Fans. Plain and simple. the Kings Royal and Knoxville have a cult like following. the PA fans show up at the Big Shows every time. there's more big names that stick around for years and gain more fans. USAC has a great group of racers, but the Outlaws, Allstars and PA dominate when it comes to names.

Or maybe they like to race.

Isn't the Lawrenceburg Fall Nationals at the beginning of October a $10,000 to win race? I could be wrong.🤔🤔

I think its because a track can put up a purse with $1000 to $1500 to win and if theres no USAC or MSCS race, they"ll get the top guys there. When I worked for MSCS on the ride home a couple of us would talk about the races, about the cars we had, some of the top USAC guys would be there, for $2000 to win. I have always thought , and VOICED my opinion about a series should not run for anything under at least $3000 to win. But I can understand their wanting to just race, as I was guilty of doing it myself , using a couple sick days, towing a 6 hour one way haul ( southern Indiana to Eldora) for a race with a $1000 to win with a hope of just making the starting field. I see a couple MSCS races paying 2 to win this year, which I don"t think will even cover their expenses (tires fuel, fuel for Hauler, pit passes, etc,etc)
We need more fans at our non wing races, but I hear people say I"d like to see that race ,but I"m not traveling 2 hours. Well, crap I do that every weekend for local shows, so am I the one who"s crazy or what? But we need more butts in the stands. Sorry bout writeing a book.

The Lawrenceburg Fall Nationals used to pay more, but the last couple of years the race has payed the standard USAC purse.

Incorrect. The Fall Nationals have paid $10,000 to win for several years now, including in 2020.

I look at it this way - If you are a driver making a living racing and there are no races with the particular organization (that pays more than a weekly show) you support it seems to me that racing the weekly show brings in more than the nothing that sitting home brings. If you are supporting a family doesn't $500-$1000 pay, at least, a few of the bills?

If you are a car owner the track hosting the weekly show is more-than-likely to be on your organization's schedule at some point. Wouldn't it be prudent to use that weekly show to get some intelligence on how the track changes and the adjustments that work (and don't work) through the night? What if there is some "experiment" you want to try but cannot afford the risk of it not working when racing for your organization? Isn't there some value in that? From that perspective you can perform some "testing" without having to lay out funds for renting the track. Conversely, you are apt to MAKE money. Isn't that a win-win situation?

Tim Simmons

I think this issue of payouts is directly related to fan interest and fan attendance. I grew up with non wing but I am 1950's old. I attend non wing shows because the sprint cars run closer together and a more competitive form of racing throughout the entire program. If you grew up with high speed wing racing, you go to what you know and appreciate. So, not as many of us OLD guys left to chase the non wings and we remember paying $8 to get in. Fan attendance recently at non wing shows are decent, at best. Younger wing fans remember $15 tickets, unique barnstorming outlaws, and huge crowds. So, wing fans are used to and accept racing as dusty, high speed parades, support $40 tickets, and seek to clan together with lifelong friends at traditional events. The real hope is FLO Racing which will visually compare the two styles of sprint car racing. FLO watching may convert some younger fans over to in person non wing racing live when it comes to their area tracks. Regardless your preference, please support your local tracks, teams, and drivers in 2021 and beyond.

It sure don't make anything sitting in the shop, and you might just get lucky, now if you spend more on the trip, then closer to home might be the better option, when I raced TQ's, I made more, I felt, even before the purses got bigger, than driving all over the country running go-karts for nothing, zero, zip, now I have an attic full of trophy's, and not a dime in compensation, but we were having fun, and we were, I've been all over the country running karts on my own nickels, been to places no one would go on purpose, but I've seen things that those people haven't, and we had fun, much better than a cruise, to me and my wife, money isn't everything, but it's way ahead of what's in second place! I guess you could say the kart racing was part of the learning curve, but maybe I stayed with it too long, the TQ was a blast, and as I was able to do all my own work, and some for others, and almost every time we went to the track, I was usually able to put some $$$$ in my blue jeans, so it wasn't all bad. Like Tim says, you get to rent the track for cheap.

Perception, Wings are better because they are faster. Perception, Wing racing is safer because the wing absorbs alot of the energy during a flip. Wings have been the the norm since the late 70s early 80s. (They must be better). Big money sponsored touring series with big point funds are all wing. High dollar weekly shows are all wing. So unless the next Ted Johnson (non wing variety) or J W Hunt comes along expect only incremental growth.