The Rain Date - My Take

So, what do you do with darn near no racing this season? Gas prices and a rough economy already made the 2008 season a challenge before the first green flag, but the weather has thrown promoters a change-up that NY Mets pitcher Johan Santana would be proud of.

With that in mind – there’s been talk of rescheduling shows along with possible and already scheduled rain dates. Most people realize that rain dates are usually bummers crowd wise and rarely do they meet the original show’s expectations on any level. In some cases they’re necessary – a large show like the World of Outlaws demands ticket holders get to see the show. Maybe it’s making up events or filling a sanction’s minimum requirements. Again, not much is expected and usually not much is received. That’s why I’ve been against rain dates for weekly shows.

But maybe there’s a way to make it work. But it involves having a plan, communicating that plan, and executing it through.

First, I don’t think any rain date should take place within a week after the rainout. In this day of planning for gas expenses, time off, fan considerations, etc. slamming a rain date the day after the show isn’t helping, especially teams that have to travel or fans that made other plans for the next day. Unless other scheduling considerations (end of season, etc.) are in play, even a pre-scheduled rain date of the day after the race is asking a lot. Move the day to some time when you can advertise it, and you need to advertise hard – it could pay off in the end. And, move it to a day when the HOBBY racers (that is 99% of your weekly show) can get some lead time with their employers if needed.

Second, get the rain date established quickly. We’ve seen the trend to making early rainout calls because of fans and team’s driving distance, track safety, etc. I’d like to see promoters start setting a rain date when they make the original schedule. Even though trying to work a track for hours was out of concern for people who already made the trip (and rightfully so), knowing there was a plan in advance, maybe the pain of a rainout would’ve been easier to deal with.

Third, if you’re going to fill with a mid-week date for weekly shows, get the word out now, and give it at least a week to soak it in. Get the word out to your fans, on the night they’re there, not running to the cars during a downpour. Do it on a nice night. Your announcers/advertising/web sites need to get that ingrained into the heads of fans, when they’re receptive – usually at the track. “Hey fans…we want to get in all the racing we can, so from now until the end of the season, any show rained out will be made up the following _____!”

Fourth, and most important: if you’re going to run mid-week GET THE SHOW STARTED ON TIME AND FINISHED QUICKLY! This isn’t the time to run your big special intermission brouhaha. This isn’t the night to get started late. By mid season, you can get away with 1-2 hot laps per session, not 5. You can trim things down; you can put on HARD TIME LIMITS on the show – my experience at Eagle showed that if racers know in advance the clock’s on them, they’re a lot more understanding. There will always be bitchers, but the majority of your die-hards will understand, and thank you.

I’m not saying that this is the key to rainout success, and a guarantee to make money, but it is the culmination of my experience dealing with rainouts, and discussion with fans and race teams over the years about the subject and if it needs to be done, it can be done without the promoter getting blasted in the wallet.

Hoping for sunny days,
Jason