Why cant USAC (or Somebody) do this for Sprints/Midgets????

5/14/08, 2:15 PM

This is an extremely new sport - that has already eclisped most any Sprint/Midget Sanctioning group - and has classes that are entry level - running the same day, on the same track as the top pros....the powers that promote this sport have by far out classed any open wheel promoter and sanctioning body to date.....no grass-roots blah blah....needed I'll eat my words when I see Sprints and Midgets on TV regularly...with some beautiful girl going around interviewing the drivers.......no VS does not count - link below...

http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/artic...ramming-block/

sceckert · 5/14/08, 3:57 PM

Am I incorrect, or are Drift events decided by a panel of judges? No matter if I am right or wrong about that, the fact that this is a competition designed in the video game era, for video game enthusiasts, and for video telecasts, explains a great degree of its instant popularity in this "That's-so-ten-minutes-ago" culture.
What exists as tradition for open wheel dirt racing in particular is a legacy that stretches into the absolute soul of the American racing heritage. The young drivers of today are broadsliding in the tracks of Ted Horn, Jud Larson, AJ Foyt, Parnelli Jones, Dick Tobias, the Unsers, Jan Opperman, the Larry and Gary show, Steve Kinser, Jack Hewitt, Kenny Weld and Sheldon Kinser, to name barely a few.
Sponsor Dollars are the Holy Grail, and, I expect, exactly what Kevin Miller was brought to USAC to facilitate the investment of. If the sanctioning body can lure the Corporate Cash to the sport, the drivers and teams will be better taken care of. If the fans end up not having to pay the freight, and are equally catered to, then we really have some kind of progress.
I don't care if Drift Racing gets pay-per-view subscriptions greater than a De La Hoya fight, or if it simulcasts during half time of the Super Bowl. There is more nobility and prestige in winning at Putnamville at 2 AM than I'll ever ascribe to a champion of a drift event.

Al Pierce · 5/14/08, 4:39 PM

By this time next year Drift "racing" will be no more than a memory and the faddists, and sponsors, will be into something else. :sleep:

5/14/08, 4:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sceckert

Am I incorrect, or are Drift events decided by a panel of judges? No matter if I am right or wrong about that, the fact that this is a competition designed in the video game era, for video game enthusiasts, and for video telecasts, explains a great degree of its instant popularity in this "That's-so-ten-minutes-ago" culture.
What exists as tradition for open wheel dirt racing in particular is a legacy that stretches into the absolute soul of the American racing heritage. The young drivers of today are broadsliding in the tracks of Ted Horn, Jud Larson, AJ Foyt, Parnelli Jones, Dick Tobias, the Unsers, Jan Opperman, the Larry and Gary show, Steve Kinser, Jack Hewitt, Kenny Weld and Sheldon Kinser, to name barely a few.
Sponsor Dollars are the Holy Grail, and, I expect, exactly what Kevin Miller was brought to USAC to facilitate the investment of. If the sanctioning body can lure the Corporate Cash to the sport, the drivers and teams will be better taken care of. If the fans end up not having to pay the freight, and are equally catered to, then we really have some kind of progress.
I don't care if Drift Racing gets pay-per-view subscriptions greater than a De La Hoya fight, or if it simulcasts during half time of the Super Bowl. There is more nobility and prestige in winning at Putnamville at 2 AM than I'll ever ascribe to a champion of a drift event.

With all due repect - I am not comparing the sport of drifting to the sport I love...what I am saying is that it is a new sport - and is much more advanced than ours - this is evident in the huge corporate support of this sport(drifitng)....everybody wants to complain about the cost rising, not this, not that being addressed and in the same breath they (you) we dont want to our sport to sell out to corporate America - well you cant have it both ways....this "so ten minutes ago culture" that you mentioned should be the exact target of our sport....these are the people that will buy drivers shirts, models of midgets etc...As far as the hereos of the sport you mentioned - I am the last person that needs a history lesson on USAC....I personally mentioned this very subject to Mario Andretti at the CART Grand PRix of Miami about 5 years ago....his repsonse was "nobody knows who they (USAC) are any more". Thats the whole point that obviously you did not get. NOBODY KNOWS ABOUT IT outside of a few hundred mile radius of Indy and a small pocket in Calif......

5/14/08, 4:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Al Pierce

By this time next year Drift "racing" will be no more than a memory and the faddists, and sponsors, will be into something else. :sleep:

Probably Not....and even if it is.....does it matter? They are on TV quite regularly, ESPN, Discovery HD and SPEED.....we are not....and again, you miss the point.....nobody is marketing our sport....I am not saying that drifting is better than open wheel...but again - its on TV...we are not

nonwing · 5/14/08, 5:13 PM

Great points scekert,

All it takes is Money, because you have to buy the air time. Oh yea, you also have to hire the production company to produce it. Speed TV or any other TV outlet will not just put you on the air. They, the cable TV outlet, have to make money through spots being available for them. USAC then needs to find sponsors to fill the rest of the spots.

The fact remains that money will cure the awareness problem of our small culture and get it on TV.

Sometimes I think we all forget how small this sport really is and how small the following is. Yes, we would all like to see it grow, but you have to find corporate dollars from a company who can see a future in supporting and eventually make money from the marketing dollars invested. Now that is a perspective of reality.

Over time, a corporate marketing department must sell the idea of long term investment to upper management. The reality is, that is a very hard sell.

The real problem is that all corporations today are looking for a quick turn around in their marketing dollars to show immediate growth. Investing in something like USAC is a long term investment, not a short term quick marketing strategy that would show a shareholder board a sound investment.

I worked for a fortune 400 company, (Temple - Inland) as the Manager of Marketing Communications. So what I'm telling you comes from real world experience.

Mr. Miller has a challenge ahead of him to create a perception of who USAC is and what the brand stands for. His marketing strategy must show audience growth in the sport over time. I don't believe there is a quick marketing fix for USAC. However, if a corporation would have an opportunity to see, by being a partner with USAC, you can grow together. This has been done before, but the current corporate climate does not support this approach. That is not to say, that there isn't one out there, but for the most part this is a fact. And a fact for almost the entire list of fortune 500 companies. This was caused by the big World Wide Web investments, where share holders were making big money until it collapsed. But the share holders today are still pushing for "what have you done for me today" and not "what can I expect to get in 10 years for my investment."

A few years back I met with Rollie and Mike Devin and presented a plan to produce TV spots with a 10 second tag at the end, so a local promoter could go to the local cable outlet, who BTW, would add the tag for free along with the purchase of airtime. (Yep you can do that, I worked for cable TV for 5 years). And, give the spots to the promoters for free. Also develop a generic radio ad with the same concept. That way you have given the promoter a professionally produced TV and radio commercials to use for promoting the event or events coming up with USAC. This does two things, helps the promoter to market and make it easy for them to market the races. Oh and BTW, we would build the TV and radio spots so they could be used for 2 - 3 years before USAC would re-invest in new spots.

Of course, in the end, they did not see the value and willing to spend the money to do it right. They didn't see the value in making USAC look like a professional organization, who provides a fantastic entertainment package. They didn't see the value of helping their promoters sell the product. They didn't see the value of changing the perception of who USAC is today. They didn't see the value of investing in TV and radio spots that would lure the 18 - 34 year old market.

I wish USAC and the new management team the best. I hope the board sees that changes need to be made, because quite honesty, I believe the board is the one who pushes back on spending any money to market the brand and product. This takes marketing dollars, but instead the board wants to hang their hat on the way USAC was perceived in the 1960's.

I hope some see that USAC's future lies with young people. They need to find ways to reach this market. But, guess what, it takes marketing dollars to do that. So time will tell.

George Wilkins

arctic monkey21 · 5/14/08, 5:56 PM

If USAC can get a group of sponsors together to buy a slot on a bigger network in a good slot, I think they could make some headway. However not only does the timing and network have to be good, they need to get some of the better races on such as sprintweek at Tri State Speedway. People flipping on tv see racing and see the side by side action and speed and maybe get a few hooked on it. Before you know it more and more people are saying you gotta check these cars out. Kind of like putting poker on tv, take a gamble and hope you can get and keep the viewers. Fortunatley everyone knows the racing is exciting and could catch on again like it did when the thunder series was on tv.

DonRacer · 5/14/08, 6:46 PM

5.6L Nissan, 392 Hemi, Twin Turbo Z, Factory Backed GTOs, V8 Saturn Sky, 5.0L DOHC Ford,
2.1L 450HP (1.1kg boost) Nissan, etc. are just a few of the cars and engines that the drifting crowd
has to root for.
Sprint Cars have limited 410 cid, aluminum V8 clones to root for, kind of like your daddies Oldsmobile
to these kids.

SpfldMile · 5/15/08, 9:26 AM

Drifting seems to me to not be about racing as much as spinning the tires to make smoke. I find it boring. I think it has caught on in California so much because it is thought of as an "extreme" sport. That makes it popular instantly because most people out there want to be thought of as different. You can also get into it with a used Honda. I agree we do need to get to the younger fans. We all need to take some kids to the races. Promoters also need to find ways to get them to the local tracks. Family deals, giveaways,.... Just some thoughts.

Jimmydiesel · 5/16/08, 12:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DonRacer

5.6L Nissan, 392 Hemi, Twin Turbo Z, Factory Backed GTOs, V8 Saturn Sky, 5.0L DOHC Ford,
2.1L 450HP (1.1kg boost) Nissan, etc. are just a few of the cars and engines that the drifting crowd
has to root for.
Sprint Cars have limited 410 cid, aluminum V8 clones to root for, kind of like your daddies Oldsmobile
to these kids.

Looks like they get points for style like figure skating. It's not really a race, is it? :kookoo:rolleyes::confused:

5/14/08, 2:15 PM	#1 Why cant USAC (or Somebody) do this for Sprints/Midgets????
rt9906 Posts: n/a	This is an extremely new sport - that has already eclisped most any Sprint/Midget Sanctioning group - and has classes that are entry level - running the same day, on the same track as the top pros....the powers that promote this sport have by far out classed any open wheel promoter and sanctioning body to date.....no grass-roots blah blah....needed I'll eat my words when I see Sprints and Midgets on TV regularly...with some beautiful girl going around interviewing the drivers.......no VS does not count - link below... http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/artic...ramming-block/

5/14/08, 3:57 PM	#2 Re: Why cant USAC (or Somebody) do this for Sprints/Midgets????
sceckert Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 162	Am I incorrect, or are Drift events decided by a panel of judges? No matter if I am right or wrong about that, the fact that this is a competition designed in the video game era, for video game enthusiasts, and for video telecasts, explains a great degree of its instant popularity in this "That's-so-ten-minutes-ago" culture. What exists as tradition for open wheel dirt racing in particular is a legacy that stretches into the absolute soul of the American racing heritage. The young drivers of today are broadsliding in the tracks of Ted Horn, Jud Larson, AJ Foyt, Parnelli Jones, Dick Tobias, the Unsers, Jan Opperman, the Larry and Gary show, Steve Kinser, Jack Hewitt, Kenny Weld and Sheldon Kinser, to name barely a few. Sponsor Dollars are the Holy Grail, and, I expect, exactly what Kevin Miller was brought to USAC to facilitate the investment of. If the sanctioning body can lure the Corporate Cash to the sport, the drivers and teams will be better taken care of. If the fans end up not having to pay the freight, and are equally catered to, then we really have some kind of progress. I don't care if Drift Racing gets pay-per-view subscriptions greater than a De La Hoya fight, or if it simulcasts during half time of the Super Bowl. There is more nobility and prestige in winning at Putnamville at 2 AM than I'll ever ascribe to a champion of a drift event.

5/14/08, 4:39 PM	#3 Re: Why cant USAC (or Somebody) do this for Sprints/Midgets????
Al Pierce Senior Member Race Count This Year: 49 Race Count Last Year: 43 Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 1,423	By this time next year Drift "racing" will be no more than a memory and the faddists, and sponsors, will be into something else. :sleep:

5/14/08, 5:13 PM	#6 Re: Why cant USAC (or Somebody) do this for Sprints/Midgets????
nonwing Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 208	Great points scekert, All it takes is Money, because you have to buy the air time. Oh yea, you also have to hire the production company to produce it. Speed TV or any other TV outlet will not just put you on the air. They, the cable TV outlet, have to make money through spots being available for them. USAC then needs to find sponsors to fill the rest of the spots. The fact remains that money will cure the awareness problem of our small culture and get it on TV. Sometimes I think we all forget how small this sport really is and how small the following is. Yes, we would all like to see it grow, but you have to find corporate dollars from a company who can see a future in supporting and eventually make money from the marketing dollars invested. Now that is a perspective of reality. Over time, a corporate marketing department must sell the idea of long term investment to upper management. The reality is, that is a very hard sell. The real problem is that all corporations today are looking for a quick turn around in their marketing dollars to show immediate growth. Investing in something like USAC is a long term investment, not a short term quick marketing strategy that would show a shareholder board a sound investment. I worked for a fortune 400 company, (Temple - Inland) as the Manager of Marketing Communications. So what I'm telling you comes from real world experience. Mr. Miller has a challenge ahead of him to create a perception of who USAC is and what the brand stands for. His marketing strategy must show audience growth in the sport over time. I don't believe there is a quick marketing fix for USAC. However, if a corporation would have an opportunity to see, by being a partner with USAC, you can grow together. This has been done before, but the current corporate climate does not support this approach. That is not to say, that there isn't one out there, but for the most part this is a fact. And a fact for almost the entire list of fortune 500 companies. This was caused by the big World Wide Web investments, where share holders were making big money until it collapsed. But the share holders today are still pushing for "what have you done for me today" and not "what can I expect to get in 10 years for my investment." A few years back I met with Rollie and Mike Devin and presented a plan to produce TV spots with a 10 second tag at the end, so a local promoter could go to the local cable outlet, who BTW, would add the tag for free along with the purchase of airtime. (Yep you can do that, I worked for cable TV for 5 years). And, give the spots to the promoters for free. Also develop a generic radio ad with the same concept. That way you have given the promoter a professionally produced TV and radio commercials to use for promoting the event or events coming up with USAC. This does two things, helps the promoter to market and make it easy for them to market the races. Oh and BTW, we would build the TV and radio spots so they could be used for 2 - 3 years before USAC would re-invest in new spots. Of course, in the end, they did not see the value and willing to spend the money to do it right. They didn't see the value in making USAC look like a professional organization, who provides a fantastic entertainment package. They didn't see the value of helping their promoters sell the product. They didn't see the value of changing the perception of who USAC is today. They didn't see the value of investing in TV and radio spots that would lure the 18 - 34 year old market. I wish USAC and the new management team the best. I hope the board sees that changes need to be made, because quite honesty, I believe the board is the one who pushes back on spending any money to market the brand and product. This takes marketing dollars, but instead the board wants to hang their hat on the way USAC was perceived in the 1960's. I hope some see that USAC's future lies with young people. They need to find ways to reach this market. But, guess what, it takes marketing dollars to do that. So time will tell. George Wilkins

5/14/08, 5:56 PM	#7 Re: Why cant USAC (or Somebody) do this for Sprints/Midgets????
arctic monkey21 Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 384	If USAC can get a group of sponsors together to buy a slot on a bigger network in a good slot, I think they could make some headway. However not only does the timing and network have to be good, they need to get some of the better races on such as sprintweek at Tri State Speedway. People flipping on tv see racing and see the side by side action and speed and maybe get a few hooked on it. Before you know it more and more people are saying you gotta check these cars out. Kind of like putting poker on tv, take a gamble and hope you can get and keep the viewers. Fortunatley everyone knows the racing is exciting and could catch on again like it did when the thunder series was on tv.

5/14/08, 6:46 PM	#8 Re: Why cant USAC (or Somebody) do this for Sprints/Midgets????
DonRacer Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 117	5.6L Nissan, 392 Hemi, Twin Turbo Z, Factory Backed GTOs, V8 Saturn Sky, 5.0L DOHC Ford, 2.1L 450HP (1.1kg boost) Nissan, etc. are just a few of the cars and engines that the drifting crowd has to root for. Sprint Cars have limited 410 cid, aluminum V8 clones to root for, kind of like your daddies Oldsmobile to these kids.

5/15/08, 9:26 AM	#9 Re: Why cant USAC (or Somebody) do this for Sprints/Midgets????
SpfldMile Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 1,313	Drifting seems to me to not be about racing as much as spinning the tires to make smoke. I find it boring. I think it has caught on in California so much because it is thought of as an "extreme" sport. That makes it popular instantly because most people out there want to be thought of as different. You can also get into it with a used Honda. I agree we do need to get to the younger fans. We all need to take some kids to the races. Promoters also need to find ways to get them to the local tracks. Family deals, giveaways,.... Just some thoughts.