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1/9/14, 12:52 AM   #21
Re: 8 tracks in Indiana join alliance.
kdobson
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jjones752 View Post
Mr. Dobson, have you seen any results from your association in the form of sponsorships? I'd be interested to know how things are working out.
Yes, we've benefited... We were at the World Finals in Charlotte and drank free adult beverages and grub cooked up by Randy LaJoie on the grill while shooting the breeze with other promoters in a really nice tent in a prime location on the back stretch... all on Humpy's dime.

More seriously, the conference calls are pretty informative on getting different perspectives on how to better target your sponsorship efforts from people who do it at a much higher level than we do.

Other than the above benefits, we haven't seen any yet, nor was their proposed timetable for us to see any benefits yet. I think the first step is for them to assemble the group of tracks (which is probably about completed for this season)... then seek out the deals knowing what they have to offer. Meeting Trip, his wife who is also involved, and the rest of the team, I'm quite confident that they are highly motivated to make this work and have the contacts and experience to make it work.

Time will tell... but since it's free, suppose they did nothing more than bring our tracks in another $1,000 of sponsorship in a year... that's $1,000 we didn't have before at no expense or effort on our end. I know their goals are higher than that... but just saying that I don't see any downside for grass roots racing under any circumstances.

I can say it hasn't changed the approach or effort we have put into chasing sponsorships on our own and I don't have a line-item in our budget saying "Money Humpy is going to get us". Anything they bring in is gravy... and their rolodex is much bigger and well-heeled then ours.
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Last edited by kdobson; 1/9/14 at 1:08 AM.
 
1/9/14, 12:55 AM   #22
Re: 8 tracks in Indiana join alliance.
CRA91
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Charles Nungester View Post
I guess my only mistake was that I suggested $$ to participate.
But i was close. Its about getting some corporate sponsorship money to tracks in return for exposure.

Have no idea where Dad and the others jumped the shark. Probably didn't even read the article. Just went Humpy Happy
Charles,
All I was trying to do was make a little joke about the starter deal that was talked about in the article that was written a few years back about what Humpy thought should be done to make sprintcar racing better.I can't help it if people take it literally.

And yes I read the article.
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1/9/14, 1:02 AM   #23
Re: 8 tracks in Indiana join alliance.
kdobson
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Don't let my above comments make it sound like I was getting wound up over your comments. I was just trying to clarify some comments that made it sound like people thought the Wheeler group was going to have an active role in managing tracks as a part of this alliance. It's not that kind of arrangement at all.
 
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1/9/14, 1:08 AM   #24
Re: 8 tracks in Indiana join alliance.
jjones752
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Hey, if all you get out of it is a really good time at Charlotte and some helpful advice from some experienced marketing people, I'd say it was a good deal.
I'm changing my mind the first time I see a Humpy Bumper on a Midget, though...
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1/9/14, 7:05 AM   #25
Re: 8 tracks in Indiana join alliance.
98arpy
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This was attempted probably 12 years ago by a group of tracks and sponsors. The problem arose when say they cut a deal with Coke and Pepsi has been one of your major sponsors and you are happy with them.
Or you have to buy a semi load of toilet paper to get the deal.
They may have these thins figured out.
Hope they do but as long as it doesn't cost anything to join it can't hurt.
 
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1/9/14, 9:58 AM   #26
Re: 8 tracks in Indiana join alliance.
HurstBros0
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Beware of free Kool Aid...
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1/9/14, 11:48 AM   #27
Re: 8 tracks in Indiana join alliance.
DAD
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The way I see things, many tracks are really in a need of someone to help them make business decisions on how to run their tracks at a profit. Turning them from a back gate race track run at a break even or loss operation into an old fashion front gate track where they actually make their money off of the front gate and actually show a profit. A race track that shows a profit is a much better place for the racers because these owners actually have some disposable income to spend on the racers purse, their points funds and even a banquet and trophies.

When your best customers are your performers you have a problem. We raced at Wonder Valley in the 90's. Times were better then, the people that ran the track put forth an effort to make it better and devised ideas to fill the grand stands any way they could. If it meant giving passes to Boy Scouts or youth groups, events for the kids in the stands they did it. Their reasoning was if they had people watching the races they could make money at the concession stands. Mini Sprints were the main attraction back then, we even did four abreast parade laps that was cool. We were followed by the lower 4 cylinder type racers like chevettes, vegas, and mini trucks. The purse back then was better than many purses today. They could look for at least 25 to 30 mini sprints and probably 60 to 70 cars for each of the lessor classes . Mini sprints was the main event and the loss leader, for the show. The support classes filled the stands. Their thinking was that the people in Salem would come and watch their friends and relatives race, figuring probably 4 or 5 people in the stands for each race car 0on the track and the mini sprints provided the main event.

Well as with many fairground tracks, those people fell out of favor following an ********, and the track was taken over by a gung- ho mini-sprint guy. The first thing he did was to chase off all of the support racers, he couldn't figure out why he was loosing money and not filling the grand stands any more. After loosing money for a couple of years he turned the track over to some folks that felt the same way he did about racing. They couldn't understand why mini-sprints weren't filling the stands and the purse dropped down and car count went down the tubes.

Then a new bunch came in. They were modified people and did not care much for mini sprints at all. They had profit on their minds but they were making money off of modifieds and selling parts. They felt the best way to maker money was to cut the pay out down even further. Wonder valley was and is just a bit small for V8 race cars but they wanted to race modifieds and V8 late models.

Well in their infinite wisdom the car count or crowd did not come back with the bigger cars on a little bitty track. So I guess with their eyes on a bigger track 40 miles up the road they decided to change from a Saturday night to a Friday night program, figuring that since they were running V8 cars they had a conflict of dates with the larger tracks further to their north. That did not help and was probably the death knell to a very neat little race track in Salem Indiana.

The above is a history of "Wonder Valley Raceway" as I saw it happen from my point of view, I might be prejudiced. This is how it got it's nickname "WONDER" as in wonder what they will do next. It is located 25 miles from my home, it is where we started racing over again 20+ years ago. I have been exiled for at least half of that time, but have watched with interest as things changed.

They had a class act to follow after the first group, times have gotten a lot worse. Somewhere lost in history is a lesson. Thunder Valley is a small 1/5th race track that was ideal for small 4 cylinder race cars. By racing only 4 cylinder cars the first owners had a niche market and enjoyed a very successful business for both racers and owners. By trying to be what they were not they came on to hard times.

No amount of Humpy Dollars for advertising is going to help Thunder Valley. They could use some of Humpys ideas about what sells and what does not and how get that front gate working for them again. The new managers have an up hill battle ahead of them. Salem Indiana could be a great market for a small dirt track catering to local racers. They are now looking at even more competition from the small asphalt track at the Big Salem track as well as from another small dirt track 20 miles to their south.

I take several phone call a week and get several pieces of junk mail from people that are going to help me grow my business. These type of things increase in hard times and slack off in good times, kinda of like a barometer of business conditions in the country. Right now the volume is up so I got a pretty good Idea what that means.

When push comes to shove the real answer for track owners or business owners is stop looking for a silver bullet for success and go out and work and make your own.

Honest Dad himself
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Last edited by DAD; 1/9/14 at 12:02 PM.
 
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1/9/14, 1:02 PM   #28
Re: 8 tracks in Indiana join alliance.
darnall
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When he first announced this it was stated that there would be a bit of a "membership fee" to any track that wanted to participate....if that has been eliminated thats great.

My biggest fear would be that Humpys company signs a deal with John Deere, and suddenly any member track can only use john Deere equipment to do track prep as they are now the "Official Heavy Equipment Supplier of Short Track Racing"...and if you refuse to get rid of your yellow grader you don't get squat out of the John Deere sponsorship package.

If this deal actually helps the tracks who are struggling to run in the black then I am all for it, regardless of how much of the money ends up in Humpys pocket. My fear is that it will be so riddled with conditions that most tracks will never see any benefit or have to jump through so many hoops it's worthless to them.
 
1/9/14, 1:07 PM   #29
Re: 8 tracks in Indiana join alliance.
jjones752
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HurstBros0 View Post
Beware of free Kool Aid...
Given my name, I resemble that remark...
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1/9/14, 1:10 PM   #30
kcarm92
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To me this isn't about nascar money its more about promotors being just that promotors. Go and promote your product,dont rely on word of mouth or this d-m internet.This really the problem if theres a concert in your town do you advertise it online no. You buy radio and tv adds. It just alittle work at promoting our sport would make a difference but nowdays somebody want to hand it off to somebody else. jmo
 
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