Doug
Announcer
There has been alot of talk recently about one of the St. Louis tracks considering a move away from UMP in favor of something else. This move is not unprecedented, as Tri City Speedway left the UMP fold in the mid 1990's and spent a number of years racing under the NASCAR banner. Most who raced TCS during that era say they had fun and prices were fairly well contained. And that brings us to the topic of my latest brainstorm.
Actually, it's something I have been tallking to Tim Herbst about for a number of years, even predating our ill-fated attempt at sustaining the CARS sanction some ten years ago. We have been saying how the current cost spiral is not sustainable, and will eventually lead to the face of our sport changing. Naysayers then said we were "Chicken Littles," claiming the sky was falling, and many still believe that. But the proof is becoming more clear all the time. If you haven't heard, there was a recent meeting between some of the power players in St. Louis motorsports (of the dirt track variety) discussing possible options other than UMP. Belle - Claire Speedway's promoter recently put it out there on Facebook that there is a possibility that track may do something different in the future, which has brough about passionate responses both for and against the move. So what are the chances of that happening? At this point, I'm not sure anyone knows.
Don't say it can't happen. 20 years ago you could see a good sprint car show nearly any time you wanted to and didn't have to drive too far. But now most 410 sprint car racing is limited to the touring MOWA series. Late Models are not immune from the same fate. Could the division survive if it prices itself out of existence like iots open-wheel brethren did a generation ago? I had a chance to talk to MOWA Announcer Dewayne Hewlett about how the organization came about, and you can listen to that here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?id=93007174237&story_fbid=10152683531394238
But now I've gotten off track. Back to the conversation Tim and I have had over the course of not only this season, but much of our recent history. Obviously something needs to be done to contain costs. For the support classes, neither of us see where they need to be nationally sanctioned. Come up with a sensible set of cost cutting rules. Follow those rules, and consistently enforce them. That goes for on-track behavior as well - strict and consistent. In the upper divisions, there are two schools of thought. We could either blow it all up and start from scratch, or take the existing Late Models and Modifieds and try to get things under control again. It's no secret that some of the top Modified teams are spending what was once considered to be a good Late Model budget, and some former champions of the Modified division are now running B-Mods. Marty Smith Jr. and John Stanton are two examples that immediately come to mind.
The modifieds, when first introduced to this area, were a support division. A replacement for the Econo Late Models (which died due to a lack of rules enforcement and the subsequent escalating costs) and a stepping stone from Street Stocks to the Late Models. At some point the class for most became a destination rather than a bridge from a beginner's class to the featured division. And that's fine if that's where you are most comfortable. My suggestion is to reign in both the mods and late models, but how do you do that? The simple answer is that there is no simple answer. Harder tires seem to be universally accepted as a way to make sure that even if you are making a gazillion horsepower, you aren't hooking it all up. But how about motors?
In the Late Models, at least for the weekly show, powerplants need some restrictions. I'm not saying a move to crate engines only, but some formula that keeps crates in the mix, and allows teams with their unlimited engines to get enough life out of them to live to their next rebuild before they have to sell them or put them in the corner of the shop. If you want to run a big time unlimited show, drop your big motor back in just for that special event. Mike "Wahoo" Jones did something similar this weekend at DuQuoin in his B-Mod. According to a Facebook post, he "Gave her a transplant and a lot of work." That is what we're talking about. Keeping the basics of the car the same for the weekly racer, so that with a change of motor and tires you can head off to race in that big show, wherever it is.
And finally back to the sanction. Is one needed? That's a matter of opinion, and strength in numbers. Going it alone might not work as well as it did for Bob Wente in the 1990's and early 2000's. Say what you will about the way things were, but remember this - as the only track going against the UMP powerhouses, he managed to not only survive, but make a living (yes, he was a full-time promoter) doing things differently. His strength was the restrictive rules in the support classes, and the NASCAR banner for the top division. Want another example? Tim Herbst at Greenville. Right before Wente brought him in to Tri City, he was running a successful non-sanctioned show at a fairgrounds track that had little in the way of support from many of the "names." But what he did have was a group of budget racers who were there every week and put on a good show.
So where do we go from here? I've always been a fan of thinking outside the box, so let's hear some of your suggestions. Keep it on track, no name calling, and be prepared to defend your idea.
Actually, it's something I have been tallking to Tim Herbst about for a number of years, even predating our ill-fated attempt at sustaining the CARS sanction some ten years ago. We have been saying how the current cost spiral is not sustainable, and will eventually lead to the face of our sport changing. Naysayers then said we were "Chicken Littles," claiming the sky was falling, and many still believe that. But the proof is becoming more clear all the time. If you haven't heard, there was a recent meeting between some of the power players in St. Louis motorsports (of the dirt track variety) discussing possible options other than UMP. Belle - Claire Speedway's promoter recently put it out there on Facebook that there is a possibility that track may do something different in the future, which has brough about passionate responses both for and against the move. So what are the chances of that happening? At this point, I'm not sure anyone knows.
Don't say it can't happen. 20 years ago you could see a good sprint car show nearly any time you wanted to and didn't have to drive too far. But now most 410 sprint car racing is limited to the touring MOWA series. Late Models are not immune from the same fate. Could the division survive if it prices itself out of existence like iots open-wheel brethren did a generation ago? I had a chance to talk to MOWA Announcer Dewayne Hewlett about how the organization came about, and you can listen to that here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?id=93007174237&story_fbid=10152683531394238
But now I've gotten off track. Back to the conversation Tim and I have had over the course of not only this season, but much of our recent history. Obviously something needs to be done to contain costs. For the support classes, neither of us see where they need to be nationally sanctioned. Come up with a sensible set of cost cutting rules. Follow those rules, and consistently enforce them. That goes for on-track behavior as well - strict and consistent. In the upper divisions, there are two schools of thought. We could either blow it all up and start from scratch, or take the existing Late Models and Modifieds and try to get things under control again. It's no secret that some of the top Modified teams are spending what was once considered to be a good Late Model budget, and some former champions of the Modified division are now running B-Mods. Marty Smith Jr. and John Stanton are two examples that immediately come to mind.
The modifieds, when first introduced to this area, were a support division. A replacement for the Econo Late Models (which died due to a lack of rules enforcement and the subsequent escalating costs) and a stepping stone from Street Stocks to the Late Models. At some point the class for most became a destination rather than a bridge from a beginner's class to the featured division. And that's fine if that's where you are most comfortable. My suggestion is to reign in both the mods and late models, but how do you do that? The simple answer is that there is no simple answer. Harder tires seem to be universally accepted as a way to make sure that even if you are making a gazillion horsepower, you aren't hooking it all up. But how about motors?
In the Late Models, at least for the weekly show, powerplants need some restrictions. I'm not saying a move to crate engines only, but some formula that keeps crates in the mix, and allows teams with their unlimited engines to get enough life out of them to live to their next rebuild before they have to sell them or put them in the corner of the shop. If you want to run a big time unlimited show, drop your big motor back in just for that special event. Mike "Wahoo" Jones did something similar this weekend at DuQuoin in his B-Mod. According to a Facebook post, he "Gave her a transplant and a lot of work." That is what we're talking about. Keeping the basics of the car the same for the weekly racer, so that with a change of motor and tires you can head off to race in that big show, wherever it is.
And finally back to the sanction. Is one needed? That's a matter of opinion, and strength in numbers. Going it alone might not work as well as it did for Bob Wente in the 1990's and early 2000's. Say what you will about the way things were, but remember this - as the only track going against the UMP powerhouses, he managed to not only survive, but make a living (yes, he was a full-time promoter) doing things differently. His strength was the restrictive rules in the support classes, and the NASCAR banner for the top division. Want another example? Tim Herbst at Greenville. Right before Wente brought him in to Tri City, he was running a successful non-sanctioned show at a fairgrounds track that had little in the way of support from many of the "names." But what he did have was a group of budget racers who were there every week and put on a good show.
So where do we go from here? I've always been a fan of thinking outside the box, so let's hear some of your suggestions. Keep it on track, no name calling, and be prepared to defend your idea.
