How can we get fans to come back?

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Open Wheel93	How can we get fans to come back?	Lead	[-]
Posts: 741 (09/18/08 07:44:11) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Tags : None This was posted on another thread............. Obviously the Saturday Night Series crowds are no where near the Silver Spring days. People do not like change. They went to Silver Springs every Saturday night for years and years and suddenly it's gone. Now it's a reduced Saturday Series schedule while following the Super Sportsman to other tracks like Port Royal, Lincoln and god help me TrailWay. I still have dust in my hair from only venture there to watch the Super Sportman last year. My suggestion is to rename the Saturday Night Series the "Silver Spring Saturday Night Series" and do a better job of promoting it as such each week in the Patriot. Schedule a "Silver Springs Reunion Night" early in the season with a discount for those fans who mention they attended Silver Spring speedway. Bring out the Silver Spring Sportmen, street stock, and late model drivers. People love nostalgia and Turn back the Clock nights. Schedule every Saturday night available at Williams Grove and stay the course. I know you need to move forward instead of looking back, but if you can connect the Saturday Night Series to the traditional Silver Spring Saturday Night, they might come. My two cents. More like a half dollar, I was rambling there. Some really good ideas............ Can we here on this board come up with more??? I'm serious here.....we complain and gripe, but can we be part of the solution? We all want our beloved Super Sportsman to survive, and for that we need a good fan base....we expect the Grove to promote and pull in the fans, but if we can give them great ideas, it would become more feasible. So, here's you chance to make a difference.....I'm sure Mike would willingly take our iedas to the proper people. So POST AWAY....... "I love going to Silver Springs and watching the sportsman. The cars weigh 1900 pounds, or there abouts. They got small wings, manual steering and its the best show." ....Lynn Paxton
58Mom	Ideas	#1	[-]
Posts: 3 (09/18/08 12:55:25) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	This is just a quick idea that I haven't thought thru but what about some type of "celebrity" race between features with either some of the 410/358 drivers that ever drove the supersportsman or a few local 410 drivers that might draw a crowd in. Maybe a "cash dash" type of race off pitting the "old" Rahmer against the "young" Lucas...something that might get the interest in watching our guys as well. I guess you would to hold it after our feature to keep the fans here. Look at the hype that comes along with the celebritys at Williams Grove. Maybe someone with connections could come up with a celebrity to bring a crowd in for us. Or think outside the box and come up with some other "rivals" that could have some type of race and/or competition to draw a crowd. It would not have to be in a race car, think of something else entertaining that would get some PR going. I do not understand the animosity that some of the 410 fans seem to have for our division. IMO supporting all types of divisions at these local tracks keeps them profitable for ALL the divisions. The larger the fan base for the total year makes the ownership of a track become a profitable venture which certainly helps encourage track owners to keep the opportunity to race locally alive.
KIMMIEE	Ideas	#2	[-]
Posts: 533 (09/18/08 14:55:52) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	I don't think having Sprint car drivers there will help to up our fan base on a regular basis. Maybe of that evening but not in the long run. Besides those guys you mentioned run at other tracks in thier own divisions on Saturday nights. My honest opinion on this subject is the following. 1. Keep the admission price lower. (Not necc. $5.00 but less than the Friday night shows). Our fan count has been up since the price was lowered. People liked the Springs because it was affordable. 2. Give us some space in the paper other than 2 lines at thwe bottom of the Friday night show ad. We deserve to have our own ad for the Saturday shows like the other divisions at all the other tracks do. 3. Have the Friday announcer say we are racing on Saturday, not just when John Krall gets the chance to say it. 4, Last but not least there are guys at WTPA who support us on a regular basis and who i think would talk about us all the time if the Grove would just give up a little of that Friday night time to move it to Saturday. I honestly believe that we would do alot better if the Grove stepped up to the plate and spent a little money to give our Saturday night shows some attention in the press. We have been loyal and faithfully to the Grove since the start and I think we deserve for them to stand behind us and spend a little cash on us. Do more just hoping for the fans to come in, let them know we are here. Just my humble little opinion.
888	good luck open wheel 93	#3	[-]
Posts: 5 (09/18/08 22:03:46) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	I tried this weeks ago and got no response. I'll cut and paste my ideas one more time. We have some great companies that support us weekly. Get them involved at the track. Get our race cars on display at their place of business. Do some of our own PR. Kimmie did a great job getting a big event going for us. I bet there are other people at the track who can do similar events outside the track. The only event I know of is the car show before the season starts. I don't claim to have all the answers, but we can do better. Do something simple. Bring a friend to the track. Pay there admission for a week. Who knows, they might like it and start coming weekly. If everybody did this simple thing our crowd would double. I bet that would make a lot of people happy. Right now we are surviving, but we need to do more. The crowds have a big choice on Saturday nights. How many different tracks can they go to? We need to let them know that we can put on a show better than anybody else, but then it is up to us to follow through and actually provide that show. Finally, patronize the sponsors. Let them know you come to them because they support a race car. We have a lot of great companies who have spent endless amounts of money over the years. Give back to them when you need a service. Some of that money will hopefully end up back at the race track. We can't support them all, but when you need a new or used car, call a sponsor. We have a bunch of car dealer sponsors. If you need mechanical work or towing, call one of the trucks you see every week at the track, pulling in the wreckage. If you need a dj, call me. (Shameless self promotion). Cindy Rowe Auto Glass has sponsored us for years. Let them know how much we appreciate their participation. There's also a lot of self employed guys who have their own business on the wing of the car. Call these guys too. I bet all their extra money goes back into the car. Lanny Hake, Rick Barr, Scott Dellinger, Jared Miller. Sorry if I missed anybody. I bet they would love a call from a fan who says, "I called you because you are part of the racing community." That's my rant. Bring on the critics... Sorry I haven't figured out how to do those fancy colors yet while typing. I guess I'll stick to black (as always).
d1rtracing		#4	[-]
Posts: 9 (09/18/08 22:06:02) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	prepare the track better for better racing!!!!!
fanatic		#5	[-]
Posts: 714 (09/19/08 07:12:06) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	start on time, not run the track in until 8:30.
slinger3		#6	[-]
Posts: 8 (09/19/08 13:06:05) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	what if you ran on Sundays instead of Saturdays.. big diamond, even susky had sunday races and yea i know you hate susky but the point is they all get big crowds for the Sunday races. no other tracks to compete with and maybe even bring more cars in all divisions. and you can even start at say 5pm on every Sunday or something like that. it would get over a lil earlier to. i also think that the grove should have a mini Sunday series event like say 5 or 6 races or the whole year with a separate points and separate pay out. kinda like a summer shootout or whatever you wanna call it. and this would also give the grove a lil idea if they had sunday races what the crowd would be like. try if for a few times and if it dont work out just dont have em the following year. Last Edited By: slinger3 09/19/08 13:12:18. Edited 1 times.
flip119	Ideas	#7	[-]
Posts: 6 (09/19/08 13:13:46) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	1) Give fans with a ticket stub from Friday night a discounted admission on Saturday. 2) Seriuosly consider a height limit for trailers pitted in the infield. Fans won't pay for what they can't see. 3) Local celebrity races. Invite personalities from local tv and radio stations to a match race in a stock car class. More than likely, if they come for the event, it will be mentioned on the air. FREE ADVERTISING! 4) Every week have one or two cars per class on display in the infield before the races. Fans don't get a chance to see the cars up close very often. When I was a kid, one of my favorite things was to go into the pits after the races at Reading , get autographs and see the cars up close. Encourage teams to give stuff away when they're in the spotlight. Pictures, candy, balloons,etc. 5) Contact local schools. Every night, students and their families from a different school or school district could be invited to attend for free. 6) Same goes for other organizations too. Scouts, church groups etc. Let 'em in for free. It doesn't cost you anything to let people in for nothing. They'll probably buy food or a program or even a t-shirt. I'm a firm believer that THE ONLY SEATS THAT COST YOU MONEY ARE THE ONES THAT ARE EMPTY!!! If you put on a good show for them and they are entertained, they'll be back. The key here is a GOOD show. Get 'em in and get 'em out. They don't want to sit there for hours on end to be entertained. I've got more ideas but I don't want to ramble. If you want to hear more, stop by the 66 trailer and look me up. Guy Smith did a column in AARN early this year about track promotion from a fans perspective. He made a lot of great points. A lot of promoters could learn a lot by reading what he had to say.
slinger3		#8	[-]
Posts: 9 (09/19/08 13:20:04) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	reading the post from flip119 reminded me of when we used to go to to penn national and they would line the modifieds up on the front stretch and all the drivers signed a frisbe and threw em into the stands if your driver won you get a photo in victory lane and maybe a tee shirt or something small like that. it dont have to be something exspensive just to get the fans involved by throwing stuff into the crowd, i dont see to many tracks do that any more. Last Edited By: slinger3 09/19/08 13:43:32. Edited 1 times.
Open Wheel93		#9	[-]
Posts: 742 (09/19/08 14:10:18) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Flip.....post 'em all. That's why I started this thread. I have read some really great ideas on here, and the more we get, the better chance of drawing more fans. I'm sure the Grove will be receptive to our suggestions and would consider implementing some of them. When we finish this, I can compile them and get them to Mike or whoever. I want to see our class, not only survive, but to grow.......and I am willing to put in time to help. Look what happened with the idea of the Rookie of the Year!! Open Wheel "I love going to Silver Springs and watching the sportsman. The cars weigh 1900 pounds, or there abouts. They got small wings, manual steering and its the best show." ....Lynn Paxton
slinger3		#10	[-]
Posts: 15 (09/21/08 12:58:06) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	well after the wingless race and the crowed they had simply run em wingless
73fan		#11	[-]
Posts: 15 (09/21/08 16:28:36) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Fans don't want a gimmick to get them in the gate then present a boring show, their not that dumb. All they need is a good competitive race, well last nite they got way more than their moneys worth. Simple, you need more of that!!
fanatic		#12	[-]
Posts: 716 (09/21/08 18:07:50) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Too bad that was the last Saturday night race, the crowd was by far the best and the wingless racing was egde of your seat stuff. Imagine the crowd if they had another wingless show this week. I think they found the ticket to a sucessful Saturday night show. You could even cut back to 3 divisions.
flip119	More ideas	#13	[-]
Posts: 8 (09/22/08 04:00:10) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	1) Designate certain areas in the grandstand and the infield as family sections. No alcohol, no foul language. 2) Offer a family pack of tickets that includes hot dogs and drinks. 3) Advertise the fact that the Grove offers modern and clean restrooms. I know of a lot of women who won't attend the races because of previous experiences with poor restrooms. The folks at the Grove have done an excellent job at updating their facilities. 4) Any kind of theme night. 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's, Hawaiian shirt night, thong night (just kidding). Dress the part and get a discount at the gate. Speaking of thongs, whatever happened to trophy queens? 5) Ladies night. 6) Motorcycle night. 7) Give all the race teams free tickets at the beginning of the season. Encourage them to give them out to their sponsors, potential sponsors, their neighbors, people that wouldn't normally attend the races. Mark the tickets with each teams information and when they are cashed in, the teams then pay for them at a reduced rate.
slinger3		#14	[-]
Posts: 16 (09/22/08 09:24:54) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	73fan wrote: Fans don't want a gimmick to get them in the gate then present a boring show, their not that dumb. All they need is a good competitive race, well last nite they got way more than their moneys worth. Simple, you need more of that!! i know everybody loved it even if they hate the super sportsmen class but they are not a wingless class. i think if you try to make em wingless you will lose alot of drivers who dont wanna run wingless. i know alot of drivers were glad that it was over and dont gotta do it again, untill someone adds it next year.
fanatic		#15	[-]
Posts: 719 (09/22/08 12:03:35) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	I talked to several drivers that liked it and realize that if that is what fans want to see then they are all for it. Maybe the way to go is nonwings at the Grove and wings on the tour.
Open Wheel93		#16	[-]
Posts: 745 (09/22/08 12:33:23) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	I don't really think that would work. If all the Grove races were non-wing, then the high dollar teams would have 2 separate cars. To run these things without wings full time, the cars would need major changes. The wings change the whole attitude of the car and these cars are built for wings. If you go to the Silver Spring web site and look at the photos, on the last page, at the bottom, look at the wheel lifting on the one car.....notice which wheel it is! What would happen with your suggestion, is that you would have two separate groups of cars, the non-wing Grove cars and the winged tour cars, with the high buck guys being the only ones to participate in both. As much as I enjoyed the show on Saturday, the non-wing shows have to be just one or a couple a year and they need to stay non-points. "I love going to Silver Springs and watching the sportsman. The cars weigh 1900 pounds, or there abouts. They got small wings, manual steering and its the best show." ....Lynn Paxton
Turn 3 Hook		#17	[-]
Posts: 11 (09/22/08 13:37:13) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	I've been reading through these posts and have time to "digest" things, so to speak. Here are a few things I've thought about. First and foremost, I think the Grove is just too big to run the divsions they are running. This includes the Super Sportsmans. It was ok in years past when the series raced a few times during the year but to have the Grove as their home track doesn't work....in my opinion. As much as I love to see them run, because of the half mile, they don't have the speed needed to make it a good show. The series needs a track the size of Silver Spring....Period! I was at Lincoln for the first time last week for the 100 and I think that track very much resembles the Springs. I wouldn't want to travel to Lincoln every week, mind you, but if the Super Sportsman division had a track local to the Mechanicsburg / Carlisle area that was the size of the old Springs', I believe you would see the fan base increase. As far as "theme nights" go......that's just a waste of time. Plus.....if you do something around the theme night (i.e. games for the kids, contests, etc) all that is going to do is prolong the night. A few weeks ago, racing didn't start unitl almost 8pm because the track wasn't ready. . You can offer discount tickets, food packages...whatever you can come up with. Even if you fill the stands, the Grove is still making the same amount of money because you're offering a lower rate to get in and lowering the price (basically) on food. A nice idea to get more people there but it doesn't pay the bills. I liked what 73fan wrote: "Fans don't want a gimmick to get them in the gate then present a boring show, their not that dumb. All they need is a good competitive race. No one is going to wear a Hawaiin shirt to the races The fans come for the race....not to see what the person next to them is wearing or what the "theme of night" is. I wasn't at the wingless show but from I've read it was a great show. Competitive is the key word here. On that (and a final note) They should think about dropping one division from the program. My thought is the 4 cyl. cars. The Grove is NOT the place for theses guys. I've seen way too many yellow flags that slow night because the drivers can't race on a big track. I'm probably going to offend some people with that comment but I'm just calling em like I see em'. Let's go back to the 3 division night. Have the track "race ready" at 7. If you're going to do special things for the fans / kids, do them BEFORE the races. I'm sure I will draw a ton of criticism for what I've wrote, but you wanted opinions....these are mine.
Open Wheel93		#18	[-]
Posts: 746 (09/22/08 13:46:52) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	All opinions are welcome, and even those that some may not like. We need to hear all sides of these ideas. Just because someone posted something, doesn't mean it will work and hearing an opposite opinion can get us thinking about what will and won't work. Keep 'em coming! "I love going to Silver Springs and watching the sportsman. The cars weigh 1900 pounds, or there abouts. They got small wings, manual steering and its the best show." ....Lynn Paxton
slinger3		#19	[-]
Posts: 18 (09/22/08 15:07:34) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	randy eichelburger (spelling) at the drivers meeting told all the drivers he was all for the wingless shows they had at silver springs but not at the grove at all.
2wfan	promote the show	#20	[-]
Posts: 332 (09/22/08 16:17:00) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	1.Promoting Saturday nights is the best way to get fans in the stands. 2.Manage the show and people working it 3.Fill the field or find a division that will fill it 4.If the Street stocks and enduro/extreme stocks can not fill the field and are on the schedule together run one feature for them all and pay out accordingly. If an enduro can beat a running street stock pay the enduro Street Stock money! I know they are not of the same class and have different rules, but this should not happen

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