You've seen the headlines: Economy Affects Motorsports Throughout the US
...And, yes, it is hitting our Atlanta Region SCCA family, too.
As we begin this year, Atlanta Region finds itself in a position it has never seen before. We've been reading about it for months - NASCAR, NHRA, IRL and other racing bodies are losing sponsors, teams and jobs. But we in SCCA felt it earlier within our ranks as our member's racing budgets come straight from their paychecks. In the upcoming weeks it will hit the average fan base as they hear about it during broadcasts on Speed Channel, ESPN and Fox.
The number of entries was down at the first major race of the year, Grand-Am's Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway. There were 52 cars entered that weekend's race, compared to 68 a year ago. The SCCA amateur road racing classic, the Runoffs, experienced low entry levels last fall. Some blamed that on the 2009 venue change to Road America - but I suspect we saw the first real world motorsports reaction to the impacts people were already feeling.
After NASCAR races their season opener at Daytona International Speedway, it'll really hit home. Many teams have changed and an estimated 600 people from various NASCAR teams have lost their jobs. Driver Kyle Petty said, "What the economy does to some degree is it makes each race a local race. You're not going to see people travel from Oklahoma to Talladega to watch the race. You're going to see people from Alabama and Tennessee and Georgia, people that can drive over to Talladega for the day and drive back."
NHRA has been working behind the scenes on new programs aimed at bringing relief to teams as well as race fans during this difficult economic crisis. Many teams have lost sponsorships and have released top drivers due to the lost income. During the NHRA Winter Nationals ESPN spent their long rain delays trotting out the drivers who didn't have deals and the teams that had been merged, sold or taken over.
The Indy Racing League is shifting gears as series officials acknowledged economics have made cost-cutting a top priority. Although new engine specs have not yet been agreed to, series officials have adapted to financial concerns by considering more affordable options. And many teams are scrambling to fill vacant sponsorships. By May we could see a very different Indy 500, a far cry from what was hoped for after the open wheel merger between IRL and CART.
For us in the Atlanta Region, it's the start of a new season. We should be talking about the upcoming season, the new cars, the latest mods on our old cars, and the new paint schemes we dreamed up during the off-season. Instead, your Board of Directors and the Region's Leadership found it tough to miss the changes in our financial position. There wasn't much time to wax poetic about the fun part of our Club. Instead, our Annual Budget Meeting went well past midnight in an effort to craft a 2009 budget that would avoid the losses we experienced in 2008.
You don't need me to repeat what we've been going through as a region and nation financially. But you do need to know we had losses in 2008 that we simply can't allow to continue in 2009. We still plan to have a full Club Race and Solo season, though we had to trim budgets across the board to make ends meet. This belt tightening kept our Region Dues from increasing and kept entry fees the same as last year. So while we'll be watching the nickels and dimes, we don't intend to lose sight of our loyal membership base of competitors and workers. Just like Petty said, this economy has made every race a local race. And by the time our 2009 ARRC is getting the Green Flag I hope to report to you that our efforts have yielded positive results for the Region. As always thank you for allowing me to be your RE in the good times and the bad.
Stay healthy and safe, my wish is that you and your family be blessed in many ways this coming year.
Tere Pulliam
Regional Executive
