#1: Our society has run out of "tinkers", and sadly, society continues to make tinkers obsolute. (Just to be clear, when I use the term tinker, I do so with the utmost respect, and do so using the definition as: "One who enjoys experimenting with and repairing machine parts."
A few weeks ago I put up a post about how many teams there once were, that were anchored by an owner, who then had someone else drive their car. Those guys had great mechanical knowledge, and they were tinkers. There are so few "owners only" these days, you probably could count them on one hand... If you go back to the 60's, 70's and even into the 80's, I'd bet that 95% of those that were responsible for getting the car ready for raceday, owners and also owner/drivers were folks who had a solid understanding of how mechanical things worked. Some had their own repair shops... Some worked at plants/factories/DPWs in a dedicated Maintenance Dept that was responsible for anything that needed fixing... and guess what... They fixed it! Amazing as it is to think this, these very talented folks actually enjoyed the nights in the garage, with a few buddies, figuring out the next whiz bang thing that was going to get them better results for the upcoming week. They made the time to do it.... There was camaraderie... Yea it was "cubic time" but it wasn't "cubic $'s" so they "tinkered"... and had a sense of accomplishment when what they had thought of, designed, and then fabricated, produced results.
There are very few tinkers out there anymore, and for the few that are still out there, and once had an interest in racing, their skills have become threatened by today's more common buy/install/wreck/replace model. Other than hammering out body panels, I'm not sure how much else can be done by an average team any more. So often we hear that they had to take the car back to Bicknell, or whoever made it to make it right... Engines are sealed (supposed to be sealed) so how much tinkering can actually be done on today's cars?
Folks like Wally Marks... Fred Menschner.... Roy Pauch.... Kenny Brightbill. They built it... They fixed it... and when it was time, they built something new.
Even outside of racing today, there aren't a lot of things that can be tinkered with... Everything is modular based, controled with a board/computer... and rarely can be fixed just by somebody tinkering with it.
If the furnace stopped working back in the day, dad went to the cellar with a flashlight, and somehow usually got it working again Now, we go online and call somebody because there's a good chance some module/controller board needs to be replaced... After a visit or two, they figure out what's wrong, and we then wait because the part is probably on back order..... Same thing for a lot of appliances... cars... mowers... stuff that could often be fixed with a little time and ingenuity, now often needs special equipment/software just to determine what is wrong, followed by component replacement rather than "adjusting, or tweaking."
No disrespect to those who are currently field cars and the tremendous effort they have to put in to do so, but I think even they would have to agree that there's a lot less welding/bending/fabricating on today's race cars, and quite a bit of remove/replace... Somebody with a twisted up racecar back in the 70's/80's could look at it, and figure on some long nights in the shop to fix it, but could justify the time knowing that they'd have a sense of accomplishment when fixed, versus somebody today who has to spend mega $'s buying/installing replacement parts needed to get back to the track.
While we're on this lack of tinkers and why, keep in mind that every race team needed a main tinker... but they also depended on a handful of others that were also willing to get their hands dirty... (2nd level tinkerer's! ) who were willing to spend a few nights in the garage during the week, and would be at the track on every race day without question. While they didn't possess the same skills as the lead guy, there willingness to provide hands on help was a necessity for any race team.
#2: Racing is family/generational, and there are less of the recent/upcoming generation that are following the path made before them into racing.
Less than 20 years ago, I could walk through the pits at New Egypt and almost every team had some connection to the past... A father... A grandfather... Many of the cars had that connection with a past generation, or in some cases maybe even two or 3 generations. It seemed to be the norm... Your dad's dad raced, so your dad raced... And then when you became old enough, you raced... As each new generation comes along, there are less that are interested in following the racing roots laid down by their racing relatives past/present. Whether it is a lack of interest, a lack of $'s, (or probably both), or the next generation just not seeing the "why" behind all the work and $'s involved, they never take the wheel... or in some cases, maybe give it a try for a year or two... And before you know it, a name that you thought would always be involved in the sport meets the end of the road.
Sure there are some current examples where the generations continue (Pauch's, Martz's, Godown's, etc.,.) But there are also a lot that the family's racing lineage stopped sometime over the past 2 decades or so. Some try it for a year or two... Some not at all... And when you lose that built in next generation "base" you either have to find others to replace it, or recognize that there will continue to be a decline in race teams/participants, as most tracks are seeing now.
#3: Many "kids" are already burnt out on racing just about the time they would need to start their sportsman/modified career. For those born in the 50's, 60's and even the 70's, unless you had BS'd your way in, you probably had to wait until you were 18 years old in NJ (16 in PA) before you could race.... By then, the racing bug was building up inside and you, and a handful of buddies would do whatever it would take to field a car, and get one of you behind the wheel of a sportsman! Now we have a bunch of kids that probably feel like their racing career is complete by the time they are 16! (You know...been there, done that.) Think about it...If they started racing at 5, that would mean that they've been racing for 10 years by the time they are sportsman ready... How many of them feel like they've had enough "racing" and want to do other things in life? And for those who have thoughts of continuing in racing, how many of them look at short track racing, (especially dirt) as a totally unnecessary step? Hell, they have a room full of 1/4 midget, Karting, etc., trophies.... so for some of them, they're already thinking it's either Nascar or nevermind!
#4: $'s.
I know a lot of folks will say that $'s should be #1for the decline in the amount of racecars, and they might be right, but for me, citing the high cost of racing today as the reason for it's decline is kind of the logical/sensible justification, but at what level does being logical/sensible apply when talking about short track racing? My reason for listing $'s as #4 is because if we still had a society with a bunch of tinkers... and if the cars were still something where a team could be competitive by spending more time tinkering instead of maxing out another credit card at the speed shop counter, I think a few more of the old timers would have stayed in the game, and maybe brought a few young'ins along with them.
It has to get old pretty quick... constantly putting out $'s for tires, fuel, entry fees, replacement parts needed from wear or crash., or because something better/new is needed because... well, it's the next best thing that everybody has to have... So yea, it's the $, but it's also the reality that you can't fix things/be competitive just by spending more time in the garage... Today's teams have to be buying the right $tuff.
$'s are a huge reason why most guys stop racing... but I think the main reason why new folks don't get involved in the sport to begin with goes back to the lack of tinkers, and that you can't do it any longer just by tinkering.
#5: Everything else that has been offered up by everyone who contributed to this thread. Lots of solid reasons brought up by those that posted above, and I don't disagree with any of them. Thanks for starting the thread T-Hem.
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