It's hard to imagine that the American Le Mans Series season is about to come to an end. The 11-race championship which started at Sebring in March has been one of the most memorable in recent history. With the door-to-door battles between the LMP1 Audis and P2 class Porsches and Acuras, 2008 could be considered one of the most competitive yet.
This season also marked the first time that I got to cover the series for the full season. Traveling to places like St. Petersburg, Florida, Monterey, California, Salt Lake City, and Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada have all been new experiences for me. In past seasons, I'd only been able to make it to a half dozen or so events. This year could be considered a real treat, especially I was also able to travel across the Atlantic to cover the famed 24 Hours of Le Mans in France.
While I'm hoping all of this can continue into 2009, nothing is always for sure. With the way the economy is going, publications are limiting their budgets. I was even faced with an obstacle just to get to the season-finale at Laguna Seca next weekend. Money is tight for everyone, and the days of paying my own way to races are over.
Three years ago when I started my own Web site, www.The-Paddock.net, we had no real source of revenue. So all of us ended up having to fork out the money ourselves. A typical trip for me cost in the range of $600-800 by the time you add up hotel, gas and food, etc. I drove to many if not most of those races. But today, with rising fuel prices, it's a killer to drive or fly. I honestly can't see myself financially being able to do this ever again on a regular basis. I'm grateful and hopeful for what the future holds for me.
