[VSneader2]

Originally Posted by Copperhead DRIVERS NEED TO INTERACT - Taking time to meet the fans and make the night special for them helps everyone - the drivers, the fans, the track, the series. I was fortunate enough to have a good year at my local track last season. We ran all the races there, won a few, and won the track championship. I have hero cards that I ordered from vista print. I designed them on the computer and just had them made there. I forget how much they were, but I ordered a big box in 2012 and I've been handing them out pretty hard for 3 years now, so it was definitely a good investment. I started going into the stands last season after every race and signing autographs, talking with the fans, and especially taking time with the kids. They really love meeting the drivers and having a little keepsake. I've wore a black cowboy hat at the track for several years as kind of a trademark. Along with the hero cards, I started giving a cowboy hat away to a kid on some nights. On one occasion, I gave one to a little boy (about 5 years old) and autographed it. The next week, when I went back in the stands, he was back at the races wearing that hat, and he gave me a picture he drew of my car, COMPLETE WITH SOME OF MY SPONSORS LOGOS ON IT. That made my night and his. Driver's that don't take advantage of this kind of interaction with the fans are missing one of the most enjoyable parts of being a driver and missing the opportunity to promote themselves, the track, and the future of our kind of racing.

This right here is one of the reasons Robert Ballou is gaining such a large fan base. He may always be late to the track but he is almost always the last one out of the pit gates at the end of the night. He has no problem posing with fans and especially kids, he hands out Hero cards all the time and takes the time to talk to anyone who wants to talk with him after the action of the night is over with.

Copperhead... I want to thank you for taking me down memory lane. I realize that this was not your intention but you sure did. So many memories and emotions from growing up at places like Warsaw, Kokomo, Paragon, LPS and others came rushing back thru my head. You were so right in everything you said! We had so many characters back then. We had the good guys that we loved and we had the guys that we loved to hate. The highlight of the night for me and other kids was when a driver would walk thru the stands just to see a family member or to say high to the crowd. The on track Driver autograph deals were awesome as well. To go on the track was so cool!! Sometimes it takes a post like yours to remind me of what's really important and for me that's spending the evening at a track with family and friends and you know what? I am going to make it a point to take, force if needed, 2 newbies to the S.O.D race this Saturday at Butler. There's nothing like seeing a sprint car race thru the eyes of a first timer. With folks like you in the sport I'm confident that it is far from dead! Thanks for the perspective..

[berks co]

I was surprised at ISW races that drivers were out at the stands talking to fans during the races, a main. Never seen this b4

[Brettski98]

First off, I am 19 years old and have been around racing since before I was born. I raced quarter midgets for over ten years, and I absolutely WILL NOT miss an Indy 500 or Bettenhausen 100. I know that makes me a unique individual among today's younger generation, but I have no regrets. I think there have been a lot of good valid concerns and complaints here in this post, and I'd like to add my two cents on the subject.
The basic theme of this is the future of racing, right? We all want our treasured sport to thrive and prosper. Rather than drone on about more of the same stuff that has already been posted, I want to say something NEW!
There has been a lot said about what promoters can do better. One thing that I think would help is more support for the lower classes, the support classes. I understand that the headliner, be it POWRi, USAC, whatever is the reason for the show. But tracks, along with racing itself, cannot live purely on the big names. Without the microsprints, lightning sprints, 305s, etc. the show could not go on. Not only are these folks bring more in the back gate, they truly are the pipeline for the future. These are the drivers that will be the Dave Darland's, the Jerry Coons Jr.'s of the years to come. If we don't take care of them, what is going to happen? Also ,the public like someone they can get behind. Johnny over here is a pipefitter by day, but a high wheeling racecar driver on the weekend. People like that are relatable. When there are drivers like that, there is more of a possibility that family, friends, co-workers, the like will want to come out and watch and support him/her. Even some might say, "Well hey! If they can do it, can I?" These are the classes that people can afford to drive. No bloke is gong to come off the street and sink 15k into a midget to start of and see what happens! If the promoters give the support classes a good track, and the drivers put on a good show, I think that does just as much if not more for the track and sport than a Big Series race once or twice a year at said track. You've got to get the non-racing public involved somehow, and I think that is a fairly decent start and not hard for promoters to do. Talk these drivers up! Give them the tools to put on a good show!
Today's racing world is much different than the racing world of fifteen years ago, let alone thirty, forty, and more. However, the basic fundamentals are still there. Still have to have a track to race on, a competitive class to invigorate fans, and drivers who put the whole experience together. With that, we have the tools to lay the groundwork for our future. There is much more to it than that, and there is a lot that needs to be done, but every building needs a good foundation.