from side show to main event: spectator drags

Short tracks have seen a lot of things, but viral videos haven’t traditionally been among them

We as Americans have a knack for extracting maximum entertainment out of something that didn’t necessarily start that way.  Apply that ethos to grassroots racing and what you might see at your local short track on a Saturday night could be considered an art form.  But I’m not here to talk about Bus Racing, Trailer Racing, Skid Racing, or even the hilariously dangerous Figure 8s – what I want to talk about is the viral phenomenon of Spectator Drags.

Back in 2021 I started to see videos on TikTok showing street cars lining up next to each other on a paved short oval and having a one-lap sprint to see who would come back first.  What immediately caught my attention wasn’t just the novelty of non-race cars doing race car things, but the sheer variety of cars that owners were willing to chuck into a corner between another car and a wall.  I watched epic mismatches where technologically advanced modern sports cars were upset by budget sport compacts, heard the grandstands erupt when a Mitsubishi Evo exploded out of the final turn to take a come-from-behind victory over a very capable 70s era Camaro.  But who are these maniacs risking their cars for 15 seconds of fame, and how would a track be crazy enough take on the massive insurance liability to let these lunatics go for broke between main events?

Spectator Drags, or King of the Hill races as they’re known in some parts of the country, are one to three lap races around an oval track between two drivers with limited racing experience.  Though exact competition rules vary from track to track, the spirit of these races sees road legal cars piloted by non-professional drivers.  Most races have two competitors line up for a drag racing-style standing start, usually signaled by a flag drop, and the winner is the first car to complete a lap and cross the finish line.  Drivers are free to use whatever lane of the track they want, but similar to tandem drifting contact is highly discouraged and can result in disqualification.  That being said, as with any wheel-to-wheel racing anything can happen when things get messy. 

Although this is an autocross event, squint just a bit and it could be a spectator drag

Speaking of when things get messy, information on the track’s liability for hosting driver-owned and insured, licensed road cars in a non-professional race is scant.  Every track that has published rule books for Spectator Drags all features the exact same legal statement at the bottom of the page; “No express or implied warranty of safety shall result from publication of, or compliance with these rules and/or regulations, they are intended as a guide for the conduct of the sport and are in no way a guarantee against injury, or death to participants, spectators or others.”  Despite not finding much information, with the several years this has been happening and the number of crashes recorded it would appear whatever the tracks are doing is sufficient to keep them from any legal trouble.  Though whether that be from a lack of desire on behalf of the participants to pursue action for damages incurred from an event that they willingly participate in, or due to an air-tight liability waiver that the track issues, is unclear.

Though it’s difficult to determine when or where this all got started, Seekonk Speedway in Massachusetts claims to be the originator; the track’s Facebook page even boasts an undated photo of a Spectator Drags event from what appears to be the late 70s or early 80s.  In regards to the modern interpretation, the earliest video evidence I was able to find comes courtesy of Rockford Speedway in Illinois posted to YouTube by a spectator in 2016.  A quick search revealed a slew of other small oval tracks hosting their own Spectator Drag events; Berlin Raceway in Michigan, Motor Mile Speedway in Virginia, Elko Speedway in Minnesota, Waterford Speedbowl in Connecticut, the list goes on and on.  Though it may be a re-tread of a long-forgotten side show, there’s no denying that Spectator Drags have exploded in popularity as a main event in their own right.

So much so that internet’s favorite redneck, Cleetus McFarland, started hosting Spectator Drags events as a main attraction at his Freedom Factory in Bradenton, Florida.  The events seem to be a perfect fit for the unique brand of automotive chaos that the Freedom Factory and McFarland’s YouTube empire are synonymous with.  The championship event run in December of 2022 boasted a $10,000 prize for first place and attracted roughly 60 entrants of almost every flavor of performance car under the sun – BMW M cars, Japanese sport compacts, autocross-prepped Corvettes, exotic sports cars from Porsche and Lotus, a fleet of classic and contemporary muscle cars, an unassuming Chevy Blazer that regularly terrorizes Seekonk Speedway, and a Tesla Model S Plaid that would ultimately prove unbeatable.

YouTube videos of events at Seekonk and the Freedom Factory have already logged tens of thousands of views, and the trend shows no signs of slowing down – in fact Seekonk just announced a 10-race Spectator Drags schedule for their 2023 season.  In many ways this unique form of racing seems to be purpose built for digital media formats.  Races are short, exciting, easy to follow, and anyone with even a casual knowledge of cars is able to understand the matchups and stakes of each pairing.  Read through the comments section on any of these videos and you’ll find that it resonates deeply with grassroots enthusiasts. 

An example of how to spend lots of money to go racing.

Let’s face it, racing – even at a local level – is a massively expensive undertaking.  Not even counting the cost of the cars themselves, between the amount of garage space and tools needed, a transport truck and trailer, additional time and resources for repairs and maintenance on all those vehicles, a fuel and tire budget, safety equipment, entry fees, etc., racing requires levels of capital and infrastructure that puts it firmly out of reach for most enthusiasts.  But faced with the premise that you can race wheel to wheel at your local track in front of hundreds or thousands of people in the stands and ten times that many on the internet with just your street car and a helmet, it’s easy to see why so many people have embraced America’s fastest-growing grassroots sport.