Midweek races are nothing new to the general world of motorsports. They’re not even all that rare in the grassroots scene.
Dirt racing commonly holds midweek shows, with sellout crowds eager to watch the discipline’s best drivers compete, occasionally even in week-long competitions like the Chili Bowl in Tulsa or the Charlotte’s World of Outlaws Finals.
But despite the success shown on dirt, the midweek racing model is only just beginning to become more prevalent in asphalt short track racing.
Sure, a few marquee week-long events exist for pavement short track competitors. The World Series of Asphalt or the week of the Snowball Derby serve as two prominent examples of midweek racing that work within the discipline. But they’re not as commonplace for pavement as they are for dirt.
Events like the races previously mentioned work for a few reasons in today’s modern pavement scene,. The first, most obvious reason is the presence of NASCAR talent that often coincides with midweek pavement shows.
It’s substantially easier for big NASCAR names to attend and participate in short track events in the middle of the week, when they have fewer NASCAR obligations. Some recent pavement short track events highlight the impact that NASCAR presences make.
The ‘Masters of the Pros’ race at Owosso Speedway in July featured NASCAR Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick and his son, Keelan. The UARA Battle at Berlin in mid-August had NASCAR Cup Series stars Carson Hocevar and Erik Jones participating in the race. Last week’s ASA STARS Michigan 300 at Owosso featured Jones alongside Noah Gragson.
It’s not only an easier task for NASCAR names to attend midweek races, as it also gives race fans more reason to head to their local short track on a work or school night. The midweek entertainment also caters to the streaming market, allowing fans to easily watch from home and enjoy entertainment during the week when there are fewer competing forms of live entertainment.
That being said, midweek races aren’t immune to logistical challenges. This is especially true for more blue-collar operations, who often work on a limited budget with volunteer employees that can’t afford to miss their day jobs to go chase racing. An increased amount of purse money is often injected into these midweek shows to help account for this issue, but it works to varying degrees of success.
For dirt, so much money is already put behind the various series and tracks. As such, the midweek shows are much less of a logistical hurdle. Dirt racing teams travel for weeks or months on end, sometimes without rest, often racing on multiple occasions in the same week. It’s a completely different culture from pavement racing, but one that some areas of the pavement scene are desperately trying to replicate.
Let’s look at the pavement tracks that were previously mentioned in this story: Owosso Speedway and Berlin Raceway. Both tracks reside in the midwestern United States, a region that is no stranger to midweek shows. Nearly a dozen high-profile midweek races have taken place over this summer alone. The culture there supports pavement short track races, so more money is being put behind the sport and making these big midweek shows possible.
That culture doesn’t fully translate to other areas of the country, but things could always change.
“We haven’t done it in the south yet, although we certainly are taking it into consideration considering the success that they’re having in the Midwest with those midweek shows,” Tim Bryant, the owner and operator of Florida’s Five Flags Speedway, told Frontstretch. “It’s tough for our race teams that have volunteer or even paid employees who have full-time jobs, so it’s a double-edged sword.
“Again, we look at the success they have in the Midwest, and it seems like it might be worthy of a try. I think the bottom line is, one of the (primary) factors is the fact that it does allow a Cup, Xfinity, or Truck guy an opportunity to race, and fans like that.
“We try our darnedest to try and sell our short track program. That’s what we’re about and those are our guys, but we can’t hide the fact that fans do like to see a NASCAR favorite once in a while.”
As Bryant said, the impact of a NASCAR presence is undeniable. When tracks have a big name to base their marketing around, it can drastically impact the desire for race fans to attend. On the financial side, while things in the pavement world pale in comparison to the money circulating through the dirt scene, recent programs such as the ASA STARS Platinum Program help bring more value to the regular short track ringers that support their local grassroots tracks.
It’ll take some time. But with increased NASCAR star participation, the rise of the streaming world, and more money being put into pavement short tracks, a culture change is possible. If done properly, the deep south and other parts of the country could see the same passionate short track culture that makes midweek races a hot commodity in the midwest and at dirt tracks nationwide.
The pieces are at least partially there to complete the puzzle, and if more series and track operators like Bryant look at new ways to bring attention to their grassroots regulars, they might find that midweek shows are just the tool to gain that exposure.
