TERRE HAUTE — When the 2008 racing season unfolded, one of the major question marks surrounding the campaign was what if any adverse effects the sagging economy would have on the sport.
Some doomsayers predicted rising fuel costs would cripple or hamper all aspects of racing.
Now, nearly a third of the way into the racing calendar those fears, while not unfounded, are not as dire as earlier predicted.
Those are feelings being expressed by several key figures involved in racing throughout the Hoosier state. From track promoters to state officials and industry leaders, all are voicing a note of guarded optimism for the way the season will play out.
In his new role as Director of Motorsports of the Indiana Economic Development Corporation, Rollie Helmling has more than just a casual interest in how the year in progressing.
As former president of the U.S. Auto Club and highly successful race car owner, the former Vincennes native is well aware of the obstacles challenging those at all levels of motorsports.
“Obviously it’s going to be tough with four dollar a gallon gas,” concedes Helmling. “At the same time race fans are very resilient, they always have been.
“You look at the economic downturns in the past and the fans and racers are very loyal to their sport. When times get tough as they are now that approach has proven very beneficial to racing.”
“The major events will always be there. The fans may just be more selective on what shows they might attend. I think that even though it’s going to be a tough year, it’s going to be a good year,” predicted Helmling.
As one of sprint car racing’s top chassis builders, Scott Benic of Fairmont expected tough times for his nationally recognized parts business.
To his surprise business has been reasonably strong during the early part of the year.
“We haven’t seen that downtrend yet,” voiced Benic. “This for the most part is recreational to most people although it’s a business for us. I think what you see in downtimes like this is that recreational interests don’t struggle.
“What we have now is a group of elite cars that are funded by fathers with successful businesses. They are very goal oriented to get their sons to bigger and better places. A lot of that doesn’t fade because of goals like that.”
Fan attendance at area tracks has generated mixed results. Special events as expected have fared better than weekly shows.
As a track and series owner, Tom Helfrich says he hasn’t noticed a marked decline in either fan attendance or car counts early.
“We all [fellow promoters] have our fingers crossed,” said the highly successful promoter. “I’ve talked to several promoters and they are doing OK so far,” said Helfrich.
“I don’t think anybody has an idea what the economy is going to do to racing,” he added. He says history shows that when the fans have to tighten their money belts they tend to stay close to home which should favor the local tracks throughout the summer.
“What we’ve learned at our workshops is that when the economy slows, people don’t travel. They look for things to do closer to home.”
Like his fellow promoters, Helfrich has developed a wait and see approach. Hoping for the best.
“We really don’t know where it is going to go. We’re surprised the bottom hasn’t fallen out. Yes, it’s going to cost the fans to travel more, but maybe not enough to keep them from seeing something they want to see. They will do a little more picking and choosing,” he added.
It would be difficult to find a stronger supporter of racing than local competitor Kenny Carmichael who campaigns regularly at ovals throughout the Indiana, Kentucky and Illinois area.
He notes that fan and car counts have fluctuated at area tracks.
“It’s [gas prices] hurting us from a racing standpoint,” revealed Carmichael. “We’ve had to cut back. It now costs us a $100 a night in fuel to run at Bloomington.
“Last year we did probably 60 to 70 races. This year we’ve been out maybe nine times. If there’s any chance of rain we stay at home. We went to Kamp [Motor Speedway at Boswell, Ind.] over the weekend and they only had 15 late models for a $2,400-to-win race. We ran second in our modified at Chandler and they had 130 cars in the pits. So you don’t know what to expect. The only thing we know for sure, it’s costing us more to go to the race track. Times could get tougher for all of us later this summer.”
Joe Buckles can be reached at jbuckles4@verizon.net
Trackside
Trackside: Local race teams feeling pinch of rising fuel costs
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TRACKSIDE: Changes come up on Indiana racing scene
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Frightening finish to season at Terre Haute Action Track
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