This thread got me curious about drag strip economics, so I did some searching online. A lot of the discussions I found weren't current, so today's situation probably makes things even tougher.
The gist of what I found indicated that an NHRA National event should be solid ROI, but it also means having to scale up the track's capabilities for increased attendance, security, higher insurance, track personnel, etc.. I have no idea what the failed negotiations between VMP and NHRA were about, but sure sounds like VMP decided it wasn't worth whatever the new terms the NHRA proposed. NHRA takes a cut off the top... perhaps they're raising their % and / or tightening up contract conditions for what the promoter can / cannot get compensated for in the event of weather issue. "Thanks, but no thanks!"
NHRA Divisional events have the reputation of being break-even, at best, for most tracks. There are large numbers of racers and increased payouts, but no corresponding increase in paying spectators and sales from concessions, etc. "Profitable Divisional" sounds like an oxymoron the way it was described by some.
The profitability of regular bracket series sounds like it lives or dies by the amount of sponsorship the track can bring in. Whether the sponsors are getting much back for their participation is questionable; one company stated they paid for series $ and high-visibility signage placement for a couple of years and were still waiting for new business to come in as a result.
Special events can go well or fail miserably, depending upon purses vs entries, cost of advertising vs number of butts in the stands, up-front money for "name" racers, etc.
The only thing that sounded like a "for sure" profitable event was a test & tune, simply because of no payouts. However, there's still a fixed cost that has to be covered by a minimum number of entries to make it worth opening the gates. I hit a couple of T&Ts earlier this year at a track that's trying to get its feet back on the ground and there were so few cars that I doubt they covered their costs; nothing is ever "pure profit".
