The value of time

Are extra-long race programs driving away at most tracks?

There are some who will argue time is as valuable as money or even more so. You can’t get time back, but you can always try and make more money, I suppose. I will admit I can be selfish when it comes to my time and it’s a weakness of mine as some family members and co-workers can attest. Truth is, all of our time is valuable, and very few folks I know like to waste it.

If you read this blog, you know how I feel as a fan about regular weekly racing programs that take forever. Sitting through weekly racing programs that last anywhere from 4 ½ to 5 hours or longer isn’t my idea of a good time. My attention span is short as it is, and sitting through endless caution flags and delays makes my impatience even worse. Imagine if you are a driver who came from 3 hours away and the show gets done at midnight…and you work the next day.

Now, to be clear, there are legitimate reasons race programs go long. Most “Meet the Drivers” nights are always longer but I acknowledge they are important for fans. Maybe a rain shower passes through, and you need to re-pack the track. Or the lights quit working in one corner. Or there is a medical emergency requiring EMT personnel. Or a bad crash that requires safety crews to attend to the driver – or takes a while to clean up. I understand intermissions are necessary for candy tosses, sponsor promotions and track work. I get a little impatient waiting for all those things, but I don’t get mad because I understand them. Most reasonable fans get that, too.

Here are the things that piss me off: Giving 4-5 pace laps unnecessarily before every heat race. Taking 5 minutes to re-line up a 6-car heat race. Wasting time between heat races when there is nothing going on out on the track itself. Constant farming and watering of the track during heats.  The same cars spinning out every week by themselves in the heats, waiting for a yellow, and magically restarting once the caution waves.  A car refuses to line up in its spot, taking 2-3 more laps.

I am one of the people, and maybe it’s old-school thinking, who is there to watch the racing on the track, and not the extracurricular things.  Some conspiracy theorists would say tracks do some of the delays on purpose to sell more concessions and beer, because if people are bored, they usually want something to eat.  I think that’s true in some cases (and I could name a few examples but won’t) but I really hope that is not the norm.

I bring this up for a reason: these long, drawn-out racing driving some fans away. Especially families with young kids.   I have a 9-year-old daughter and a 6-year-old son and there is absolutely no way they will sit through 4 hours of racing, particularly when there are long delays with no racing on the track. They might make it an hour, or less. The exception of this is the children of drivers who come with their families and stay the whole night, usually in the pits. But when you look in the stands, once the candy toss is held at most tracks, the number of children dissipates pretty quickly, particularly if the night is already late.

I also will say this: tracks that regularly run efficient weekly shows consistently draw better.

I was at a special two-show doubleheader event last year out of the area where I stayed for the whole thing (I wasn’t blogging, there as a fan). The final checkered flag for the late models waved by 12:30 a.m. There could not have been 50 people left in the bleachers.  I have no doubt this affected their crowd the next night. Oh, and they started late both nights, another peeve of mine.

I-94 had a longer night on Friday, but it deserves context. They had a good shot of rain earlier in the day, leaving things very wet, and got going a little late as their tractors and trucks worked the track. You know what? I get that.  It took a lot of an effort to just get the racing program in considering how much it rained. They also had a 30-minute plus fireworks show a little after 10 p.m. (that was supposed to be on July 4 but was rained out) that many folks were there to see.  It was a long night, but as stated earlier, most reasonable fans understood the circumstances.

I think the target should be a 3, 3 1/2-hour regular weekly program for tracks. That means keeping the show moving, minimizing unnecessary delays. Drivers play a part in that, too – getting to staging on time, lining up when the instructions come on the raceceiver, and not driving like clowns on the track and causing wrecks.

With the help of the presenting sponsor Dirt Race Central, I am able to cover events remotely. In some ways it is actually easier writing recaps that way. Why do I do that? Time. I can have supper with my family. Or play a game of Mario-Kart with my son. Or take them to the go-karts and get back to watch the feature races. It saves me a lot of time on the road, and that time is when I can see my wife and kids. Last night, for example, just being in the house while watching Casino felt good.

Time is a valuable commodity for folks. Racetracks should understand that it is for drivers and fans who attend their track. too.