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Charles is right on how to do the immediate fill. Gimik stuff works 1 time.
The bigger problem with USAC is the ability to promote the drivers. Lets do a couple of comparisons between the DL world and USAC.
#1 identity- Driver needs to be associated with a number. When I show up, I should be able to tell who the top 10 drivers are. Look at DL world. The 2 biggest shake ups this year are Hudson Oneil and Ricky Thorton. Those guys switched teams and still run the same number. Just like Bloomer has driven several different cars this year. Everyone of them had the 0 on them. It makes it easy for the fans that only watch a few races each year. I understand some teams are special, in the DL world you have Rocket 1, that's it. No matter what car the driver is running in the 3 different series, he should carry his number with him. It builds brand loyalty. If it did not sell more shirts, you would not see RTJ climbing into modifieds with his number on them.
#2 accessibility- This has improved a ton over the last 5 years. Drivers going to their merch trailers during the program. Preschedule this. The announcer should let the crowd know whenever drivers are going to be there. This should be encouraged and facilitated. Not all drivers have merch trailers. Encourage drivers to take lesser known drivers with them. Example: Justin Grant bringing the local hot shoe with him to his trailer. Its going to pull more local fans to the merch trailer. 1 thing you have to think about, the USAC features are normally first. By the time the fans get to go to the pit area, most teams are loaded up and the driver is gone. So tracks that have a couple features after, maybe you get the drivers back to the merch trailers. Some drivers do this stuff. Many times the crowd has no idea. I know it extra work, but this is how you make life long fans.
You can have the best advertising in the world, but if the fan does not have a connection to the drivers, your just spinning your wheels. Why are monster trucks so popular, we connect with the fans. Pre event pit parties, multiple interviews throughout the night, fan interaction, post event autographs at merch area.
O ya 1 of the most important things, we know our audience. They have an attention span of about 1.5 hours We get the "monster" portion done in that time. Some things we add to the show might run after the main event. We are structured to make sure the main portion of the event is completed within the 2 hour time slot. We have things built in to speed up or slow the program down. I know tracks have to make money and some fans want 3 to 4 hours. That is not problem. You schedule out your night for the main part of the program. If bomber heats are not done before the Bmain is supposed to start, move them. Keep your main class moving. Nothing frustrates a fan more than leaving before the main feature because their kid will not set any longer. You can run till 2am. Just make sure the main class is done in that 2 hour window.
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