Originally Posted on May 20, 2007 on foxsports.com
I spent the last two nights at local dirt tracks, and had a great time. Although the weather was picture perfect, and both had nice- sized crowds (likely around 500), I wondered why there weren't more people there. It baffles me because the more local tracks I go to, the more I enjoy that experience over attending a Nascar Nextel Cup race.
1. The shows run like clockwork. Some communities have noise ordinances, so the show is done at 10 or 10:15 or else. Thus, the minute a heat race is done, the next one is pulling out on the track. Several times at Cup races, I've shown up with an official schedule that says the race will start at 1:00, only to be waiting around until 1:48 to see the cars actually start. On occasion, they start earlierthan the posted time due to weather. I find this frustrating, I know things can happen that affect a start time, but it is a regular problem at Cup races. If you watch on TV, there is the same problem. The heat races and the feature races are much shorter than a Cup race. The weekly show feature is typically from 10 to 25 green flag laps, depending on type of car. Don't be deceived by that number, because with cautions, that little 15 green flag lap feature can take a long time to run. I know of one feature that had so many yellow flag laps they ordered a red flag caution to allow the cars to fill up on fuel!
2. Variety of cars. At a Cup race, you'll see Cup cars. Nothing else. At the dirt track, there are usually at least two different classes, and sometimes several more than that. Both tracks I was at this weekend had five classes of cars - dwarf, sport modified, modified, hobby stock, and stock cars.
3. Beauty of Weekly series. Like Nascar, the dirt tracks offer weekly series. That means if you attend regularly, you will see the same guys battling it out for "Track Champion" status. The rivalries produced are amazing. It doesn't take long to figure out who the last year's champion is, and who the young upstart challenger is. The tracks also pull in traveling series. For example, one track I went to is going to show late models, and another has sprint cars coming over Memorial Day Weekend. And that's in addition to the regular show.
4. Your local neighbor are the drivers. Drivers at most local tracks live locally. Now, this may mean less than 100 miles from the track, but usually there are at least a couple guys who live within 5 miles of the track. So, the guy who stocks the meat counter at the grocery store also races at the track each weekend. Or it could be your elderly neighbor's grandson who beats and bangs on other cars each week. Plus, there is no telling who the next generation of Nascar drivers are. She could be racing right now at your local track.
5. The crowd. Local tracks feature smaller crowds, which are chock full of your friends and neighbors. Since local boys and girls are racing, their family and friends are there to offer support. This also means you need to be careful about rooting against a particular car, as his mother may be seated next to you! The smaller crowd means that parking is close to the track, and there isn't a big traffic jam to get out.
6. The price. The total ticket price for both nights was under $20. Neither night was over $9. Try doing that at a Cup Race! Unless you have tickets given to you, generally, it will cost you over $50 per ticket. And most races are over $75. In fact. both tickets were comparable to movie ticket prices, and offered a longer length of entertainment (2 hours versus 4).
7. The pits. The cost of a pit ticket is a little more than a seat in the grandstand. But, it is fun to watch the mechanics (and usually driver) work on the cars between hot laps, heat races and the feature. I'd caution you to watch were you are at all times - there is a lot of equipment moving around, and you don't want to get run or backed over. After the race, dirt tracks will allow you into the pits to visit with the drivers/owners/mechanics. You can learn a lot, and if a particular driver caught your eye, you can buy his T-shirt for next week.
8. Thrilling races. Think the Preakness finish was close yesterday? It had nothing on one last night. The announcer commented that he wasn't going to call it, he'd wait to see what the official outcome was. At least two other races I saw this weekend were less than one car length. The All-Star race last night was close, but it looked like a runaway compared to these finishes.
With gas prices climbing, I'd invite you to try out your local track. I'm spoiled here in Iowa, as we have one of the highest per capita track ratios in the nation, but I'm sure if you look around, there is a local track near you.
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