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Are blackouts the answer?
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After the completion of the Corn Belt Clash at Knoxville Raceway, Interstate Racing Association and 2025 Hall of Fame inductee Steve Sinclair, Hall of Famer Steve Beitler, videographer Dean Mills and IRA announcer/PR specialist Loren Kelly were among those locked in a serious conversation at of all places the Dingus bar. The subject? The overall health of short track racing. The reason? The Friday night show at Knoxville produced great racing with barnburner features for both USAC and the 360s. It was too bad no one showed up to watch it. Okay, Friday is not a normal Knoxville night. Saturday night the crowd was better but not good. With over 30 USAC cars on hand and a great field of top-flight 410 wing cars there was nothing a fan could complain about. Still, they didn't come. I remember when every Saturday night show at Knoxville was a big deal. Sure, I know the grandstands were smaller and all of that. Yet, I was there, and the difference is obvious.
By now we have heard all of the lines. There is the all-time fallback position – “They're just aren't any real promoters anymore…” Yes there are but the world is different. It is the length of the shows, the number of classes, on and on. Look, USAC has been running a tight program for years now despite anything people say. USAC's Kirk Spridgeon has the data to back this up. There were two top-quality classes at Knoxville and the program ran like clockwork. Few came.
I am more deeply involved in the promotion business than ever before. I am among those working to save Bloomington Speedway. All of us have worked our tails off and the result has been two really nice crowds at the two events we have had. There is a part of me that would love to tell all publicly how much we made for the USAC Larry Rice Classic. From a ROI standpoint the amount of person hours devoted to the project doesn't add up. Luckily, that isn't our driving consideration. Yet, one huge hit and all of this work can go right down the drain.
On May 21 USAC was slated to race at the Terre Haute Action Track. The day began in the 50s with mist and some rain. I immediately thought this had the chance to be a huge loser. The weather was not good, the Indiana Pacers were in the Eastern Conference Finals, and the race was livestreamed. I thought right then how many are going to drive to Terre Haute given these factors to go to a sprint car race. My conclusion? Few. All made a heroic effort to run the muddy track in and from a fiscal perspective they were lucky that it was too much of an obstacle to surmount.
Just like all the excuses we use to say why short track racing is suffering in some places livestreaming can be the straw person to beat up and a ready-made scapegoat. However, to ignore that it is becoming a hot button issue among promoters is foolish. The heat is about to be turned up.
This is a column I wrote a year ago. It is worth considering.
Many were anxious for an update on the 108th running of the Indianapolis 500 by the time IMS President Doug Boles addressed the assembled media for the second time on race morning. He assured us all that despite the rain delays the event could be completed. Then he added one juicy tidbit. He announced that the television blackout would be lifted in central Indiana. Some nodded in agreement, and some even offered light applause. It had been a contentious issue for years.
Sports blackouts are not unusual. As a fan of any NFL franchise knows if the home team doesn't sell out for a given day a television blackout will be enforced. The 500 was a different animal. Due to the expansive infield theoretically, there is no limit to the number of fans you can jam in. Nonetheless, blackouts are something many fans deal with, albeit grudgingly. I follow the Kansas City Royals and because I now live miles from the town of my birth, I purchased a Major League Baseball package to follow my team. I find it patently absurd that I am blocked out from watching the Royals on a Tuesday night because they are playing the White Sox in Chicago. Give me a break. If you think I have a complaint, talk to a baseball fan in Iowa who can't watch a host of squads.
So, what in the world does this have to do with short track racing? Actually, quite a bit. If we are to believe the pundits livestreaming is now the contested turf in the racing universe. Was the birth of the High Limit series really a function of streaming wars? Some would believe so. I have no idea what the politics are here, and to some degree, nor do I care. Yet, nothing in life produces conflict quite like money. A former professor once shared a notion that I have since reiterated in classrooms hundreds of times since. If you follow an issue long enough it almost always comes down to money. No matter how you slice it, streaming involves money. Thus, the cost versus benefit ratio is increasingly a front burner issue. There is no denying this. Some race promoters have already erected barriers, some have embraced it, and we are only at the tip of the iceberg with a host of thorny issues yet to be confronted.
This entire subject can become but one more thing that our increasingly polarized world can argue about. There are promoters who steadfastly feel that streaming hurts their bottom line. This primarily centers on ticket revenue and concessions. If it is believed that livestreaming negatively impacts these items, the prevailing concern is if there is adequate compensation from the streaming service to offset the loss. Yes, there can be other ways to capitalize on streaming. Certainly, it should be a great marketing tool. However, some racetracks do not possess the infrastructure in place to turn this possibility into a reality. Their marketing operations are word of mouth, tapping friends, and maybe a sales pitch over the public address. They don't have dedicated staff focused on these operations. With a few notable exceptions, the people who run short tracks are on a road grader in the afternoon and in the ticket booth at night.
Those who are bullish on streaming also make compelling arguments. Streaming can grow the sport by exposing more people to short track racing, and in particular draw attention to a specific facility. This affords a promoter the chance to remind potential sponsors that streaming is a vehicle to advertise your business or product. It makes sense that a sponsor read or commercial shared on a livestream casts a far wider net than a static billboard placed outside the third turn. Overall, the argument goes if you run an efficient operation and provide a quality product people will be anxious to walk through the turnstile.
To return to the central question. Does livestreaming hurt or help your average Mom and Pop racetrack? Every so often a new phrase seems to enter the popular vernacular. Remember when so many seemed to say, "It is what it is," or "At the end of the day." In this spirit let me offer my answer to the question - - "both can be true."
In 1922 the sociologist William Ogburn introduced the theory of cultural lag. Boiled to its essence this notion suggests that it takes time for culture to catch up or adapt to technological innovations. This gap, or lag, can create a new set of social problems. With a bit of reflection most would agree that it takes time to fully understand the positive and negative implications of new technology. For example, no matter how many folksy memes I see, I have no interest in returning to a world without computers or the internet. Are you kidding me? Yet, it would also be foolish to suggest that everything about these tools has been positive.
It is the same here. First of all, just observe how much racing we can now consume in our living room. Consider the amount of exposure a racer like Corey Day receives at this time and how this might impact his life. All of this attention can do wonders in terms of growing the sport. Technology is trying to keep pace. Look at how much effort is being expended to improve the quality of livestreamed events. Ever look at a replay of a decades old sporting event and laugh at was once state-of-the-art graphics and coverage? The same is going to be true here, and the speed at which these changes are occurring is measured in weeks and months, not years.
However, I don't care how big a proponent you are, to suggest that streaming has had no negative impact on local racetracks is akin to putting your head in the sand. The magnitude is debatable, but it is silly to deny that at least a bit of a problem is not at hand. I just spent four consecutive nights announcing sprint car races in Indiana in temperatures that exceeded 90 degrees. The racers came in droves and from significant distances from their homes. It puts promoters on the horns of a dilemma. They could have easily cancelled but felt like the show should go on. Then all you had to do was follow social media. One message after another from potential customers reported that given the heat, the best alternative was to watch from home. Threatening weather? It becomes an easy choice to stay put. Does it seem that every road in your city is under construction? Why fight it? Head to the refrigerator, pop a cool one, and sit back and relax. Folks, that absolutely happens.
We won't solve all the problems at play in this brave new world but of late one idea seems to be floating out there. It is an old tool – blackouts. I am the last person in the world to discuss what is possible from a technological standpoint alone, but is it an idea worth pursuing? Should a safety net be placed around a host facility? There are myriad drawbacks. I recently attracted some sponsors to support a regional event. I'm not sure if streaming enticed them to take the plunge or not, but I doubt it hurt. These were local companies who cater to local people. With a blackout their message would not reach the intended audience. That's a negative. The potential positive from a racetrack perspective seems obvious. It takes away an easy out. Could such a solution just abet the shortsightedness of some track operators? Maybe. Still, they're the ones who balance the checkbook at the end of the night and more tracks are closing than opening.
I don't care how strongly you feel one way or another, but this issue is not going to go away. Perhaps it is time to figure out some way to meet in the middle.
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Sprint car driver moves and rumors today that are all connected, and involve teams from the midwest to the west coast. Plus we talk Shane Cottle versus Justin Grant, High Limit, Flo series at Eldora, and more.
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