After carrying the DIRTcar banner for three years, promoters Mike Romano and Jake Spraker have opted to drop the sanctioning body and run independent in the upcoming 2012 season.
"It was a tough decision and we thought about it a lot," Romano said. "We have been with DIRTcar for three years and it was pretty good for us. A lot of our drivers cashed in on some point money, but probably if Malta had stayed asphalt or dormant, we probably would have stayed with DIRTcar. With Malta going back to dirt, we knew that was going to hurt us a little bit with car count and fans."
Dropping the sanctioning body opened the door for other changes that will give race teams more flexibility in their schedules.
Drivers will no longer need to run Hoosier tires or VP race fuel on Friday nights. They have been replaced by American Racer tires and Sunoco race fuel, which puts The Ridge in line with other area tracks.
"The American Racer people have been out very aggressively trying to get more tracks on their tires," Romano said. "They made us a pretty good proposal back in early November. The bottom line is we figured since we heard so many times from the drivers that we would come and race but didn't want to buy Hoosiers. We are located in an area with Fonda, Accord, I-88, Utica-Rome and Brewerton. All those tracks are American Racer tracks so those guys are all on American Racer tires. To draw them in to race, they had to buy tires. So, we figured if we went American Racers, we would have a shot at getting some of those guys. If their track rained out, they could just pop in or whatever."
Another benefit the track and drivers will receive from American Racer is an increase in the point fund.
"With the money they offered us to switch, it meant for a better point fund for our drivers," Romano said. "The 602 crate champion [which will be known as the Bestline Oil 602 class] will get $2,000 and our modified champion is going to get $5,000, which is pretty good."
The move also will bring additional savings to the race teams.
"American Racer tires are a little cheaper than the Hoosiers, which is an advantage for our teams," Romano said. "Sunoco Fuel is a couple dollars cheaper and VP was pouring a lot of money into DIRT, so they had to up the price. They will not need a DIRT license this year, so that also is a savings for our teams. We are going to follow the same rules as last year other than tires and fuel."
With the Ridge coming into line with the other tracks, Romano said it should open the door for more teams that are looking for new venues or to expand their weekly race programs.
"I think it will bring in new cars that can race there now because they have American Racer tires," he said. "It is not an open tire. What we did is we made a compound rule where you cannot go any softer than what we run up there. If a guy runs Fonda tires, they are a tad bit hard, but he can come in and race. If the team likes it, then they can maybe buy a tire or two that will make them more competitive. But at least the door is open for them to come in and try it out."
After the 2011 race schedule was completed, Romano and Spraker brought in several truckloads of fresh clay to replenish the racing surface.
"We tried to work it in a little bit more the other day, but it is just too muddy," Romano said. "It needs to get cold to firm the ground up and get some of the moisture out of the ground. Then we can work with it. We took a little bit of the banking out because the clay was right down to where there was no surface left. We should have a pretty good racing surface this spring."
Romano said the 2012 schedule is in the works but already, there are some big changes.
"We are going to have an ROC [Race of Champions] race, which is similar to the Super DIRT Series events, but it is for the American Racer guys," he said. "I believe we will see a lot of new faces and that should be a good race. We also are figuring to have another big 602 race at the end of the year. We have just basically started the schedule. We have been spending pretty much all of November and December deciding which way to go with the tires. We made our decision, so we are getting things going."
With the changes in tires, fuel and a fresh racing surface, Romano said an open practice is planned.
"We are planning on having an early season practice and inspection night," he said. "That way, the guys will get a night of practice with the new tires because it will take a little different setup with these new tires. So, we will give them a night of practice and we can see if we have any light issues. It will also give us a night to get the track worked in and see if we have any issues with the surface with all that new clay down."
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