WOW Look at this i just found
 

This was taken from DRO....... I hope this happens

Ticketless Divisional races in the future?

At Indy this week Agent 1320 heard from an NHRA official, who declined to be named, that one of the topics for discussion at the upcoming Winter Track Manager/Owner meetings will probably be the NHRA Divisional Series.
Taking a cue from the wave of recent record crowds for ADRL events at various venues, a matter on the table for NHRA Track Operators may be changing spectator entry for Divisional Events to an open-door “ticketless” arrangement to encourage more casual local visitors and families to enter the gate and discover drag racing as entertainment.
Now there’s some thinking toward the “next level.” [8/28/2008]

Re: WOW Look at this i just found
 

GREAT IDEA!!!! I would love to see this.......being able to race in front of a big crowd during a divisional race is AWESOME! Virginia Motorsports Park did this at the beginning of this year for the Divisional race and it was so much fun! BIG CROWD we were signing autographs for the kids, makes us sportsman racers feel like someone (even though we are not).

BRING IT ON

CANT HAPPEN ANY SOONER

DO IT FOR ENGLISHTOWN DIVISIONAL NEXT WEEK

PEOPLE WILL STILL BE BUYING FOOD AND SOUVINERS FOR THE FAMILY

Re: WOW Look at this i just found
 

yeah. great idea, but how long before they raise our entry fee again to make up for what they "lose" in ticket sales.

Re: WOW Look at this i just found
 

There always has to be a dark cloud in the bunch!

Re: WOW Look at this i just found
 

Sorry, long week, but tell me it didn't cross your mind

Re: WOW Look at this i just found
 

To be honest, I was in Virginia when they did the free entry thing, believe me there is no one that can say anyone lost money on that deal. That place was jam packed! I don't know who gets the entry money for spectators but I am sure it got made up in a lot of other ways. The only people that could have made more money were the concession stands because they got caught with their "pants down" They had no idea how many people were going to be there.

Re: WOW Look at this i just found
 

Heck, do it for 5 years to get people hooked, and then start charging at the gate again! If you're getting huge crowds, you can charge a menial entry-fee once people are hooked (I'm talking like $5/each or less), and they'll still pay.

It's the whole razorblade / razor marketing campaign (or the give the crack away to people to get them addicted before you start charging them thing if you want to be non-politically correct).

Re: WOW Look at this i just found
 

At the Englishtown Lucas Oil event next week "they" are giving away more than 100,000 free tickets thru Strauss Auto Stores/Castrol etc.......expected are around 30 to 40,000 spectators during the weekend .

Re: WOW Look at this i just found
 

We had gone to South Georgia Divisional and they charged $5 or $10 a car load. Also sent out a bunch of free tickets to auto parts stores, Air Force base, etc. Sold out of food as well as novelties! Place was packed!
Secret they used - ADVERTISMENT!!!!! Kinda crazy when you are in local Wally Mart and no one knows there is a race going on down the street!!!

Re: WOW Look at this i just found
 

Lynn: SGMP does alot of promotional stuff throught the year, more tracks need to look at what they are doing because even thier regular bracket races have a good crowd. I just wish I could get the owners and management of Bradenton to do something, car count is about 1/2 of what it was two years ago.

Re: WOW Look at this i just found
 

Everybody is crediting ADRL for the free tickets when in fact it was first instuted 7 years ago at the Texas Motorplex for a Division 4 race. We had a hugh crowd there for that event and it has been happening every divisional race since then. What they loose on spectator entry fee's (which by the way is almost nothing, as people were not coming anyway since the Motorplex had a National Event) was more than made up for by what got spent at the concession stands and souvenoir stands. It was a very good marketing ploy that worked out well for them.

in the last couple of years a few more tracks have played with this idea and been very sucessful with it. It was not an ADRL innovation, they just went along with what was being done at other places. It also backfired on them at Houston this year as they charge $10.00 per car for parkingand at Houston they did not have enough people parking and people had to leave their cars on the highway and walk to the track as the traffic jam was incrediable. Kind of the Woodstock syndrome as way to many people came and they were not prepared for the hugh crowd.

Olan

Re: WOW Look at this i just found
 

it was discussed at our meeting....