How to get more spectators at races?

As a spectator, I need a few things to keep me in the game. Here are some areas in which I have ideas.

Media: Videos, TV, Photos, reviews, highlights, A booth at the HIN or NOPI events, etc...
Literature: Website, publications, news, etc..
Storyline: Who's who? Who are they racing? What Class? What have they done over the winter to be more competitive? What is their background? Who will most likely be competing for a Championship in which class?
Spectating: If I can't see the whole track at once, can I easily access the good parts? ie: Grandstands by chicane at Portland are fantastic, while grandstands at PR are not and there's no easy access to the "good" part of the track 5/6 or 3a/b. Standing off of Turn 4 at Spokane is fantastic, but not having anything to sit on, is not.


Ideas for Solutions:

Media: Get into the NOPI or HIN scene with a booth and display. A couple cars (like pro3, the Honda's, Spec Miatas, etc) on display with a large screen behind the setup showing our in-car highlights (like the videos I've made and the ones John Galfano used to produce). A lot of these people like racing, they just don't know where or when it is.

Also, and I know this will require more manpower and labor, the club could increase the production value of the websites or just the ICSCC.com website. This would include, Last event highlights, storylines, Winning Driver Biographies, driver interviews, etc... A place where spectators, along with conference members, can come and "read all about it!" I'm not sure if it's financially feasible but an idea nonetheless.

Literature
What if we produced a small magazie or newsletter that we could sell subscriptions to? Kind of like Grassroots Motorsports but WAY more grassroots. If I was an employee of Discount Tire or NAPA and there was a newsletter or magazine I could subscribe to about what's happening with local builders/racers/racing events I would definitely subscribe. How to pull this off, I don't know, I'm just the idea man. Also, if something like this existed, I would love to be a writer for it.

In the individual club websites we could include Driver Biographies with last season or prior season(s) results, drama, close calls, improvements, awards, etc. We could do "Racing Educational" segments about why the rules are the way they are and what we do to be competitive within them. Educate the audience. The websites can act as a source of knowledge, or authority on a subject. C-Speed Racing is a great example. I use their How-To section often and many people in the rice-boi community consider C-Speed an authority on many subjects. This may not bring more spectators to the track, but it will be bring more mindshare to our sport in our region.

storyline: I pretty much covered this under literature

Spectating What exactly is the cost of a sky-bridge? I could see the benefit of one at Spokane and at Pacific, mostly Pacific. It's easy to cross the track at Spokane between sessions but Pacific we're asking people to Jump over walls (unless I missed something) which means my Mom, who is no longer in her Ninja years, can't watch me race on the fun parts of the track. This may apply to many other moms as well. Also, What happened to the grandstands outside of Turn 4 at Spokane? Put those back! Spokane and Portland are my favorite local tracks to spectate at. In Spokane you can kinda see the straight and turn 1/2 but then you can see 4/5/6/7, which is great! In Portland you can see the chicane and turns 4/5/6/7 from 1 vantage point as well which is great fun!

Ok.. that is all for now.
 
<Smart a$$ comment mode on>
How about actually follwing the rules regarding car numbers and class designations so that those spectators can actually tell who your racing against? I know there are a number of cars who have been told repeatedly to fix their numbers / class designations. The very nice ladies of pre-grid have spent money and time fixing the numbers / class designations on many cars. The drivers are suposed to present their cars ready to race. taking car of these things will make the jobs of the volunteers and the spectators much easier.

Now back to your regularly scheduled brainstorming session.
<Smart a$$ comment mode off>
 
I was talking to an old timer just a couple weeks ago. He recalls driving in 60's with some of the big names like Donohue, Penski, Andretti, Unser, and others at Pacific Raceway and our other tracks. He told a story of helping Pensky at Pacific Raceway use two forklifts late at night to get a race car off the top of a trailer. I guess the trailer already had two cars inside so they put one on top.

He also tells of standing room only crowds at all of our tracks, not just for the big name events, but for most of all of them. It would be fun to have something like that now, especially if it helped reduce our costs.

I would think that all our tracks have a few good places for spectators. If you put a grandstand on the hill about the middle of the straight at Spokane they could see almost 100% of the track.
 
>>Don't forget the bikini contests. I guess that'd be OK. Who's in? JC?<<

Randy:

I'm in!!

Actually, this is not such a bad idea after all.

Formula 1 has incredibly good looking "umbrella girls". They allow for hot pants and all sorts of "figure enhancing attire" at pre-grid. I really don't know how else to describe push up bras.

I believe our rules don't allow anyone at pre grid to wear shorts or "tank tops" or bikini tops. I can't certainly understand why drivers and mechanics should not wear "bikini tops" and push up bras; but what is wrong with allowing umbrella girls to wear hot pants, high heels and bikini tops? It is time to change and be part of the 21st. Century.

Why not get the Hooter Girls involved? After all, push up bras have created a wonderful industry.

............................. as long as there are no lap dances at pre grid, it would be O.K.

J.C.
 
Lots of good suggestions so far. Here is my $.02 worth.

Just a few random thoughts.

General flyer available for spectators as to what constitutes the different classes, what determines the participants in a race (engine size, similar engines, fenders or no fenders, etc.). Something really basic.

$8 or $10 admission for spectators is really low cost for what could be a whole day of entertainment. How about a place they could set up a picnic. Make a day of it.

Cars park close to the pit area for the smaller events. When I get asked by the few spectators how to cross to the infield my only answer is "can't", or cross down by T1 if it is allowed. About 1/2 mile down the course from the parking. If they could cross at T9 it would be most convenient.

General admission wandering around in the infield could be a real problem if there is nobody to keep an eye on them. For their safety, and to limit any other "activities" that may happen.

The fence at the east end of the drag strip would need to be kept closed to keep people from wandering out to T7 and T8.

The bike people allow crossing between heats but they have workers controlling the crossing at T9, and to keep folks from wandering toward T8.

A bridge would be good, but pricey. I assume it's still on the PR master plan for someday.

All this would need volunteers to implement.

Again, just a few random thoughts in no particular order...
 
LOL.. this has gone from 'how do we get some more spectators to the track'.. TOO....

MAJOR EVENT STATUS

That would certainly be an interesting thing to try at one race per year at each track... BUT, it's about to the point of needing those 3 magic words.

Can someone say:

PRO-MO-TOR
 
I'll stick it out there and suggest that the umbrella girls are okay, up until the 'one minute' and the engines start then are run away.

An excerpt from #22 of CSCC Supps:
...At the one-minute warning, pre-grid becomes a “hot” area. At that time, pre-grid must be cleared of all crew, support personnel and spectators....

Should probably keep the bikinis someplace back and behind the gridded drivers so that they're not distracted from the splitter.
 
Remember the late '60s...

... out at SIR, ok Pacific Raceways, where the track always was packed for USRRC, Trans-Am, F5000 races; David Hobbs and Sam Posey taking friendly shots at each other over the PA system. The hill above turn 3 held thousands of people, at the Trans-Am races Corvette Cove and the Mustang Corral were jammed with hundreds of cars each, rooting for their Camaro and Mustang drivers. There was a lot of "brand" competition and it brought out the crowds.

Today I assume would be substantial liability issues with having paying spectators at any race, and there would be commensurately high insurance premiums, need to paid crowd control and security, etc. I went out to Pacific last year to watch an ICSCC race; we weren't even allowed to park in the infield, had to leave our car (with picnic, chairs, etc) outside the front straight and climb over the dragstrip jersey barriers, walked to the hill above turn 3. For some reason there were no other spectators...

So I guess the first question is: do the organizing bodies (other than for the vintage races, SOVREN et al, which apparently rely on spectators to make money) really WANT spectators at the tracks? If they do - perhaps deciding lots of paying spectators will reduce entry fees - they need to look at how "spectator friendly" their events are. The last one I attended wasn't.
 
jim5car said:
... I went out to Pacific last year to watch an ICSCC race; we weren't even allowed to park in the infield, had to leave our car (with picnic, chairs, etc) outside the front straight and climb over the dragstrip jersey barriers, walked to the hill above turn 3. For some reason there were no other spectators...
Click to expand...

That is true even for the BIG SOVERN Historics races these days. The race organizing body is on such a SUPER tight schedule (due to limited track time available) it would be impossible to shuttle cars into the infield with only 5 minutes between run groups.

However, we do request the track 'splits' the Jersey Barriers so you can just walk across the track, now.
 
This is a great discussion, and as such seems to be something that most of us seem to care about.

From a driver's point of view I am much more inclined to "care" about the championship and making sure I make each race if I know that people are expecting to see our cars run. Kinda makes the financial impact easier.

Also makes sponsorship easier if there truly is a value. Granted this is club racing! But its always fun to put on a show for others and have some fun.

I understand that insurance is an important factor here. I love the flyer idea and I love the forums idea.

We take our volvo race cars to each volvo car show and event and promote that we race with ICSCC and we get a decent turnout from enthusiasts who just want to see a volvo race.

That being said. I LOVE the idea of creating more personalities on the web. So possibly teams or drivers having a Bio about the driver, their car, etc.

Having updates during or after race weekends. What about a twitter feed that updates with who is sitting on the pole for each class..that could be cool.

Seems there are LOTS of ideas, now its just trying to do some of these things.
 
A few years back when Jason finally ran off Rockstad and started the overhaul he had plans to develop the infield with concessions, real restrooms and a shuttle taking spectators back and forth from T1 to T7.
I don't kmow if that is still in the works for the final redo, but I do recall the days of Trans-Am, IMSA, etc when the infield was packed, and the crowd would run from the fence at T1 down for a view of 3A and back damn near every lap! They allowed cars and spectators to cross regularly, and it worked quickly and smoothly for the most part.
No reason why that wouldn't work these days with proper crowd control. Not for our events, but for the pro stuff that was discussed a few years ago, which included the likes of Grand-Am, pro Atlantics and even IRL.
Where has Jason gone anyway?
 
Stereophile33 said:
.....That being said. I LOVE the idea of creating more personalities on the web. So possibly teams or drivers having a Bio about the driver, their car, etc.....
Click to expand...

Although named as to be sort of a "club" thing. There IS a place to do that on the web now. Go to IRDC web site and click on "IRDC Rogue's Gallery". A few drivers have taken advantage of this section but, not many :cool:

Here's one of the pages:
http://www.irdc-racing.com/irdc_gallery_b.htm

And another one. One driver in the club who's last name starts with a "T"?

http://www.irdc-racing.com/irdc_gallery_t.htm

westipton said:
A few years back when Jason finally ran off Rockstad and started the overhaul he had plans to develop the infield with concessions, real restrooms and a shuttle taking spectators back and forth from T1 to T7. Where has Jason gone anyway?
Click to expand...

Don't know if the 'site plan' drawing is still valid but, it does show a spectator bridge AND a tunnel to allow cars in to the infield during events. Let us hope!
 
Yuk, that is pretty rogue isn't it?

Did you mention the galllery on this website for teams and drivers Rich? It has a lot of old content, and rarely has new additions, but it is there to use for anyone who would like to promote themselves or team.
 
I won't claim to have any solutions... but going back to Randy's point about instant gratification.

I think people are more inclined to come out and spectate if they become aware of the event closer to the event date. For example, If I hear about a race coming up that weekend at Pacific Raceways and if I have free time I would be interested in checking it out. As opposed to walking into a Schucks in February and seeing a flyer that lists a date sometime in August for a race.

I think Randy is also correct that we won't draw as many spectators relative to circle track or drag racing... but even if you can get a sliver of the 7-8000 people, we are talking 500 to 1000.

Also, if you look at the number of people that used to attend the CART races at PIR in the 90's... 100k people over the course of the weekend (and even the NASCAR race this year) it brings up a couple more points.
1) Driver narrative/bio is not as important as you might think. I highly doubt that the 100K people that showed up to CART races really followed that series. They might have known a couple of names but that wasn't the reason they turned out to watch. Certainly there was only 1 driver narrative that was talked about for the NASCAR race (McGriff). The rest of those drivers were completely unknown to the general public. Same goes with ALMS and IMSA events of the past. Maybe the "event" is just really the only draw that a smaller city has when there are no other sporting events to go to during the summer.... (Read major opportunity for Spokane and Grass Valley)
2) Large turnouts CAN be achieved even if you can't see the entire track.

I would propose that there is an ICSCC "Promotional Coordinator" working with the individual club PR designates. The person would not be in charge of a budget but rather be a go to person to help coordinate logistical issues and find resources. And it would be up to the clubs to figure out how best to promote their own events.

I briefly looked into some marketing stuff for the SCCA TT program. Radio was suprisingly not that expensive. There are also small business marketing agents out there that can put together packages of advertising,etc.
 
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robjacobsen said:
<Smart a$$ comment mode on>
How about actually follwing the rules regarding car numbers and class designations so that those spectators can actually tell who your racing against? I know there are a number of cars who have been told repeatedly to fix their numbers / class designations. The very nice ladies of pre-grid have spent money and time fixing the numbers / class designations on many cars. The drivers are suposed to present their cars ready to race. taking car of these things will make the jobs of the volunteers and the spectators much easier.

Now back to your regularly scheduled brainstorming session.
<Smart a$$ comment mode off>
Click to expand...

Hmmm ... if I actually had a "smart ass comment mode" switch that I could operate at will, I would probably never place it in the "on" position. My smart ass comments typically escape in times of emotional agitation and cause me regret or even shame when I return to my traditional non-emotional state. I WISH I had that kind of control!

At any rate, the ICSCC rule that pertains to class designators reads:

1106. ...

F. Class designations must be apart from the competition number and be
in block letters. Letters shall be no larger than one half the size of the
competition number or smaller than 4” high with a 3/4” stroke.
G. Class letters are required on both sides of a car. Cars with multiple
class designations that may be applicable in one run group must cross
out or cover designations that do not apply to the current session. (Fall
2008)

Since this is a recently revised rule, it is often misapplied by both racers and volunteers. Drivers who run two race groups no longer have to remember to swap a piece of black electrical tape back and forth between their class designators with the risk of being protested or DQ'd if they forget. The only folks who need to obscure any of their multiple class designators are those who are legal for two classes IN THE SAME GROUP and have both displayed on the side of the car.

In my case, I have GT1 and SPO on the side of the car. Since one is clearly in Group 1 and the other in Group 4 there is a reasonable expectation that our volunteers won't have any trouble telling what is going on as long as they know which group is on track. It also keeps me from having to tear up my class designators by sticking and unsticking a piece of black tape to them eight times a week-end.

If my car was marked with designators for GT1 and ITE though, they are two separate classes that both run in Group 4, so one would need to be obscured to avoid any confusion.

What is it that you see needing to be fixed the most? Are the numbers and designators too small or not complying well enough to the contrasting color stipulation? I have to admit that I know most of my competitors just from their make and color of car, but I spend a lot more time looking at them on the track than from the stands. What specifically are drivers being asked to fix?

Also - the folks at pre-grid have always treated me fantastically. What is it that we are doing that is costing them money? THey have always been great to me, and I don't want them to have to pay for the priveledge of helping out.
 
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You are so right Rick.

Also, the rule specifically states that the "car" should mark out the class designation that does not apply to the group that it is to run in.

Obviously, since the "car" is design-incapable of accomplishing that function, then at least that portion of 1106.G can not be enforced. So perhaps the whole of 1106.G must be tossed. In which case the class designator is not necessary on either side of the car. That makes it so much simpler doesn't it?

Our officially sanctioned ICSCC Incident Report Forms would then require modification (via appropriate changes in the PPM) to delete the "Class" field, and leave only a Group code as not every potential reporting witness may be aware of every class destinction within a given Group anyways.

But wait!

Then shouldn't the Group# be on all of the cars, and only the group that the car is registered to run in at the time be visibly available to the officials in order to avoid further confusion at T/S, Pre-Grid, Tech, or the observation posts for their records/reports.

We certainly can not permit 'cars' without any class to run in the groups where they don't make a good fit. That would be a severe lack of control, and McKinnon may wind up trying to grid with the FF's again.

<oops. I forgot to toggle the switch> I can't remember which mode I was in right there.
 
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Hmmm, we had a minure problem with our number at Pacific last race (even though we ran Portland with the same setup just a few weeks before without an issue). What MAY have precipitated the problem was Jeff's transponder number not coming through clearly on his faxed entry form.

Any way, with the numbers of the PROPER size in the side of his wing supports (number location for open wheeled winged cars IS specified in SCCA racing) we didn't have room to fit a FULL SIZED extra "3" there so it's a smaller number. At Pacific I suspect T & S had a hard time picking it up on his practice session when trying to match up the transponder signal they were getting. So we were asked to make it day-glow green instead of white so they could see it better.

Obviously I watch races from the stands and turn stations. I see FEW if ANY cars that are hard to pick out numbers on. But with any some cars having heavy graphics, it's sometimes difficult to pick out the 'class' designations as there is no specificed location (tightly controled) on the vehicle for 'class designators' and there shouldn't be. It's the nature of life on earth and not a big deal.
 
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Although we have duplicate numbers used at times over the course of the day, each number is required to be unique in it's own Group. In the groups that I race in, a report that cites "#155" in Group 1, 4, or 5 only applies to me and me alone. (Let's be serious - nobody in groups 2,3,or 6 is lining up to jump on that number because they want to be like me, or grouching about me taking their favorite number. It's a long and complicated story that got that collection of digits on the side of my car) No class designators are required to fully identify me. If there was a GT2 #155 and an ITE #155 also running in Group 4 I would be right there with you - it would be confusing. Our numbers are "Group" specific and not "Class" specific, so only one driver in a Group can hold a unique legal number.

Is it too much to ask that those filling out reports know what group they are watching? (That is a real question, no smart ass switch required or intended.)
 
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