why does daytona not promote FUSA races

[Super Dave]

See, some of you knew what to do in the first place.  And that's how it starts.

[1fastmofo]

Adam,

Aw crap you're not a respected member of the racing community? I have to stop coming to you for advice.  ;D

Ray

[CCS]

I will try to give my answers some of what I have seen, Gordy and Dave have done a very good job so far at answering for our sport.

Daytona does promote F-USA and CCS within a grass roots program that has proven to be the most cost-effective for the results they get. We are not the stars of their world famous bike race, but they like us being there just the same. (Someone has to provide "training" for the future Daytona 200 stars.)

Summit Point's gate fees are $25 per person for the weekend, $15 per person after 12pm on Sunday (I think that is the time cut off.)

You are right, CCS-FUSA-WERA-GLRRA-ASMA-SMRI-AFM/-WSMC-MRA-CMRA-OMRRA-WMRRA all survive because the racers pay the bills. What the racers don't pay, the "spectators" do, which is why gate passes are sold. Car entry fees are $250 per class for most SCCA-type events up to $3000 for "professional" races. These entry fees get you 4 to 40 gate passes included, depending on the series, and "Over-Crew passes" cost $25 to $150, depending on where you are. We could all go to that formula, but why make you pay $250 for just you to come in when the guy next to you pays his $250 and brings three others with him. It seemed fairer to spread the cost over everyone, those with larger crews paid more, and those with smaller paid less.

Formula USA is a step up from a normal CCS weekend, but it is still not AMA Pro-Racing. It is a place for you to learn your craft, including the art of self-promotion. Dave is right, make you and your teams look the part, you can buy "team shirts" from anywhere and sew on your sponsor's patches to make your team stand out like the Ducati boys did. It really doesn't cost that much. (Try buying staff shirts for 300 and corner crew shirts for 1000; thankfully you would only have 3-5 on a normal crew.)

Our sport has one big disadvantage; you cannot sit in one seat and see the whole thing. Americans love to see action, the start AND the finish without moving around. That is why NFL, NASCAR, IRL, SX, and things like Monster Truck shows are so popular and we are such a niche sport. It is the egg and chicken dilemma, you can't get on TV until the fans demand it, and you can't expose enough people to your sport without TV.  The same goes for big money sponsorship, no TV, no big money.

Free gate passes won't help, as was said earlier, they would come when it was free and then just leave once you tried to charge them. (The car financing analogy was good, but then again, we are not selling cars. We are selling entertainment-whether it is the racer "buying" track time with his entry or the spectator a good time with his ticket- I haven't seen a movie theatre or local racetrack give free admission to an event unless they were being compensated by someone else to do it.) Besides, tracks who rely on that revenue would only increase the cost to the organizer to cover the loss of revenue, causing us to raise the entry fees since all the bills would have to be paid by the racers then. Catch-22.

We could discuss this forever without a real answer. The reality is that unless we all work together, we are going nowhere. Change, or advancement, is not going to come over night. I can promise you that Tiffiney, Linda, Kenny and myself will do a better job this year. We have a better grasp of what, (and who) we really have to work with, and we will do our part. Can we count on everyone else to do theirs?

Be seeing you.

[Super Dave]

Hey, good comments, Kevin.

Certainly, this isn't easy.  I get to baby sit my instructors, and myself...you, meanwhile have to baby sit me and the other 5k road racers that make up CCS.

Hopefully, this will get some people focusing on the goal rather than the journey;  trying to better the sport for everyone by working our individual corner niches.  

As for stadium sports...yeah, they are cool, but you don't have the opportunity to go get up close at stuff like that.  It's kind of a different crowd, road racing.  I think those kind of specatators like to view from different places, actually watch someone put on their leathers, maybe bump into a former world champion getting a hot dog for lunch.  It's those things that make the whole road racing thing more of a full experience rather than a block of time like a concert.  It's a matter of selling that kind of feel about the sport...hey, do you remember the first time you smelled really nasty oxygenated racing fuel?  How about seeing a roasted rear tire after a practice session?  That's the kind of stuff that needs to be sold, because you can't get that in a stadium...

Maybe you've got a hottie sellin' ya popcorn or something, but you're not gonna get to see a deflated football or anything like that.

[MZGirl]

You are right, CCS-FUSA-WERA-GLRRA-ASMA-SMRI-AFM/-WSMC-MRA-CMRA-OMRRA-WMRRA all survive because the racers pay the bills.

Hey!  ASMA is mentioned in there, too!  We've made the big time!   8)  (And we're mentioned before SMRI!   ;D)

[the_weggie_man]

I think we, as roadracers, dance to the beat of a different drummer as they say. This goes for sports car racers also. We do this because we love to ride, love to race or at least be involved in the sport in some way. The opportunity to become one of the big names, and race in front of huge crowds is so limited it's almost easier to win a lottery. How many MotoGP riders are there? I think the field is 30something? And how many new riders get the opportunity each year? Very few!

Your best shot in the U.S. to be in front of a crowd is AMA Pro series. You need CCS and F-USA to get there. Hone your skills, both on and off the track here and when you feel you're ready and can get the backing go for the AMA series.

At that point you can race in front of the biggest crowds you can get in American motorcycle racing. No they don't compare to Europe but it's what we have.

Many people have tried making this a huge spectator sport and have failed, one after another.
Roger Edmondson thought the way to do it was to put as many races as possible into superspeedways  where the fans can see the whole track. Just like NASCRAP. This resulted in some very hacked together, unsafe racetracks and still not the big crowds we want.

Daytona has one of the biggest groups of motorcyclists gathered in one place every March but how many can you get to the races? Very few. Why? You can say it's because they are all H-D riders and they don't care about the races. But what is stopping thousands of sport bike riders from congregating in Daytona to see the races? Daytona started because of the races ........ but they have lost the fans. Can anyone explain that? Why don't the people you would think would be interested in the Daytona 200 not show up to spectate? Why don't they show up for the other races around the country? I don't think it's because of the cost of a ticket.

It's a pretty simple straight forward answer. They don't care. The number of sport bike riders really interested in racing are few. Most of them are short term, bought a bike for kicks riders that ride a couple years and are gone. The same guys that come to Elkhart Lake, camp out across from the track, ride their stunt stuff out behind RA and never make it into the race track. I watched one idiot flip over backwards and destroy a new Gixxer last year, in the middle of the day during the races on the county road by gate 4. He was with a group of at least 10-15 others that should have been watching the races. They can do that sh@t at home. Why come to RA to make a bad name for the race fans?
I don't know how the rider faired, don't care either, he's a detriment to our sport and motorcycling in general and our insurance rates show it.

As I said before, this sport will never be a main stream spectator sport. Americans love their sticks, balls, and big cars too much. Our sport takes way too much thought on their part to understand and enjoy. They can't just plop down on their seat cushion, rip open a beer, tune in their radio and watch all the action right in front of them. We enjoy a sport of involvement, a sport of actually having to move about and take in all the nuances, the details to really enjoy it and that's not the Americam way. I don't like it either but that's the way it is.

Sorry. :-[  

[WebCrush]

well, i still think the cost of an AMA ticket is too high as well, and nobody said the AMA was doing there part to promote their races either.

The only ads I ever see are on the SpeedChannel and in the cycle mags--they're targeting the people who already know about these events!!

[motobenco]

We need umbrella girls...ok, at least bring back the track announcer. I feel that added the missing element to bridge the gap between CCS and the next step, AMA or whatever. It is my feeling that if you look and act like a professional racer then that will be reflected in your performance. I not saying that appearance is everything but if it adds to your confidence that is half the challenge.  As for anyone that needs a little direction in which way to enhance your image I recommend the following companies.

Paint - http://www.alcaldecustoms.com/welcome.html Tim, the one to talk to about custom paint.

Logo, Helmet Design - http://www.airtrix.com  Chris Wood did all of mine and also the Bostroms, Etc.

Logo, Decals - www.teamstumpyracing.com  Everyone knows Stumpy, fast and affordable

Uniforms - http://grandprixapparel.com/ The same as the Pro Teams use, very high quality, no minimum

Website Idea - http://www.dm8.com/news.htm Dwight included all aspects of what a site should entail

Emblems - http://youremblem.com/ Not really practical for bikes, but an interesting idea

Sponsorship Info - http://www.smsw.com/tools.htm Print out the General Inventory Sheet, great reference tool

Photos - http://sliderphoto.com/ What can I say, the photos speak for themselves

EZ-UP - I found my Kawasaki ones online for $99.00 plus shipping, just spent several hours searching the web though.

Umbrella Girls - http://www.umbrellagirlsusa.com/ ummm well what the heck



If anyone can think of anything that I missed or an item that needs to be addressed let me know.

[Super Dave]

well, i still think the cost of an AMA ticket is too high as well, and nobody said the AMA was doing there part to promote their races either.

The only ads I ever see are on the SpeedChannel and in the cycle mags--they're targeting the people who already know about these events!!

Ok, do I have to say this again...

The AMA sanctions the race.  The track pays the AMA money to show up, etc.  The track is the promoter.  They have to promote the event locally, nationally whatever.  They provide the purse.  Might be a minimum, might be more.

Sure, the AMA does some work for the series, but not for each individual event.

As for ticket prices...what does it cost to get into an NFL game?  There are more of those in a season too...

But an AMA event only comes around once a year in a locale.  It's kind of exclusive, so the prices should have something to do with the fair market.  

I do take some exeption to the crew memebers having to pay such high prices though.  After all, the promoter has paid for the event, etc.  The crew is also part of the show.

[251am]

 A Super Pass for Elkhart is about $100 for the AMA races, good Thurs-Sunday. I see that as a bargain for that access. I listen to guys where I work talk Nascar, how they pay $80 a head to get in, and another $40 per head to get pit access. $120 per day?!
  Last night NPR had a documentary style program about NASCAR. Lots of interviews with racers, fans, and promoters. The common thread was talk about sponsors. The promoters are constantly seeking them out. The racers, of course, are always advertising them. However, most importantly, the fans are FIERCELY LOYAL to their cars'/racers' sponsors. One guy remembered the exact months and years his car switched sponsors from Folgers to Maxwell House, and changed his purchasing habits accordingly. Their brand loyalty is extreme and companies see this.
      

[Eddie#200]

Motorcycle roadracing will never in this country reach the heights it does in Europe or the Orient. People over there are raised riding bikes and continue to in large numbers throughout their lives. We as kids may ride for awhile (mostly on dirt bikes) or have a fling with a bike in high school then they are sold off to buy the life long dream of a bigger, better car.

Don't hold your breath waiting for the huge crowds of spectators because it's not going to happen. Period. Get over it and ride your bike. ;D ;D

I was asked by a potential sponsor about how large the crowds are and how much TV time races get.  I guess he watches the AMA events on Speed.  He is still going to help this season, but he did say that there would be a lot more help if there was some way to prove he was spending money on advertising. :-/  I asked how much more and he said "all more"... he would pick up the whole season if there were more spectators.  Hell I would be excited if there were any at all. :P