ON THE MONEY: 36th Oxford 250 could feel the economy's negative effects

Many expect car counts, ticket sales,
overall atmosphere to sag

OXFORD, Maine -- Just five short years ago, Steve Reny nearly put together a dream weekend at Oxford Plains Speedway.

This year, though, the veteran racer out of Boothbay is living the same nightmare so many other Americans find themselves trapped in. A bad economy, a weakened dollar that doesn't stretch as far as it used to and having to cutback on the things they find most enjoyable.

For Reny, that's racing.

In 2004, he almost led Sprint Cup Series driver Matt Kenseth to an Oxford 250 victory as a crew chief, just one day after he almost won a 100-lap ACT Late Model Tour race himself on the same track.

In 2009, he'll be forced to watch his fellow Late Model drivers race for the trophy he covets most.

"We've talked about it in the past -- your racing, your motorcycles, your snowmobiles, that's the stuff you're having to cut out in order to pay the bills," Reny said. "The things you love the most always seem to have to go first."

Just a few days before the 36th annual TD Banknorth 250 at Oxford Plains, nobody seems to know just how significantly the economical woes facing the nation will effect the summer's signature short-track event.

But most of the people on the inside realistically expect that car counts, ticket sales and the general atmosphere around the track will sag. It's not a product of the racing nor a testament to a lack of shine on the race's tradition. It's just a sad, sad fact as the racing game suffers through the economic downturn.

NUMBERS GAME

"I'm thinking 65-70, about 10 or 15 off from normal," car builder Ricky Rolfe said of what he expects for a number of entries this year.

There were 86 entries for the race last year.

"It's only because of the economy," said Rolfe, of Albany Township. "The cars are out there, but guys are just deciding not to come. If you come from Vermont or wherever, it's hotel rooms and a lot of tires. It's a $2,000 weekend, and you may not make the race."

Track owner Bill Ryan said his offices don't have a good system in place for keeping track of exact ticket sales, but he does get the sense that sales could be a little slower this year.

Part of that, he offered, could be because of the ecomony. But he also suggested the effects of last year's rains on Oxford 250 weekend could also be at play.

"The economy's never been great for average person that comes to the speedway, anyway," Ryan said. "It's been like chinese water torture for the economy in western Maine for years now it seems.

"In general, when you're having a good year, things seem to go right for the 250. More than the economy, the fact that it rained last year (on Sunday and the rain date of Monday) would give more people pause when it comes to buying tickets. Maybe they went to the race all excited on Sunday and then got rained out and maybe couldn't make it back on Monday, so maybe this year they're just waiting until the last minute to see if weather will be good."

Though the forecast late Thursday night was for showers on Saturday, Sunday is expected to be sunny with seasonal temperatures in the upper 70s.

Ryan said that car counts in all three of Oxford's Saturday night Championship Series divisions -- including the Late Models, Strictly Stocks and Mini Stocks -- have held or improved upon their car counts from last year. Grandstand attendance is up, too, he said, after weather-related losses across most of the 2008 season.

"At the same time, you can't discount (the economy) too much," Ryan said. "All I know is that I haven't heard from drivers saying, 'The economy's terrible, we're not going to try to qualify for the 250.'

"I always have worries going into the 250, anyway, just because it's such a massive undertaking. You just never know."

STAYING PUT

Still, there is early evidence that drivers and teams are staying away -- the kinds of successful Late Model teams and drivers that would have otherwise made the trip.

Steve Reny is a good example of that.

Reny is a former ACT competitor, as well as Unity Raceway, Wiscasset Raceway and Oxford Plains racer. But with a construction business that is "down 75 percent from where it was two years ago," Reny has not raced anywhere in 2009.

He has an ACT-legal Late Model sitting in his garage ready to roll, but he won't be taking it to the Oxford 250.

Not that he hasn't considered it.

"That car is literally race ready. All I'd have to do is put gas in it and tires on it, and I could go and be competitive," Reny said. "But just can't bring myself to throw $1,400 or $1,500 -- probably $2,000 -- into this weekend. And it's all about the economy. I've got the same group of guys ready to go. All I'd have to do is call them.

"It's tempting, because you do stand chance of getting your money back. But there's also possiblity that you go spend a pile of money and you get wrecked and you end up with a $20,000 race car that's junk."

Bruce Thomas Jr. is also staying home.

The two-time defending Waterford Speedbowl Late Model champion from Groton, Conn., said in April that he believed the Oxford 250 was one of the country's greatest Late Model events and he had no plans whatsoever of missing it.

But as race day neared, Thomas -- who already has seven feature wins this season -- made the decision to pull the plug this week. The decision is a financial one.

TWO FOR THE PRICE OF ONE

As the runaway leader in the Waterford Speedbowl Late Model standings, Thomas is likely to be one of the 36 drivers invited to participate in the inaugural ACT Invitational at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in September.

The qualifying guidelines included ACT and Castrol Series drivers, as well as track champions from ACT-legal tracks in New England and Canada. Waterford is one of those tracks.

"Right now, I'd much rather focus on being able to hit the (NHMS) show," Thomas told the Hartford Courant. "If everything goes well I know that going to Loudon is going to take a big chunk of change to do. I guess it was one or the other."

But if there's any one race worth doing, most in northern New England believe it's still the Oxford 250.

Rolfe said that the ACT Invitational has yet to replace the Oxford 250 in the Late Model ranks.

"I don't think so. Not yet," Rolfe said. "Maybe it will when we get there and we're all racing in front of 50,000 people instead of 14,000 -- maybe it will be different."

"There could be a limited amount of guys (making a decision like Thomas')," Bill Ryan said. "The other side of that, though, is that to say on July 16 that you're going to win your championship so you want to save money for New Hampshire -- that's a tough call to make. I don't know.

"I don't think that race in New Hampshire hurts us at all. I think it's helped us. That opportunity has improved the health of Late Models all over... I think there's maybe the one guy that makes that calculation, but there might be five guys that make the calculation that they could go and have shot to win the 250."

SICKENING

For Steve Reny, the Oxford 250 remains the one and only race that matters, which is what makes sitting it out so difficult.

"It's horrible," he said, "but you've got to be able to pay those bills at the end of the month."

He said he'd considered putting what money he does have into giving up any hope of weekly racing for a qualifying attempt this Sunday.

"I've actually thought about that a lot," he said. "If you're going to race one race, that is by far the one race to race...just because of the history.

"But this is my fear: You go up there and you have a good run -- and then you won't stop. You'll go out the next week and the week after and you won't stop. Racing is a sickness, anyway."

Ryan said that his marketing staff has continued to treat the race the same way it has in the past, with radio, television, newspaper and internet coverage.

"We can only do what we do, which is work to hype this as much as possible," Ryan said. "Our plan hasn't changed. This isn't a business where you have control over who comes and doesn't come, and you can't call up people after and say, 'Why didn't you come?,' because you don't know who didn't come.

"With economy, I don't know."

Truth is, no one really does.

"I hope for Oxford's sake, and for racing's sake, that they'll have a good race with fewer cars," Reny said.

-- TRAVIS BARRETT, GWC Editor

* CLICK HERE FOR MORE OXFORD 250 COVERAGE

Comments

[Andy B]

I hope no one adds in the comment "well it's like this for all tracks and big races", because that simply isn't true.

Thunder Road had a turn away crowd for the Vt Governor's Cup just about a month ago.

[redsgreg]

GOOD POINT!!! we agree on this one. i would compare this more to sprint cup. product is simply not as good as it was say 5 years ago. there is huge dissention here and in sprint in regards to the change in car. throw in a lousy economy to boot.you got issues for sure. no question the T-road deal is much better aligned to weather the storm. cant imagine cyr, payea, pembroke missing an act race @ T-road.