BY SHAWN MILLER
Nov. 11, 2011 - Hopping along the bumps in the freeway, sporadically slowed by periods of a blinding sunset and random “hot rods” swerving in and out of traffic, he trekked along the New Mexico roadways on the final road trip of the season.
It was a surreal setting; a rare glimpse of bright sunlight in what has started as a cold, wet winter across the country and more importantly, into the mind of a person who has quickly become a kingpin in sprint car racing....
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For Matt Ward, who was thrust into the spotlight and his dream job as the competition director for the American Sprint Car Series last March, the journey wraps up his first season in charge of the premier 360 sprint car series.
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In fact, as he enters his first offseason, the phone has been considerably busy with tracks across the country wanting a piece of the ASCS National Tour next season.
“If you go to any winged sprint car race, I’d say ASCS probably has by far the best racing out there,” he said. “On any given night you’ve got 15 to 20 drivers who could win the A Main.”
The competitive balance – 16 different winners in 29 races this season – combined with Ward’s desire to book more races and battle at new tracks across the country have led to an exciting announcement for Ward.
“We’re pleased to announce that the ASCS National Tour has a tentative 2012 schedule of 55 races,” he said with a grin. “And we’re in discussions with a few other venues to add several more races. I think we’ll end up with 60 to 70 races when we start next season.”
As of now, the ASCS National Tour has 55 events booked at 29 tracks in 15 states. Also, another eight races are still being finalized and a couple of open weekends will likely be filled with events by the time of the season opener – March 2-3 at Canyon Speedway Park in Peoria, Ariz.
If everything goes as planned, the ASCS National Tour will have more than five dozen races at nearly 40 tracks in almost 20 states from the Midwest to the entire West Coast.
“Our goal is to get our schedule up to 60 to 70 races per season and keep it there,” Ward said. “This year was mainly about getting the races on the schedule. Next year we’re going to try to get into some new venues to help expand our series. I’d like to get into some areas that ASCS hasn’t been to in awhile or ever, like Illinois, Indiana and Ohio.”
In addition to the usual “big” shows like the 360 Knoxville Nationals (Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa), the Short Track Nationals (I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Ark.), the Western World Championships (USA Raceway in Tucson, Ariz.) and the Devil’s Bowl Spring and Winter Nationals (Devil’s Bowl Speedway in Mesquite, Texas), the ASCS National Tour has added a couple more elite weekends and will venture into some new markets.
The West Coast swing now has 11 booked races in July, the series will make its first-ever visit to Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas, and Devil’s Bowl Speedway has added a Summer Nationals, which is the weekend before what Ward said is one of his most anticipated events – Speedweek.
“I’m excited that we’re actually bringing our Speedweek back because we haven’t had a Speedweek the last couple of years,” he said. “Growing up I would go to the Speedweeks, and it was always fun and exciting.
“Next year we’re bringing in one Speedweek and possibly two Speedweeks.”
The event will showcase five races at five tracks throughout four states in a six-day span in the middle of June. If everything goes accordingly, a second five-race Speedweek would take place two weeks after the 360 Knoxville Nationals.
Ward said the biggest catalyst for the addition of so many races – nearly twice as many as this season – was a couple of meetings between ASCS officials and most of the ASCS National Tour drivers this past summer. The future of the series and the sport were discussed and everyone agreed on a change to the purse beginning in 2012.
“I’d like to thank the drivers and owners for their cooperation and help in transitioning into the 2012 season,” Ward said. “The drivers and owners were very positive and they had a lot of input.
“The purse is more enticing to the promoters now because it’s not a big-bottom line. This year if you were to take a one-day race, it’d be $42,000. You’ve got to have some fans show up to be able to cover that. Next year a one-day show is going to cost less than $22,000 and a two-day event is approximately $50,000. So it’ll be easier for the promoters to make more money, which in turn will get them to book more races. And it wasn’t that drastic of a pay cut for the drivers.”
Starting next year, ASCS National Tour events pay $3,000 to win and $300 to start on the first night of a two-day event or on stand-alone races. For the second night, it’s $4,000 to win and $300 to start.
“There were a lot of track promoters who heard it through the grapevine,” Ward said. “Word got around and they called us wanting shows. The tracks have a lot more interest in booking shows now. The new purse makes it easier to book shows and we can have more than 30 races for a season. For the drivers to make any money, especially the ones who are doing it for a living, they can’t live off of 30 races.”
The new purse has already proven successful in generating more races and a cast of unnamed drivers is committing to chase the championship next season.
“It’s great for the racers and it’s great for the promoters,” said Tony Bruce Jr., who will continue to compete on the ASCS National Tour next season and who has booked five races for his company – TBJ Promotions.
“It’s a win-win for everyone. The racers get to race a lot more and there’s more incentive for promoters to book races. As we have more races and go to new tracks, it will also introduce ASCS sprint car racing to new fans as well.”
While several more races will be added and the scheduled slightly adjusted, it’s a safe bet that Ward and the ASCS National Tour will exceed the goal of 60 races in 2012. In the meantime, he’s relishing the moment; even if it’s just cruising down the freeway to the next race.
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