes to mind

TommyTipover · 4/10/24, 9:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flagboy55

I did forget to add one more thought to the topic. I was very concerned about the term’s diversity and equity being used in the press release. It was one word short of a failed ideology that plagues our country now. Bud Light comes to mind

So dumb

RacingFan52 · 4/10/24, 10:16 AM

I hope one of his duties is to find series sponsors so that we can get off the minimum $5k to win. I know lots of races pay more but the minimum needs to get up up there higher. We claim this is the pinnacle of n/w racing; let's pay like it is. I realize that we are in a moment of time where these sponsors are hard to find but the winged world seems to be finding money somewhere. I just want a piece of it for n/w!

ThrowbackRacingTeam · 4/10/24, 10:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RacingFan52

I hope one of his duties is to find series sponsors so that we can get off the minimum $5k to win. I know lots of races pay more but the minimum needs to get up up there higher. We claim this is the pinnacle of n/w racing; let's pay like it is. I realize that we are in a moment of time where these sponsors are hard to find but the winged world seems to be finding money somewhere. I just want a piece of it for n/w!

It sucks when guys like Kyle Larson and Tony Stewart turn their back on non-wing sprints. It’s going to take some deep pockets and someone willing to risk it to turn things around.

Midget98 · 4/10/24, 12:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RacingFan52

I hope one of his duties is to find series sponsors so that we can get off the minimum $5k to win. I know lots of races pay more but the minimum needs to get up up there higher. We claim this is the pinnacle of n/w racing; let's pay like it is. I realize that we are in a moment of time where these sponsors are hard to find but the winged world seems to be finding money somewhere. I just want a piece of it for n/w!

Sponsors (Advertisers), generally, go where the most people are. In sprint cars racing right now that is winged sprint cars. If you want higher payouts the only way to do it is with more fans in the stands. I'm not saying USAC couldn't do more to help that, but it really comes down to what the largest share of entertainment consumers are wanting to watch. It's no real mystery. There's not some person getting rich behind the scenes while the racers get the same purse they did 15 years ago. If the attendance were the same as USAC as they are for WoO or High Limit with the same ticket prices, you would likely have the same purses.

Chief Wahoo · 4/10/24, 1:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flagboy55

I did forget to add one more thought to the topic. I was very concerned about the term’s diversity and equity being used in the press release. It was one word short of a failed ideology that plagues our country now. Bud Light comes to mind

Hopefully diversity is meant in the context of different tracks and equality means level playing field ( no cheating ).