Originally Posted by BrentTFunk:
One of the big appeals to our sport in getting to interact with the drivers. If we lose that we lose the sport. Big time drivers can make more money of merch than they can racing. Plus, you can blow a motor and still sell merch. That may be the best way to keep thing rolling during slow times. Interacting with fans definitely builds a driver's brand, and could add longevity to a career. I agree that this should be done before and after the races, not during competition.
One thing that hurts visiting after races are too many support classes. It is tough to ask teams to sit around for an hour and a half after they are done, waiting for the other classes to finish. I know a lot of drivers have some very time consuming schedules, that is why making sure to schedule time each night is very important to the fans, the track and even the drivers. Lose it, and the sport is doomed.
For the record, I in all my years have going, have never seen a driver who was approached at a decent time, ever ignore a fan. Even with the hard work and travel, most should be glad they are not stuck doing 40 hours a week. Only made possible, by fans buying tickets.
Oh, man. Support classes. . . you have touched on a HUGE peeve of mine. Down here in the Houston area, that has killed racing. Currently there are only two dirt tracks operating in the area. One is a 1/6 mile track that races micros, about an hour south of Houston. The other track is a 1/4 mile track that races just about everything. I have shot at all of the area tracks in the past 18 years, and have also watched racing and crewed on cars at most of them, too in the past 36 years. I have also watched the sport die. Many nights there were just a couple of hundred fans (if that) in the stands, while there were 6 or more classes racing. Special shows? Well, they would still run all of the weekly classes. To be honest, it has really changed my enthusiasm for local racing. At one time, there were 7 tracks within a 90 minute drive from Houston. Now, as I noted, there are two. The area track that would do the best for special shows was Houston Raceway Park/Royal Purple Raceway in Baytown. Huge stands with suites. They would actually pack the stands for their special shows, even for the regional ASCS races by offering free admission and only charge for parking. I recall one National ASCS show where Brian Brown commented that he only ever saw a crowd that size at the Knoxville Nationals. Many times, prior to the feature, the cars would line up on the front stretch, and the fans were allowed to come down and mingle. Of course, that track is gone now, too. Oh, and at least there, they generally only included one weekly class to support. But, as usual, I digress. . .