It's too bad racers have to do a Track promoters job!
http://www.dragracingonline.com/columns/hanna/ix_1-1.html
http://www.dragracingonline.com/columns/hanna/ix_1-1.html
Racer's promoting themselves....
- Thread starter Toejam
- Start date
jackass
Nitro Member
Some are realy good at doing their job.. protmoting races and the tracks.. and i have ran into one or two straitliners and left turners that fell well i got the gates open thats enough..
Best commit i ever heard was from a drag promoter... said... this one won't pay our bills ..but maybe the next time they come back it will help pay them......lol
Billy
Best commit i ever heard was from a drag promoter... said... this one won't pay our bills ..but maybe the next time they come back it will help pay them......lol
Billy
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rocketman
Nitro Member
I think what Will is trying to do here is a good idea and worth exploring. I thought about a safety PR plan to get racers to schools and other public events, on a regional level through out the country, but nobody seemed interested.
I have offered to participate in his plan as he's identified some real problems that need to be addressed. It may not be easy to get the tracks to go for it though, but it's worth a try. They certainly have nothing to lose except lots of empty seats.
Rich Bailey
Capitol Auto Group Racing Home Page
I have offered to participate in his plan as he's identified some real problems that need to be addressed. It may not be easy to get the tracks to go for it though, but it's worth a try. They certainly have nothing to lose except lots of empty seats.
Rich Bailey
Capitol Auto Group Racing Home Page
Kelly Andersen
Nitro Member
Racers dont even promote themselves!!! We have put out the call for racers to send in press releases or pics of new equipment or crew or driver changes and we dont get much. They piss and moan about no exposure but they are to lazy to e-mail a little blurb or just send a pic. of new cars. Even Track owner advertising doesn't work all the time. We had a pro mod race at cordova last year, scott gardner spent a ton of money advertising on radio and tv and still attendance was terrible. It's a hit or miss no matter who promotes who. Oh and most of the racers that confirmed they were coming bailed also because they said it was to hot. needless to say the series went away!!
rocketman
Nitro Member
Kelly no disrespect here, but this all has to do with a column that Will did concerning the Lucas Oil Series events not attracting any spectators due to in some cases lack of promotion and I tend to agree. I think that the title of this subject matter should have been titled differently.
Kelly Andersen
Nitro Member
Nope I understand Rich!! Just throwing out an experience we had this summer. I have been reading it also. Man what we wouldn't give for the old days when it didn't cost a gajillion bucks to run a car huh?? Have a good weekend Rich!!
handsome
Nitro Member
i hate to say this but i think the idea is a joke!
after a long day at work, then sit down with your family for dinner, write out the normal house bills , then go out in the garage for 4-5 hours a night to work on the car, plus prepare for the trip to the races, lay out more money for parts and expenses for the race car , and then lets see, ,, yeh now i will do nhra's job! wrong! it will be a cold day before i go out to bring in spectators to put money in someone elses pocket. i think it should be nhra that promotes the races if the track won't. if the track decides it's loosing money and doesn't want another race next year then nhra will have to spend time and money looking for another race. sorry but thats how i feel, go ahead now fire away
after a long day at work, then sit down with your family for dinner, write out the normal house bills , then go out in the garage for 4-5 hours a night to work on the car, plus prepare for the trip to the races, lay out more money for parts and expenses for the race car , and then lets see, ,, yeh now i will do nhra's job! wrong! it will be a cold day before i go out to bring in spectators to put money in someone elses pocket. i think it should be nhra that promotes the races if the track won't. if the track decides it's loosing money and doesn't want another race next year then nhra will have to spend time and money looking for another race. sorry but thats how i feel, go ahead now fire away
downtime
Nitro Member
We can pee and moan all we want about life not being perfect but the truth is budgets are tight everywhere and racing is not a one man show, either for the track or the racer. Racers promoting events at tracks is nothing new to anyone who races and a track that is willing to help out with a few passes will benefit from the increased exposure.
It is the job of a racer to promote themselves. Anything a racer can do to put themselves in front of peope raises the the visibility of the racer and accordingly any sponsors. It promotes the sport in general. It sends a good public service message that racing is done at the track and not on the street.
I have sent media releases, press releases, news releases, time and time again to local newspapers for publication and 99% of them do not generate even a three line blurb in the "whats happening" column of the sports page. Our local tracks have sent results to newspapers and television channels for years but are lucky if a single event per season is publicized.
To compete at any level of drag racing in a professional manner, unless a person has significant dollars, requires help money from somewhere. Even running local bracket races a family with a couple of kids in school is hard pressed to drive several hours, maintain a car, pay entry fees, have a motor home or trailer or spend a night in a motel, while racing for less money than they probably spent. Sure it is "entertainment and fun", but kids outgrow clothes quickly and eating out can be expensive, not to mention fuel and insurance costs...
Racers should all step up to the plate, in my opinion, and request help from their local tracks in promoting themselves and the facilities they race at. Promotion is a team effort and many hands make light the work.
I have gone to trade shows and passed out track literature on their behalf gratis to try and attract new fans to the sport. I have promoted our local tracks to state agencies and every year I try to talk our local tracksa into providing free passes to law enforcement officers to give out to young folks doing things that would be better performed at a drag strip.
It should not be a burden to better ourselves and a track that is offering racers a chance to increase attendance by providing some free tickets is a track that in my opinion is looking to move up in the world.
Just my .02, no flames intended.
It is the job of a racer to promote themselves. Anything a racer can do to put themselves in front of peope raises the the visibility of the racer and accordingly any sponsors. It promotes the sport in general. It sends a good public service message that racing is done at the track and not on the street.
I have sent media releases, press releases, news releases, time and time again to local newspapers for publication and 99% of them do not generate even a three line blurb in the "whats happening" column of the sports page. Our local tracks have sent results to newspapers and television channels for years but are lucky if a single event per season is publicized.
To compete at any level of drag racing in a professional manner, unless a person has significant dollars, requires help money from somewhere. Even running local bracket races a family with a couple of kids in school is hard pressed to drive several hours, maintain a car, pay entry fees, have a motor home or trailer or spend a night in a motel, while racing for less money than they probably spent. Sure it is "entertainment and fun", but kids outgrow clothes quickly and eating out can be expensive, not to mention fuel and insurance costs...
Racers should all step up to the plate, in my opinion, and request help from their local tracks in promoting themselves and the facilities they race at. Promotion is a team effort and many hands make light the work.
I have gone to trade shows and passed out track literature on their behalf gratis to try and attract new fans to the sport. I have promoted our local tracks to state agencies and every year I try to talk our local tracksa into providing free passes to law enforcement officers to give out to young folks doing things that would be better performed at a drag strip.
It should not be a burden to better ourselves and a track that is offering racers a chance to increase attendance by providing some free tickets is a track that in my opinion is looking to move up in the world.
Just my .02, no flames intended.
- Thread starter
- #10
i hate to say this but i think the idea is a joke!
Bruce I'm sure a lot of racers feel that way, but yet a lot of Racers never forget those times they raced in front of packed stands either! It's a catch 22 I'm sure, but I was at Denver for the D-5 race in '04-'05 when they had those huge crowds around 12-15,000? And to see some of the lines some of these teams had in they're pits for shirts and autographs. I've never seen alky racers get that kind of fan attention at ANY race, I'm sure those racers will never forget it! But then again, that race had those huge crowds because the TRACK promoted it, all the racers had to do was show up! I have no idea if Bandimere continued this deal since I haven't been back since that weekend, but it sure worked!
rocketman
Nitro Member
Bruce, you're right we shouldn't be doing their jobs, but I don't look at it that way. When I'm out promoting a race or displaying the car somewhere, I'm promoting my sponsors and my race team. That's the only way I can race, and that is if I have sponsors.
Guys that are independently wealthy can do what they want, careless about such trivial matters such as spectator count, but for me exposure is how I get paid. It's certainly not the return that NHRA provides. You can get a better return at the casino.
If there's nobody but a handful of people in the stands and a race car never gets out into the public, why would anyone want to sponsor a race car? We do around thirty to forty public events per year including the races. We give our sponsors their money's worth and It shows as they return year after year, even in lean times.
If we as sportsman racers just did the racing in front of empty grandstands, do no publis events, then our sponsors might as well buy themselves a boat and go water skiing rather than support someone else's hobby. enough said.
Rich Bailey
www.capracing.com
Guys that are independently wealthy can do what they want, careless about such trivial matters such as spectator count, but for me exposure is how I get paid. It's certainly not the return that NHRA provides. You can get a better return at the casino.
If there's nobody but a handful of people in the stands and a race car never gets out into the public, why would anyone want to sponsor a race car? We do around thirty to forty public events per year including the races. We give our sponsors their money's worth and It shows as they return year after year, even in lean times.
If we as sportsman racers just did the racing in front of empty grandstands, do no publis events, then our sponsors might as well buy themselves a boat and go water skiing rather than support someone else's hobby. enough said.
Rich Bailey
www.capracing.com
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