by: Candice MartinWe had racing during the fair, and I’m running a few minutes later than I’d like to be. I’m pretty wiped out, and that’s because I ran the table for the track at the county fair. We did public outreach because many of the people that go to the fair don’t even know there’s a race track here. They’re enjoying the rides and they don’t know about the track.
I had gotten fliers printed up and posters to advertise the Figure 8. We ran out of all the stuff that Angela Brown got us for the kids by Saturday night. She bought the PA system that I used which can be used at any other events we run a table at or for karaoke should we have a party.
After 3 days, there was a good feeling which I’ll get into in a minute. I heard people say we’re done, and we were out of supplies. I put in a call for help and the Clymens family stepped up with Hot Wheels and candy at the very last minute on Sunday morning. We had stuff to give the kids and we still had fliers with our schedule and history.
With the PA system we had there, I was able to talk history and engage the fans. We’re doing some giveaways for passes and such. It’s going well. Friday is a hard sell on a regular night, and people were slow to come. We did better than the week we had the two races, but it wasn’t great. I noticed people coming in at the last minute, so I tried to work the microphone to get more.
On Saturday, we knew we had a winner with the Figure 8. I knew we did, because it’s exactly the kind of thing that interests people who are not big into racing. Something crazy with an element of danger to it. Others around here needed convincing. They didn’t even cut the X for the track until the Sunday before.
What I will say is the track was dry and a bit dusty on Friday but the crew worked their rear ends off all day Saturday and gave us a marvelous track. Again, fans started coming in late, but this time we had our biggest regular crowd of the year, not counting that Sprint Car race. A lot of new people.
The one blemish was the mob of youth that were running in a group with their camera phones in the air. They were causing trouble and they were about surrounding our table. They sent some officials out to get us. That kept us from getting some more paid admission as people probably would have kept paying to come in to watch through intermission.
As it was, the racing was good on Saturday in particular. We got some new fans to look at us, but what we do next time will dictate what new fans we keep. I’m very proud of what we accomplished on Saturday, and I’m proud of the effort I put forth at the table. Also, my friend Gloria joined me to help all four days and people were popping in and out. We had several cars on display too.
Angela was an MVP and she also donated some purse money to the Figure 8. I was put in charge of divvying that so the racers all got good start money for the risk they were taking. Trevor Clymens was another MVP. It’s the community working together as we try to make things better.
Now, we take a week off for Memorial Day, but we’re coming back with the Soares Memorial on the 3rd of June. I think it’s going to be a winner and I’m looking into doing something with the awards. In fact, I’ll get down to my guy and see what he can come up with. Weeks like this make me proud, because I feel momentum starting. We need it.
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