Opinion: Motorsports Journalists Must Walk A Fine Line

Written by Jim Foose

Motorsports journalists are in a tough spot right now. You want to tell the story of the race but often times are paid by tracks or series and have to walk a fine line of being brutally honest and still providing good PR for the tracks, series, drivers and everyone involved.

Let’s face it, in 2025 we have a huge participation problem in motorsports, particularly short track racing. There simply aren’t as many cars on the track as in years past.

But often times we are faced with the dilemma of presenting a race as exciting and action-packed when in reality it was a 10 car parade with little to no passing and 30% of the field left the race before half-way. On the track PR side, our job is to promote the event and make the fans feel like they missed out if they weren’t there and if they were there, to focus their memory of the event on the good things, that 20 lap side by side battle for third, the three lead changes and the excitement of second place closing the gap to the leader in the closing laps. Nobody wants to read how the winner took the win by 4 seconds.

So yeah, we look at it through rose tinted glasses. We look for the best and we focus on it. Positive promotion is a big part of why some tracks are successful and bring in a decent crowd for their weekly shows.

You might feel like this past weekend’s race was a disappointment, but I don’t. Sure, a low car count put a damper on the show but I witnessed 100 laps of drivers on the edge of control, barely hanging on as the tires wore out and the track conditions changed. I saw drivers who were complete underdogs come from behind, stay on the track and leave with a good finish in a race that paid well. I saw a team come together and get their car put back together for the big show after a crash in qualifying and I saw a safety team overcome many challenges together and provide a safe track for the drivers to contest the race. I also saw a promoter work through all the adversity and come out with the respect of his racers despite a tough weekend at the track.

So, this past weekend didn’t disappoint at all. If anything, I left impressed. Impressed with the show that nine drivers put on, the excitement around the facility and the excitement that while there’s a million things wrong with the world today, we all came together at a race track and did what we love to do, together.