One of the hot topics in local racing for the past few years has been the cost taken on by racing teams. Car counts have even begun to suffer at many tracks due to teams just plain trying to stay afloat personally. When car counts drop there's bound to be fewer folks in the stands and the downward spiral begins to hurt the tracks which are already strapped for cash. Sure some drivers think the quick answer is to just pay them more, but that would hurt the tracks even more. Track owners have looked for any fix of their own but I can't honestly say I would have come up with the idea they did at Hilltop. Call it crazy or brilliant, but it is the best attempt I've ever seen to make racing more affordable for the racers. Here's the deal. When it's time to pay your car registration fee for 2010 at Hilltop you'll have the option of just paying the normal $25 fee and go racing. Or you can choose to pay $100 for your registration and get one season pit pass for yourself or a team member. You read that right,,, you can race your car at Hilltop ALL YEAR for just $100! Consider what any team pays over the season for pit passes and just think about how much this will save them. No, your whole team doesn't get a free season pass, but one of you does get into the pits free any night your car is present and scheduled to race. Now that's making racing more affordable!
Jesse Wardell told me he had some new/different ideas in the works to make Hilltop the premier dirt track it deserves to be. I guess this means he was pretty serious if this is just the first example. This registration deal is certainly a financially risky plan for any track to try but if it works out you'll see car counts and crowds that Hilltop hasn't seen in years. This is exactly they type of "thinking outside the box" local racing needs. Maybe this type of thinking will spread to other tracks too and that would be awesome. Think about it. If the pits and stands are packed those racers looking for more payout are certain to get their wish. Hats off to ya Hiltop for having the balls to try something that just could revive local dirt track racing.
