Sad. Car counts are down from the local tracks to the highest levels in the sport. Spectators are staying home. Other forms of racing are also having troubles. Speaks to the general condition of the country. I see no reason to be optimistic that it will turn around. Sorry to be a Debbie Downer.
has nothing to do with the condition of the Country.when they made a show out of drag racing it was down hill from there. no body wants to see multi owned cars competing against themselves. people are just spending their time and money doing other things now days.
I don't pay a lot of attention to the circus that is the fuel cars and Pro Stock. What I see are local guys who have quit. Sportsman racers who have disappeared. Last week at Englishtown for the D1 points meet, 25 Super Gas cars, 32 Super Comp, 69 Super Stock. They did have 99 Stockers, but Stock in Division 1 has always been a big deal.
When I was chasing points hard, there were always 110-120 cars or more in all these classes. When I talk to people, they all say it's money, not because they don't want to do it anymore. Sure, costs are up, but if incomes had kept up, many of these guys would still be out there.
It's about income vs. cost of living. For small business owners, which many of these guys are, it's tough to keep the doors open let alone finance a race operation. The economy's in the dumper. People have 2 or 3 lousy part time jobs now instead of the one good job with benefits that went away a few years ago. Why? That's another conversation that would likely turn political. I'm not going there.
