Motorsports events are roaring back to life this year after numerous cancelations in 2020. Here’s how pent-up demand is contributing to whopping registration numbers for three upcoming marquee events.

After a year marked by uncertainty, shutdowns, and suspended race schedules, the motorsports industry is back on track—with a vengeance—in 2021.

“Everybody was devastated by the COVID restrictions, but I think outdoor events got unfairly lumped in with the indoor events without any real data,” said Matt Martelli, CEO of The Mint 400, the desert off-road race that takes place near Las Vegas, Nevada. “Now information is coming out from the CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] saying that they have not been able to track cases of COVID outbreaks at outdoor events, so we are essentially the safest type of events out there.”

As officials around the nation are loosening regulations and cities are returning to a semblance of normalcy, it’s clear that racers are ready to compete, and fans are itching to get back in the grandstands. Race tracks and sanctioning bodies are answering their calls with some big events. 

Registration Is Booming

An indicator of an upcoming event’s success is registration numbers, and several race organizers reported strong car counts even months in advance of their event. “We’ve already had north of 300 entries [in early June], and we expect hundreds more by the time registration closes,” said Martelli of the Mint 400, which takes place December 1–5. 

The 2020 event was held on March 3–8, just before most major cities went on lockdown. “We were still absolutely affected by the pandemic last year. Even though we had over 65,000 spectators, we didn’t get the level of international participation we normally get; the pandemic was more apparent overseas than here at that time. Our overall numbers were down by 30% due to travel restrictions, but regardless, I feel super fortunate we were able to have the event back then.”

Similarly, dozens of prominent racers have locked into the No Mercy 12 drag racing event at South Georgia Motorsports Park set for October 14–17. “We’ve been announcing the racers that register as they come in, and we’ve already got a lot of big names [as of early June],” said Donald Long of Duck X Productions. Some of those include X275 racers Ryan Milliken and DJ McCain, DXP street racers Bill Kubiac and Clif Williams, and others. “This is shaping up to be one of our best No Mercy races ever. We have a mixture of the baddest radial racers in the world along with small-tire racing,” Long said.  

Another event worth monitoring for participation is the Holley LS Fest in Bowling Green, Kentucky. A gauge for its 2021 success was the West Coast version, which took place April 23–25 in Las Vegas, Nevada. “We had over 1,250 vehicles participate, our largest car count to date,” said Bill Tichenor of Holley. “We sold out our autocross and grand champion spots at 250 cars, and our Test and Tune drag class saw the largest car count at 150.”

Sponsors Are Spending Money

Race events are nothing without sponsors, and sources indicate that although some businesses were unsure about spending money last year, that is certainly not the case in 2021. “When COVID hit, and we were having conversations with sponsors over a year out of our event, it was a really hard sell,” Martelli said of the Mint 400. “We had a combination of businesses being told not to spend money along with a lot of other brands that had an upswing in sales, which brought supply chain issues.

“They said, ‘We can’t even supply the orders we do have, so why continue to market?’” Martelli continued. “Our answer was that this current operational state will not always be the norm, and as it changes, you need to be on top, or you lose market share. In the last 30 to 60 days, a lot of these companies have come back online and said, ‘We are in.’”

Long relayed a similar experience with No Mercy, but with a different type of setback: Sponsors were willing to spend money but did not have the availability to attend events. “Everybody had record sales in 2020, which carried over to this year. Some of these companies were up to 40 weeks out on rods, pistons, cranks, whatever. I have not had anybody that didn’t want to put money in the event. The only thing I heard is they are too busy, and they can’t leave the office to come to the race. It’s crazy how busy things got.”

Long expects this won’t be a factor by the time No Mercy 12 takes place in October, as several businesses have signed on for the event midway, including Brodix, FuelTech USA, ProTorque, and Nitrous Outlet, with more continuing to flow in.

Events Are Growing

Another benchmark of success is growth within the event itself, such as No Mercy’s brand-new N/T Pro Truck category for 2021. “It’s our first full-sized truck race for the event, which basically has no rules. It’s unlimited with any size engine. We already have 21 racers locked in and even more expressing interest. When you have a new class with over 20 cars, it’s a nice push. I’m pumped up about it already,” Long said. 

The Mint 400 also expects a boost in car counts this year, thanks to a surge in interest in the category during the lockdown. “We’ve seen a radical increase in off-roading during COVID. We saw big growth with UTV sales, about 50% with Can-Am and Polaris alone. They literally can’t keep cars in stock. We were on a comfortable growth trajectory, but with COVID, it’s exploded,” Martelli said.

Fans Are (Safely) Showing Up

When speaking with promoters of these events, there was universal agreement that fans are more than ready to get back in the grandstands again. “Consumer demand is high right now,” Martelli said. “I was on the phone a week ago with the Vegas tourism group, and their numbers are at an all-time high. People are ready to go out and be humans again. There’s pent-up demand to get back to events, and as far as the proposition value, there is no other sport where you can take the entire family with such a low cost as off-road racing.” 

“LS Fest West was a smashing success,” Tichenor said. “We hit the capacity for spectators, which was still a very nicely sized event even at 50% capacity. That being said, expect LS Fest East to be great, especially if we are past all COVID restrictions [in Kentucky by September]. We were able to hold [the East event] in 2020 with limited capacity, so we know there is pent-up demand there. We are already hearing a lot of activity.” 

All sources noted events would follow current local health and safety guidelines, including increased sanitation, hand-washing stations, and social distancing where applicable.

“Now, hopefully, many people are vaccinated by [mid-October]. Before, we had to be extremely careful because we didn’t have the vaccine, but now, it’s up to the individual if something happens,” Long said. “I look at it like this: You have a choice. It’s like if a car is coming, I can’t hold your hand if you’re gonna walk out in front of it every time. It’s your choice to stay safe.”

SOURCES

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Duck X Productions (No Mercy 12)
racedxp.com

Holley LS Fest
lsfest.com

Mint 400
themint400.com