RENO, NV (Nov. 30) — For over 30 years the RPM Workshop has started its annual meeting schedule in Reno. This conference brings the short track racing industry to the Biggest Little City for two days of speakers and break out sessions aimed at helping promoters.
Tuesday was an evening social gathering where attendees could pick up their credentials and meet other folks in the short track industry. This year the meetings moved to the Silver Legacy and things started early Wednesday morning, after the related trade show also opened.
Dennis Gage got things rolling and Silver Legacy Senior Vice President and General Manager Ken Ostempowski welcomed everyone to the meetings.
After that Joe Skotnicki, Editor and Publisher of Race Promotion Monthly, the industry’s trade magazine spoke to the audience.
“It all starts here, trying to do the right thing and make a difference in your business. The only way to make a change is to change yourself.”
Next up was Josh Holt, one of the founders of My Race Pass, something many use to put results, points and other other items on social media.
Holt said, “The industry is all about relationships and learning from peers are important.”
He went over things not to do as well as things he felt would help promoters. He also stated that racing is growing and spoke about revenue streams.
Kendra Jacobs, now with the new High Limit Sprint Car series spoke about streaming races. She formerly worked for Knoxville Raceway then moved to Floracing, a streaming service before joining High Limit.
“We’re seeing bigger events getting bigger but need to figure how to entice a home viewer to attend,” she said.
Her suggestion is to use social media and read what people are saying about a promoter’s event.
“Streaming is new and we need to use it,” she said. “One needs to control the event when you can’t control the race.”
The emphasized using streaming to bring news fans to see a race live. One of her slides had several things that would expand a track’s reach and generate revenue.
One suggestion is to check with first timers and ask what they liked and disliked. See if they are being entertained and not just glued to a seat.
Next ask if the would come back. Maybe entice them with discount food or drinks by opening the gates earlier and use music so they don’t sit in silence.
After a lunch break the workshop resumed and there were also breakout sessions.
One session was “California Dreaming,” where track operators and others involved in racing discussed what they will be doing next year.
One of them, Brad Sweet the 5-time World of Outlaws champion discussed the new High Limit racing series he and his NASCAR racing brother-in-law Kyle Larson formed.
He went over the new schedule and their plans for Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico. In fact next year’s Gold Cup has a new date and features a $100,000 to win purse plus starting money.
The afternoon was full of informative sessions. One of which was about ticketing online and other ways of selling these.
Then there was a session with a panel of our former Auto Racing Promoters of the Year (ARPY) where they fielded questions. The four were Gregg McKarns, Nadine and Bob Strauss and Chuck Deery.
The evening ended with a slot tournament presented by Caesar’s.
• Thursday began with the trade show opening then the meeting began with announcements. Next year the RPM Workshop will return to Reno on the 3rd, 4th and 5th, of December..
Chris Graner, a partner with Speed Sport spoke about marketing and how doing some things differently will allow a track to be more successful.
There was also the case law summary given by attorney Paul Tetreault, who is with the firm of Agajanian, McFall,Weiss, Tetreault and Crist. They specialize in handing cases for various tracks.
His talk was about the proper use of release and waiver forms and how they need to be uniform. He also covered the situation where parents are signing for their minor children who race.
After lunch there were the usual breakout sessions including the popular Pro-Bono Hour where Tetreault fielded legal questions from promoters.
Later Tammy Vietti of Vietti Marketing had a session covering what is new in the field. She went over using TV, social media and other things that can be used to build a loyal fan base.
Next there was a session covering website scoring and the equipment that is needed for a track to properly stream their events. Finally Bob Strauss and Joe Skotnicki had a session covering inspections and other items.
Once the Work Shop ended many participants headed to a high dollar open wheel race in Las Vegas. In 2024 the first RPM Workshop will be in Daytona during Speed Weeks.
REPORTERS NOTE: Part 2 of the Work Shop coverage will be posted this coming weekend. It is three interviews with Josh Holt from My Race Pass, Brad Sweet, one of the founders of the new High Limit Sprint car series and RPM boss Joe Skotnicki.
OTHER RACING NEWS:
• If you own a pick up truck there is a group for you. Trucks and Tacos meet at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at different locations. They week they’ll be at Turo de Tacos located at 599 North McCarran.
• Daveys American Racing is found on Face Book. His focus is on western oval tracks as well as national series.
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There is medical that covers visits to the ER, ambulance rides and if a person has to stay in a hospital. In addition trailers as well as tools and tools in shops can be covered with additional policies.
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