PR at race tracks
 

I know I'm probably opening up a can of worms here. However, as a member of the media, I consider myself lucky to provide local coverage of racing at Lincoln Park Speedway on Saturdays and other tracks like Bloomington and Terre Haute when I'm able to. What I'm curious about is why more tracks don't have someone that sends out a story in addition to the results?
Chris does a great job at the races he covers. Brownstown is fairly good at getting a story out, but as a Sports Editor that does a weekly racing section, I wish that we could get all tracks together to provide at least a small write up and results. Brett Bowman does a great job up in Kokomo, alas it is on Sunday's which doesn't make my racing section, but he is awesome to work with.
I know that in this day and age that people are sending out updates via Twitter and Facebook, but do you look for a story any more? I'm genuinely curious if anyone looks for the story or whether the final results are all that matters.

Re: PR at race tracks
 

Carey, you do great work , and so Nunn and Bowman. The paper I work for in Illinois also does I go job. They say when they do racing articles and photos, they're circulation goes up by 300 papers. So I know the thirst to read about racing is there.

I also know that the state's largest paper gives zero coverage to anything but the "big leagues" stuff, except the Indy Speedrome. No midgets, sprints, or anything else related to dirt racing. The only time they're interested is if it's tragedy.

It isn't like when I was growing up when the Star had photos and a write up on a race. There's just something about the feel of the paper in your hands and the smell . Maybe I'm an old man, but I miss the permanence a paper provides. So yes, I miss the printed word.

Jim Morrison , if he sees this ,should provide great insight into this.

Chris

starting this friday, i will be providing a full coverage story for the bloomington herald times once again. there has been a lack of it the past few years in the local papers.

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Re: PR at race tracks
 

From a fan's perspective, I totally agree. One of the things which has irked me for years on here is that everyone wants to get announcements (sometimes multiple announcements) of their event on IOW, but few followup with a story. In fact, many don't even provide results. In my experience, one or two won't even respond to followup questions posted on their announcement thread. If they can't be bothered to provide a wrap-up for IOW readers, I am certainly not surprised if they don't follow up with local media.

It seems obvious that what you suggest (and providing results on here, including car #s, please) is part of a basic promoting package. If you provide results, we know who comes to your track, and if you provide a story we know what happened. If there is no followup, I assume you have no story to tell; low car count and boring racing.

On a personal note, for a couple of years I have kept track of who races at what local tracks. I decided to include that information on this year's drivers list. I had to stop trying for one of the Illinois tracks because it is so difficult to get results and car #s, even though they post the coming weekend's event on here every week. It doesn't take that much to follow up.

Some of you do an excellent job. The others should study what you do and learn from it.

Re: PR at race tracks
 

Race tracks are their own worst enemies. They are searching for more butts in the bleachers but don't do anything to help themselves with PR. I know that newspapers are for old farts but I still like to see a write up about the racers. This is how racers can help with sponsorships and they rely on speedways and series PR to help them.

I also enjoy seeing the results of the races that I am not able to attend. Thankfully many promoters utilitize IOW with PR and results. I am not a facebook or twitter person, but any information they can provide has to help. The ones that aren't doing it need to open their eyes and get with it. No one is going to do PR unless they themselves do it.

Re: PR at race tracks
 

First off, Chris, you are one state off. :D Jim and the paper are in Iowa.

All good thoughts are here. The social media such as here, Facebook, Twitter, etc. are fine for results and who is going where, etc. But you don't see many stories just under the surface of who finished where.

Over the years I've tried to stick with a certain pattern. Jim Morrison has taught me a few things and one of the best is that, no matter what else went on that night, do put the winner's name in the first paragraph. No matter what else I include in the column, be it Hoseheads or Hawkeye Racing News, I try to do that.

I try to look for the positive as opposed to the negative. Why? I'm not a burying-head-in-the-sand ostrich, far from it. A lot of times it's more of a challenge to find the good. Besides, there are enough other places for those who wish to wallow in negativity.

I also try to use a parable, or an everyday thought, to make a point. One of my favorites is to write about people who overcome obstacles, such as Kevin Thomas Jr. in his last two races at the 'burg and Gas City.

Results are easy to come by in this day and age. Whether it's newspapers, websites, or track PR people, there are a lot of gaps, or ways at looking and describing what an individual sees.

I thank Chris P. for his pictures that often accompany my words. I also thank you other guys who do so well and love this sport, Chris N., Carey, Sean, and a bunch of others who go above and beyond to do what they do.

I'd also include Dave Argabright, a friend who has influenced me more than he will ever know, as well as the late John Levan and Lenny Calinoff.

Re: PR at race tracks
 

As a track promoter, I would love to have someone that could cover the track for the paper and do feature stories every month or so about something behind the scenes. We do it ourselves for our weekly shoppers tabloid and our local paper is fairly cooperative in sending a reporter out to cover a certain angle now and then, but while good folks, they typically don't know enough about racing to get the story to be credible to the racing fan.

Last year I had an email exchange with the Sports editor at one of our nearby cities hoping we could get some occasional articles for MOWA. There was very little interest. High School stick and ball is what they think sells papers.... and that's what the reporters know how to write about.

I've had a very tough time getting the daily newspaper very interested at the stories at the race track. That's why we write them ourselves for our shoppers tabloid and why this season we are doing our own Tabloid/Program to distribute at the track and have laying around in restaurants and waiting rooms in the area.

If anybody around Jacksonville/Springfield Illinois can write and knows racing... don't be a stranger.

Re: PR at race tracks
 

I think the above post is an excellent example of taking the initiative to make the best of a situation. Local newspaper not interested? Get in the shopper. Great idea. What about burning some DVDs of the action at the track and leaving them in the local video rental store to be checked out for free? That way someone who might be interested (or curious) could take a look for no cost and hopefully decide to go to the track.

We do stories and send photos to all the newspapers, our local newspaper puts up the results and stories along with a half a page of winner pic shots. Wish more papers would use our stuff but they won't. We do inserts in the paper for bigger shows also.

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Re: PR at race tracks
 

Years ago we had a sports editor who was a racing fan and he did a story on just about everybody who ran at TSS big winner or not didn;t matter Him doing that kinda made you feel like you knew the drivers but he died retired not sure which and with him went the racing. What we get now is a small results with just heat winners and top three in feature and thats it but a full page on a ball player who hadn;t even foul tipped the ball in a whole season I called once and was told nobody cared bout dirt racing cuz it wasn;t Napcar Now I don;t even order the paper anymore Oh yeah the races run saturday night but no results till Tuesday cuz no room for them till then cuz of all the scores and tidally winks results Sorry bout rambling on but thats been a sore spot for a long time :D