Guess my buddy Gun struck a nerve when he commented on the price of fuel in a recent post. And it ain’t cheep to get into the race track either. I know the prices for everything seem to have increased faster than my wages. Aside from the political implications of a poor economy, I think Ol’ Gun’s point may have been that us broke butt racing fans have to strategize carefully to stretch our pennies if we want to attend more races. Racing talent is important too as managing vacation time has to play into the plan.

The last two World of Outlaws races I attended were $30 a pop general admission $15 for children. & I just got a flyer in the mail to renew my seats at a local track for their fall WOO Sprint Car Series event, seats starting at $30 and no children’s seat prices listed. (BTW, I’m not saying the talent is not superior at these events or I wouldn't pay $30) I’m on a waiting list for Chili Bowl tickets next year that retail $185 for a 4 day ticket & $211 for a 5 day ticket. (or 46.25/day or 42.20/day for you math majors) It is a really good time though & I live near it so fuel will be less of an issue. Bean & I went to Martinsville this year & last year’s Coca~Cola 600 at Lowes, both of which advertise some good deals. We only make it to one Nascar event a year because of cost & vacation time constraints & we try to do what we did this year & pick a race that is close to family so we can put them out instead of paying for a hotel. Many tracks offer pretty good prices for ARCA races, Nascar Nationwide & Nascar Crasftsman truck all of which offer great entertainment with excellent talent.

But it is true that if I had a family I couldn’t take the time to work extra jobs and on the salary from my primary job, I couldn’t afford to take a family to the races. But how does racing compare with other sporting events? Is it any cheaper to be a Detroit Redwings fan? Even taking your family to the movies adds up pretty darn quick. But getting me back on topic, we are racing fans, so how do poor race fans set their strategy? Help me out here people, fuel is what it is, we’re just going to have to pay for it no matter what it costs so don’t comment on that, (unless ya want to God bless this country) but what I really want to here are suggestions on the deals at the tracks out there. Dirt & asphalt where do you find a really good show for little dough? What are the best deals in racing?