Rules of Engagement

The “regular” season has started in earnest around here, with weather delays nixing earlier shows. I took the trip to Eagle on Saturday night.

One. Hundred. Eighty. Cars. Digest that for a second.

This is “Major Special” kind of numbers. For a weekly show. Granted, Beatrice didn’t race the night before, there’s a little pent-up demand, but for crying out loud - what more could a promoter want? A good crowd? Well, despite the cool windy day - there was a good contingent in the stands as well. My guess was around 2500. Not bad for a weekly show.

Yes, there were glitches and to those who say I say nothing but nice about Eagle, I'll have some criticisms in my Pace Lap column.

In the end, 180 cars are the proverbial “nice problem to have.” Some tracks opened to about a third of that number in the pits, and from what I heard third-hand, about the same number in the stands...seriously.

Some people try to put a finger on what Eagle’s doing to manage that kind of car count. You can point at rules, money, attitude, location, day, etc, etc.

You can argue for and against these points, but in the end I think it's none of these.

It’s something greater. Eagle has created something that goes beyond rules and purses. They’ve created a place and an event. They have a following and advocates. They...”get it.”

The track inherited a good reputation and a regular audience base and worked to maintain and grow it. They’re doing an even better job of keeping fans informed, engaged, and waiting for the next thing. They're creative (if sometimes corny) in some of the novelty promotions and encouraging their “tribe” to go forth and spread the word. The weekly competitors and crews not only race, but take pride in the place and want to promote it to their friends. This is 21st century marketing folks. One-to-one relationships.

The carnival-barker days are gone. “Step right up!” gets drowned out in all the other messages and stimulus people receive each day. To reach that customer you have to stand out and fight through it. Complaining that there’s so much “noise” in our lives will get nothing, because we live in a noisy world. It isn’t changing and those who succeed learn not to get louder, but cut through it. They proverbially “grab you by the collar” or better yet, grab you by the hand and lead you in.

Advertising isn’t enough. Engaging is.

If you say I'm full of it, you can. If you think that this has nothing to do with racing, you can.

Please forgive my tone, but you'd be wrong on both counts.

-Jason