While sprint cars and modifieds are both headline divisions in nearby Pennsylvania, it’s not the same in the Empire State.
“We’re still a once-or-twice-a-year special event in dirt modified country and that limits the purse everywhere,” Emhof said. “The exception is Outlaw Speedway in Dundee, where Tyler Siri is running 360s weekly this year for two grand to win. Surprisingly, he’s struggled with small fields. We don’t know yet if it’s related to the COVID deal or what, but we have five sanctioned shows there for an increased purse and they draw a larger car count.
“I think some of it is that the sprint car teams enjoy traveling and seeing different tracks. When I raced minis, we raced all over. I loved it and I think these guys are the same.”
Like most traveling sanctions, the Patriot Sprint Tour has a core group that is supplemented by local racers.
“I usually have a core group of a dozen or so, but in 2021 we’re lighter as everyone gets over COVID,” said Emhof. “It really hurt us when we lost the Canadians with the border closure. Then one of our longtime stars, Scott Krueger, got into the electric go-kart amusement business so he only runs with us sporadically. A couple of other guys have dropped off too, so it’s tough. We’ve got four kart guys and one from the micros who are rookies with the 305s but there hasn’t been any growth in the 360s in two seasons.
“The days of 35- to 40-car fields are gone,” he continued. “The costs are prohibitive for a lot of guys who’d love to race with us. Engines are expensive, travel costs hurt and we don’t have all the small car tracks that Pennsylvania has to feed the 305s and then on up to their 360 and 410 tracks.
“In our area, Lime Rock and Paradise run 600 and 270 micros but their numbers are down too, as are the kart divisions. Motorsports as a whole is going through a big change. Even the Outlaws and the All Stars struggle for cars at some places.”
Another factor hampering sprint car racing’s popularity in the region is an age-old problem. In most areas of the nation, push-starting sprint cars is a fact of life, but to New York modified fans, it’s a pain in the butt.
“The modified fans love our racing but for some reason they just don’t like pushing the cars to get them started,” related Emhof. “It’s actually not a big deal. I try to have the A pushed off and the four-wide going within five minutes of the first car being fired. Part of my mission is to give the fans what they came to see, good racing without a lot of time spent pushing cars off. Most nights, we succeed in doing that but it’s hard to break the perception.”
When asked how long he can keep up his current pace, Emhof says he’s not sure. But he does admit to having discussed a custom motor coach with sprint car driver Chuck Hebing, who manufactures Cobra Toterhomes and trailers.
When retirement finally comes, it looks like Emhof will go out in style.