Every promoter hopes to have a full field of cars for each event
Whether in a face-to-face conversation or on social media I often have people ask what drivers I expect to be at a particular racing event. My answer is typically something along the line of that I have not yet figured how to understand the thought processes of racers and have no idea if or why they might or might not show up at a certain race. As a result, I am often as surprised as anyone else when I walk through a dirt racing pit area for the first time after I arrive at the track and see who is there.
One thing I have come to realize is that the dollar amount of the purse does not always play a role in determining how many and which drivers will show up. Further, with there starting to be more and more races that pay out larger purses, teams have the opportunity to be more choosey than was the case a few years ago. As a result, simply putting up a big payout does not assure a significant car count.
A few recent events have brought the oddities of car counts at races to light.
The Leftover held on the weekend following the Thanksgiving holiday at the 411 Motor Speedway in Seymour, Tennessee staged a $5,000-to-win feature on Saturday for Super Late Models under the sanction of the Valvoline Iron-Man Late Model Series. That event, which was won by Cory Hedgecock, drew a total 40 cars for that division.
On the same weekend, Georgia’s Cochran Motor Speedway held its Gobbler event. As had been the case at 411, the Super Late Model class was a key component of the show. However, that race went unsanctioned but payed out a significantly higher purse. It would stand to reason that more teams would show up at Cochran than at 411 for the purpose of racing for more money, but the reality is that Brandon Overton topped a field of 14 machines to earn $21,000 at the Gobbler event.
And this kind of occurrence is not uncommon.
The previous weekend had provided another example when races were contested at Southern Raceway in Milton, Florida and Cherokee Speedway in Gaffney, South Carolina. The unsanctioned ‘King of the Sandbox’ at Southern paid out $20,000, which was also won by Overton, while the historic Blue-Gray 100 held at Cherokee and co-sanctioned by the Drydene Xtreme DIRTcar Series and the Carolina Clash Super Late Model Series doled out $10,000 to eventual winner Chris Madden.
A full field of cars often leads to the type of crowd Smoky Mountain had for its 2020 Lucas Oil race
Only 18 cars were on hand at Southern to race for twice the amount of winner’s purse while 29 machines were signed in for the race held at Cherokee. And besides the purse differences, the lower paying race called on competitors to complete almost twice as many laps with the 100 circuits making up the race distance at Cherokee while the Southern affair required each driver to make 60 trips around that clay oval.
It’s not that the races at 411 and Cherokee should not have drawn good car counts. But one has to wonder why the races at Cochran and Southern didn’t attract what might have been expected for those kinds of payouts.
Purse money certainly is a factor in determining how many drivers will show up for a particular race but it’s far from the only factor.
Here are a few things, in no certain order, that I believe go into why some races do well and others do not in terms of the number of competitors who sign in:
Timing- The timing of an event can play a role in car counts in more than one way. If a race comes at a point on the calendar in which teams aren’t ready to race because it’s too early in the season or because they and their equipment are exhausted because it’s too late in the season that organization will likely not attend the given race.
More, if the race in question is too close on the calendar to other big events that may be seen as more attractive, the decision might be made to skip one race in favor of another to get prepared for or recover from another. For example, scheduling an event right before a long stretch of series races or right after the majority of teams have been on the road for a long period of time may not be optimal.
But, there are only so many dates on the calendar and if the promoter wants to establish a new event on said calendar, he/she likely does not want to go directly up against an already established race. So, picking a date that might not seem optimal may be the only choice.
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Sanctioning Body- While there might be an isolated instance here and there were a driver might not go to a particular race because of an issue with the sanctioning body, but that is not a typical case. For the most part, having the sanction of either one of the national tours or a regional series tends to work in the favor of race events.
Even if the series in question does not have a large following of full-time cars, many teams have likely run under that banner in previous races at some point. As a result, those planning to race will know what to expect in terms of rule enforcement, officiating calls, and overall efficiency of the show. That familiarity might entice a racer to go to a lesser-paying show rather than one that offers more money but also carries with it the uncertainty of how the event will play out.
Weather Forecasts- I hate including the aspect of weather forecasts in the discussion of why some tracks and events get better car counts than others but it may very well be the biggest deciding factor in determining who will show up and who won’t.
With everyone now having instance access to weather forecasts and radar on their phones, a prediction of unfavorable conditions will absolutely doom a racing event before it even has an opportunity to begin. If a competitor who is considering entering a race that will bring with it a 3-4 hour haul in each direction, he/she will almost certainly start checking the forecast for the area in which the track is located days before the race is set to run. If there is a 50/50 chance for rain or greater, there is a good chance that driver and team will seek out another race with a better forecast or simply decide to take the weekend off.
An unfavorable forecast is typically worse than actual rain because the race will have usually been called off well before the rain even arrives. Those postponements or cancellations are often brought about by racers who have seen the forecast and have gone to social media to report that they will not be participating in that race. thus leaving promoters with little option other than to pull the plug.
Track’s Reputation- The feelings people have toward a track can make or break an event quickly. If the venue has a reputation for running an efficient show, maintains its track surface properly, and is known for living up to its word, it stands a better chance of drawing solid car counts than those at which there are more unknowns. Of course, it takes time to build a good reputation.
Not that there aren’t numerous tracks who fit the description above but the 411 Motor Speedway is one place where teams can typically count on a well-run show, a track that is maintained properly, and that will do as advertised. For that reason, the McCarter family-owned facility often draws excellent car count numbers in most classes even if there may be other events paying more within close proximity.
Conversely, few things can damage an event more than for the track to have a reputation of not delivering the qualifications listed above.
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Event History- There are some races that may not necessarily pay the most or they may be contested on race tracks that are a bit off the beaten path but drivers want to be a part of the event because of its history. The aforementioned Blue-Gray 100 is one of those events that fits this category. That race held at “The Place Your Mama Warned You About” pays out $10,000 while requiring drivers to complete 100 laps to earn the top prize. Numerous other races that pay more and run shorter distances attract fewer cars partly because the historic end-of-season race is one where racers want to have their name written into its history.
Location- One thing that has to be considered is the location of the track. Combined with other factors such as time of year, whether or not the race is sanctioned by a series, weather forecasts, and the track’s reputation, the factor of where the track is located can play a major role in deciding whether or not a team is going make the trek to that venue to compete.
Those races held on tracks located in mainstream dirt racing areas such as Tennessee, Ohio, Illinois, and other such hotbed locales are typically more likely to draw the best car counts. However, racers will venture outside of the prime areas if given a reason to. For example, the Wild West Shootout, which will take place in 2022 at New Mexico’s Vado Speedway Park takes place in January before the Georgia-Florida SpeedWeeks swing giving racers a chance to test their machines. At the same time, those races provides a unique setting in a part of the country many want to visit.
Summary- This is not to say that an event is doomed to fail if one or several of the factors named above are not in the promoter’s favor because I believe any event can succeed with proper promotion and maybe a little bit of luck as well, particularly in terms of weather. The key is that promoters have to find ways to make their event unique, something that will set it apart from other races that might be happening at or near the same time. Payouts are one way to do that but there can be other ways.
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