Expenses Take Toll At Track

Wayne Jefferson recently performed an amazing racing feat.

Jefferson, known to local racing fans as "The Rocketman," won all four Open-Wheel Modified races he entered in May. His streak began with a victory at USA Speedway in the final event of the FASCAR Extreme Series on May 3.

"I realized it after it was done," said Jefferson, 37, of Pinellas Park. "USA had gotten away from me several times before, but I won that last Extreme race. Then I won at DeSoto Super Speedway twice and Charlotte County Motorsports Park once. It was a great month."

Jefferson also won his final two races in April, giving him six straight victories in a seven-week span.

Jefferson, who owns a machine shop, works in a sport that has seen the numbers of both local race cars and fans slip from the all-time highs of the 1980s and 1990s. As NASCAR's television ratings rise, driven by the large number of fans staying home to watch from the couch rather than the expensive grandstands, Jefferson holds to a theory shared by many.

"It's the expense of just getting there at any level that keeps the numbers down," he said. "The price of fuel, tires, entry fees, pit passes for a crew, damage repair after a bad night, rules changes and less spending cash in general have hurt all of it."

Jefferson learned early the need for one big sponsor.

"I can't tell you how tough it is to keep good sponsors," Jefferson said." One of those great sponsors accounted for Jefferson's early nickname at Sunshine Speedway.

"Taylor Funeral Home was one of the best businesses of the time to be hooked up with and it led to 'The Undertaker' moniker I carried for years," Jefferson said. Jefferson is unsure how to change the dwindling numbers of racers and fans. Current ticket pricing has a family of four spending upward of $50 to see a local race. And, as Wayne likes to point out, how many times will people come back to watch only four Modifieds and six Sportsman showing up to race.