It’s been over 20 years since Michael Williams first fired up the engine of a race car. He remembers the good ol’ days of Orlando SpeedWorld racing, when 40 cars in each class made up the field on any given Friday night. Though those days appear to be gone as the cost of fuel has taken its toll on tracks around the country.
But Williams still hauls his super late model to Bithlo from Mims, Fla., when he can, hoping to get a piece of that coveted $750 purse at night’s end just to help pay for the trip and maintenance of his ride. Last week it cost him $165 just to get his car onto the track for practice laps. That included entry fee and fuel for both the car and truck that hauled it there.
He would miss out on the feature race later that night, though, after blowing an engine before the green flag waved. It’s another cost to be factored in with such a hobby. “We’re not in it for the money,” concedes Williams. “Racing is not about how much money you can come up with, racing is about having a good time, coming out here and being competitive, and getting your adrenaline rush.” That’s partly why Mike Miller still brings his son, Chace, and his new car to the track from Mt. Dora each weekend — to have fun while spending some quality time together.
“People would tell me that what I’m doing for him and all the stuff I’m buying for a 14- year-old, with the way things are today, that they think I’m crazy,” he said of the economic times. “But this is what we do together and we’ve been doing it together since he was 6 years old.” Though gas prices are an easy target when looking for reasons why participation and fan count at the grassroots level of asphalt and dirt track racing are declining, the loss of jobs and tightened household budgets have also left little wiggle room for the weekend driver.
That’s why 11-year SpeedWorld veteran Pedie Allison takes a little extra pride in earning the $200 payout for taking the checkered in the mini-stock division after investing $150 each night he races. “If you don’t win, you can hardly break even,” said Allison. “It’s just vicious right now and it’s like that at every track you go to.” And that’s why the roar of the engines don’t echo as loud as they once did, even a year ago.
The track is hurting…
Orlando SpeedWorld General Manager
Rusty Marcus has seen a 40 percent
drop in drivers this year, from what was
close to 100 cars on any given Friday
night to 60 in all, if they’re lucky.
He’s heard similar statistics from
nearly every small-time track across the
country.
To help alleviate some of the driver’s financial pain in purchasing racing fuel at the track for $8 or $9, up from $6 and $7 a season ago, there have been free entry fees periodically rotated through the different divisions during the season. But no matter the savings, the drive to and from the track has proved too costly for many regulars to continue. “Even doing things to help the drivers isn’t really helping,” said Marcus of shaving $30 off their pit entrance.
“The cost to get out here is already costing them a ton of money and that’s just to pull their stuff in here.” The financial chaos came at a troubling time for the track as investments were made in the offseason to upgrade its facilities as a show of gratitude to its fans. It proved to be bad timing as even race fans have kept ahold of their entertainment dollars as of late.
But ever the optimist, Marcus, who has been at his post now for nearly five years, is holding out hope for better days to come. “What I feel is going to happen is that we’ve got to get through this period and get reacclimated to the way things are going to be with the cost of living,” he said. Maybe then the return of regulars from as far as Ft. Myers, St. Pete, and Davie will again cycle through, just as longtime track announcer Dave Westerman remembers seeing not so long ago.
“It’s no different than if you like to go fishing two or three times a week,” Westerman said of the cost associated with this type of entertainment. “Only nobody pays you when you leave the lake.” And a lot like fishing, the chase is what keeps many drivers coming back for more.
…and so are the drivers
Melbourne’s Chris Smythe is in his
first full year of racing at SpeedWorld.
“We are racing on such a tight budget
that it’s unbelievable,” said Smythe.
“Getting to a racetrack is a chore and the
way that the economy is right now it’s
going to be a miracle if we can even finish
the season.”
Smythe is a commission-based mechanic relying on the “goodwill of others” to even continue making it to town. He said a $100 bill will get him a full tank in a borrowed truck, admission into the race, and a few sodas for the pit crew to sip on throughout the night. He’s led the modified division for much of the year and the team has since put all their resources into that one car, at the expense of others, with the intent of winning a points title.
“We have three other cars in the shop that just need a little bit of work to be here, but we can’t afford it,” said car owner Dick Laszlo. “And since (Smythe) is doing so good in this car we’ve put all our focus into this one.” During the week the Laszlo crew stays busy building motors, which have helped several other cars at SpeedWorld stay in contention for points titles in different divisions this summer.
“I’ve spent a lot more money on other cars for a lot less than what we have now,” said Laszlo. That’s become part of the protocol, only each team must find ways to absorb the costs in exchange for some racing fun. The diehard competitors are hoping to see things turn around soon though. In the meantime, they’ll settle for a dry Friday night as opposed to the constant storms that have shaken the racing schedule.
Even if 40 percent of those missing drivers could afford to pull their cars into the pits, they’d be at the mercy of the weather here in Central Florida before ever getting the chance to compete. When racing action picked back up over the past two weekends it did so after five straight weeks without an event, due mainly to rainouts.
“That was tough,” said Moss Park resident Andy Nicholls, a selfemployed businessman and points leader in the sportsman division. “I just wanted to get out in the car and be competitive and have some fun because this is an important part of my life.” That’s why the cost involved with towing his car 20 miles to the track and back is easily overlooked. It’s the price to be paid for letting loose while away from the workingman’s grind.
And as long as he can justify the expense, he’ll continue doing it. Nicholls had won eight of the last 12 races entering the weekend, crediting his team as being both “good and lucky” on race days. Last year he wasn’t so lucky as he finished fourth in points after winning five races. But just as he rebounded from the tough times, he hopes to see the same thing happen when it comes to racing on the local circuit.
“Things are tough right now and you can see it in the car counts,” he said. “I just hope the economy and fuel prices don’t drive off the competitors and that it stays affordable so enough people can do it to keep it alive.”
