Who killed the Northwest Late Model Tour?

By Scott Whitmore

"Men at some time are masters of their fates: The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves …” — Cassius, from Act I, Scene II of the play Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare.



The ASA Northwest Late Model Tour announced earlier this week that it was cancelling all remaining races for the 2010 season. With just two of 12 scheduled events completed, the announcement took many by surprise.

And after the surprise there was a surprising amount of finger-pointing and blame-laying, as well as some expressions of regret and appreciation directed at Scott Ellsworth and Jerry Losch, the pair that put aside their differences and tried to save touring late-model racing in the Northwest last year by combining their competing series.

There were rumors of problems, of course. But rumors of problems are part and parcel of local racing in the Pacific Northwest, aren’t they? Tire problems and low car count at the opener in March at Evergreen Speedway. Loss of a sponsor nearly caused the following race at South South Speedway to be cancelled, but thanks to the generosity of Mark Sundberg that race was held, but once again with a field just barely in double digits. After 40 years Ellsworth announced he would retire from racing at the end of the season.

Now, laying blame is something I’m very familiar with. In my family, no situation is ever over until someone has been assigned the blame — usually a person not in the least bit involved. Dysfunctional? You betcha, as ex-Guvner Sarah would say, but then again my family put the “fun” in dysfunctional.

Who killed the Tour? Well, from various corners of opinion it would appear that it was the tour’s choice of tires … or the drivers … or the tracks … or the fans … or the economy … or the tour directors … or me. Yup, someone actually suggested a semi-retired typist like yours truly played a part.

So, who’s to blame? Any of the above? All of the above? None of the above?

The short answer is: “All of the above,” but of course it is much, much more complicated than that. There are different degrees of blame, different levels of involvement; more gray than black or white. I’m not going to lay any blame here, but I will give you my opinion.

Could more fans have come to the races? Could more drivers have spent more money to get their cars ready and to travel to the races? Could the promoters and/or directors have done a better job getting the fans into the seats and the drivers to the track? Could the tire choice have been better? Could I have written more to help generate interest?

Yes to all of that, but more than anything else the down economy we’re all living through was the biggest factor in the untimely cancellation of the Tour’s season. Although there are indications that the economy is picking up a little now, it wasn’t so this past winter and earlier this spring — the time when teams are making plans and preparing their cars. And we all know late-model racecars are not cheap to build, maintain or race.

How many fans have to choose very, very carefully where to spend their money these days? Although the racing was good in those two Tour events, the ticket prices were a bit higher than that of the normal weekly show.

Let’s not forget what I like to call the “fun factor,” either. No matter how much you love racing — driving, crewing or watching from the stands — how much fun are you having if you’re constantly worried about how the bills are going to get paid?

And don’t ever make the mistake of thinking any promoter cares about anything but his or her own track and local divisions. Yes, a touring series can make for a nice addition to the show, but the local regulars from the weekly series are their bread-and-butter. And I don’t blame them one bit for taking that stand, either. They may be race fans or racers themselves, but they’re also running a business that is competing for those scarce entertainment dollars.

In a perfect world all the track promoters and tour series directors would sit down and come up with a season schedule with no conflicting races for maximum participation by locals who want to travel to take part in a tour race. But that perfect world doesn’t exist yet, and maybe never will.

So where do we go from here? Word has it Losch wants to regroup and try it all again next year. Here’s hoping that works out. Because even though I respect the promoters’ desire to maintain and build their own weekly shows, I think it is important to have another option for drivers and fans. If the economy continues to improve, all those other issues just may be resolved enough to make that happen.

“There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so," Hamlet, from Act II, Scene II of Hamlet by William Shakespeare.



Scott Whitmore is a freelance writer who spent three years covering motorsports in the Pacific Northwest for The Herald in Everett, Wash. He can be contacted at scott@scottwhitmore.net.