So, after church Sunday, I sit down at the computer and go through all the racing sites and my FaceBook friends, searching for subject matter for tonight’s segment. Nada! Zilch! Nothing! Then, I get a phone call from a young man who has dreams of racing and he and I talk for 20 minutes. That is immediately followed up with a phone call from another friend of mine, much older, who is awaiting the start of the season, but, surprisingly to me, not so much the local track scene where he is usually found on Saturday nights, but he is looking forward to NASCAR racing. After a total 45 minutes of conversation in these two phone calls, my lack of subject matter was resolved as I shall attempt to delve into the essence of these two conversations.
First, as to the young man with dreams of the big time, he and I have had the conversation many times. He wants an opportunity and I personally believe, from what I have seen, that he has the raw talent. Further, he presents himself in such a manner as to be a sponsor’s dream. Still, he has no means by which he can realize his dream. He does not have the money to invest in even the least expensive of racing series and he simply cannot get his foot in the door. As we have talked about on this very show in the past, money is what it is all about now in racing, although I had not yet realized this had trickled down to the local level. What a surprise it was for me to learn what it costs to run the local dirt tracks on Saturday night with merely a chance to place, not win mind you, but place. Somehow, that has gotten far out of hand. Even more, when my friend and I discussed the level of competition in the go-karts, with which many of you are familiar although I am not, it is not the competition in driving skill that is the issue, it is the competition in, once again, the money it takes to maintain a racing go-kart. Seems there is very little opportunity for someone wanting to make racing a career to get his or her foot in the door unless they have money to burn.
The story of the young man with the dream sort of dove-tails into the story of my friend (I would call him elderly but he’s a year younger than I) in that this friend of mine has, for more than 50 years, lived for the weekly short track shows anywhere they may run. Myrtle Beach, I-77 Speedway, Sumter, Lancaster, Gaffney, Anderson, anywhere within a couple hour’s driving distance. My friend, and I’m not using his name intentionally as he is well known in the racing circles, said that 2012 was his last year following the short tracks. He said from now on he will stay home, watch NASCAR on television, and if he never sees another weekly show it will be too soon for him. I seriously doubt that he will make it until May before he recants that promise, but then, he is a man of strong will.
I asked him, silly me, if it was his health. He sort of laughed, and rightly so, because he is in excellent health and in the 50 plus years I've known him I don’t remember him even having a headache. He went on to say that it is the blatant disregard (his words) of the short track promoters for the fans that has turned him away. He said that for the past six or seven years the short tracks attempt to run four, five or six classes of cars, and some tracks, in addition to heat races, run time trials for the upper divisions. He said that many of the shows he attended prior to six years ago were over by 10:30 p.m., 11:00 p.m. at the latest, and he would be home and in bed by 1:30 a.m. The past two years, he says, he has attended events that aren't even over until 1:30 a.m. on Sunday morning. He told of one event where there were so many classes, so many cars, and so many time trials, that he left the track at 1:00 before the feature for the top class even started. He and I recalled the days of our youth, when we would go to events where there were two, maybe three classes, and the events went off without a hitch, most times, and we would be homeward bound by 10:30 in the evening... and the racing was excellent in every division.
In an effort to dig further into my friend’s now distinct change in attitude, I asked him what, in his opinion, was the reason for the big change. He told me that tracks now try to get as many cars and classes as they can come up with because it is more profitable to charge the competitors entrance fees than it is to sell tickets to the grandstands. He told me of one track where 10 and 11 year olds were driving cars he would not allow his grandson to even look at, but it was being done by the track in an effort to draw in more folks through the young drivers bringing their families to the events. I have been to some short track races and have seen the kids race and it is much more scary than it is entertaining. I just can’t seem to get into that. Would seem to me that the age 16 would be a good starting point for driving a race car, any type race car except maybe the Legends and Bandolero classes.
My friend went on to say that some tracks have reasonable ticket prices but forbid you to bring in coolers. At those tracks, he says, concession prices are beyond the realm of reason. None of that makes him happy.
As we further discussed all our years around races, I brought up the Bell & Bell series as an alternative experience since he and I had both been around to see cars like those run on the tracks around South Carolina. I shot down his first argument that “those guys don’t really race” by telling him I had been to one of the events and I could guarantee there was racing going on out there on the track. I told him about some of the guys I know personally who are involved in that series and the dedication those guys have to the sport. He finally said that maybe he and I could get together and attend one of those events this season and I assured him I would keep him up with the schedule. I asked him to join us here tonight and to join RacersReunion. That drew a hearty laugh as he said he has absolutely nothing to do with a computer, doesn't get near them, and that he uses his cell phone ONLY to answer calls coming in. Says he only has a cell phone for family emergencies.
I suppose this Legendtorial is lacking in material we usually find to discuss during the season, but the intent is to say that when someone such as my friend has lost interest in a passion he has had for 50 plus years, our racing world is suffering. He was never one to go to NASCAR events after the short tracks went away, although he would never miss Darlington. He was not one who would usually watch the NASCAR events on television, always seeming to find other more interesting things to do. He said NASCAR lost him years ago, when certain drivers were becoming stars when he didn't believe they should even be allowed on the track. I know you've heard me disparage D.W. before, along with other drivers, but I have sort of backed off that negative rhetoric. I’m still not a big fan of Jaws, but I will try my best to find the good in what he does. As for my friend, his names for D.W. and several others, can’t be mentioned on radio, even internet radio where we aren't held to FCC standards. But, then again, with some of the things I see and hear on television these days, maybe there are no longer any standards in the FCC.
My friend says he will be interested in NASCAR this year because it appears, as we discussed last week, that the sport is returning to at least a small part of its roots. He is impressed with the new cars and he is hoping to see some new drivers show some talent behind the wheel. He declined to name a favorite, but there are a couple drivers he absolutely detests, who shall remain nameless in this report.
So, folks, what is the answer? We have long said here to support you local tracks and your local weekly shows. I have made a few such events over the past three or four years and while my experiences haven’t been quite as bad as my friend, he does have valid points. So, do we continue to support the weekly shows? Give us some feedback on tracks YOU have found that put on good shows, treat the drivers and fans right, and are worth attending. I would like to have some response to that question, either at my e-mail or posted in a Forum. Maybe we can put together a list of tracks worth attending. I have to admit my conversation with my friend hit me hard. I grew up attending races every week. Sometimes on Thursday nights, Friday nights and Saturday nights, at places like Columbia Speedway, Newberry Speedway, Augusta Speedway, Savannah Speedway and Myrtle Beach Speedway. I've been to Sumter and I-77. Is there even ONE of those tracks named still running a weekly show? I don’t think so and that is a sad reflection on the sport.
I don’t have the answer. If I did, I would become a promoter somewhere. I hate to see the weekly shows gone but I guess it is inevitable. The high school my friend and I attended had a football team always in contention for the State Championship back in the day. Wherever that team played, the stands were packed. When that same school plays today, there aren’t enough people in the stands to warrant a concession stand opening.
My friend has promised to stay in touch and although he will never read or hear what I say about him here, I’m sure he will appreciate the fact that his words are going further than my ears. He is one who truly loves stock car racing. To hear him say the things he said today was sort of like hearing of a good friend being diagnosed with cancer. It’s sad but I hope there is a brighter light shining somewhere that will bring a resurgence to the local short tracks.
-Tim
Email: legendtim83@yahoo.com
Twitter: @legendtim83
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