CRA's death signifies a deeper problem

With the CRA's announcement that the series is suspending the remainder of the southern tour schedule, it appears that yet another short track series has bit the dust. Following in the footsteps of the ASA Challenge Series and NASCAR Southeast Series, The CRA's departure leaves a void for a solid regional Super Late Model series.

Why are these series fading away? Naturally the answer is a lack of interest, both from fans and potential sponsors. But digging deeper, the real question is why. Why aren't the fans coming out? Where are the likes of Slim Jim, AC Delco, and Sunoco that used to sponsor these o

nce great series? 

The easy answer is that NASCAR stole them. NASCAR is continuing a decade-long movement away from local racing. Gone are the days when the Nationwide or Camping World Truck series made regular visits to Saturday night speedways. Gone are the days when the local hotshoe had a valid chance of climbing the ranks. And most painfully, gone are the days where NASCAR scheduled relatively few Saturday night races to keep from interfering with attendance at the local tracks.

NASCAR isn't the only culprit, however. Where is the PR for these series? Aside from subscribing to Late Model Digest, how is the average fan going to find out about the series and its' star drivers? In the 80s, names like Dick Trickle, Butch Miller, and Mike Eddy routinely came up in racing circles, and the 90s saw drivers like Bobby Gill and Scott Hansen come to prominence. Augie Grill has won the last two Snowball Derbies. Who is he? Don't really know. Why not? Surely back to back wins in the most prestigious race of its' type deserves a writeup in Speedway Illustrated. Some PR firm somewhere needs to get on it.

The future of short track racing is murky at best. Somebody, somewhere needs to step up and make it exciting again, before its too late.