The first week of racing is in the books for North Dakota and fans are happy as can be. I myself was forced to take in a race out of state due to work obligations. What I found at the race that I attended made me do some real deep thinking about our sport and how it's presented to its audience. I first must say that I attended Ogilvie Speedway this past Saturday for their opening night which happened to have the Wollak Construction Late Model Series. Now, I get that the race had a lot of things going in its favor that night but the track and promoter did a lot of things right that most tracks don't tend to do.
The first thing I noticed was how clean the facility was. From the bleachers to the pits the track was incredibly clean. Mowing the grass on the infield to keep the track looking kept up was a pleasant surprise. The promoter also had the track walls and tires freshly painted to start the season too.
The next thing I noticed immediately when I walked in was that the advertising for the sponsors were very prominent and easy to see. They also laid out the sponsors around the track in a way that they would distract or interfere the audiences experience. The promoter/track has worked hard in the last ten years to make the place very successful but it's not the very big things (new bleachers and VIP sections) that are making the difference. Rather, it's all the little things that they are doing right that a lot of tracks dirt or asphalt need to take into consideration.
The little things that tracks do often make a big difference for the new coming fans. For example, driving into the parking lot and seeing the track free of garbage in the parking lot is a big deal. We need to promote the sport with pride and often times the first impression can make or break a new fans decision on if they like the sport. First impressions also include walking through the ticket gate and seeing the track for the first time. Do you want to see an infield that is unkept and has all sorts of junk in it? Have the walls been painted or have then been left there for a couple years with no attention? Plain and simple does the place look respectable or does it look like a dump? These things make a huge difference to new fans! Why would anyone want to pay their hard earned money at a place that looks ran down and a dump? Answer: they wouldn't.
The next area that needs to be looked at is the concession stand/beer garden. Concession stands are a vital area of a race track and every promoter knows this! Some tracks do an excellent job and others leave something to be desired. The layout of a concession stand is just as vital as prices are. Long lines are killer and if the lines are too long it can either take money away from the track or ruin a night of a fan which eventually can lead to a track losing money. Concessions should be setup in away that it will be most effective to serve as many people in as little of time without wasting food or money. Concessions also don't need to be super expensive. Yes, you have to cover your cost but at the same time you can't consciously gouge your fans just for a cheeseburger and fries. I will say that it varies from track to track and that this is not directed at anyone but i have seen cheeseburgers sold for $8.00 and I have seen them sold for $3.00. There is simply no need to gouge the fans here as it takes away from the experience and will often make them think about eating before the race at home. The same can be said for the beer gardens. I know this is where you make your money but there is simply no need to gouge the fans for a $9.00 beer.
The final area which is actually being noticed is the amount of down time/time being wasted. Races taking too long are a killer to our sport. The attention span of people today just will not allow them to sit at the track for over four hours anymore. Two and a half to three and a half hours is what makes the common fans come back. It's long enough to the get their fill and short enough to keep their attention. Long intermission and excessive caution laps waste a lot of time and kills the interest/enjoyment of the fans. I understand that things will happen such as rain delays, and bad wrecks will happen but tracks must focus on running a speedy show.
I want everyone to know that I'm not calling anyone or track out specifically but rather I'm laying out these simple truths that will make a track more successful. This will not happen over night but rather it takes some time to get these all to gel and form a great program to present to the fans. In the end though if a track wants to be successful, they will want to keep these unspoken truths in the back of thier mind.