It was only a matter of time. With the nation’s economy on a downward spiral and gasoline prices near or more than $4 a gallon, everybody knew the racing world would react.
Everybody was right.

I’m new here to these pages. I am a racing journalist, but I am also a race fan. For almost every one of my 42 years, much of my world has revolved around dirt-late-model racing. My world is about to change.

I’m new here to these pages. I am a racing journalist, but I am also a race fan. For almost every one of my 42 years, much of my world has revolved around dirt-late-model racing. My world is about to change.
The first real sign of trouble was a press release issued earlier this month by Ohio-based Donnie Moran Racing saying that high fuel prices will keep the team off the road and closer to home for much of the 2008 season. Moran has been a traveling driver for the better part of 25 years and has spent the past several racing with the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series. His decision opened more than a few sets of eyes.
Just four days after Moran’s decision came some more troubling news. Promoter Joe Loven of Volunteer Speedway in Bull’s Gap, Tenn., announced he was closing his track for most of the month of May. Loven’s reason was low fan attendance over the early part of the season. A general admission ticket at Volunteer costs only $8.
Loven attributed the drop in fan count to gas prices.
I’m afraid these things are signs of what lies ahead.
We could debate the reason for high fuel prices from now until the checkered flag waves. We wouldn’t get anywhere. The prices are what they are and we’ve gotta deal with it. They began rising almost three years ago in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
The reason given was the effect on oil supplies. I didn’t believe it then and I damn sure don’t believe it now. Don’t get me started.
A very high percentage of late-model drivers, crews and fans are just regular working-class folks.
They have families to feed and clothe and bills to pay. Many of them can’t afford to pay $4 for a gallon of gas. Racing fuel is much higher than that. The handful of drivers I’ve spoken to about this issue have all said basically the same thing: They aren’t traveling.
Their world is about to change.
Usually, by this point in the season, I’ve been to 10 or 12 races. This year, as of this writing, I’ve been to three. I look at my schedule every single day trying to figure out what to leave on and what to remove. Lately, I’ve just done a lot of removing.
Many fans are in the same boat as me. We’re taking on water, and the only bucket on board has a hole in it the size of a silver dollar, which happens to be the amount of money I was paying for a gallon of gas just five short years ago when I lived in East Tennessee.
It pains me to write gloom and doom about the sport I love, but the evidence to support it is there.
But there is a possible upside, at least for some. I’m not a crystal-ball reader, but I’d say most of the bigger-budget teams that follow the two national touring series and race in other big-money events will continue to travel.
Some others likely will have to make adjustments. That could prove to be an advantage for some of the smaller regional series (and their fans) around the country. If you live east of the Mississippi, it’s not hard to find a good-paying race within a few hours from home almost every weekend. Those races might start looking pretty attractive to some traveling teams.
I started going longer distances to special-event races 26 years ago when I was a senior in high school. I drove a 1966 Chevelle. If memory serves, I could fill the tank for about $15.
There’s a lot of you who remember those days. The good times. Where’d they go? I don’t know. Our world has changed, and all we can do is live in it.
And go racing when we can afford to.