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It's something I do every year and typically I can gain insight as to the health of any track by checking two important vital signs – front gate receipts and car counts. Both give a look into the health of a short track and bad numbers can sometimes spell the demise of a speed plant.
This season though I am a little concerned about car counts at many of Michigan's short tracks. The Michigan economy has hit many families hard and the financial status of many racers has left some drivers with no other choice but to park their cars for the season.
I am not so worried about attendance this season because scraping together $ 20 bucks for a couple to attend the races is easier then trying to throw together enough money to feed a race car. Tire bills, motor expenses, hauling costs, race fuel and many other racer expenditures can have a detrimental effect on a budget when a racer is barely getting by with his personal budget.
Incidentally, there is a two edged sword when examining these numbers. From a historical standpoint, front gate attendance follows car counts. In other words, healthy front gate receipts can soon start to drop if car counts drop. I have seen this a dozen times before and its quite obvious that race fans “ chase racing “ at tracks that have good healthy car counts.
This is one reason why promoters will have to do everything possible to help reduce their racers costs. Whether one wants to admit it or not, the racers are the main product of racing and without them we will witness a reduction in front gate receipts. Without the stars and cars tracks will have little chance of surviving and with an economy that has tanked, racers ( along with promoters ) have found their backs against the financial wall.
Promoters can do a lot to help their racers keep within their budgets. They can start by closely monitoring rough driving while also counseling drivers who haven't a clue out on the track. Lets face the facts here, wrecks costs racers money and serious wrecks are not only expensive but can sideline an entire team for the season. Thus, keeping unruly drivers under control can save many racers a pile of money.
They can also mandate money saving tire rules which makes up a large part of a racers budget. Adopt rules that save all racers money versus rules that cost racers more cash. Hold the line on pit costs, including pit passes, fuel and concessions.
My point is this, the more a promoter works to reduce their racers costs, the healthier racers bank accounts will be. That in turn will help with keeping car counts up and we all know car counts are king.
Show me a race track with good back gate numbers and I will show you a race track with good front gate receipts. One feeds the other and its quite obvious that racers drive the entire winning formula.
Go fast turn left,
Chris Throgmartin
