If I was promoter for a dayThe first thing a promoter should do is be ACCESSABLE! Be at thegate once in a while and tell folks you are glad to see them. Walkthrough the stands and introduce yourself. Heck I bet more than half of the fanswouldn't know their Promoter from Jerry Smith. Make them feel welcomedand want to come back.Promoters should spend a little time during every show-takinginventory of the number of fans in attendance. Along with this, acomprehensive study of fan reaction to each individual event wouldserve to inform any sharp promoter of the events that are popularwith his audience and those less so.Taking account of the number of empty seats, which can be averagedover a short time, the sharp promoter will devise ways to turn non-profit empty seats into profit centers. Consider how much it reallycosts to fill an empty seat with a beer & burger-eating machine (theanswer is, of course... nothing). The seat was already empty andgenerating absolutely no income. So... filling it via a few freetickets costs nothing more than the paper and ink to print theticket. On the other hand, the value in filling an empty seat can bemeasured by the increased sales of food, beverage and merchandise.Every track has folks who could really use some free tickets...military installations, schools, senior citizen homes, orphanages,etc. Radio stations are always interested in giving "freebies" outto their listeners, and tickets to the racetrack are a good way toreach out to potential fans. Besides it is FREE advertising to letpotential fan know about the track. Promoting to CHILDREN is a built-in guarantee of having an abundance of future FANatics. Besides...mom and dad will usually take Junior to the racetrack beforethey'll join him in a crowded movie theater to spend 2 hourswatching cartoons.Most racetracks have fallen into the trap of not advertising. It'samazing what a few posters and/or flyers will do in a concentratedblitz promoting a weekly racing program. A 5% return on thedistribution of 1000 flyers is 50 new people in the stands. If only10% of those people return the following week, that's 5 new fans...spending about $30.00 each - or $150.00! Keep this kind ofadvertising up and you'll find some new bleachers going up for theprice of a few flyers! The secret in this kind of advertising isrepetition... ONCE isn't enough.Controversy, controversy, controversy... IT SELLS TICKETS. Iattended a track that used to have one of the best promoters whoever lived. He'd take an accidental spin or crash and turn it into$10,000.00 of yearly income by promoting it into a full-blown feud!Meet with the antagonists and share a few bucks for some "heated"action on the track. No one gets hurt (it's all fake), but theFANatics in the stands lap it up like flies on sugar! Let's faceit... a great part of the most successful weekly racing shows is howpeople conceive things to be... not necessarily how they actuallyare. P.T. Barnum knew this, and was the Grande Master atPromoting... and separating a Fan from his money with a smile and ahandshake!Do the little things that the fans enjoy, like driver introductions.Pick a class each week and introduce them to the Fans. Theyreally like cheering for "their" favorite driver not just the one upfront. The first class can be pushed out (so not to make any noise)onto the front stretch while the weekly awards program is beingheld. Even an autograph session once a month is always a fanfavorite. Pick a Fan of the week and give them the VIP treatmentgive them a tour of the pits introducing them to various driverespecially their favorite, let them give the command to startengines, wave the green flag and sit in the VIP booth for the nightsevents.Get a little "wild" sometimes! Find something that will get theFANatics on the edge of their seat. Like go around to some of theCup shops and get crew members to run some challenge races. I amsure one of the classes will donate cars to be raced. Find otherend of the night events to KEEP the fans there till the lights areout.Racing is both a Sport AND a Business. Promote the Sport... treatingboth the back gate and the front gate as CUSTOMERS, because BOTHare, in fact, just that... paying customers. It's the PAYING backgate that puts on the show and the front gate that pays the bills.Build the business through sponsorships, advertising and food sales(right back to those free tickets, aren't we)! Good advertising willcosts a little, but returns grand dividendsThese are just a few thoughts on building a strong,productive racing BUSINESS in a climate that has seen too manywonderful tracks close for the lack of PROMOTION!