The Scoop
PROMOTERS REMAIN CAUTIOUSLY OPTIMISTIC ABOUT ’22 RACE SEASON DESPITE PAIN AT THE PUMP
Posted on: Thursday March 17, 2022
Weekly and touring series short track promoters across the Midwest remain cautiously optimistic despite soaring gas prices and inflation rates not seen since the late 1970s.
Motorsports is many things to many different people. At the end of the day, it’s entertainment. It’s a want – not a need. And with the cost of everything in our everyday lives on the rise will racers and fans begin to cut back on their travels? While that remains to be seen after talking with several promoters from the Midwest the majority feel car counts may not be a problem – at least to start out with.
As the dog daze of summer roll on maybe earlier than normal a blown motor or wrecked front stub or rear clip may retire a team. It’s a crapshoot as far as the race teams go.
And how to draw those fans to the track? Car pooling for longer races is something that’s already been bantered about. The tracks who have the strongest local fan and driver base within say 30 to 45 minutes may have the best chance to wind up in the black when the final checkered flag flies in 2022.
Each racetrack finds their own unique challenges. Take Eagle River Speedway, for example. The dirt track tucked away in Wisconsin’s Northwoods doesn’t enjoy having a huge, local base of drivers that tracks closer to larger metropolitan areas may enjoy.
Track promoters Pat and Patti Zdroik recently announced they’ll employ random $50 gas card drawings for drivers in their respective classes. For the fans each week they’ll have some type of concessions deal to help ease the “pain at the pump” just a bit.
I personally feel that promoters may be quick to pull the pin if weather looks iffy – maybe earlier than past seasons. That part of it is a no brainer. Tire management and availability was an issue in 2021 and for various reasons (we strive to avoid getting political here) it will likely be that way yet this year.
Here are the respective takes of some of the promoters we reached out to regarding the upcoming 2022 racing season:
Steve Sinclair, IRA Outlaw Sprint Car Series – “Obviously gas prices are a concern for all involved, teams and fans. When schedules were created this winter, nobody planned on prices being as high as they are. As for regional tours, we are working on Plan B if adjustments need to be made. And yes, I do think weather forecasts will come into play, and do believe in some cases a quick pull will be more common. Tough decision for promoter. Between fuel prices, both for the hauler and the race car, tire price increases, and supply chain issues for parts, teams will simply do what they can afford to. Mid-season engine rebuilds are a concern too as components not readily available. Racers race though.”
Gregg McKarns, Madison International Speedway Oregon, WI – “At Madison we implemented a 12 percent purse increase for our weekly MIS divisions. We remain a one tire a night track for our Weekly Late Models. We are all resourceful and will find a path forward.
There is concern across the board with regards to car counts and fan attendance as there always is. We will continue to offer the best product we can and let the chips fall as they may. And last year, due to tire shortages, we made weather decisions earlier than I ever had in 20 plus years of doing this.”
John Ostermann, President Dickinson County Racing Association/Norway Speedway – “We were able to get ahold of some late model and super stock tires early as we know the costs will go up after April 1. Inflation and gas prices are very concerning, no doubt.” (Author’s note – What helps Norway out tremendously is that for most races they will allow carry ins as they have for decades. Norway’s Friday night program provides some of the most affordable family entertainment in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and northeastern Wisconsin.)
Matt Panure, TUNDRA Super Late Model Series – “TUNDRA has always aimed to be friendly on Super Late Model racers’ wallets – at least as much as we can be. We’ll continue to keep costs down as much as possible, especially when it comes to entry and tire cost. We’re looking to boost our purses this year to help rising costs. Our biggest challenge last year was the availability of tires. It looks like that will be a challenge again this year. We’ll probably have to limit sales of practice tires or eliminate that altogether, which in theory should save racers money.
At this point I’m concerned about car counts later in the season. An accident or blown engine used to be something racers could bounce back from relatively quickly. This year the budget to make the repairs might not be there. I feel like most traveling series promoters have been conscious of this for a few years now. When it comes to TUNDRA events, we usually consult with the team who will be traveling the furthest and get a timeline of when they’ll start their journey. That usually sets the bar for when we have to make our best educated guess as to whether or not we’re going to give it a shot.
Joe Orsini, The ‘Burg Speedway, Luxemburg, WI – “We are currently leaving our ticket prices at $10 for adult admission but our concession prices will be impacted by the inflation. The prices for everything are higher and we are still searching for a way to reduce that impact on our drivers. The best we have been able to do is to hold our pit stall reservation prices and pit pass cost the same as previous years to at least not make racing more expensive for drivers.
We have lost a few sponsors this year but gained some new ones. We have been trying to tread water there as well and kept our marketing partnership costs the same as previous years and have been working with our existing and new sponsors to customize a package to fit their specific needs. We are facing a double-edged sword in that we cannot increase payout to help our drivers without also increasing pit pass fees, adding driver entry fees, raising grandstand admission, or increasing the cost of sponsorship packages.
In the current inflationary climate, none of those seem like wise decisions. We’re also facing increased expenses for track prep via skyrocketing fuel costs and the general increase in parts to maintain our track prep equipment.
We have seen some other tracks in Wisconsin raise their grandstand admission prices, but we are still trying to draw back a dedicated crowd of fans and don’t feel a ticket price increase would help that.
Fuel costs are a major concern for bringing in fans and drivers this year. We are hopeful that a comparatively lower admission price will attract fans to support our Sunday night show as we aim to provide the best bang for the buck we can for their entertainment dollars. Unfortunately, fans will only have so much money to spend and the bigger impact could be with concession consumption more than dropping attendance numbers.
We have a great group of drivers that have supported our track the last couple seasons. Some are there weekly; some make it out when their schedule or budget allows it. Thanks to all of them we have had full fields of cars even if it is different faces every week. We were happy to see several drivers come down from UPIR to run with us a few times throughout the year and expect gas prices could impact their ability to do that. The flip side of high fuel prices is that drivers might focus more on their local tracks versus chasing big money, out of town shows. 2022 is looking to be another challenging season and we will be doing our best to ride out the storm and continue to build on the successes we had in 2020 and 2021.”
John Sternard, The Hill Raceway. Sturgeon Bay, WI – “With gas prices climbing it is concerning, however we feel as a track if we can continue to offer driver incentives, fan giveaways, and continue to show the fans and drivers we re-invest into our nightly shows as we have in past, that showing that appreciation to them should keep them coming.”
Brian Ambrosius, Little Buckaroo Jr. Motorsports Park – “The only prices I see that may need to be adjusted slightly is at the food shack. Also, if it looks like it’s going to rain with a pretty good percentage during the show we’ll do our best to cancel before teams get there and save them some gas money.”