How to get more spectators at races?

[Stereophile33]

Not sure this has ever been discussed or even if its necessary.

I am just curious as it seems years ago more and more people came out to the track to watch club racing, and nowadays its nary a soul present.

What draws people to watch motorsports?

Drivers?
Wrecks?
Fast Cars?
Good racing?

Seems the more spectators the more people might consider building a car, and the more people might be out racing.

IF per chance we want people coming out and watching, who's responsibility is it?

ICSCC?
The member clubs?
Drivers themselves?
Sponsors?

I know we are talking about club racing, which is grass roots racing at its finest, but it seems there are more spectators at a rural dirt track race than at a Pro-3 or Spec miata race IN A BIG CITY!

Thoughts? Suggestions? Ideas?

 

[the_driver]

some of the people ive talked to about racing and them coming to watch is they never knew or they dont want to go if they dont know anyone there. first question they ask me is how much does it cost to get in and watch. here in portland its free, then what about pit passes i say you dont need them its a very friendly place. a few sounded truely interested but i havent seen very many of the people ive talked with.

and to answer your question on who's responsibility? why isnt it every ones? ICSCC should want fans/people to come out and watch there championship's. the member club should want at least some of its local members out there for one reason or another like trying to grow there club from other spectators. the drivers should want there own cheering section. and with out people interested is what ever sponsors are out there why would sponsors even be sponsors?

 

[Richard Broadhead]

.....If per chance we want people coming out and watching, who's responsibility is it?

"The Driver" is sorta correct. It's really up to US to try and get people to the track.

On the other hand, each club within ICSCC should have (check your clubs Officers list) a Public Relations Director. I have no clue what kind of a budget they are given to work with, if any. But that's where the serious effort begins.

If you have any ideas how to better promote and foster attendance by the public at ICSCC races I'm sure they are open to considering them.

I don't know the history of ICSCC in terms for advertising and promotion 'back in the day'. But, prior to when ever the change occured, the SCCA used to spend money on advertising and promoting their races to the public. It attracted enough of a gate reciept to pay the expenses and lead to a few new drivers joining the fun.

Today, it's 99% word of mouth.

 

[westipton]

Technically our races are non-spectator, driven by insurance I'm sure. So the word is 'guest' these days, not spectator.
IRDC does indeed have an official PR person, and they have meetings throughout the year to discuss these issues. They have had the color guard from Ft. Lewis out the last 2 events at Pacific and some increased 'guest' traffic due to those efforts. I'm sure all of the clubs are involved to some degree in their local areas, but it takes a lot of time, effort and $$ to advertise an event. IRDC has printed flyers for as long as I can remember and members post them in the usual places like Schucks, NAPA, etc. That results in a few folks per event, maybe.
I see the problem still as it has always been; people understand drags and circle track stuff, but not what we do. Not being able to see the entire track befuddles them as well, and trying to figure who is racing whom with all of our classes really baffles em!

 

[kyle_nickels]

For the past few years I have been the Publicity Chair for Cascade. I have done several things, made a tri-fold brochure, a business card sized info-card with our schedule, posters, and even having CSCC's Safety Truck and a couple of race cars (Thanks Kai) in a local parade. We have info booths in car shows and some other "puttings on".

ICSCC's poster is a good start. Putting them (ICSCC's and CSCC's poster) up in local colleges, highschools. auto parts stores etc is one way to get the word out. We need to do more.

Here's the rub, I have asked for help many different times and get a very small percentage of response from members. I can't imagine there is much difference between the Clubs. Maybe the Pro-3 folks are a bit closer to their BMW roots and from what I see the participation in local street car events is happening and a good thing. I get wonderful support from a few folks (Pre-Grip Gals!!) and have had people take the posters and flyers. It isn't enough.

It makes sense to me to have a group effort. ICSCC is not the responsible entity as each club should be concentrating and tailering to their area. However, it may be benefitial to have a "coordinator" at ICSCC to keep everyone informed of what is happening. I was surprised to see the ICSCC poster come out this year, and may not have put so much time and work into our own if I had known it was being done. It is hard enough to keep them up at local car shops and parts stores without competing against ourselves. Radio? TV? These can be done and maybe there is someone within the entire ICSCC family that has an ability to produce and supply a 30 second spot that we can send to local TV stations. Highlighting the social benefits such as Doernbechers Dash, the Military Tribute from IRDC and other events that each Club does may hit the spot for them.

I can do some work in this area and am willing. My time is tight with family, working, the farm, racing and club events, doing the newsletter and now starting another business. But if I can give others should be able to....

 

[Randy Blaylock]

I hate to oversimplify things, because just as soon as I think I have a pretty good understanding of something, someone brings up a different point of view that I hadn't considered, and I could be completely wrong, but...

...I think Wes hit the nail pretty much right on the head. Our sport is simply not as spectator friendly, as most any race held on an oval or 1/4 mile. If a person can't see the whole race at the same time, and even then be able to easily make out who the leader is, they lose interest pretty quickly. I honestly think it's as simple as that.

My personal experiences validate that premise unfortunately, to me anyway. I usually attend one NASCAR race a year, and there are times in the middle of the race where the leaders are deep in lapped traffic, and it's difficult to follow the action. Even at Bristol, a half mile high bank track surrounded by 160,000 people, I have fallen asleep in the grandstands in the middle part of the race when it becomes difficult to tell who is racing who. It's possible that I have an exceptional case of short attention span, coupled with contributing factors like 24 oz tasty beverages, that precipitate this condition, but I think most people will admit to losing interest in any competitive activity when they can't tell who the probable "winners" are. In our case, where there are multiple classes racing at once, and even within those classes there are many different types of cars, and then one can't see the majority of the circuit, it's basically impossible to follow the action.

I'm sure there are many on this forum that find roundy-round to be boring to the point of inducing narcolepsy (if not downright annoying) for various reasons despite being painfully aware of it's existence. We have to allow and admit that the same basic perspective is possible with regards to road racing. Sometimes when a person loves something, they can't understand why someone else doesn't. That's possibly part of the quandary.

If one looks at spectator count apples to apples, it's plainly obvious that road racing never has had the numbers that oval racing has. It's not a judgement, it's just a reality, with a few possible anomalous examples like F1 and the Indy 500. I think these have the audience they have because of the carefully constructed format and status as the pinnacle of their particular type of racing, in this case open wheel racing.

There is a saying that goes, "In oval racing, the fans know the names of all the drivers, in road racing, the drivers know the names of all the fans"... the insinuation being that road racing drivers know the names of the fans because they're mostly their own crew or family members. Spectators are defined as people that don't have any direct connection to the drivers. Phrases like this don't find their genesis and get a foot hold into common vernacular without a situation being wide-reaching and persistent.

In my tiny world, this theme has proven to be correct. I started out racing on ovals, and there were always a notable quantity of spectators. At Monroe, 7-8000 people would regularly show up for Saturday night races. The very tangible upside to this situation was that race entry fees were low, at the time $50 for the whole day, and if you took the green flag you got $100. It didn't matter if you finished a lap, you still got the payout and 25th place points if there were 25 cars starting the race, but that's another discussion for later. If you were lucky and good enough to win, the prize was $1500 cash, not that I ever came close enough to know what that felt like.

Unfortunately, even the spectator counts at these types of events are falling. I don't know what the driving forces are behind this, but I suspect it has something to do with the evolution of technology where people's instant gratification needs are being met with ever greater efficiency in the form of 4G networks, Blackberrys, etc.., and real world experiences are being replaced by convenient simulations.

That's a tangential and philosophical discussion that could easily spin off the original subject, so I'll just close with my thanks to those of you that are considering this matter in the best interests of Conference.

 

[jeffhanken]

We have to publisize more. Put it in the paper, post flyers at auto parts stores ect. I would love to see more people at the track. Beings that im the announcer for cascade it gets kind of boring talking to myself as there never is very many people in the stands.

 

[kyle_nickels]

But it is NEVER boring listening to you when sittingon pregrid!! Nor is it boring listening to your commentary while getting the car ready for the next session!! You do an outstanding job. I loved the blow-by-blow during the Cascade Memorial races!! GREAT.

BTW: Can you email me,,, I need something from you

 

[jc_cuevas]

>>Radio? TV? These can be done and maybe there is someone within the entire ICSCC family that has an ability to produce and supply a 30 second spot that we can send to local TV stations. Highlighting the social benefits such as Doernbechers Dash, the Military Tribute from IRDC and other events that each Club does may hit the spot for them.<<

Kyle and Randy:

In a previous post I stated that I would endeavor to be part of the solution to whatever we need to promote our sport; ........ to assist Conference to continuing to grow and provide the privileges we all enjoy.

This is a very worthwhile project and I am willing to do whatever it is necessary to bring about the fruition of such undertaking. Additionally I challenge all racers to promote our organization in every possible way.

My sponsors, The Visual Media Group, are planning to come to our next race at Pacific Raceways in Seattle. It is my understanding that they will bring one of their camera men with an HD camera and shoot footage of the race. These wonderful people are very good at what they do. They are simply "top drawer". Their expertise is in the field of creating graphic and visual presentations to various organizations throughout the Northwest.

Providing these folks resources and facilitating access to various vantage points would be a wonderful start. I will discuss with them what it would require for them to create a visual presentation for distribution to the media. A 30 second TV spot or any kind of media exposure would greatly benefit our sport. Who do I need to call to facilitate assistance to our cameramen?

Arranging an open house and exhibition and bringing our cars to the local malls and exhibiting our race cars would most likely promote interest and again, improve our organization with public interest, participation, etc. Having live racers there answering questions and handing out posters and schedules would be additionally beneficial.

I am certain that there many of us with many ideas and suggestions. I encourage all to post their suggestions and ideas. This should be a group effort and will require participation from all of us in Conference.

We are very passionate about our sport. We are proud of our race cars and, I am sure, most of us would very proud to contribute our resources to promote the sport and our organization.

How about it?

J.C.

 

[Richard Broadhead]

...Technically our races are non-spectator, driven by insurance I'm sure....

I think that's true, Wes. Don't know the details but I suspect insurance does go up if you have general public spectators.

In addition, I'm guessing we DO NOT have any kind of 'share of the gate' deals negotiated with any of the track facilities such as a real race Promoter would work out.

Then of course, there's in increase in track side security needs and services that need to be paid for.

...I think Wes hit the nail pretty much right on the head. Our sport is simply not as spectator friendly, as most any race held on an oval or 1/4 mile. If a person can't see the whole race at the same time, and even then be able to easily make out who the leader is, they lose interest pretty quickly. I honestly think it's as simple as that.

Yes agree with that about the viewing the race. BUT I must say, our Public Address announcers do a pretty good job of informing people of the 'action'.

Assuming we WERE having a serious effort at a spectator even, a program breaking down the race goups by classes/run groups and drivers would help people follow the action.

One thing that we lack for a real public event is the POST RACE recognition of the class winners. Such as Victory Laps like was done at Portland earlier in the year. That would be a good thing for spectators to see and begin to recognize drivers. But, it takes up some of our precious track time

.... IRDC has printed flyers for as long as I can remember and members post them in the usual places like Schucks, NAPA, etc. That results in a few folks per event, maybe....

I KNOW the club did it this year as well as the PRO-3 guys. But I haven't seen one any place I've been this Summer. I must say though, my trips to parts stores and the usual places haven't been as many this Summer then in the past.

Regardless, I think EVERY one of our races should take advantage of the FREE radio time on the Saturday morning "Car Guys" show.

 

[Ken Killam]

J.C., if you would coordinate with the Race Chairman of any event at any of the race tracks, I'm sure that they can provide for getting controlled access to nearly any place on the circuit. I know it works around PIR, and there are a lot of excellent vantage points on the inside of PR that give a great representation of the talents and showmanship of our Conference drivers.

Still photogs do it all the time.

Check it out.

 

[Steve Adams]

As for the track announcers: Yes, they do a great job of broadcasting, but nobody can frikkin' HEAR them. Maybe someone out there has a portable PA that could be hooked up to an AM radio for the broadcast? I know at Pacific it would be both easy and HUGELY beneficial to have that setup somewhere past Turn 9.

 

[Richard Broadhead]

>>My sponsors, The Visual Media Group, are planning to come to our next race at Pacific Raceways in Seattle. It is my understanding that they will bring one of their camera men with an HD camera and shoot footage of the race. These wonderful people are very good at what they do. They are simply "top drawer". Their expertise is in the field of creating graphic and visual presentations to various organizations throughout the Northwest.

Providing these folks resources and facilitating access to various vantage points would be a wonderful start. I will discuss with them what it would require for them to create a visual presentation for distribution to the media. A 30 second TV spot or any kind of media exposure would greatly benefit our sport. Who do I need to call to facilitate assistance to our cameramen?
J.C.

I was involved in this kind of thing for years at RCA Broadcast systems and then as V.P. of Operations for a Corporation. This kind of thing is NOT cheap!

If your sponsor can put together a decent promotional piece of say 30 seconds that could be used to dub audio on to for a SPECIFIC event that would be very good. I'm guessing one of our Public Address 'voices' would volunteer to do the dub?

Once done, getting it on the air is the next hurdle and that ain't cheap! However, if it were used for 'special' events such as the Doernbecher or the Military Salute weekends, you could probably get it aired for a week or so in advance as a PSA (Public Service Announcement) for free or at a reduced rate.

GOOD IDEA.. J.C.

 

[Lance Richert]

If the race clubs were interested in getting more bodies out, then promoting the events in local car club magazines and other forms of car club communication is very targeted marketing, and usually free.

Virtually every car racing in Conference has a local car club of enthusiasts that might want to see that type of car race. Mustang Club, Miata Club, MazdaRotary Club, VW Club, Porsche Club, etc etc.

As a driver, you can feed the appropriate club information that they will be happy to publish. They are always looking for content. Bio pieces about a driver, technical pieces about the cars, post event pieces about how the car ran, are all subjects that can provide content to promote the sport.

Some of the growth of PRO-3 since 2003 can be directly attributed to constant promotion in the local BMW club's monthly newsletter which mails out to 3,200 BMW owners in Western Washington. That being said, we promote to the club coming out to see BMWs race (rather than racing cars in general), because BMWs are their interest. From there we hope they tour the paddock and enjoy other race cars too.

The BMW Club also sets up a hospitality tent at each IRDC race with snacks and drinks and acts as a central meeting/social point for BMW club members. We bury this in the middle of the PRO-3 area of the paddock. (One reason why we like to park the PRO-3 cars together).

That being said, I agree with Randy and others that only being able to view a couple of corners of the circuit at any given time, and multiple classes on track at the same time make viewing an amateur road race difficult and confusing to an average joe spectator.

If you did want to drop a couple thousand spectators at a race, look at the number of bodies required to run the July 4 SOVREN race due to added security.

 

[Karen Stimson]

Track announcers are a huge part of making the racing exciting for the "spectator" (whether it's the pit crews or outside persons). Note that keeping the pit crew excited and happy is pretty important.
I've heard some good announcing lately. Having that makes it much more stimulating to be at the track, making it feel like racing and not just another track day.

Yes, sound systems that actually do their job would be appreciated by both participants and spectators... (We might even make the 5/8/whatever minute warning at grid...)

 

[MrMoody]

...I think Wes hit the nail pretty much right on the head. Our sport is simply not as spectator friendly, as most any race held on an oval or 1/4 mile. If a person can't see the whole race at the same time, and even then be able to easily make out who the leader is, they lose interest pretty quickly. I honestly think it's as simple as that.

...

Unfortunately, even the spectator counts at these types of events are falling. I don't know what the driving forces are behind this, but I suspect it has something to do with the evolution of technology where people's instant gratification needs are being met with ever greater efficiency in the form of 4G networks, Blackberrys, etc.., and real world experiences are being replaced by convenient simulations.

Funny I just read this on another site, and these guys aren't racing W2W...

"Nashville Super Speedway was recently host to the largest spectator turnout for a North American Time Attack. Over 2,500 show cars, and 5,000 spectators converged on the raceway to take part in the 2009 Import Alliance meet, and watch the finest Time Attack vehicles compete"

but as we've seen on another thread this is not possible in the PNW, so forget about it There's no market for it, and even if there was it's impossible to do.

 

[Lance Richert]

That was primarily a car show, with a TT tacked on to add value to the event.

Multi tasking is how you get a crowd now. You need 20+ vendors, a few decent food vendors, and at least one musical stage going all day.

Up at the IRL weekend at Edmonton you could have a great 3 days and not even watch the cars on track. There was that much going on besides the racing.

 

[Ken Killam]

Putting all of that in, and around a big circle helps the spectatorship too. Then it's all about the show, not the competition.

May be apples and oranges to a road course, but a good idea for the plate racing tracks that want to, and can provide for the TT folks.

Oval TT racing in Tennessee, whodathunk?

 

[Randy Blaylock]

Don't forget the bikini contests. I guess that'd be OK. Who's in? JC?

 

[MrMoody]

Putting all of that in, and around a big circle helps the spectatorship too. Then it's all about the show, not the competition.

May be apples and oranges to a road course, but a good idea for the plate racing tracks that want to, and can provide for the TT folks.

Oval TT racing in Tennessee, whodathunk?

not really an Oval TT, it's a Roval, like Daytona, California speedway, Indy, etc. There are lots of pics here ... but I'm sure there are a million other reasons why the same can't be done here.

I think it's less about the location and more about the event. If you want an event you have to promote an event. Spectators will to come to an event. So if you want spectators at a conference club race ... well ...

BTW, did anyone go to the rally stages at PIR this year? Took me an hour to get from the I5 off-ramp to the parking area in PIR. There were thousands of people there. I also went to the Rose Cup races, which seemed to have far lower level of spectator attendance. My point? Well I don't really have one, just an interesting observation of what types of motorsport events bring in attendance.