With the Price of Gas at $ 5.00 on the Horizon ?

[useddirt]

With gas going up every day, do you think this is going to hurt attendance at some of the races this summer ? As high as it is now if it were to start to drop it would still take all summer to get back down to where it was at 2.35. Whats your opinion ?

[latemodelman]

I think you will see more people pick and choose when and where to go. I think the drivers will pick and choose as well. Remember back in 2008 when we had an economic crisis car counts started to drop big and still dropped this will happen again. Also fans might not come back to the big races or they might go to 1 big race but skip 4 weekly shows. Just dont know yet might not know until May when these prices have been here for awhile.

[Raceready]

I imagine it will have have an impact on all recreational reasons if the price goes up to the predicted $7.00 a gallon ! Heck it just went up .47 cents in the last weekend to $4.19 per gallon in my area.

[SLIDING SIDEWAYS]

I imagine it will have have an impact on all recreational reasons if the price goes up to the predicted $7.00 a gallon ! Heck it just went up .47 cents in the last weekend to $2.19 per gallon in my area.

Lucky for you. It's $4 and up a gal here. 😲

[weatherman85]

I imagine it will have have an impact on all recreational reasons if the price goes up to the predicted $7.00 a gallon ! Heck it just went up .47 cents in the last weekend to $2.19 per gallon in my area.

I would love for $2.19 a gallon here. Surely that's a typo.

[zyoung25]

Race gas was nearly $20 a gallon at beginning of the season, and diesel is closing in $5 a gallon everywhere I seen this weekend.. The guys with money will travel still, but low budget guys are not going to pull 4 or 5hrs to run 3rd in a B main behind 2 guys that would have provisionals.

Not bitching about provisionals, that's just the way I see it being.

I did smell E85 at smokey mountain during the super races. I couldn't put a finger on who it was, but they made the feature. It still could've been a 604 for all I know.

[Raceready]

I would love for $2.19 a gallon here. Surely that's a typo.

I'm sorry, I meant $4.19 a gallon ! !

[Mod Runner]

Why on earth would racing gas cost nearly 20 dollars a gallon ? Are the chemicals used to make racing gas that expensive ?

[kidrock]

Why on earth would racing gas cost nearly 20 dollars a gallon ? Are the chemicals used to make racing gas that expensive ?

Greed plain and simple just like regular gas it's just greed. BP profits 13 billion, Shell's 19.3 billion profit, Chevron profits 15.6 billion and Exxon 23 billion.

[kidrock]

You're probably going to see more people staying home and streaming these races.

[Wells Racing Photos]

I think you will see lots of races canceled much faster due to bad forecasts, than ever with the gas prices on the rise. National guys are still going to travel especially with all of the big money races like Bristol and others. It will affect the smaller regional guys much more so than the national-type drivers.

[Rajflyboy]

Great thread. Some of the vendors at Cherokee mentioned that they will need to pick and choose their travel wisely this year.

[dirtrace09]

Sadly it will get worse before it gets better. Keep in mind that tracks have expenses also. Fuel for track prep and clean up, food and drink prices rising, etc... I think it might be a tough go this summer. I don't expect it to get any better anytime soon. If oil truly does hit close to $200 a barrel, we are in for a ride that won't be good anywhere from clothing to food (let alone gas, diesel and electricity that has already taken off). The ripple effect is going to be felt for a long time. Greed and a global system that isn't prepared for instability isn't a good combo for anyone.

[Josh Bayko]

I remember when gas prices did this back in 2008. It didn’t actually change much.

[buckeyebandit7]

I agree with most here…High dollar teams will still be out on the road because there’s a ton to be won but local and regional guys will be much more choosey.
It’s truly sad the state we are in as a nation…