TULSA, Okla. — The Tulsa Shootout returns to the Expo Center for its 39th year, bringing with it record numbers and a multi-million dollar boost to the local economy.
A total of 1,752 total entries for participation in racing events were received, last year saw 1,655 registrations in total. Bryan Hulbert, Publicist and Announcer for the Tulsa Shootout, said they are constantly surprised by the growth the experience sees.
"Every year I swear this event, we think man it can’t get any bigger and this year just proved us wrong," said Hulbert. "The time of the year is almost perfect. All the kids are out of school, this is a very diverse event in terms of age, it’s geared very much towards the youth. We have our junior sprints which is our 6 year olds, who are just starting, all the way up to our oldest competitor who is 78.”
As the event has grown, so has the reach. There are a total of 709 drivers from 408 cities in 42 states, across four countries. Those being the United States, Canada, Australia and the Netherlands.
About 3,168 hotels will be filled through the five day event between the drivers and roughly 2,500 attendees. The local economy will see an estimated $5.5 million directly from the Tulsa Shootout, with a total economic impact of $9.5 million.
Hulbert said this event is all about family, especially when looking at the generational racers. The Potter family falls into that category, with a grandfather leading the way, son Brian following him and then his children taking after him.
“About when I was 35, I was like ‘you know what, we need a good family sport,’” said Potter. “So I said ‘let’s go get a race car.’”
He has been racing the last seven years, and shortly after Potter began his career, his daughter Mekentzi also showed an interest and began learning the ropes.
Potter said he wanted to make sure he knew the cars so he could try to help guide Mekentzi through this new sport.
“The biggest way you learn is go watch people drive the race cars, go watch good race car drivers, and I tell her to go sit in the stands everytime she can,” said Potter. “I can tell her where to run, but until she gets on that track, she’s got to visually make that decision.”
It’s a whole family affair for the potters, with Brian’s son and Mekentzi’s brother Eli also racing in the Tulsa Shootout. Mekentzi, who has been racing for about seven years, said getting to spend that time with her family, while she is practicing her passion has been a really special experience.
“I just want to like focus on racing as hard as I can because I want to take my racing career as farther and try to make it to Nascar when I get older,” said Mekentzi. “I’ve learned a lot of things from my dad, he’s always tried to give me pointers and I’ve listened and it’s just been so fun trying to race with him.’
As she said, Mekentzi hopes to take her career all the way to Nascar someday. With her family’s support and dedication to the sport, Brian said he will stand behind her and see how far they can go.
“This is probably one of the best family sports there is,” said Potter. “Soccer, you’ve got one kid out there, you’re watching one kid. This, everybody’s involved, everybody’s driving a race car. My wife is pit chief, our crew chief, and it’s brought our family closer together.”
The Tulsa Shootout runs through Sunday at the Tulsa Expo Center.
Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere --
- Download our free app for Apple, Android and Kindle devices.
- Sign up for daily newsletters emailed to you
- Like us on Facebook
- Follow us on Instagram
- SUBSCRIBE on YouTube
