Reading this discussion has made me feel a little nostalgic, as the first ever oval track I ever saw, was at some no longer existing, "hole in the wall", dirt track, outside of Lancaster, PA, in 1957. My family was living in the area, at the time. The following year found us in Rochester, on the east side of the city, and the Monroe County Fairgrounds was significantly easier to get to, than Spencer's, back then. So you could say that I grew up on dirt, but quickly became a bigger fan of asphalt racing.
Having said that, I've often wondered why asphalt is dying, while dirt is still thriving. Today, I had an epiphany, and it hit me. Dirt racing is more exciting to watch, simple as that. The dirt racers are still flinging their cars 2-3 wide into the turns, which definitely appeals to the fans. The asphalt cars, while MUCH faster than they were years ago, for the most part are still competing on 60 year old, narrow and relatively flat, "one groove" tracks. No doubt, while exciting to watch while "hot lapping", when it's race time, there just isn't the close competition of a dirt race, which doesn't retain the fans' attention.
While both disciplines have allowed their cars to become equally expensive and sophisticated, due to dirt's popularity, the dirt tracks generate more income through the front gate, therefore they can provide a bigger purse, to help the racers defray their expenses. This, in turn helps to keep the car count comparatively high, which also helps to attract the fans, which also helps to keep the track financially solvent, which keeps the doors open, etc, etc.
Just my $0.02 worth....
