Compared to recent seasons, parts of the sprint-car world are in a feast or famine situation. The disappearance of the National Sprint Tour put what some would call too many cars on the World of Outlaws trail, while regional tours such as the Empire Super Sprints and ASCS Patriot series struggle for cars. Why is a matter of contention:
“Eleven ESS teams that were full-time last year have disappeared totally,” says Jeff Van Duesen, a winner with both 360 sanctions. “And some other guys are hit and miss. We went to Edelweiss up in Canada and had 15 cars. Guys just can’t take days off from work anymore, plus hauler fuel’s a killer. They’ve got cars ready to race but can’t afford to get there.”
How serious is the situation? “My dad’s hot tub business is down so we’re cutting back too,” says Van Duesen. “Our sponsors are struggling and playtime may come to a halt. It’s the first time in five years I’ve had to get a real job.”
Two-time ESS champ Lance Yonge says that travel costs are a major reason for running with ESS but not the rival Patriot group, though others hit both.
“I can’t afford to race for less money. Our purse is $13,000 while theirs is $9,000 with the car and travel costs the same. Guys race there for less because they think it’s easier. I wish we could work together but they dropped the purse $500 more this year to get races. I really miss the tracks they got, like Canandaigua, Black Rock, Rolling Wheels and Weedsport, the places I used to run modifieds.”
Jessica Zemken, who races with both sanctions, says, “There’s no difference at all except the tracks. The competition is the same, it’s just different drivers.”
Justin Barger agrees, saying, “Competition from the likes of Van Duesen and Steve Poirier in ESS or Chuck Hebing in the Patriots makes you a better driver. Hebing runs good everywhere.
“I like both groups and I race for the money. I’d like to run the national ASCS shows but Arkansas and Texas are too far away, even though the national guys are really good to race with.”
Longtime ESS head Chuck Miller sees change coming for 2008, though he’s not all that enthused.
“We may have to look at our purse, though I hate to go backwards. I’m hoping we can cut the promoter’s share but keep the driver’s payoff the same by getting more sponsors. If we can get back to the Central New York tracks it will boost our car counts due to less travel. And I thank God Canada’s a strong part of our schedule and the exchange rate is way up.”
Miller is also looking at tinkering with his handicap system again for ’08, saying, “We need to make it more appealing for outsiders. Our system rewards loyalty, but when car counts drop, it hurts. The Patriots have an open draw and a passing points system for their heats. That favors the fast guys where our straight-up deal makes them work harder. We put the first two in the heats into the dash but then we redraw for the feature, while they put the dash at the front of the feature.”
On the Outlaws trail, car counts have been unusually high, though they dwindled with the heat of summer as Dion Hindi and Brooke Tatnell “went home” after struggling at Williams Grove. But again, opinions differ.
“Are there too many cars? Not at all!” declares rookie Sam Hafertepe. “It’s good to race against the good guys and get better. If you don’t make the show, it’s because you missed by a little bit against the best in the country. We’re not going home. July was the toughest part of the schedule and we just kept on trucking.”
But unlike some others, Hafertepe had some extra help then.
“Sammy Swindell taught me a lot about the motors and the car during the time he spent with us. He knows everything. He’s really smart, but now I have to prove how much he taught me. He tells me that a lot of being a success out here is keeping your head on straight and he taught me a lot about that.”
Daryn Pittman has won this year but has also run in the back. That’s a big change from ’06, when the tours were split.
“The extra cars are definitely a big part of it. Qualifying is so important, just to give yourself a chance, and we’ve been all over the place. We’re either a top-five car or we’re 40th. We have to get back to where we were at the start of the year.
“Luckily, the owner is still happy. He wants better results but we’re nowhere near going home, we just need a couple of wins and some consistency.”
Craig Dollansky has been in the same boat as Pittman, though a crew adjustment followed by a victory buoyed his team a bit.
“The extra cars are good,” he declares. “The fans ultimately win because it makes for great racing. But realistically, the series was never one that could support 25 or 26 traveling teams. It’s always been 10 or 12 teams with 15 once in a while. When I joined in 2001 there were 17 for awhile and that was a very competitive season. It’s really difficult to continue if you’re 15th or lower.”
What then, we ask Dollansky, is the bottom line? “It’s never been easy, whether there was 12 or 25!”
Whether it’s 360s or 410s, you can take that to the bank.