I'm sitting here getting ready to go on the air, reading the stuff from the weekend...and getting a massive headache, so pardon me while I engage in a little 'spleen venting'.
I want you all to put yourselves in the position of a 'casual' race fan...someone who watches NASCAR on TV or other forms of motorsport. Think about what you see on TV...lots of cars (43 for Sprint Cup, 40 for Nationwide, 30-some for Trucks, 22 for Indy Car/F1), facilities that are clean and sharp, lots of bright color, pyro, etc. It's a SHOW, and that's part of the attraction.
So you try to convince one of these people to attend a local short track. When they arrive, they see something that pales in comparison to what they've seen on TV. Worn out looking facilities lacking in comfort or pizzaz, divisions of cars that look alike even though they're different, bad food, can't hear the PA (and sometimes that's not a bad thing because what's being said isn't worth listening to), don't know what's going on, nowhere near as many cars, and it's generally not a fan-friendly experience.
Will they think twice before coming back? You betcha.
Suppose one of these fans decides to do a little research before heading out to the track. They look up a track web site and find outdated information, no clear way of finding out what they want to know, and if they're lucky to get an answer on a track phone number, I'd wager their questions are treated like "My God, how can you NOT know this stuff?"
You think THAT type of experience will encourage them to spend their money? Heck no!
Now, suppose in their searching of the 'net they come across message boards like this one, populated with good information and helpful info...which is tempered with name-calling, criticism aplenty (deserved or otherwise), and tipped heavily toward the negative aspects of our sport and industry. WE know how to tell what's BS and what isn't, THEY probably don't, so they think that we're all a bunch of (to paraphrase a line from the open of 'Burn Notice') a bunch of "B$%chy little girls."
Suppose they want to expose themselves to THIS type of character? DEFINITELY not.
Now, mind you, I'm seeing some tracks taking some important first steps toward rectifying some of the problems, but they're just FIRST steps in a process that involves a LOT of steps on a LOT of levels. You have to address the balance between fairness, competitiveness, and reward for your racers as well as the comfort, quality, and VALUE for your spectators. Then and only then can you truly make some strides forward.
I've spent 25+ years in this business and I've learned from some of the best all over the country. Many times I've tried to work with promoters in making the right kinds of changes, and (to their credit) quite a few listened and we all reaped the rewards. Sometimes ideas didn't work, and you learn from those mistakes...in fact, the day you stop learning is the day you should stop doing it. There's been more than a few times when people wouldn't listen and I've watched their facilities go sliding down the slippery slope that ends at a bottomless pit called 'oblivion'. There's also been times when I've been ignored and dismissed as just an 'announcer'...and I am SO much more than that.
Yet, despite all that...despite there being times (including this year) when I've been ready to say 'F' it and walk away from a business that has been a part of my life since I was 5 years old...I can not and WILL not give up. I know that somewhere, sometime, I will have the opportunity to make a difference and bring some positive gains to the sport that I love dearly, and that the results could help to generate a renaissance that will make people stop talking about 'how great it was back in the day' and instead talk about how 'we can't wait to see what's going to happen tomorrow'.
To those who chronically complain, I say this: Be constructive and offer some solutions, and put yourselves in the shoes of those you criticize before you fire off at will. Not everyone is careless and thoughtless...sometimes ignorance and pride appear that way, but those can also be overcome with intelligence and once in a while a little empathy and compassion.
To those who enjoy, I say this: Spread the word. Talk about what you like and how much you liked it and why you can't wait to do it again. Happiness can be as infectious as the flu, only you'll feel a lot better if you spread it and/or catch it.
In the meantime, I will press onward, looking for opportunities to do what I do best. I love this sport, always have...always will...and I, for one, am not willing to go down without one HECK of a fight.
Thanks for reading.
