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[QUOTE=JarrettFarms73;543928]
Despite great efforts by a few over the years, imho, the city (businesses) of Kokomo still have no clue what’s going on out there. All of that out of county/ state/ country revenue potential and “Welcome Race Fans” sign outside of the usual places is hard to find. I’ve never been to the Knoxville Nationals but from what i hear, Knoxville shines bright for out of town race fans.
It is interesting you mention the comparison. We have attended the Knoxville Nationals for the last 9 years (except 2020, obviously) and that town and a few of the surrounding towns REALLY support it. I am sure there are some that hate it, but they seem to be few and far between, and seemingly every one in the area is aware of the event. There are welcome signs on marquis, the local American Legion has a pancake breakfast, etc.
HOWEVER, Knoxville is only about 7500 people, and having 20,000 people visit for a week is a big deal. By comparison, Kokomo is approx. 60,000 people, so an extra 3,000 or so people for 3 days is far less impactful.
We don’t camp, so we stayed in a local hotel and ate lunch for 3 days at local restaurants. Interestingly, the hotel staff, other than one maintenance man, had no idea there was a race occurring, although probably 50% of the patrons at breakfast had a racing t-shirt on. The only restaurant that knew about the Smackdown was the staff at Half Moon Brewing Co.
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