Much of the revenue to operate our local tracks through a hot, rainy summer comes from Winter Nationals, World Series, Winter Games type series. I want all of our tracks to do well, and I had been concerned in recent years the appeal of February special events was fading.
So how was business at the tracks on the nights you were there? Were the stands full? How about the pits? Was the show good enough to bring fans back for more?
I only hit 5 nights this year (I was too busy with my car, work, family, etc…). Most years, I am in the 8-10 night range. This year I took in an early Feb. sprint car race at East Bay, the WoO sprints at Volusia, two nights at NSS and the sprints at 4-17. I regret not making it to the USAC races at Bubba, and to more Volusia and NSS.
East Bay was a local series on Friday night, so the crowd was good, but not great. Volusia with the World of Outlaws was a huge success. It was the night between sprint flips, so everything went smoothly, and the place was SRO! I was very pleased with the fan count at New Smyrna for the night I raced with Southern Sprintcars and the K&N series. Sunday night during the World Series used to be a loser, but this year their high overhead show drew a solid crowd, so I hope the track did ok. Even the Monday night crowd was much better than recent years, and the show was very good too.
Except for wash-out Wednesday, most of the weather was much better than usual: no polar conditions, and mostly sunny and warm.
4-17 was a great surprise last weekend. It is 200+ miles away from the epicenter of Florida racing, and it was a one night show. Maybe it doesn’t even qualify as a “speedweeks” type event, but I am happy to say that the stands were packed!
Next! How was Bronson? Bubba’s? Showtime? Citrus? Auburndale?