SHOW LOW, Ariz. — Being the promoter of three Arizona race tracks keeps Brad Whitfield very busy. Summer it’s Deuce of Clubs Thunder Raceway in Show Low where the elevation of 6,349 feet brings temperatures that are 20 degrees or more cooler than the cities that are home to his other tracks. Central Arizona Speedway and Cocopah Speedway do not race in the summer due to heat, so the three tracks combined race 11 months a year.
Whitfield has worked hard to keep Central Arizona and Cocopah presenting shows from September to May before Show Low racers start their engines from mid-May through the end of September.
The three tracks are open because Whitfield has worked to build a group of track sponsors, without which the ovals would close.
Cocopah Speedway in Yuma has an impressive list of 47 sponsors. Whitfield says that getting a few larger sponsors such as a brewery or restaurant will lead to similar businesses also becoming sponsors. Yuma is a farming community and not prone to mega marketing. Connections with people such as Matt Crafton, Ken Schrader and Cam Reimers have been very helpful in developing sponsor relationships.
About half the sponsors in Yuma were the result of Whitfield making the connection and the other sponsors came to him. Having a four-tenths-mile track creates more billboard space and the Yuma track has made use of that.
Clint Friddle is a regional manager for Cobblestone Real Estate, based in Chicago, and they own three RV resorts in the Yuma area. One of the resorts, Del Pueblo, is eight minutes from Cocopah Speedway. The very nice facility is a perfect match with the track for a convenient location.
When a salesperson in their department approached Friddle about sponsoring the race track, he looked into the potential and developed what he called a very amicable relationship with Brad Whitfield.
Friddle said, “It was good exposure for us and we had lots of people who stayed and it was certainly worth the investment. I took it as a long-term relationship and I think it is certainly worth an investment in coming years.”
Central Arizona Raceway is located in Casa Grande at the Pinal County Fairgrounds. Whitfield was selected to run the high-banked three-eighths-mile oval. Due to lack of billboard space, there are only a dozen sponsors but that will be changing soon.
A significant change is coming to Central Arizona Raceway. K-rail is going to be used to build a wall completely around the track. Once completed, billboards will be added above and behind the wall and more sponsors can come on board.
The new wall will also help contain noise and lessen the loss of dirt in the wind. Whitfield noted that about every race this year has been in windy conditions. It will also keep the cars on the track as sliding off the high banks is common.
Deuce Of Clubs Thunder Raceway is the title of the quarter-mile track in Show Low. The track closed after the 2018 season and Whitfield stepped up to reopen it last year. In his second year, Whitfield has the track doing well and has 23 sponsors supporting the oval.
One of the Show Low sponsors is Hatch Toyota and Seth Gaston is the executive manager. Gaston races an IMCA stock car and his 17-year-old daughter now has an IMCA hobby stock. To say Gaston is pleased with being a sponsor at the track is an understatement.
“Brad allows us to be heavily involved, “ said Gaston. “Both the financial part and we market to crowds. We do hundreds of T-shirts out of the cannon. I climb up onto the flagstand and throw shirts, frisbees, mini-basketballs, etc. We love throwing things to the crowd.
“Brad has been nothing short of amazing. He treats us as a sponsor and takes care of us. He helps our business grow. He has held up to every promise he has made and exceeded our expectations.”
Whitfield summarized his approach by saying, “Sponsors are not dime a dozen. If you get a sponsor treat them well because we need every single one that comes on board to support tracks and racers.”