Steve Francis: “I don’t wanna leave this sport but it just takes so much money to do it now.”
At Knoxville Raceway, Steve Francis told the fans he could be retiring. Then, he went out and won his heat race.
A few weeks down the line, The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series season has just concluded. The final race of the season was run last night at Portsmouth Raceway Park.
Does he still feel the same way he did a few weeks ago? I asked him at the 2017 Dirt Track World Championship race.
What are you thinking now?
“I don’t know. I don’t wanna leave this sport but it just takes so much money to do it now,” Steve Francis told RacingNews.co from Portsmouth Raceway Park.
If we can get the finances and the people behind us, we’ll do it.
-Steve Francis
“If we can get the finances and the people behind us, we’ll do it. Or if we get a good ride, we’ll do that. But, if none of those things come through then we will retire.”
“Everything’s just kinda up in the air right now. We’ll see what happens.”
Is it that a sponsor is pulling out? Or just that the costs continue to rise and you need more sponsors as a result?
“No, it just costs so much to do it and to do it the way it needs to be done. It just costs a lot of money. The sports been good to me. I’ve made a lot of money in this sport but there’s not much retirement plan for this either.”
You can’t put everything you made back in and be broke when you’re 60 years old.
-Steve Francis
“You can’t put everything you made back in and be broke when you’re 60 years old. I still love this sport and enjoy doing it. I enjoy the traveling and everything else.”
“It’s not that I’m necessarily wanting to quit. I feel like I can still drive race cars as good as anybody. Also, when I was 30 I said I would retire when I was 45 and I’m 50 now.”
Related: Steve Francis talks modern dirt late model rules
Are late models the only option?
“Yeah, probably. I don’t know what else you would do, to make a living at it.”
“I like making a living racing. But, if that’s not the way it is and I need to do something different on more of a regional series with a car owner or something like that — And I still enjoy it and have time for other things, then I’ll do that.”
Related:Â Steve Francis talks dirt late model aerodynamics
Steve Francis Throwback
Throwback weekend just concluded at Portsmouth Raceway Park. Steve Francis ran his throwback wrap from 2001.
“This is the last car my brother and I worked on before he passed away. That’s why I brought it here as sort of a tribute to him.”
“Especially, not knowing what the future holds in this sport for me. I this was a good time to do that.”
Steve Francis has 1 race remaining on his schedule. He’s scheduled to run in Charlotte, NC on November 3-4th. The Dirt Track at Charlotte hosts World of Outlaws World Finals on that date.
Will it the final race for Steve Francis? Without another sponsor, probably.
