https://www.dragzine.com/news/summit-motorsports-park-reportedly-not-opening-in-2020/ I do know they have pulled the plug on many big events......looks like maybe he might of upset the powers that be when stated in April they would open no matter what the state says
On the web site he was going to give an announcement but someone leaked his information and has decided to make a statement on Wednesday. From what I see it looks like the show is over for the year. what a bummer. But so far Quaker is open for our Buick nats unless that has changed too.
I hear summit pulled his sponsorship the day after he shot his mouth off saying he will open no matter the state says
Bet 42 is going to be real busy........ bet he also wont come flat out and be honest that because he ran his mouth, acting so entitled, like he was the only business being hurt during this time, that his sponsors for the track and so many races pulled the plugs. Funny how he says he is going to loose 80% of his revenue but other tracks ate open and making money........I would figure making 20% of last years profits would help the depleted war chest more than 0% How does he know the revenue is going to be lost already b4 the events are even run???????? Because if he put the money up for the payout instead on sponsors......why not get back to the basic and relevant on what built the track, the average Joe Saturday night racers......
My 2 cents- the expenses of running the track are huge. While 20% of normal revenue may seem better than nothing, it's a dangerous road for longevity. Making some money rather than no money is rarely good for the business. It's much cheaper to be closed rather than be open from an expense point of view. Between the insurance, wages, etc its a huge number to crack. Even with 20% revenue he probably has a smaller net loss leaving the place dormant for the year. Especially coupled with the risk at anytime they could be ordered closed. It sucks but it is the smart business move. I believe this to be the reason most summer activities are already cancelled.
^Valid point^ I remember a conversation at national trail regarding a Buick event that was held there previously. I forget the exact number, but it was something like $10k in insurance costs for each time they open the gate to racers and spectators. So just theorizing here, but if you think you're only going to get 20% of your revenue, that sure sounds better than 0%. BUT if opening costs are 30% of your revenue, then your net -10%. Suddenly zero is more money in your pocket. Again, just a theory playing with numbers on my part.
Thats exactly it Shawn. 10k just to open the gate and you only bring in 4k. You lose 6k. Or stay closed and lose 2k. Sponsor revenue has probably taken a big hit too. Also a terrible year money wise has it's tax advantages the following year.
As you can probably imagine every track has different operating expenses. There is no blanket solution for every business out there.
You also can't linerally draw a line for the expense of ppl needed to run a regular 400 car bracket event to the expense needed to run an event like night under fire or world nationals....... I'm sure it's not worth his time to mess with basic bracket races.....he has proven that over the years by the number of Saturday night events going down and number of big events going up each year. But I'm sure if other tracks can make money being open that he could too.
My local track is weekends only, test and tune only at 200 bucks a car for the day. Its probably a 10th the size of the summit park. Huge events like that won't draw much revenue if the stands can only be at 10-25% capacity either.
I would think that Norwalk will not open since they do get the big name racers in there and that is a lot of money. The smaller tracks like 42 and Quaker and such run smaller venues and plus they run regular races on the weekends and Wednesdays for some. We don't get John Force at 42 but I got to see Don Garlits there and others back in the 80's They don't get those big names anymore.. But at the same time Norwalk is a nice track and has been there forever so I cannot see why they can't get some good races there this year. They will just have to advertise. Just think of that Norwalk pamphlet you got in the mail with all that 4 color printing on it. That there costs a lot of money alone and all of that just got wasted. I know the people that printed it.
