While going through the latest issue of the NSSN magazine, I happened across a small story in the "Looking Back" section. The story noted that Jud Larson had won $950 from a total purse of $5250 for winning a 30 lap USAC sprint car race at Eldora in April of 1965. Being a retired engineer, I decided to compare 1965 to today.
A little searching on the Internet showed that to convert 1965 dollars to 2015 dollars the multiplier is 7.2. So:
$950 in 1965 = $6840 in 2015
$5250 in 1965 = $37,800 in 2015
Jud Larson won $950 from a total purse of $5250, or the winners share was 18.1% of the total purse.
On April 4 2015, Logan Jarrett won $5000 from a total purse of $22,450 or a winners share of 22.2%.
I don't know what a ticket cost for that Eldora race in 1965, but I do know that a ticket for my first USAC race (Salem, July 1967) was $4.00. In 2015 dollars converting from 1967, that same ticket would be $28.
So what's the point of all this rambling? Everyone has said that purses have not kept up with inflation, but I've never been able to quantify those perceptions until now. And while there is a lot of complaining on here about ticket prices, they are slightly underpriced from where they should be IF one uses the same multiplier for purses and tickets.
Now, before anyone says I'm bashing USAC, I'M NOT!! I'm a long time USAC fan. This example is being made because the information is readily available. I am pretty positive if there was information on local track purses from 1965 and it were to be compared to today, the results would look similar.
Would be more interesting to see what the attendance of fans was back then vs now. Cept for Sprint week and a few others
I noticed packed grandstands in all the old photos, vids.
And while there is still some interaction. You also had Indy stars running All the Champ car and many of the sprint and midget USAC shows.
Meaning, if the attendance was today, What it was back then. Much larger purses could be offered without the ever looming threat of a huge loss.
I don't think the ticket prices are terrible at all these days. Last night to see USAC midgets plus sprints at Kokomo it was $20. I reserved a couple of seats for both nights of USAC/WoO at Eldora in a few weeks and those seats in the main grandstand were $29 a pop which isn't bad at all to see both the premier non-wing series and premier wing series on the same nights.
Compare those prices to the absurd prices people pay for trashCAR tickets. My mom and dad use to have reserved seats up at Michigan Int'l they first got in the mid 80s. Back then the seats were somewhere between 20-25. They stopped renewing them a few years ago when they were $85...
Excellent post! I have read several racing related books recently, mostly biographies about Johnnie Parsons, Bill Vukovich, Parnelli Jones, Crocky Wright, and others, and I noticed in the photos that the grandstands were always packed for all the sprint car races in the fifties and sixties. I first went to Salem for the Joe James - Pat O'Connor race in 1967, and it was SRO. It was that way for many years; same thing at DuQuoin for the Champ cars. Terre Haute used to be packed to the rafters every race. Haven't seen that in years. Auto racing was not considered a mainstream sport back in the day, so how did all those people find out about the races and make their way to the various tracks? I do remember Salem ran radio ads in Evansville, (believe the announcer identified himself as Charlie Ryal, not sure of spelling), but there wasn't much publicity other than that that I remember. So, with auto racing supposedly more mainstream, and more publicity, why don't we have bigger crowds? I don't have the answer, do you?
I don't think anyone had indiana open wheel or anything else today's technology delivers back then to present entertainment options. It's that simple. Today you can watch current movies with the push of a button for a few bucks without getting off your couch, not to mention all the other sports that are delivered to your living room on satellite or cable. If you haven't grown-up with our sport, chances are these days, something else more popular will grab your attention
That's why its so important to try to introduce people to the sport.
Being in Fort Wayne for school I do my best to bring guys or gals along to the track that have never been to a race before.
One of the most gratifying experiences I've had: A few years back I brought a friend from class along to Gas City one Friday night that had never been to a race, last year I ran into him a two different Sprint Week races and he had introduced his girlfriend (now fiance) to the sport. They're both hooked now.
If everyone did that once in awhile think how much we could not only grow the sport but help those tracks like a Gas City that's struggled in recent years
Nate, I try, but when the closest track to run sprints regularly is a little over 2 hours away, it's a tough sell. I know anyone who enjoys motorsports would be hooked if I could get em to kokomo or the hut. But when you don't know what your getting into, and you got an 8 hour time investment, most folks have a hard time committing
Originally Posted by flagboy55:
Nate, I try, but when the closest track to run sprints regularly is a little over 2 hours away, it's a tough sell. I know anyone who enjoys motorsports would be hooked if I could get em to kokomo or the hut. But when you don't know what your getting into, and you got an 8 hour time investment, most folks have a hard time committing
Completely understand where you're coming from. Besides Gas City or Montpelier I've got at least an hour and a half to get anywhere else. But just think of all those people who live close and are at the track 2/3 times a week.
But thank you for making an effort. I'm already all over people to go this year that have never been. We took a guy with us to Kokomo that had never been there before last night.
