Bryan--
You've got it right there. The dirt oval is the heart and roots of American
motor racing. It's where it started some 100 years ago. And I think it's
good for another 100; as long as we don't let the county governments sell
off the fairgrounds to build shopping centers and condos.
But the big money entertainment racing.......I'm not so sure. I wouldn't
buy stock in any part of it unless I was pretty sure I could make a fast
buck and get out quick. There's a sea change happening in our culture.
We're coming off a prosperity peak the like of which a lot of us oldsters
may not see again in our lifetimes.
Entertainment fads come and go. But I think the racer subculture won't go
away. We'll just scale down the financial levels of our involvement if we
have to and the shows simply won't be big enough to sell in the mass
entertainment media.
I think our biggest worry will not be the Nascarizing of our sport. It'll
be preserving our racing venues against the forces of encroaching
civilization; environmental and safety hysteria; and decreasing racer
participation due to the costs of travel to the race courses, fuel, entry
fees, insurance, etc.,etc.
We're not seeing decreased participation quite yet. But it could come in
the future and we need to be ready to deal with it.
Meantime......'sbeen a while since I went to Watsonville; it's just a hour
down the road from me..........
Ed Weldon
----- Original Message -----
From: "Bryan Savage" <b.a.savage@wildblue.net>
Subject: Re: Nascar
> I still love the Fairgrounds dirt oval. ........... I think NASCAR at the
local level still has a lot of racing in it.
> Bryan
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