NASCAR drivers say changes at Pocono show way to engage new fans – Allentown Morning Call
LONG POND — During a rain delay at Pocono Raceway on Friday, the flat screens inside the Media Center showed a documentary called “The Perfect Storm” on the 1979 Daytona 500.
That’s the race that supposedly began the popularity surge of NASCAR.
It was the first 500-mile race ever shown on live national TV in its entirety (the Indy 500 was shown on tape delay) and also featured the famous infield fist fight between Cale Yarborough and Donnie Allison.
The occasional brawls and feuds have clearly been a part of NASCAR’s appeal in the 37 years since Yarborough and Allison duked it out. But another part of the appeal involves the handshakes, autographs and other fan-friendly moments that connect NASCAR drivers to their supporters.
NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series is still popular, but has lost some of its pizzaz from the 1980s and 1990s, and as the 2016 season hits its summer stride on Sunday with the first of two stops at Pocono, a lot of the pre-race talk was about finding a way to produce the brand’s next generation of fans.
At Charlotte last weekend a session was reserved for kids alone to get autographs from the drivers. While it wasn’t solely the idea of the new NASCAR Drivers Council, it did resonate with the guys who are the faces of the sport.
“You’ve got to give the tracks and some other people from NASCAR credit for putting that together,” Dale Earnhardt Jr. said. “To us that’s a lot more enjoyable than what the walk is like at Indy where there are people on both sides who are sort of hollering at you. You do one side and the other side is just getting more and more [angry] at you because you can’t get to everybody.
“We sign as many autographs as we can, but a lot of people leave very disappointed with the experience. Having kids there and taking care of them has changed the experience for the better in some ways.”
Brad Keselowski said NASCAR faces challenges, like all major sports entities, when it comes to finding new fans.
“It’s not just NASCAR or motor racing, it’s the entire sports world facing the challenge of trying to engage a new, younger demographic,” Keselowski, Sunday’s pole-sitter, said. “My sense on it is that [signing autographs for kids] is an important initiative.
“The struggle is to keep fans engaged as the baby-boomer generation is exiting and the younger, millennial generation is entering. The struggle is real.”
Keselowski said the media coverage has changed the dynamic as well, and not just the TV networks.
“The technology we have has put the sport in a spot where it’s easier to get access on various platforms without attending,” he said. “That’s a lot of how the sport is monetized, through actual attendance. We have to find the value package that connects to a new generation of fans. A one-on-one experience that connects is important at a time when it’s harder and harder to get fans out to the track. Hopefully, we can turn those kids into future fans.”
Sage Karam, the Lehigh Valley native who ran in the historic 100th Indianapolis 500 last weekend, walked around Pocono Raceway on Saturday and said he “was checking things out.”
“This is only my third time being at a NASCAR event,” Karam said. “It’s a different world from what I’m used to. It seems like the fans here are really passionate and that’s really good to see in racing … passionate fans. It’s pretty cool to see the people here, all the people camping outside and a pretty good amount of cars in the parking lot. I said to my dad the Xfinity Series is like the Indy Lights Series, but the difference is that there are a whole lot of people here.”
And that’s exactly what NASCAR and Pocono Raceway want to see.
Fan experiences are a big part of race weekend at Pocono as president and CEO Brandon Igdalsky continues to seek new attractions and enhancements to draw more people to the place his grandparents, Joseph and Rose Mattioli, built into a mainstay on the Sprint Cup circuit.
While the Mattioli family has always been admired and well respected by the NASCAR community, there was a time not too long ago when Pocono was considered more of a nuisance than a pleasant pair of spots on the Sprint Cup schedule.
But Igdalsky, his brother Nick and everyone involved on the administrative team have worked hard to boost the track’s image.
“This is a fun race track,” said Earnhardt, a past critic. “Brandon and his guys are racers and they put a lot into this place. You would think that he is here every single day and all he does is think about ‘How can I make racing and the experience better for the fans here?’ He is always upgrading. It seems like whatever they can get out of this place, they put right back in.”
A new “Bark Park” where fans spending the entire weekend on the track grounds can take their furry friends, gained a lot of attention this weekend.
Keselowski laughed in saying the drivers did not offer that idea, but said he has noted a lot of upgrades in recent years that “make me feel a lot better about coming here.”
“They have a done good job with the SAFER barriers and things of that nature,” Keselowski said. “This market being the closest track to New York City is really important for us and shortening the races from 500 miles to 400 miles was a good thing as well. There’s a lot of tradition here, and while it’s not Daytona or Charlotte, Pocono is probably in the second tier of tracks you think about when you think about NASCAR.”
Despite all the efforts that have been made by to enhance Pocono and the overall Sprint Cup experience, there is one thing no one can control — the weather. Rain is expected throughout Sunday in the Poconos.
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