FRENCHTOWN, N.J. — What are you doing to help promote your local race track? Are you doing the same thing you’ve done the last 20 years?
I’ve witnessed tracks that are struggling. They can’t get butts in their seats, while other tracks are booming and turning away fans at the front gate because every seat is sold.
What makes these tracks so different? Why does one track an hour down the road do so much better than another? The proof is in the pudding.
It’s very rare in my area to see promoters as spectators at other tracks. Sometimes I’ll see them, but they just show up, show their face and walk through the parking lot handing out flyers for an upcoming event.
Yes, I think that’s brilliant, in a sense. But, are they going in the pits and showing their faces? Are they interacting with the drivers and asking them to come to their race? Or are they sticking papers on windshields and taking the easy way out?
Is that promoter listening to drivers and fans? I get it, that has to be one of the most difficult parts about running a race track — accepting other people’s opinions. It can certainly lead to damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don’t scenarios. Still, listening to criticism is better than turning a deaf ear.
No two people will see an event the same. We’re all human. We all have different interests and needs. If you have a room full of people who attended the same event, they’re all going to have different opinions and suggestions. One may say the bathrooms need to be cleaner, one may say the lighting isn’t bright enough, they can’t hear the announcer well enough, or they had a bad experience with a track employee.
The kicker is that there are only so many people on a race track staff to make these suggestions come to fruition. However, we believe promoters should still listen with an open ear and an open mind.
Fans spend their hard-earned money to attend races, so the least the promoter can do is hear them out.
These folks are free advertising. They’re going around telling their friends what they’re doing on a Saturday night. They are going to market the promoter and the race track with the words they say — good or bad. Promoters who realize that enjoy greater success.
We also believe promoters should cross promote with other tracks.
As much as this industry is a team sport, it’s also a “me” sport. It’s very rare to see race tracks want to help support other tracks. They don’t want to see others prosper at their expense. They want to prosper. They want to grow and have the best race track and car count. People in this sport are very, very greedy.
However, as time goes on, people will learn they need to work together to achieve greater success for, not only the tracks involved, but the sport as a whole.
That’s where cross promotion comes in. If neighboring tracks run the same division on different nights, it is worth it to find a way to work together. Make it a two-day show with points and an overall winner and grant discounts to those who bring their wrist bands from the night before. Use social media to help both tracks improve car counts and put more folks in the grandstands.
There are so many ways to cross promote events. We would rather see two tracks working together and growing together, as opposed to having one of the tracks go out of business.
Observing and taking notes are also important.
I’ve been to a few races this year where promoters dabbling with new rules and marketing ideas. I love it. It goes to show that they’re doing their homework. They’re visiting other tracks, studying other events, listening to competitors and fans and finding out what works and what doesn’t.
I understand it is difficult to operate a race track, but there’s plenty of help available to promoters who want to take advantage of it.
Successful race track promoters need to wear many hats. They need to be a marketer, a boss, a gopher and a friend. But most importantly, track promoters should be people who make others feel wanted and appreciated.
Nobody wants to support a race track, or any business for that matter, that doesn’t care about its people. If they feel that way, they’re going to spend their money elsewhere.
In conclusion, I believe promoters need to understand this isn’t a “me” sport and that it’s not, “what can I do,” but “what can we do” to help promote the race track.