Against my better judgement but here goes...
"rather low car counts"...Lon, the show you went to had 23 modifieds on hand. I'd say that was pretty damn good in this environment.
Ken, I don't disagree with you, but on the other hand, I'm old enough to remember when there were usually closer to 30 modifieds in the pits, pretty much every week. And at the past ROC show, there were a few notable drivers absent, for whatever the reason. But the real point that I was driving at, was how few "mods" are based out of the immediate Rochester area, anymore. And I do agree with your phrasing, "in this environment"........(thanks, Brandon!!
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"Moselli", I find your comments interesting, however, let me pose this question. Living in the northeast, where we have long, cold winters, that the area's road crews use road salt to fight the icy conditions, where would the racers continue to find suitable "raw material" to make race cars out of? As an example, Chevrolet's Chevelle was a popular car for a starting point for many race cars, however, by the time they were "used up" as street cars, and reached the wrecking yards, where they became race car raw material, there generally weren't too many of them left, and of those that were, there wasn't much of them left.
Consequently, without going to "scratch built" cars, there'd be no modifieds, as we've come to know them. That does bring up a couple of points, in my opinion, however. Most of the rise in expense, is tied to the "exotic" parts that crept their way into the cars. Parts like roller cams, and the associated parts that go with them; dry sump oil systems, with their associated components; and a really big expense is a tire that lasts only 50 laps, or so, etc, etc.
Something else that has me thinking, with respect to spectator interest, is that the cars all look the same, except for their color. Yes, at one time they were predominantly coupe and coaches, but as those bodies became scarce, bodies like Falcons, Corvairs, and Chevy IIs became more common, and provided a change of pace, as well as some variety.
Yes, the modifieds still put on an exciting show, without question, but it could be even more interesting, if there was some visual variety within the field. I'm sure that there are still a few people that don't really understand that the body of the car is nothing more than that, a body, therefore they'll be drawn to the track, and root for the race car that resembles the one they drove to the track in. Nobody drives to the track in a Cavalier, anymore.........
