Forum: HoseHeads Sprint Car General Forum (go)
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Perris Auto Speedway promoter sits down and talks about some of the current goings on at the Southern California track.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XdbQRX3m6I&fbclid=IwAR16PbshPhRAtbY5DOuTAvbfNgzy-5Q60upUHbiG_9xTOrP1opids5AL8OI

If you want to black out FLO within a certain mile radius of Perris CA fine but I'm 2200 miles away and love watching races from there. 

The issue is with the locals staying away in ever growing numbers.  

I always wondered what FLO paid the promoters. My guess was 5K but that isn't even close. If FLO doubles what they pay the promoter then my subscription doubles and, well, I cancel my subscription. I'm guessing the fee paid by FLO depends on the number of viewers as well. There has to be a compromise. Maybe no live broadcasts within 100 miles of the track would get some people back? That might not work either as I never sit through an entire live broadcast on FLO. I usually watch the next morn and skip everything but the racing. Good luck Scott and Don. Gavin Gruesome is as smarmy as politicians get and I can guarantee you he doesn't give a shit about the PAS or the fairgrounds. I was at your track in 2002 and again in 2015 and I hope to get back again someday. 

Scott, if you click on the paper clip looking thing you can make it a live link

 I just pasted & copied, good (but worrisome) interview....

Scary...

Tough situation... drought, $6.40 gas (! ), traffic

It took me 3 hrs. to drive 75 miles from L.A. only time I went....

Good luck & hang in there!!!!

Plus, &1,000 from Flo is chicken feed.....

Obviously its not your chicken feed...

Why be affiliated with USAC at all if they are not supporting you like you feel they should?   What is a benefit of USAC/CRA?  Why not go unsanctioned at Perris?

Interesting interview but I'm not quite sure some of this really jives to me. $1K/night equating to a 12% offset of losses in the last five USAC races would indicate a total of $41,667 in losses for that five races. Mr. Kazarian never specifies what this number is, not sure if it's front gate revenue (he mentioned it earlier as being down 37% but didn't specify directly when talking about this loss) or total revenue.

What's the average cost to take a family of four to a USAC race at Perris? I see $10 parking upfront - never been a fan of that. I found a press release from last year on the track reopening after COVID with a USAC/CRA show that show $30 adult tickets and $5 kids tickets 6-12. So a family of four would be $70 minimum for two adults and two young children but could balloon to $130 for two adults and two teenagers, and that's not factoring in gas/food/etc., just bare minimum. That's pricey for anyone - I'm fully aware that the costs to run a track in California are likely the highest in the country, but if your fans don't feel they're getting value out of what they're spending, they're not going to come back. I don't have a solution for PAS and I hope it is able to survive given the history of the track, but I don't know that I buy Flo being the primary creator of this problem. Simple way to find out otherwise - don't allow them to broadcast. If that means not scheduling USAC, so be it. 

I'm self-admittedly biased in this argument - I personally feel like streaming benefits dirt racing as a whole and a majority of the tracks that complain are and have not been providing enough value to their customers as-is, and their downfall is being sped up given the rise of streaming. Not saying this is the case with PAS - I think they're dealing with a much tougher set of challenges than most tracks in the US, but I hope they're able to get something figured out. 

Yea... obviously I don't have Flo's income or Perris' expenses....so what?

When you're RUNNING A RACETRACK, $1,000 probably doesn't cover much...

They're affiliated with USAC cause it has the best wingless racing, but it seems that USAC made the deal with Flo, not sure if track owners were consulted

I think the problems run much deeper than Flo or even USAC.

First I'll provide a little background from my perspective. I used to go to Perris all the time when I lived in California. My family had gone to Ascot religiously before it closed, then we traveled while SCRA was homeless. When they got the PAS as a home the racing was great and, In my opinion, rivalled USAC. I beleive that Ron Shuman was trying to build SCRA into a force in wingless racing. Then USAC took over with the help of Kazarian and others in the California scene. The the great drivers soon started to retire and many were not replaced. The racing was still good, but seemed diminished. It was almost as though USAC treated the USAC/CRA as a red-headed stepchild. It seemed that way to us, anyway. 

Fast forward a few years and you come to the situation today. Most of the old Ascot fans, the majority of which lived in L.A. or Orange County, have either died or moved on to other things. I remember that even during the glory days of SCRA, a large number of the regular fans were older. When USAC took over the number of races started to diminish, which didn't help the situation. I'm sure that the reduction in the schedule was due to the decrease in fans and possibly in competitors. To make matters worse, the drive in from L.A. and Orange County started to take longer and longer. Now add the increased costs of admission (which is understandable to a degree) and the exhorbitant cost of gas and you compound the problem.  

The biggest problem, however, is demographics. These have changed dramatically since the days of Ascot. If you live there you know what I am talking about. The Southern California car culture as it existed since the 50's is no more. What car culture still exists is not about dirt track racing anymore. The early days at the PAS was largely supported by the old guard along with a few newer fans. When they stopped coming for whatever reason, they were not replaced. Add to this the huge amount of other entertainment in the area, and you have the slow death of dirt track racing in Southern California. 

Here's a link to an in depth story that explains more of the details on what's going on in the area around the speedway. 

https://www.pressenterprise.com/2022/09/04/perris-dam-project-threatens-perris-auto-speedway-fairgrounds-businesses-lawsuit-alleges/

Excellent information, thanks for posting.

Not sure what the long term solution is to help promoters make money. I am a big advocate for smaller purses and cheaper race cars. A fan cannot tell the difference between how a car behaves on a $2000 shock versus a $100 shock. Just an example. I don't see how this track can survive if they have to take a year or two off though. Would the fans and drivers come back?

Good analysis. There was a short track racing resurgence in Southern California during the late '90s and early '00s when Perris opened, SCRA was thriving, Irwindale opened and ran an ambitious schedule, and Ventura was drawing big fields every week. But the fans and many of the competitors were from the old days. In the years since, the younger generations have not replaced the people who were around during the Ascot era. 

Perris is in a tough situation. I sure hope things work out.