News Director 
Column By: DERICK KRINER / RPW – MECHANICSBURG, PA – In what has already been a crazy year of sprint car action throughout the country, the ride swaps have made their way to PA.
With recent shake ups for Posse staples like the Macri Motorsports and Kreitz Racing teams, there is a growing impression that no ride is safe. At the current moment, the PA landscape of sprint car racing is by some accounts “in shambles.” While this may be an exaggeration, it points to a glaring reality. The sport is changing its dynamics.
What has seemed like a sport that was once based around purely the results produces, has shifted. The team owner has more power in the relationship, not to say this hasn’t always been. Don Kreitz Jr. was the one to pull the plug on Lance Dewease. A similar situation within the Macri Motorsports camp, put Anthony Macri into a ride search.
These are great examples of big teams shaking up driver’s plans, but even the mid to smaller size teams haven’t been immune. Those that follow the Posse, have seen a few shake ups in recent months. Heffner Racing has been the most recent to change drivers and see immediate success. Troy Wagaman Jr scored a feature win in his second start in the 27 car.
The question now rears its head to the Macri 39M and Kreitz 69K. Will your next choice be better than your last?
What has to be discussed is that the sport needs to make sure it stays away from the direction NASCAR and other forms of racing have moved. Turning from a skill and results based sport to one that cares purely about money and sponsorship.
In a recent post by Kreitz Racing owner, Don Kreitz Jr, he expressed that the team had over 75 people inquire about the 69K driver seat. He also said that the team was taking a week off, missing the Port Royal Dream Race, to make a proper decision on which direction to go. So what keeps them from making this simply about hiring the next driver with the most money?
What has staved this off from sprint car racing, at least in some aspects, has been the fact that most big money families and drivers end up forming their own teams, but the opportunity to run a historic car might tempt some.
Being that we have seen major drivers be relieved of their duties, the pulse of every driver that isn’t in their own equipment, is surely beating faster. No one appears to be safe and no amount of previous success will keep you in a ride.
Who’s next to get the axe, or next to get a big opportunity? The answers might shock us, as it did for a lot of fans who were loyal Dewease and Macri fans.
Through all of this, what fans need to realize is that the sport is still a business and business is tricky sometimes. No matter the size and success of a team on any level, national or local, driver changes will always happen. It can very well be im’Posse’ble to predict what will happen next.
