I don't believe it's mainly the economy. I believe that the track owners and operators have got to do something to get young people involved in our sport. I turned 16 in 1970, and at that time there were a LOT of nice cars on the street. There were a lot of young people driving their Camaro's, Gto's, Mustang's,Roadrunner's etc. It is NOT that way today. How many young people today can afford a new Challenger, Mustang or Camaro. Without the support of young people, our sport WILL die.
I first got my "feet wet" in bracket racing by entering the pure street class. Today, that class is almost nonexistent. Here we have 6 different tracks within a 2 hour drive, yet only 1 of those tracks even offers a pure street class.
Like it or not, many of young people today drive "ricers", and most of those cars are not automatics. The young people need a class for strictly straight shift cars. That way, the "ricers" could compete on a equal basis against the straight shift Mustangs, Camaros and Challengers in a bracket program. Many young people will bring their cars to a TNT, but will not compete in a regular bracket race. And who can blame them?