Racing and the economy

D

Digger

Guest
My fine fellow tire smoke scent loving loud engine rumbling listening friends from all around the nation, I've gotta be honest - I'm worried sick about the economy especially since I cover a lot of sportsman racing both drag and oval.

NASCAR's not selling out.

NOPI's gone under.

IHRA's cancelling events.

Major race teams are folding.

And all this was before the current global economic meltdown. The bailout hasn't had any effect yet, and probably will have no effect at this point. Inflation's skyrocketing and the g.d. oil companies are raping us like you wouldn't believe.

I think it's fair to say A LOT of tracks, teams and organized racing sanctioning bodies are gonna fold. Even big race teams from national racing series' are worried. I know some of the track owners around here (even of major tracks) aren't sleeping at night.

And let's be honest - racing is a luxury. A lot of people aren't gonna be able to afford it anymore. I'm just worried about auto racing altogether right now. My life has always been racing - it's all I know. And I know things aren't good right now.

Any thoughts?
 
It sucks but it is what it is. Hopefully everything will survive the storm. Local tracks around here are still drawing a pretty good crowd.
 
BobbyFord said:
It sucks but it is what it is. Hopefully everything will survive the storm. Local tracks around here are still drawing a pretty good crowd.
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Everytime we get a good crowd at MIR (or have a big race), it rains. :mad:

An unofficial NHRA race at MIR in the East Coast's drag racing country didn't fill half the grandstands.

That's huge. :eek:



I'm worried about the economy as a whole. It's starting to look like a global deep recession is the best case scenario. I'm worried about jobs, healthcare, taxes, being able to eat, etc.

I'm not just worried about racing, I'm worried about it all. I have friends who can't find jobs. I have family members who can't find jobs. I'm barely making it myself. Taxes WILL go up (and both of our POTUS candidates are lying if they say otherwise:rolleyes:), gas prices will go up, inflation's going to go up. I wonder how much longer those of us who aren't making $250,000+/yr. are going to survive at this rate.
 
Crowds are down at the local track, car counts in all divisions are down, sponsorship dollars are tight, almost non exsistant. Guys can't afford to race out of their pocket because you need the $$$ to pay the mortgage and feed the kids.

What Andy says isn't gloom and doom, it's a reality.


AndyMarquisLIVE said:
I'm worried about the economy as a whole. It's starting to look like a global deep recession is the best case scenario. I'm worried about jobs, healthcare, taxes, being able to eat, etc.

I'm not just worried about racing, I'm worried about it all. I have friends who can't find jobs. I have family members who can't find jobs. I'm barely making it myself. Taxes WILL go up (and both of our POTUS candidates are lying if they say otherwise:rolleyes:), gas prices will go up, inflation's going to go up. I wonder how much longer those of us who aren't making $250,000+/yr. are going to survive at this rate.
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from february till mid september, neither my parents had a job, and I dropped from mine in mid august for school.
 
I'm gonna try to make the NHRA finals again this year. Also gonna try to go to the Phoenix Cup race next month, if I can get a couple of days off.
 
Our local track had excellent car counts and near capasity crowds for most of the shows I went to, but once again, its Ca, who knew? Going to the Bud Nats in Bako tomorrow, we'll see whats there. Duane
 
SST55 said:
Crowds are down at the local track, car counts in all divisions are down, sponsorship dollars are tight, almost non exsistant. Guys can't afford to race out of their pocket because you need the $$$ to pay the mortgage and feed the kids.

What Andy says isn't gloom and doom, it's a reality.
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Im well off, times are tight, but with racing im getting pretty much zero outside help. No one is giving me money. every little bit counts. But mostly we are self funded. Plus we got to drive like 90 miles one way to race. Times could be wrose, but the caar counts are still fair and the fans seem to be showing up. Payout sucks, but i think thats at pretty much every track across the board.
But as long as there is a track, and fans, i'll put a show on for em.
 
Lap3Forever said:
Im well off, times are tight, but with racing im getting pretty much zero outside help. No one is giving me money. every little bit counts. But mostly we are self funded. Plus we got to drive like 90 miles one way to race. Times could be wrose, but the caar counts are still fair and the fans seem to be showing up. Payout sucks, but i think thats at pretty much every track across the board.
But as long as there is a track, and fans, i'll put a show on for em.
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I think that's what will keep racing alive, so many racers will do whatever it takes to keep racing. There may be fewer fans, but the cars, more so than not, will still show up to race. For example during the peak gas prices this summer, VMS car counts didn't drop at all, and it's got drivers from all over the state.

I'm sure racing will suffer a bit, and there probably will be some casualties. Hopefully this crap won't last too long.
 
Crowds were bad in the spring in my area, picked up and were good during the summer, and have fallen off again. I'm going to a big event tomorrow night at a track that traditionally struggles with attendance, but will have some big names in the house. I'm interested to see how they do.
 
In a previous post I said we had 32 Pro Stocks, aka Late Models on the roster. Only 11 have made every race. Some wrecked, some can't afford the tires,fuel, pit passes for crew every week, others just parked it for the year hoping to come back in 09. Basically the other divisions mirror them.
No more 2 heats and a consi to set the field, one heat and that's it now. Supposed to be 24 cars in the field, most of the time you're lucky to get 18, if that. Heats start at 6 pm and racing ended 11-12, now it's over at 9-9:30.

I suspect the track which opened in 1946 will be a mall within 5 years. :(
 
SST55 said:
In a previous post I said we had 32 Pro Stocks, aka Late Models on the roster. Only 11 have made every race. Some wrecked, some can't afford the tires,fuel, pit passes for crew every week, others just parked it for the year hoping to come back in 09. Basically the other divisions mirror them.
No more 2 heats and a consi to set the field, one heat and that's it now. Supposed to be 24 cars in the field, most of the time you're lucky to get 18, if that. Heats start at 6 pm and racing ended 11-12, now it's over at 9-9:30.

I suspect the track which opened in 1946 will be a mall within 5 years. :(
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Which track?
 
Smaller fields in NASCAR's future? Another sign of the times is the rumor [Bob Margolis] heard in the Cup garage that NASCAR has floated the possibility of a change in the field size for the Craftsman Truck and Nationwide Series to 28 vehicles and the Cup field down to 36 sometime in the future.(Yahoo Sports)(10-13-2008)
 
BobbyFord said:
Smaller fields in NASCAR's future? Another sign of the times is the rumor [Bob Margolis] heard in the Cup garage that NASCAR has floated the possibility of a change in the field size for the Craftsman Truck and Nationwide Series to 28 vehicles and the Cup field down to 36 sometime in the future.(Yahoo Sports)(10-13-2008)
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maybe in 2010? Or dependant on track size/pit stall avaliability? IE 36 at martinsville, bristol, and richmond, 40 at road courses and tracks 1-2 miles, and 43 at tracks 2+ miles?
 
Unfortunately I can see that happening. As the economy declines I can see a lot of companies looking to see if they are getting the best bang for their buck sponsoring a car/truck. Or to put it another way as the costs to run competitively continue to spiral upward some owners may decide it's just not worth it anymore.

Remember when they said it took the staggering amount of 10 million to run a cup car? Wasn't all that long ago.
 
I would stay limit testing to 5 tracks of your choice, but only 5 tracks. Also, make a rule that the same chassis/body must be used for a minimum of 3 consecutive races unless crashed.
 
One of the things that I've always thought would help would be to cut the number of races each year in half and no track with a double date unless it's Daytona to open and close the season. Two weeks between races would do wonders for everyone except the city in which the race is run.
 
buckaroo said:
One of the things that I've always thought would help would be to cut the number of races each year in half and no track with a double date unless it's Daytona to open and close the season. Two weeks between races would do wonders for everyone except the city in which the race is run.
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WHAT! I realize it's a grueling schedule but think of me. No race on Sunday means I'd have to hit my honey-do list.:eek: Unacceptable.

A Sunday without Na$car is like a day without sunshine!:D
 
Massive Layoffs for NASCAR teams? The dismal economic picture has already started to take its toll in the world of NASCAR. Several sources have reported as many as 750 to 1,000 employees from various Sprint Cup, Nationwide and truck series teams will be released the Monday after the Homestead weekend season finales. DEI, faced with the prospect of shrinking from four to one full-time team in 2009, is poised to lay off as many 100 people if necessary. And according to Felix Sabates, part owner of Chip Ganassi's NASCAR operation, seven or eight teams from this year's Cup roster won't be in business in 2009.(CBS Sports)(10-30-2008)
 
It doesn't look good when the driver voted most popular has trouble getting sponsors for his team.

JR Motorsports scaling back? UPDATE: hearing there were 15-18 people laid off at JR Motorsports, who field the #88 US Navy Chevy and #5 Chevy in the Nationwide Series. JR Motorsports is a joint venture between Sprint Cup driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. [#88 AMP Energy/National Guard Chevy] and Hendrick Motorsports. Also been told that the #5 team may not run in 2009 and that the 10-race Unilever sponsorship announced at Lowe's Motor Speedway may end up going to the #88 team and driver Brad Keselowski, a team without a sponsor for 2009 as the Navy is leaving. Mark Martin, Earnhardt and Hendrick development driver Landon Cassill are scheduled to drive the #5 NNS ride in those 10 races. No word how this effects Cassill's 2009 plans with the team.
UPDATE: Statement by Kelley Earnhardt, general manager of JR Motorsports: "We've been working aggressively to secure funding to continue with two teams in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. The economic climate is difficult, as everyone is aware, and that is affecting every company's ability to spend. The 2008 season will be ending in less than three weeks, and preparations for next season are already underway. We do not anticipate getting the funding required to field two teams after the end of this season, and we need to make adjustments now to prepare JR Motorsports accordingly. We are reducing our workforce and budgets to comply with a new plan for 2009, which at the present time is to field the #88 team full-time with driver Brad Keselowski, and the #5 team on a limited basis with a select group of drivers."(10-29-2008)
 
Bright side is, if there's a joe smo that runs his own business, He could get his name on almost any car inthe field with not a whole lot of money. I could probably go to the 19 or 10 or 7 with 50 bucks and have my name in size 20 font on the quarter panel... :p
 
In 2007 JR Motorsports had just under 80 employees. Starting 01/08 their ranks had swelled to just over 100. They grew to a summer high of ~125 employees. I don't know what their current numbers are but it could be the layoff is a correction from over zealous growth as well as the poor economy.
Either way, despite what Hendrick may be paying Lil'E, his salary from JRM will keep him in Happy Meals for a while...
 
barelypure said:
In 2007 JR Motorsports had just under 80 employees. Starting 01/08 their ranks had swelled to just over 100. They grew to a summer high of ~125 employees. I don't know what their current numbers are but it could be the layoff is a correction from over zealous growth as well as the poor economy.
Either way, despite what Hendrick may be paying Lil'E, his salary from JRM will keep him in Happy Meals for a while...
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Agreed. I don't think Junyer will be going hungry anytime soon.
 
Dang sure won't run out of beer,,if he was smart. We had a liquor store as a sponsor for a while. Until he decided it'd be cheaper to just give us the cash.:D:cheers:
 
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