Big events and big paydays ahead at Jukasa
Jukasa Motor Speedway recently announced the date for its second annual Canadian Short Track Nationals, to be held on the big oval outside of Hagersville on Aug. 31-Sept. 1, 2019.
Jukasa also announced the purse for the three-race program: more than $300,000.
That’s a lot of money.
The main event will be the Pro Late Model race, bumped up to 250 laps from 200. The winner will receive $75,000.
“We said that we wanted to make this the biggest short track race in North America, and we absolutely meant it,” track general manager Alex Nagy said last week. “There’s an infectious energy being around the (Jukasa Motor Speedway) ownership group because they don’t take any half-measures. They go fullout every time they try to accomplish something, and growing this event is no exception to that.”
By comparison, the only shorttrack (as opposed to NASCAR or IndyCar) purses in Jukasa’s ballpark are some of the World of Outlaws Sprint Car payouts. For 2018, the top-paying race in the WoO was the prestigious Knoxville Nationals, with an incredible US$150,000 for the winner, but then the numbers drop off sharply.
For the second- and third-highest payout, the race at Williams Grove in southeast Pennsylvania paid the winner US$56,000, and the Kings Royal event at Eldora, Ohio, paid US$50,000..
Nagy said Jukasa plans to up the ante in upcoming years.
“Believe me, we’re just getting warmed up,” Nagy said. “There are big things ahead on the horizon and we couldn’t be more excited.” For 2020, a $500,000 purse is expected, and for 2021, a million dollars.
Wow.
But let’s step back for a moment.
With that amount of money available, perhaps some of it should be spent to bring in famous drivers. No one is saying the local or regional racers cannot put on a good show for the fans, but in the past, local tracks bringing in big names to races helped fill the stands. Local ovals such as Delaware and Flamboro Speedways have brought in NASCAR Cup stars from time to time.
When Jukasa was called Cayuga, Cup notables such as Dale Earnhardt, Bobby Allison, Rusty Wallace and others were there to race and — just as important — give local fans a chance to see their heroes.
In 2002, the track held the Canada Day Shootout, bringing in six regular Cup drivers, and that race was so successful that temporary stands were erected to help house the estimated 20,000 fans.
The Cayuga Dragway at Toronto Motorsports Park has brought in big NHRA personalities such as Tony and Cruz Pedregon, while John Force has raced and met with the fans at Saint Thomas.
NASCAR superstar Tony Stewart not only raced in the first Canada Day Shootout, he raced in the WoO events held at Ohsweken Speedway in 2011 and 2012, and won both years.
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It was certainly a Ford day in Homestead over the weekend.
Driving his Shell/Pennzoil Ford Fusion, Joey Logano won the Ford EcoBoost 400, the final Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series event for 2018. He also won the Cup championship, the first for Ford since 2004 when Kurt Busch took the title driving for Jack Roush.
This championship was the second for car owner Roger Penske, and the eighth title for Ford in 53 years. The win was the 108th Cup win for a Fusion-bodied car, a car that will be replaced in NASCAR competition next season with the Mustang.
In 1965, Ned Jarrett drove for the first Ford Cup title, and the late David Pearson (he died earlier this month) took the titles in 1968 and 1969. It would be close to 20 years before success came again, this time with Bill Elliott in 1988. Alan Kulwicki did it in 1992, Dale Jarrett in 1999, Matt Kenseth in 2003, and then Busch in 2004. With the Logano win at Homestead, Ford now has 10 NASCAR Manufacturer championships since claiming its first in 1956.