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Topic: McKenna Haase and the Knoxville fans
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June 21, 2017 at
08:20:36 PM
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I was checking out some different drivers Facebook pages/You Tube videos over this past weekend. One of the drivers I started reading up on was McKenna Haase. I kind of knew the very basic facts about her previously, that she was the first female to ever win a race at Knoxville. But once I started looking at her Facebook page and YouTube videos/intrviews of her, I was blown away by how popular/fan friendly she is and how much children at Knoxville congregate around her following the races. I was amazed by all the pictures on her web page of her with kids at Knoxville.
I had no idea she was so popular. Is she the most popular driver at Knoxville? Here at the Posse tracks, there are around half a dozen female drivers in the 358s and 410s. Nicole Bower and Bree Hershey have even won features in the 358s, but none of the female drivers around here really seem to have the popularity that Haase has.
I know from trips to New York that Jessica Zemken has always been super popular because she is very outgoing and could win in a 360.
Does McKenna Haase have a family business behind her? It is awesome that someone from a non-racing family came into the sport and has become so popular with children ( at least how popular she seems to someone who has never seen her race)? Is she capable of winning in a 360 this year?
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June 21, 2017 at
09:03:59 PM
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I'm sure her fan friendliness is a big part of it, but she's young, very pretty, and can drive a sprint car. Who wouldn't like her?
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June 21, 2017 at
09:07:35 PM
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Reply to:
Posted By: singlefile on June 21 2017 at 08:20:36 PM
I was checking out some different drivers Facebook pages/You Tube videos over this past weekend. One of the drivers I started reading up on was McKenna Haase. I kind of knew the very basic facts about her previously, that she was the first female to ever win a race at Knoxville. But once I started looking at her Facebook page and YouTube videos/intrviews of her, I was blown away by how popular/fan friendly she is and how much children at Knoxville congregate around her following the races. I was amazed by all the pictures on her web page of her with kids at Knoxville.
I had no idea she was so popular. Is she the most popular driver at Knoxville? Here at the Posse tracks, there are around half a dozen female drivers in the 358s and 410s. Nicole Bower and Bree Hershey have even won features in the 358s, but none of the female drivers around here really seem to have the popularity that Haase has.
I know from trips to New York that Jessica Zemken has always been super popular because she is very outgoing and could win in a 360.
Does McKenna Haase have a family business behind her? It is awesome that someone from a non-racing family came into the sport and has become so popular with children ( at least how popular she seems to someone who has never seen her race)? Is she capable of winning in a 360 this year?
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McKenna's father and a couple of other guys are her crew. She has complete support of her parents on the racing deal. She also owns 2 businesses one is a group of kart drivers that run at English Creek Speedway (about 10 miles south of Knoxville), basically giving back to the sport already. She will be a junior at Drake University in Des Moines as a finance major. She is VERY GOOD with fans especially kids. She's 20 years old and already gets it better than some drivers who has been in the business for 20 years or more. I usually leave the track after we get done on the radio and I tear down equipment which takes about 35-45 minutes. I usually take a final lap around the pits to say good bye for the week and to get any last minute info from drivers. 45 minutes after the races end no matter if she won or finished last she is still in her drivers suit and signing autographs, taking pictures with fans and talking to kids that come up and want to see her. She is also a really nice person and yes (you can't get around this) a pretty girl who has a great personality. I'm not sure what her ulitimate goal is but whatever it is she will get there.
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June 21, 2017 at
09:13:58 PM
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She also does a lot away from the racetrack to promote her sponsors, sprint car racing and Knoxville Raceway.
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June 22, 2017 at
07:17:50 AM
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What everyone else is saying above. She gets it from a fan interaction and a sponsor (and sport) promoting standpoint (it helps that she's asked advice from Brownie). Try and find the interview she did on Winged Nation after her first win two years ago. Very intelligent, very well spoken. She's marketable, she's intelligent, she's super friendly and fans (and especially kids) love her. Great ambassador for our sport and especially to reach new fans - kids, moms, families, etc.
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June 22, 2017 at
08:37:53 AM
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Posted By: oswald on June 21 2017 at 09:13:58 PM
She also does a lot away from the racetrack to promote her sponsors, sprint car racing and Knoxville Raceway.
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She has Iowa Select Farms as a sponsor. For those that don't know Iowa Select Farms is a good sized hog (pork) operation.
Every year the World Pork Expo is held at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines. It is the largest Pork/Hog trade show in the world drawing visitors from around the world.
McKenna often has her car parked by Iowa Select Farms outside tent and is there answering questions, taking pictures and signing autograph cards. It is very cool to see a Sprint car at a show where most people have no clue what it is.
I can't say as to whether she will ever be a huge success on the track but I have no doubt she will be a huge success in life.
Sprint Car racing needs more drivers like her.
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June 22, 2017 at
09:31:58 AM
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Reply to:
Posted By: singlefile on June 21 2017 at 08:20:36 PM
I was checking out some different drivers Facebook pages/You Tube videos over this past weekend. One of the drivers I started reading up on was McKenna Haase. I kind of knew the very basic facts about her previously, that she was the first female to ever win a race at Knoxville. But once I started looking at her Facebook page and YouTube videos/intrviews of her, I was blown away by how popular/fan friendly she is and how much children at Knoxville congregate around her following the races. I was amazed by all the pictures on her web page of her with kids at Knoxville.
I had no idea she was so popular. Is she the most popular driver at Knoxville? Here at the Posse tracks, there are around half a dozen female drivers in the 358s and 410s. Nicole Bower and Bree Hershey have even won features in the 358s, but none of the female drivers around here really seem to have the popularity that Haase has.
I know from trips to New York that Jessica Zemken has always been super popular because she is very outgoing and could win in a 360.
Does McKenna Haase have a family business behind her? It is awesome that someone from a non-racing family came into the sport and has become so popular with children ( at least how popular she seems to someone who has never seen her race)? Is she capable of winning in a 360 this year?
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To answer your question on if she's capable of winning in a 360 this year... I personally don't think so. That's not a knock on her though. This is just her first year in the 360 class (after spending the last few in the 305 class), and there is definitely a learning curve. The 305 point champ from last year (Christian Bowman) stepped up to the 360 class this year too, and has had some struggles. Both he (Bowman) and McKenna have improved some as the year has progressed... but it's tough. The top-5 360 teams are either veteran drivers in the 360/410 ranks, or have great equipment. With some, it's both... which makes them hard to beat.
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June 22, 2017 at
09:35:49 AM
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Posted By: chilly on June 22 2017 at 09:31:58 AM
To answer your question on if she's capable of winning in a 360 this year... I personally don't think so. That's not a knock on her though. This is just her first year in the 360 class (after spending the last few in the 305 class), and there is definitely a learning curve. The 305 point champ from last year (Christian Bowman) stepped up to the 360 class this year too, and has had some struggles. Both he (Bowman) and McKenna have improved some as the year has progressed... but it's tough. The top-5 360 teams are either veteran drivers in the 360/410 ranks, or have great equipment. With some, it's both... which makes them hard to beat.
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Agree with chilly here. McKenna, again, is a great ambassador for the sport.
But the 360 class at Knoxville is tough and this is her first year in that class so she most likely won't be winning a 360 race this year. But she'll improve, get better and get the hang of a 360. There's a much bigger learning curve from 305 to 360 than 360 to 410 (just for comparison's sake). She has talent and will continue to improve for sure.
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June 22, 2017 at
09:53:54 AM
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Reply to:
Posted By: chilly on June 22 2017 at 09:31:58 AM
To answer your question on if she's capable of winning in a 360 this year... I personally don't think so. That's not a knock on her though. This is just her first year in the 360 class (after spending the last few in the 305 class), and there is definitely a learning curve. The 305 point champ from last year (Christian Bowman) stepped up to the 360 class this year too, and has had some struggles. Both he (Bowman) and McKenna have improved some as the year has progressed... but it's tough. The top-5 360 teams are either veteran drivers in the 360/410 ranks, or have great equipment. With some, it's both... which makes them hard to beat.
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totally agree with your assessment. Devin Klein is also struggling after moving up a class during the offseason.
I will say that all 3 are improving, but it's tough to compete for top 5's when the people ahead of them in the point standings are:
Clint Garner (multi-time track champ and winner in 360's and 410 competition),
Matt Moro (winner in 305,360 and 410 competition)
Ryan Giles (winner in 360 competition)
Calvin Landis (winner in 360 and 410 competition)
Jamie Ball (winner in 305 and 360 competition)
Sawyer Phillips (the best driver of the 3 Phillips boys IMO, finally got a win last week)
Chris Martin (winner with the Sprint Invaders and well funded team)
Nate Van Haaften (winner in 360 competition)
Joe Beaver (former track champ and winner in 360 competition)
and you have to throw in invaders that show up from time to time as well making running top 10 difficult as well (Wayne Johnson, Aaron Ruetzel, Tyler Malsom, plus throw in Ian Madsen or Brian Brown running 360's sometimes doing double duty.
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June 22, 2017 at
10:18:25 AM
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Thank you to everyone for the replies and answering my questions. Obvisously, I realize she is a cute girl, but I was kinda blown away when I saw the dozens of pictures of her with kids at Knoxville and watched a bunch of the videos of her interacting with the public. Here in PA, none of the female 410/358 female drivers seem to have that kind of popularity, although there really aren't many videos of them online doing a lot of interviews, either.
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June 22, 2017 at
10:26:13 AM
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Posted By: Nickules on June 22 2017 at 07:17:50 AM
What everyone else is saying above. She gets it from a fan interaction and a sponsor (and sport) promoting standpoint (it helps that she's asked advice from Brownie). Try and find the interview she did on Winged Nation after her first win two years ago. Very intelligent, very well spoken. She's marketable, she's intelligent, she's super friendly and fans (and especially kids) love her. Great ambassador for our sport and especially to reach new fans - kids, moms, families, etc.
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I did watch that video of her. I also watched the interview of her and Andee Beierle speaking at the Hall of Fame. I almost felt bad for Beierle in that video because there wa so much emphassis placed on Haase being the first woman to win at Knoxville. I also watched the "Pretty in Pink..." video and some of the other quick Q&A's posted with her online.
I have a business degree, and during my entire major program, I don't think I ever met a female who could speak like that about Finance (I realize she in a Finance major), investing, worships Warren Buffett, etc. at age 20.
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June 22, 2017 at
10:33:03 AM
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Posted By: singlefile on June 22 2017 at 10:18:25 AM
Thank you to everyone for the replies and answering my questions. Obvisously, I realize she is a cute girl, but I was kinda blown away when I saw the dozens of pictures of her with kids at Knoxville and watched a bunch of the videos of her interacting with the public. Here in PA, none of the female 410/358 female drivers seem to have that kind of popularity, although there really aren't many videos of them online doing a lot of interviews, either.
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I don't think it was mentioned in above posts, but she was the valedictorian of her graduating class a couple years back (Carlisle High School - probably around 150 kids were in her class) ... so she's smart too. She has a lot going for her, and Knoxville (sprint car racing, really) is very lucky to have her as an ambassador.
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June 22, 2017 at
11:01:38 AM
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All very good points about why McKenna is so popular. One thing that hasn't been mentioned yet is the track. Knoxville does a good job with their media;, print, radio, and social, and even their announcing, marketing their drivers.
Keep It Real
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June 22, 2017 at
11:22:47 AM
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Posted By: YungWun24 on June 22 2017 at 11:01:38 AM
All very good points about why McKenna is so popular. One thing that hasn't been mentioned yet is the track. Knoxville does a good job with their media;, print, radio, and social, and even their announcing, marketing their drivers.
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Excellent point YungWun. Knoxville does an A+ job with all aspects of media and social, especially since Kendra came on board.
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June 22, 2017 at
01:20:41 PM
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Posted By: kooks on June 22 2017 at 08:37:53 AM
She has Iowa Select Farms as a sponsor. For those that don't know Iowa Select Farms is a good sized hog (pork) operation.
Every year the World Pork Expo is held at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines. It is the largest Pork/Hog trade show in the world drawing visitors from around the world.
McKenna often has her car parked by Iowa Select Farms outside tent and is there answering questions, taking pictures and signing autograph cards. It is very cool to see a Sprint car at a show where most people have no clue what it is.
I can't say as to whether she will ever be a huge success on the track but I have no doubt she will be a huge success in life.
Sprint Car racing needs more drivers like her.
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Another example today.....she (and her car) were promoting the track at an event and she was tweeting about it (including a picture of her, her car and the company she was at in the background). Goes a long way toward building fanbases for all involved.
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June 22, 2017 at
01:55:44 PM
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Posted By: vande77 on June 22 2017 at 01:20:41 PM
Another example today.....she (and her car) were promoting the track at an event and she was tweeting about it (including a picture of her, her car and the company she was at in the background). Goes a long way toward building fanbases for all involved.
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Also building lasting partnerships with marketing partners. We LOVE off the track engagement for our brand(s). As we've all said, she gets it from a fan base, sport and sponsor perspective. Great ambassador for our sport. Very savvy.
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June 23, 2017 at
09:35:05 AM
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Knoxville really is superior to almost every other track when it comes to marketing their drivers. The track has several different videos of Haase on YouTube. The Posse tracks do drop the ball a bit by not marketing more in the way of special interest stories. Nicole Bower isn't a star in the PA 410s, but she was still the first woman to win a feature at Williiams Grove (she also won in a 358 at Port Royal).
Bower does a bunch of elementary school appaearance and appearances with the general public that the tracks should be promoting like crazy. Another interesting thing about her is that she bowls part time on the women's PBA tour;.She advanced to the round of 32 at last week's Greater Detroit Open, and most fans would barely even know about that unless they read her Facebook page and see that she writes frequently about bowling.
Here is article that Jeremy Elliott wrote about her making an elementary school apperance in 2015.
http://www.pennlive.com/sports/index.ssf/2015/04/williams_grove_speedway_teams.html
Brie Hershey has wins in the 358s at Willaism Grove and Lincoln, and is a female with a mechanical engineering degree from Penn St, but the tracks don't really promote that beyond the basic race results on any given night.
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June 23, 2017 at
02:04:08 PM
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Thanks for the kind words with promoting our track, especially the social aspect which is 95% on my shoulders. I started in 2011 with Stickel but since Kendra came on board last year I have more freedom to run with my ideas. Kendra understands the importance of social media marketing very well and she has been a big supporter of me and my ideas. And she has great ideas as well that I end up executing for her.
What McKenna does is very simple if you understand marketing. If a driver takes the time to connect with fans and sponsors at a personal level, their support comes back full circle. If our fans voted, she would likely be our most popular driver. But her marketing plan is groundwork that guys like Brian Brown have paved the way before her. We have some great people around Knoxville who understand how to Market the sport.
Promoting our cast of characters (drivers) is essential in my opinion, and I've always felt that way. I fell in love with a driver named Wolfgang as a kid, then I fell in love with the sport and the track later. I believe that's how most fans get hooked. You become invested in a driver, buy their t-shirts, cheer for them, etc.
Take the Olympics for example. Most of us could care less about gymnasitics or swimming until those two weeks come every four years. But when NBC airs a 3 minute back story about the struggles of this person to get to where they are, you start to feel a connection to that person and you begin cheering for them, you're invested, and then you're watching that athlete compete in every event they are for two weeks and you're hooked. And that is the model I look to with marketing Knoxville and our characters.
Eric Arnold
Social Media Manager & Track Historian
Knoxville Raceway
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June 24, 2017 at
04:23:32 AM
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Posted By: EASports on June 23 2017 at 02:04:08 PM
Thanks for the kind words with promoting our track, especially the social aspect which is 95% on my shoulders. I started in 2011 with Stickel but since Kendra came on board last year I have more freedom to run with my ideas. Kendra understands the importance of social media marketing very well and she has been a big supporter of me and my ideas. And she has great ideas as well that I end up executing for her.
What McKenna does is very simple if you understand marketing. If a driver takes the time to connect with fans and sponsors at a personal level, their support comes back full circle. If our fans voted, she would likely be our most popular driver. But her marketing plan is groundwork that guys like Brian Brown have paved the way before her. We have some great people around Knoxville who understand how to Market the sport.
Promoting our cast of characters (drivers) is essential in my opinion, and I've always felt that way. I fell in love with a driver named Wolfgang as a kid, then I fell in love with the sport and the track later. I believe that's how most fans get hooked. You become invested in a driver, buy their t-shirts, cheer for them, etc.
Take the Olympics for example. Most of us could care less about gymnasitics or swimming until those two weeks come every four years. But when NBC airs a 3 minute back story about the struggles of this person to get to where they are, you start to feel a connection to that person and you begin cheering for them, you're invested, and then you're watching that athlete compete in every event they are for two weeks and you're hooked. And that is the model I look to with marketing Knoxville and our characters.
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Thanks for the thoughtful post. I am really glad I started this thread. This thread is Hoseheads at its best, instead of the partisan chest-thumping that is often found on here. McKenna Haase isn't even from my part of the country, but I can recognize what an amazing ambassador she is for Sprint Car racing.
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June 24, 2017 at
02:28:50 PM
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Posted By: singlefile on June 23 2017 at 09:35:05 AM
Knoxville really is superior to almost every other track when it comes to marketing their drivers. The track has several different videos of Haase on YouTube. The Posse tracks do drop the ball a bit by not marketing more in the way of special interest stories. Nicole Bower isn't a star in the PA 410s, but she was still the first woman to win a feature at Williiams Grove (she also won in a 358 at Port Royal).
Bower does a bunch of elementary school appaearance and appearances with the general public that the tracks should be promoting like crazy. Another interesting thing about her is that she bowls part time on the women's PBA tour;.She advanced to the round of 32 at last week's Greater Detroit Open, and most fans would barely even know about that unless they read her Facebook page and see that she writes frequently about bowling.
Here is article that Jeremy Elliott wrote about her making an elementary school apperance in 2015.
http://www.pennlive.com/sports/index.ssf/2015/04/williams_grove_speedway_teams.html
Brie Hershey has wins in the 358s at Willaism Grove and Lincoln, and is a female with a mechanical engineering degree from Penn St, but the tracks don't really promote that beyond the basic race results on any given night.
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Brie Hershey is undoubtedly a fan favorite, but PA is such a 410 focused fanbase that unless she moves up - I doubt she'll reach national recognition despite her smooth driving and well-spoken manner. She's pretty good. 3 wins in the past two years, including one this year, in the competitive 358 division at Lincoln.
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