AUTO RACING: The art (and lack) of promotion in NASCAR

BY ALLEN GREGORY

BRISTOL HERALD COURIER

Humpy Wheeler attended the first official NASCAR race at age 11. Over the next five decades, Wheeler watched as the sport evolved from a backwoods spectacle into a multi-billion dollar industry coveted by network television executives and the corporate elite.

During his 28-year tenure as track president at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Wheeler played a key role in that growth through an assortment of outlandish promotions and innovations.

Wheeler now thinks the NASCAR has strayed too far from its rural roots. He points to the increasing likelihood of thousands of empty seats for Sunday’s Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway as yet another warning sign.

"That’s a big wake-up call, and we’ve had enough wake-up calls them over the last four or five years to bring in the 82nd Airborne Division," Wheeler said. "We still have an exciting sport, but some people have had their head in the sand and not heeded the problems."

Motorsports maverick

With the assistance of author Peter Golenbock, Wheeler’s recently traced his colorful life and career in the book "Growing Up NASCAR: Racing’s Most Outrageous Promoter Tells All." From grimy dirt tracks to lavish superspeedways, Wheeler feels there are five essential elements for attracting and retaining fans to motorsports.

"We need big, exciting and colorful things on the track, and that’s the cars," said Wheeler, who retired from Charlotte Motor Speedway in 2008. "We need to stick to the same paint scheme. Fans lose identification when a driver like Dale [Earnhardt] Jr. changes his paint scheme each week. You don’t see the Green Bay Packers changing the color of their uniforms."

Wheeler also feels NASCAR needs a return to the storied days when drivers were not afraid to bump and grind their way to the front.

"You’ve got to have contact and drama, that’s just part of what the public wants in racing," Wheeler said. "We’ve gone away from that for so long because of the rules."

As in the current feud between Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski, the contact and harsh words becomes fodder for highlight shows and headline writers. Wheeler said he misses the moments when drivers were not afraid to bare their emotions and fists.

"We don’t have any rivalries now," Wheeler said. "The last real rivalry was between Cale [Yarborough] and D.W. [Darrell Waltrip]. That was ancient times."

During his successful run at Charlotte, Wheeler loved to stoke the fire between rival drivers and their fans. He would bring feuding drivers together for press conferences, conjured up nicknames and design provocative billboards.

"Our sport has exciting personalities," Wheeler said. "We just need to let them go a little and be themselves. [Juan Pablo] Montoya is a very exciting personality, but we don’t see that enough."

Wheeler also feels the sport needs fresh storylines which will hold the interest of both avid and casual fans.

"We need those sudden unexpected happenings," Wheeler said. "We need to see a guy move from the back of the field to the front to create a great finish."

Innovator

In terms of pure talent, Wheeler feels the NASCAR stars of today are on a par with the pioneers of the sport. Wheeler does see many differences in the NASCAR world, including the financial dividing line.

"Poor boys used to be able to get up there and race, but that’s not easy to do today," Wheeler said. "The main difference is that there used to be a spirit on the track of what you could and could not do. That is the basis of all the drama that exists today."

The early days of racing lacked technology and glitz. Wheeler drew fans by focusing on the basics.

"The cars were not as sophisticated, but we had some very exiting races," Wheeler said. "And drivers didn’t care a thing about points. When the green flag came, drivers worked to get the front. Points racing didn’t come until the last decade."

Before the arrival of network television coverage, track promoters were forced to take risks. Wheeler staged mock invasions on the infield at Charlotte Motor Speedway, placed his head inside the mouth of a tiger, and staged elaborate thrill shows with explosions.

"You couldn’t get the publicity unless you did outlandish things," said Wheeler, who also helped to introduce racing at night and the annual NASCAR all-star event. "You had to get to folks excited about coming out to the track."

The power of promotion

In light of the sluggish national economy, Wheeler feels it’s time to devise new promotions that will entice frugal fans to spend their money on racing.

"What happened was that everybody got a little bit fat and lazy, and they didn’t feel the need to promote," Wheeler said. "I think we got too fancy for our britches.

"We need to pull back the curtain on the sport and get folks excited again."

The Bristol view

Bristol Motor Speedway Vice President of Events Wayne Estes knows the value of promotion. It was Estes who came up with the radical idea in 2000 to place dirt around the high banks of Bristol in preparation for World of Outlaws Sprint Car and Have-A-Tampa Dirt Late Model Series doubleheader.

"I would say that the best promoters are the ones that capture people imaginations," Estes said. "They find that special event, whatever it may be, that people feel they have got to see with their own eyes. It’s not enough to see it on TV or hear about it, they have to be there."

Estes grew up attending races with his father. He witnessed all sorts of gimmicks and stunts.

"There was a time when motorcycle jumps were big," Estes said. "Riders would see who could jump over the most buses at tracks like Dixie Speedway.

"And the thing that really captured my imagination when I was young was something called the Astro Spiral jump. They would barrel roll a car in the air by using a ramp, so that the car was upside down at the middle of the jump and then it would come back down on the other side."

Missing fans

The immediate challenge for Estes and the BMS staff is overcoming the perception that tickets are not available for Sprint Cup events at BMS.

"For many years, the fact that we were so popular was a promotional tool in itself," Estes said. "Bristol was an event that 160,000 people wanted to see for 27 straight years.

"Because of the economy issue and factors outside the control of a race promoter, we’ve seen the [ticket] demand decline a bit in the spring.’’

That’s a big reason why BMS officials decided last year to bring together 12 NASCAR legends for an all-star race. Saturday night’s second race for legends, dubbed the EZ Seed Showdown, will feature retired drivers such as David Pearson, Harry Gant and Yarborough

"People want to be part of something that’s big, cool and exciting," Estes said. "That’s served us really well for a long time."

agregory@bristolnews.com I (276) 645-2544