Originally Posted by ronmil:
Excellent post! I have read several racing related books recently, mostly biographies about Johnnie Parsons, Bill Vukovich, Parnelli Jones, Crocky Wright, and others, and I noticed in the photos that the grandstands were always packed for all the sprint car races in the fifties and sixties. I first went to Salem for the Joe James - Pat O'Connor race in 1967, and it was SRO. It was that way for many years; same thing at DuQuoin for the Champ cars. Terre Haute used to be packed to the rafters every race. Haven't seen that in years. Auto racing was not considered a mainstream sport back in the day, so how did all those people find out about the races and make their way to the various tracks? I do remember Salem ran radio ads in Evansville, (believe the announcer identified himself as Charlie Ryal, not sure of spelling), but there wasn't much publicity other than that that I remember. So, with auto racing supposedly more mainstream, and more publicity, why don't we have bigger crowds? I don't have the answer, do you?
I can't speak for the 50's, but I do know in the latter 60's, Salem took out advertisements on not only Evansville radio, but also small local radio stations as well as newspapers. I think Louisville was also blanketed with advertisements. I grew up in Tell City, IN, and we got radio stations from both locations.
In my opinion, years ago, "local" auto races were an event. USAC sprint races were an opportunity to see drivers that had participated in the Indy 500. The cars looked like small Indy cars with their gold leaf lettering and numbers, bright paint jobs, etc. and were all shined up sitting on open trailers waiting to sign in. There was an air of excitement and anticipation amongst the participants and the fans! Race day was SPECIAL!! Good promotors knew that and in many cases emphasized it. They promoted for weeks and in some cases months in advance.
I don't have answers. While auto racing in general is more mainstream, a lot of people still regard dirt track racing as "redneck" and poorly organized. The world has changed, as have those of us that live in it. We are far busier in our work life, working more hours to make a living, and our "leisure" time is also far busier with more distractions and opportunities.
Again, this is my opinion, but if this sport is going to survive and grow, track owners, promotors and sanctioning bodies need to work together, not constantly bicker and compete against each other. Events need to be run quickly and efficiently, and most importantly, be entertaining. Years ago, people attended races because they were special and they were entertaining. That magic needs to be recaptured.
