Forum: HoseHeads Sprint Car General Forum (go)
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Race track promoters are frequently uninspired and lack creativity when actually promoting their shows. They would do well to learn from minor league baseball teams when it comes to creating wacky and inventive special promotions that drive attendance and gain publicity. My latest article address this (the second in a series that started last week with car counts) is up on the Examiner.com site. Do you guys have any ideas for off-the-wall promotions, or know of any that tracks have done recently? I'd love to hear some good stories and ideas.

National Sprint Car & Midget Examiner
http://tinyurl.com/r4opgk

I can't count how many articles I've seen lately about minor league baseball being the answer to family fun in tough economic times where you can't spend $200 for a family of 4 to get cheap seats at an MLB game.

I don't go to weekly races anymore (specials only, sorry) but the only promotions I'd hear were "residents of X neighboring town get in free next week" stuff... also known as tired, worn out promoting.

The family 4pack, 4 tickets 4hotdogs 4cokes and a program for $25 sounds like a winner to me for a weekly show that charges $8 or so. They'll be there and will spend more money. Trust me on that one.

Also, my office is right by the Ranger's double-A team. Wonderful new facility. They have the usual dogs, burgers, etc. but the "all you can eat" tickets and nicer, upscale food at some stands bring in the families. There is a lot more attention to getting the fan involved... chicken dance, the kids running races, playing YMCA and everyone dancing between innings, etc. Music is playing when there is no action. Trivia questions for prizes.

I've noticed a lot of places to sit and eat apart from your normal seat to watch the game. Parkbenches would work... people like to sit and eat as a family or group. Doesn't necessarily have to be with a track view IMO. They'd show up early to eat and then go to their seats.

Think also about the NBA. It's nonstop action when you go to a Mavs game. There is always something happening to get your attention. Make the race into more of an event with something going on the whole time... and they'll have fun & show back up.

Many tracks have tried the non stop action idea. I remember serveral times tracks even have women in bikini's on the flag stand. Even then most people boo and just want to get the show on the road. Naked women is saved for before/after the show in the back by the campers. Atleast that is what most of the chants were.

I found at the '06 Kings royal with that HUGE over 2 hour wait, that the Bar that serve hard liqour really helps.

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A healthy diet of dirt in my nachos and beer.

Aren't minor league baseball teams subsidized by the major league teams? That's a big difference between them and your local short track.

Is costs nothing to start on time and run an efficient show that is over in three hours or less. That is the reason minor league baseball has it all over many (but, obviously, not all) short tracks in this country. When you go to a game, you know exactly when it is going to start and you will not still be sitting there five hours later waiting for the portion of the show you came to see.

Amen!

Grady

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My thoughts aren't very creative;

1. Eliminate the "rolling dumpster" madness. 5, 6, and even 7 classes, most of which are junk drives fans away. Absolutely ridiculous.
2. If the race tracks get rid of some of the crap, they can also move their start time back to 8:00, rather than beating the track to death, when the sun is high and the wind is blowing.
3. The race tracks also need to work on rules and consistency that will continue to address costs and will allow tracks to share competitors. Today's rule books are full of rules that are difficult to enforce and do little to save teams money or to encourage travel.

Stop beating the fans to death with pure stock marathons and focus on quality, not quantity. And help build your base by implementing a rule package that is forward thinking rather than simply different. The UMSS is an example of different, but does little to address real issues.

Wow, this to me is one interesting thread.

PITNOTES is right on the money about the common "pay the purse through the pit gate" mentality of a promoter. Yes, they paid the purse with their 9 classes of 27 seconds per lap limited novice sportsman "hot" stocks... and they lost fans in the stands that were bored out of their minds and didn't come back.

Rule books...that is a topic that would take years to solve. Around DFW the joke is how there may be 5-10 tracks in a region and you couldn't run the same car with "track A" rules at 85% of the other tracks. It used to be cool when you didn't have to completely rebuild your car to meet rules for the track 10 minutes down the road from the other track. I understand his point was about useless rules... but I elaborated.

DSC's point about MLB teams funding minor league teams... some of the MLB teams own the minor league teams. The salaries of the bonus babies are undoubtedly paid by the MLB team. So... your point about comparing apples to apples is well-taken, at least by me. Having a proper "in game promotions staff" costs money. I think a little creativity goes a long way.

And I don't mean bikinis like JACKHOLE witnessed. I love 'em... and know there is a time and place. Mom, Dad & the 2 kids... that ain't the time. Make it a pg-rated entertainment vehicle for anyone to enjoy & the crowd will respond.

All seems great, but the days of back gate promoting are here to stay I am afraid. We have a local track that the promoter is busting his balls to promote, but it has still went from 4 to 6 classes in the last year. Why? Survival. I am one of the first ones on the bandwagon to bash backgate promoting but in these economic times I don't see where a promoter in a small market area has many options. I have lived and breathed sprint cars for over 30 years now and it seems the way it has to be with the financial crunch everyone is in. The option is like what Stan M. said in another post, "Maybe if this downturn continues too long into the future they'll get their wish and they can sit home on the couch drinking beer and flicking boogers at the TV on Saturday nights".

The answer to the nessesity to run 4 to 6 classes per night is to run the main for the premium class first ..then the under [support classes]..at our local track they tryed 3 times over the last 10 yr.s to run sprints and failed..now they run the sprint main first main the other classes after ..the crowd may thin out after the sprint main but everyone is happy and the promotor has said this is a success...somtimes just adjusting the way you do things helps

Perris Auto Speedway does it right. 60's night (discounted ticket for anyone born in the 60's )50's night, 40,s night, skirt night ($5 admission and $1 hot dogs for anyone in a skirt. Literally anyone!), shaved head night where they have barber at the ticket gate shaving heads. also military night and a few more. Plus dance contests every night for the kiddies

Jeff Kristensen

Perris Auto Speedway does a lot of great promotion...within the race community...they need new fans.Half the people I know have never heard of PAS. I think we could fix that...to begin ..park a trailer with a wide screen T.V. showing raceway videos at the Pomona swapmeet w/posters ,schedules ect..let motor heads knowPAS exist and they'll come...do the same at the drag races,boat races,motor cycle races,you get the idea.....Perris has gone from 25+ sprint car races to what 10 this year..doesn't sound like shaving heads and wearing dresses works...by the way the Vista Paint $5 off vouchers were great...I'd print out 3/4 extras ,get my discount and give the rest to people in line to buy tickets..a lot of people remember Vista for helping give them a good night at the races..cost me nothing and got Vista exposure so ..win-win

Simmons Promotions has the best set up for Promoting car count I have ever seen, they offer track championship point series and a Point Fund for Multiple Tracks... He owns and Promotes three tracks running Fri-Sun. If you run two or three you get extra money each week for Hauling Car, and entered into a Points fund for Multitrack Championship.

one situation i could see with running the premium class first is that those teams may not stay around after all races are over for the fans. also some fans may not want to hang around till all the races are over to go see them. not saying there is anything wrong with your idea, just that you run the risk of removing access of your premium drivers and teams from the fans.

to indy and beyond!!

Purses and points can get cars ..my question is what kind of promotion does he do to fill the grandstands

I could write a book on this subject but a HUGE majority of short tracks these days do next to no advertising, there's no pizzazz, no buzz, and accordingly, next to nobody in the grandstands.

Agree about the back gate tracks with 8 classes- about 7 of which I could care less about and 92 total entries. Total boredom.

For the people that say cutting the ticket price in half doesn't affect attendance I suggest going to Eagle on a $5 ticket night-the place is PACKED...... Roger Haden Jr is one of the VERY FEW good promoters left in the country. Jon McCorkell also does a good job at Jackson.

CSJones/race88- I watched the youtube video of the LM rollover a couple of weeks ago at Farley, I am guessing "Simmons promotions" doesn't do much in the way of filling the grandstands as on the video it looked like there must have been about 50 people in the stands.

Thanks Lumpy...we got the same problem at my local track ..we put on a great show..at least thats what the 10 fans that show up say..you got any ideas ?

park a trailer with a wide screen T.V. showing raceway videos at the Pomona swapmeet w/posters ,schedules ect..let motor heads knowPAS exist and they'll come...do the same at the drag races,boat races,motor cycle races They do, at least they have in the past, had booths at Pomona and Fontana. I know because they borrowed my tv/dvd combo to do it.

.....Perris has gone from 25+ sprint car races to what 10 this year..doesn't sound like shaving heads and wearing dresses works The promotions I mentioned were not held only on sprint car nights. a lot are held during stock car nights. I have a pretty good view of the grandstands from my perch and routinely analyse the crowd and the crowds have not been that horrible. Maybe they cut back on the sprint car nights so that teams can stay intact and not fold up. Thats what got Tony Jones out of his (short lived) retirement.

I'd print out 3/4 extras ,get my discount and give the rest to people in line to buy tickets So you handed out discount tickets to people that were already there? Thats your idea for promotion?

Jeff Kristensen

Jeff, it's eerily quiet on the high desert near Victorville this Sunday morning.

"Ralphie, Senor, muchas gracias por una mas cerveza"  -
Scott Daloisio @ the PAS

So they tried the swap meet deal ,did they consider it successful? as far as me giving a couple of vouchers out ..it was a Vista paints promotion,I'm sure Vista paid the track...I picked a family,told them it was like being a guest of the Ripper...next time that family was considering what to do ..maybe then came back to the races ..so what do you do Jeff..you film the races edit and post clips on this forum and others..is that better promotion ..Hell Yes ..people see your clips and say damn I gotta get to the track next time.....Bottom line Jeff,wouldn't matter what I said...you know I dislike USAC as an organization and I'll smile the day the last USAC truck rolls over the stateline heading east [where they belong] but that doesn't mean I dislike the people in the pits wearing USAC uniforms,a lot are SCRA that I respected and admire...Perris needs to be successful,when USAC's gone the Ca. racers and Perris will need to work together [like when Perris opened] to make Sprint ar races the place to be Sat. night