ASA Member Track Promoters Attend RPM Western Workshops

Several ASA Member Track promoters attended the 39th Annual Racing Promotion Monthly Western Workshops in Reno, NV.  The workshops took place on December 5-7 at the Eldorado Hotel & Casino.

“This is a good opportunity for us to have personal visits with our current ASA promoters and introduce our program to other tracks & series,” Dennis Huth, ASA President said.  “These workshops are designed for promoters to get together and share ideas.  This is something that can help the growth of short track racing overall.”

Some ASA Member Track promoters assisted or gave presentations at this year’s workshops. 

Adam Nelson, Promoter of Meridian Speedway, an ASA Member Track in Meridian, ID, was one of those promoters who assisted with the workshops.  “It’s great to get face to face with other track operators,” Nelson said. “You can ask them hard questions and get an honest answer to see how your program stacks up around your region.  Of course, you can steal some ideas from someone that potentially can help you improve your program.”

Craig Armstrong, Promoter of Lebanon I-44 Speedway, an ASA Member Track in Lebanon, MO, also assisted with the conference. He said that he got a confirmation on one of his thoughts.  “One thing that stood out for me was confirmation of a gut feeling that I had for some time.  Social media will be important for short track racing,” Armstrong said.  “Social media could be the salvation for this industry and we could see a quicker response from it versus traditional media. Ten years ago, the trend was that all of the tracks get a website.  Now that website is more of a static display, we need to look at the interaction we could get through our mobile devices and social media like Facebook and Twitter. These things can advance our future success.  We just need to learn how to take advantage of this medium.”

Safety and seeing new young promoters was on the top of Bill Rohzon’s list.  Rohzon is the Promoter of Havasu 95 Speedway, an ASA Member Track in Lake Havasu City, AZ.  “Ray Evernham said something that was interesting in the workshop’s opening address. He said that one step in the pits could mean life or death,” Rohzon said.  “It made me think of a couple of areas that I should look at to make our pits and facility even more safe.  It is very safe now, but we can make it safer for our competitors and fans.  Another thing was seeing the group of new promoters at the workshop.  Many are young and eager to make their short tracks successful so they were asking questions and learning what works and doesn’t work.  This gives me a lot of hope about the future of short track racing.”

Throughout the three days, promoters were involved in sessions from marketing, legal, tech and more.  Ideas were shared and new friendships were also made, giving promoters a great network to consult with throughout the year.

“We have a great group of promoters within the ASA family,” Huth said.  “ASA has a great network amongst our ASA Member Tracks and Series. It is great to see the interaction among our ASA promoters.  The bottom line is that we are all working together to make short track racing stronger and a popular form of entertainment.  It is great live entertainment at an affordable price.”

Other ASA Member Track promoters in attendance included: Mike Eames, Rocky Mountain Raceways in West Valley City, UT; Steve Beitler, Skagit Speedway in Alger, WA; and John Skinner, Southern Oregon Speedway in Medford, OR.

ASA Racing PR