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 HEY,
WHAT'S RACIN' DOWN AT THE LOCAL TRACK?
Well, as far as "feature" attractions go, not much too much of the
time. And that's what's got me bugged right now. Being a fella pushing
50 years of age, I had the good/bad luck to experience the match race
scene of the late 1960's and early 1970's. It was good because I got
to see most of the big names in touring, pro level drag racing without
traveling all over the Midwest to do so. Bad, because it ain't happening
these days, and isn't likely to, at least not in its former configuration.
Without any regular diet of pro level drag racing to see locally, I've
taken to going to a few local oval tracks. And be they dirt or asphalt
in makeup, they have something very few, if any, drag strips have. They
have at least one class that can be regarded as a professional grade
of racing. And lo and behold, several thousand local citizens have been
known to come in, spend the odd buck or two, and support local hero
racers on a week to week basis.
Now I'm not claiming all oval short tracks are knockin' it in the **s,
financially speaking. All I'm saying is maybe someone should put some
thought into how drag racing on a local level could bring back the weekly
show and with it, the weekly paying spectator.
The first and probably hardest question is what type of race car would
fill the bill as a NATIONWIDE viable feature car. If ya look at what
draws people into oval tracks, it seems fair to focus in on sprint cars
and late model stock cars. In the interest of brevity, we won't get
into dirt versus asphalt, or any other side issues. And affordability
isn't going to be mentioned here. There ain't no such thing, when discussing
race cars. Survivable, maybe. Anyway, when you look at what's in play
out there, that's the way I see it.
So what equates, 1320 style to those two forms of racing? Well, nothing
really, and that may be the crux of the matter. Pro Mod is already well
past the survivable investment phase -- those guys are chasing the NHRA
National holy grail these days anyway. Nitro? No way, these days! If
you don't have John Force coming in, the payers can't be bothered. Super
Pro - great fun to do, won't draw flies. What to do, what to do?
I say it's time to invent the spec Alcohol Funny Car! Now I'm not talking
NHRA national event configuration rigs. Just something that capitalizes
on the public's proven preference for flopper racing, without requiring
the financial support of a major corporation. My vision of said beast
would utilize a crate-style, blown alcohol motor, single mag, limited
to a cost of say, under $20,000. I didn't say this was going to be cheap.
And at least one company has just such a motor, ready to go right now.
Besides, a decent sprint car or dirt late model open comp motor will
set you back at least that much, and there are a lot more of those out
there than there are alcohol F/C's.
Chassis price shouldn't be a staggering roadblock either. When it looked
like nostalgia top fuel racing was poised to take off, you could get
a good new roller for around ten grand, from several sources. The F/C
body would up the ante, but that's what the drag spectator has always
favored. And you just might get a local sponsor or two and have a space
on your car to showcase him. Try that with a black Super Pro dragster!
Anyway, this is just a half-baked idea at this stage. But what's to
lose at this point? Dragstrips are usually devoid of paying spectators,
a situation I don't see an upside to. Why not try to come up with something
to bring back regular customers to your place of business?
And there is another thing to consider here too. The price of gasoline
in this country isn't getting any cheaper. Most racers, including wannabes
like me, generally start off thinking in terms of putting together a
racing schedule that includes X number of races reasonably close to
home, with a few farther flung destinations thrown in for marketing
reasons or whatever. As the cost of traveling rises, the question must
be asked -- What is a reasonable distance to travel to a race?
As the cost rises, the range decreases, or at least it would in my
case. I have talked to more than a few racers who are already cutting
back, if not eliminating road trips to races they have been competing
at for years. They just can't see spending the kind of money it takes
to simply get up and down the road. Can't say I blame them for feeling
that way. The time may come (if it hasn't already) to get back to building
up the program at the local drag strips. I can't help but feel there
are any number of racers who would like nothing better than to have
the opportunity to be a "local hero," driving an interesting, attention-grabbing
race car that might even be capable of attracting the local business
community to the local drag racing scene.
Let me know what you think of this idea. Maybe I'm all wet, but I don't
think so! Later!
racer4339@aol.com
photo by Jeff Burk
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