http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cLnAIsmhH0
On the first race night after a summer break at the DeSoto Speedway in Bradenton, fans cheer in the stands as cars shoot around the short track at speeds that can exceed 100 miles an hour.
The driver’s goal is simple: make the best time and earn the most money.
But these racers are competing in a sport that’s becoming more expensive for them as racetrack owners are also figuring out ways to sustain their businesses.
Fifty-eight-year-old Clyde Cole has been racing for about 28 years. He retired seven years ago, but returned to the sport this year.
It took Cole two years to build the car he’s racing. Its biggest cost is the engine, which accounts for $15,000 of what can be up to a $38,000 price tag. He said times have changed.
“Used to be, you could go to a salvage yard or a junk yard whatever you want to call it and get parts. They don’t have the parts at those places anymore because they crush cars and scrap them,” Cole said. “Now, you pretty much got to buy all new parts from speed shops.”
Cole’s biggest ongoing expense is tires. He said a night of racing can cost him $750. To get into the race, it’s $10 for a pit slab – a space to keep your car while waiting to race – and $30 to get into the back gate. Racers who make it to the feature events will earn some money. The amount of money depends upon the race and the track.
Cole calls DeSoto his home track. Owner Mike Chase bought the 65-acres the land sits on for $1.3 million in March, 2013 and named it the Full Throttle Speedway. He asked business partner Kevin Williams to help operate and promote the track. In late October, Williams left the Speedway and Chase became a silent partner. The track was renamed the DeSoto Speedway.
Chase said the previous owner ran the track on a limited schedule and only about 200 fans showed up on race nights. He said about 1,700 fans showed up on opening day in May. The owners plan to use the track for events and festivals.
But, Chase also hopes to partner with other racetracks and alternate race nights.
“That way, the tracks and the owners could have weekends off when they’re not here and save money on pay rolling everything,” He said. “And, you get more fans because they’re not having to choose between what track do we go to tonight?”
Former co-owner Kevin Williams ran the Punta Gorda Speedway. Chase was an investor there. Last spring, Williams left that track after the leaseholder – the Charlotte County Airport Authority – raised the rent. Then, the Punta Gorda Speedway sat barren. In early September, Jamie Haase signed the lease to operate the track. He plans to rename it the Three Palms Speedway.
Haase is also thinking beyond races to generate money for the track. On off days, he wants to have car shows and, possibly, a Flo Rider competition there. That’s a type of stationary surfboard. He also wants to use social media as a draw. One of his sons plans to quickly post video recaps on Facebook.
“We’re going to have GoPro cameras around the track,” He said. “And, when something happens, it’s a wireless feed onto his computer, he’ll have it up on Facebook within a couple minutes.”
But, there is a price tag attached to these goals. Repairs include a new fence and bleachers. Haase’s self-financed rent is $6,400 per month. There’s also a $2 million liability insurance policy.
Accidents do happen. On the opening night of Full Throttle (now DeSoto Speedway) in May, a part in Geoff Styner’s car broke, sending him headfirst into a wall at about 115 miles an hour.
“I just watched the concrete go by about six, eight inches from my head and just was waiting for the car to stop sliding,” he said.
Styner’s injuries included a broken neck and two punctured lungs. The crash would take Styner out of racing and into a temporary large neck brace kept in place by holes screwed into his head. His hospital bill came to about $200,000.
The racing community raised about $7,000 to help. Despite the high cost, Styner hopes to race again.
“January, I am going to take this car up and we are going to go out for a practice night and I’m going to see if I can still do it,” Styner said. “If I can still do it, if my wife can handle watching it again, we will be back in a racetrack.”
Jamie Haase hopes to have Three Palms Speedway open in Punta Gorda by the end of the year. The new management at the Desoto Speedway will keep the racing dates for the 2013 season.
