Well folks it has happened again, yet another iconic track has closed its doors and from what we have heard, it has been sold for purposes other than motorsports. Last night it was all over social media that Atco Dragway, an iconic drag strip on the east coast has closed its doors for good, effective immediately.

So what in the world is going on with our industry? Why is it that tracks are closing? Why are tracks finding it so damn hard to make money? There is a lot to unpack regarding the situation and the bigger issues that I am seeing within all of motorsports right now, so let’s get into it.

The first and foremost issue that I am seeing within the motorsports community is the absolutely failure of track owners, promoters, and companies when it comes to utilizing not only paid advertising outlets, but free advertising outlets like social media. This is not the 1980’s and 1990’s anymore folks! The failure to work as hard to promote and host a good event is just as big of a failure as it would be to have a trash facility. Everyday I see track owners, promoters, staff, they are all concerned about the facility. They are focused on track prep, concessions, trash pickup, porta shitters, and lawn mowing. What they aren’t concerned about is putting in the hours each day to promote an event to the masses.

Here is a stat that all track owners, race team owners, promoters, etc. should take into consideration. According to Glassdoor, the average salary of a Social Media Manager in the U.S. is approximately $53,235 per year in salary. Now, that doesn’t include the costs spent on actually creating content or placing ads, that’s just the salary of the person you entrust to handle all of the social media. Do you as a track owner even have a dedicated social media person? Or are you trying to do everything yourself to save the money? When you are trying to do everything yourself, are you actually losing money because your expertise is in operations and not social media engagement?

Having someone that is running your social media pages like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, etc. could be a huge expense, but also has the potential to generate revenue! To go along with that, as a track owner, a promoter, etc. how are your working relationships with content creators and mainstream media outlets within the industry? Do you have photographers that come on a regular basis and create content? Have you spent the time to build a relationship with them? A relationship with media outlets within drag racing? I’m not talking about those media outlets that won’t report anything unless they are receiving a kickback to do so, I’m talking about media outlets that would love to have quality content to publish.

The importance of having good relationships with those creating content cannot be overstated. If you are one of these track owners or promoters that thinks you should get paid by qualified content creators at the gate and charging them admission to the event…you are absolutely delusional! What you should be doing is working with them, building that relationship with them, and making it so that it is a mutually beneficial relationship. Please get out of the mindset that you own something that a content creator took. You don’t own their photos, their videos, etc. What you do own is your ability to build long lasting partnerships with those creators that have the ability to supply you with content to further your business.

Shall we discuss gate fees at this point. Most track owners and managers hate when I blast them over this, but facts are facts. Everyone knows that inflation has hit hard in this country with no plans on slowing down. That same dollar doesn’t go nearly as far now as it did five years ago. And yet there are track owners that think charging stupid prices for things is a healthy way to grow business week after week. What they say to me is “Damon, you don’t understand what it takes to keep the lights on or what it costs us to just be open” and I respond that I am very well aware of how economics work. Let’s look at some basic math for a moment. If you have a test and tune where you are charging $30 per car to run and you get 50 cars, that’s going to be $1500. Now, if you have that same test and tune, but you only charge a twenty spot to run and you get 100 cars to show up, guess what, you’ve just increased your take by 25% with no added costs to you.

Putting asses in the seats should be the goal of all tracks and organizations, and yet I see empty grandstands all over the country. We exist in a time and place where it is easier and more cost effective for someone to plant their ass on the couch to watch an event instead of actually going to the track. Fan pricing models are completely jacked and have been for more than a decade, with very few exceptions. Some will argue “but look at NHRA, they sold out their last race and do you see with they charge?” NEWS FLASH FOLKS…your event isn’t NHRA! You don’t have 330 mph nitro burning side by side racing. Knowing your audience and pricing said event accordingly is critical right now.

How many promoters and track owners spend the time to find and decipher data regarding their target audiences in a certain area? If you are in an area where the median wage is $13.50 an hour, do you think that charging the same as an event where the median wage is $18.50 an hour would be a good idea? Too many owners and promoters use just a blanket number for admissions when it comes to these events. The times of doing that are long gone, and the reason is that there are entirely too many other options beside going to your track for a Friday and Saturday event. I’d expect to pay more for attending an event in Maryland than I would in Mississippi, but I think logically about these things.

What do you as a track owner or promoter have to offer? You offer a place to race, a place to gather, a place that a lot of us call our home away from home. You know what else you need to offer…ENTERTAINMENT!! As a track owner or promoter your job is not only customer service, but your job is to put on a SHOW! I hate to pick on any organization so I won’t toss any particular one under the bus, but let’s consider this…why would I pay just as much to go and see an organizations two day event as I would to go see a Lights Out, Yellow Bullet, World Cup, World Street Nationals, U.S. Street Nationals, a Mike Hill grudge race, etc? Why would I spend, as a spectator, almost as much on two days of a couple heads up classes and five bracket classes as I would seeing a week worth of amazing action? People want to be entertained, they want to see great action on the track and feel safe while wandering around at the track.

That brings up something else, and yes maybe I’m a little old school if you will in my thinking on this, but the fact is that in my family households, the women and children are the deciding factor. Facilities need to do better with their facilities. Clean bathrooms go a long way to making your wife or girlfriend ever want to come back to the races. Yes, we as guys typically don’t care, but you want your wife or girlfriend to keep coming with you? Those bathrooms better be worth it! I think some track owners are absolutely clueless about this aspect of things. Even female track owners don’t seem to put any effort into the bathroom situation from what I see.

The last thing I want to address within this article…your relationship with the community as a track owner and promoter. I tell all track owners that I work with “build a relationship with the community you are in and around” This is the single most important thing that you can do as a track owner. Toy drives, food drives, etc. are all things that you as a track owner can do to give back to the community and strengthen that bond. Are you in an area with a food bank close by for the community? If so, you’d better be doing things to raise awareness and help them. Are you doing a toy drive or clothing drive for kids in the community? Are you doing a back to school event where people can bring school supplies that you can turn around and donate to the local schools? Are you going to the local tech schools and inviting the students out for an afternoon at the track? Not everything is about bring money in! Sometimes you need to learn when to spend the money to build the business and to build your community. You’ll have far less problems with authorities, zoning, noise, etc. when you make an attempt to work with your community and grow together, instead of jsut worrying about the bottom line.

That’s all the free advice I have for the industry today. Maybe tomorrow I will expand some more regarding all of this and what really needs to be done.