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Ken (on
right) with Styres Racing at Owendale |
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I’ve
told this story a million times, BUT - I still remember
busting tires for a friend at Toledo Speedway on a
supermodified in 1990 – this couple came over that
used to help out Jimmy Brown with his super and started
raving about all the great sprint car racing going on
especially on dirt. I thought, here we are at a high
banked paved ½ mile with supermodifieds – how can it
get any better than that? – those stupid sprint cars
on dirt thing, could never be better than this. BOY WAS
I WRONG. Over the years I got to know this couple, Ken
and Cheryl Pelkie and they have a passion for the sport
like no-one else I know. At times I don’t see eye to
eye with them – but I certainly respect what they have
to say and I am ALWAYS interested in their thoughts
“regarding the state of the sport”. Lately the
Ohsweken Speedway has been honored with several awards
– most of those awards have been presented to Glenn
Styres – but I’m sure Glenn would tell you that the
efforts of Ken and Cheryl Pelkie are a big part of those
awards. So we asked Ken (Cheryl too) for their
thoughts…
Pete Turford
President
Southern Ontario Sprints |
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| You’ve
done several jobs within the sport photographer,
promoter, media officer, race director etc – which one
have you enjoyed the most? |
Also builder, driver, mechanic, car owner, concession worker, ticket seller, announcer, and fan. I guess you could say that I (we) have seen all sides of it.
There really is not one piece of it that I like more than another as they all get you involved to one degree or another, It just depends how much you want to be involved or are willing to sacrifice for. The one key point of our involvement is that we have done most of this on a volunteer basis – pure love of the sport.
Right now our work as unofficial promoters is the most rewarding part of the sport that we have ever been involved in. But it is not easy. We have had a total of two days off since the green flag fell at the Canadian Nationals last September – that is whole days where we did not have to answer the phone or email and field a racing related question. Most of these days are at least eight hour days with some up to twelve. Not complaining one bit though as it is necessary to build what Ohsweken is attempting to build and is very pleasurable dealing with the different industry people (at least most of the time).
If I have to pick one area that is something that I think is long term enjoyable I would say it is the photography piece as there is not much pressure. Just show up and do your thing – then off you go to the next venue. If you get lucky and capture a great shot it is rewarding; if you don’t then it is no big deal, you just move on. I don’t ever see us giving up the photography totally as it has been very rewarding and we have met many fine people through this avenue. The part that the average person doesn’t understand is that it is expensive to secure the necessary equipment to do the job correctly. Today’s digital cameras have flooded the industry with a group of people who are using the photographer disguise and their $500 cameras to seek access to areas they have no business being. This often makes it difficult for legitimate photographers to do their jobs properly. These people by and large have never been published on anything but their own websites and probably never will and do not represent any viable media; they are just looking for a free ride. |
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| The
announcement of weekly sprints at Ohsweken certainly set
tongues wagging – was the response about what you
expected? |
The jury is still out on that one. Ask me at the end of the 2009 season and I will be able to give you a better answer.
Now with that said; so far I have to look at it as better than expected. We have had a great deal of interest expressed from a number of existing teams from the area as well as established teams from both New York and Michigan. Several inquiries from people looking at getting into the sport as well makes me think that we should have a solid car count each week. With Humberstone running bi-weekly and the SOS offering a traveling Saturday show, I personally thing it will position sprint car racing overall in a strong and viable position in the area.
At Ohsweken, Glenn has been most cooperative in letting me and Cheryl look after setting up the program and providing both the cash and facility to make the program attractive.
Fan response has been extremely positive and as we are getting ready to hit the winter “Show Car” circuit so we should get a much better feel for the overall pulse of the situation.
One thing that I can say is that the support both sponsorship and contingency wise from the various vendors in the industry and local business has been more that we expected and very encouraging. And we have been able to sign a title sponsor for the Ohsweken sprint car division in “Corr/Pak Merchandising Inc” from Richmond Hill. |
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| With
2 World of Outlaw Sprint shows, a World of Outlaws Late
Model show, the Canadian Sprint Car Nationals plus all
the other specials at various area tracks how do you
make a weekly sprint show “Special” enough to get
the fans to come out? |
“SOLID” I believe is the word that is the main objective that should be targeted for a weekly show!
These other shows are indeed the “Specials” that should highlight the season and there is plenty of room for them. However if you do not have a “Solid” weekly program to make the track attractive enough to make it feasible to open the gates weekly, then I believe the facility is in trouble. Others have tried the specials only direction and the amount of success speaks for itself. So you need to offer something different in hopes of attracting attention.
For the most part, the World of Outlaws “Specials” (both Sprint and Late Models) attracts its own solid following of fans which is essentially different from what you would find at the weekly shows. We were surprised to find that the 2007 World of Outlaws Sprint show attracted an almost exclusive Ontario based crowd. We do definitely count on the support of the weekly fan for these shows as well and are proud to have the opportunity to bring these types of shows in for their enjoyment. However, many of the people who attend these major events are the same people who support a wide variety of other things such as baseball, concerts, etc. and not a weekly speedway. Most of them in fact do not attend weekly racing anywhere. Our job is to try to bring them in to our major “Special” races and expose them to a taste of our weekly grass roots show at the same time. And then maybe, just maybe we can attract some of them back to a few of our weekly events. That is what is going to make the longevity of the facility a reality. That is the real purpose of “Specials” and you have to take a chance and bring them in.
As for the Canadian Sprint Car Nationals; it is growing in fan popularity and is still the “Flagship Event” for local / regional sprint car racing. It has been designed for the race teams and their support has been outstanding from the start. The event should over time produce a show that is a “must see” on the fans yearly calendar. The formula has proved to be successful and we are seeing fan attendance growing each year. We no longer see this as just a race but rather an event that was planned to grow quickly into a highly recognized event on the 360 Sprint Car circuit. It has produced results much quicker than expected and has had a great deal to do with Ohsweken’s recent success. It is indeed a major factor in the speedway still operating.
Regarding specials at other area tracks; they are and will always be an important part of their program. We have been very careful to try to schedule around established dates at other speedways and will continue to do so as much as possible. |
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| At
one of the fall meetings, promotion was brought up as an
issue, you mentioned the various attempts made in the
past using print media, radio etc. all provided little
if any bang for the buck, for the track – what is the
2008 promotion strategy for Ohsweken? What should the
rest of the sport be doing? |
There are a lot of differing opinions on this however I do stick to what I said based on my personal past experiences.
Now, that does not mean that I am giving up on using print media or radio. Both are expensive and you really have to be careful where you choose to spend your advertising budget.
Starting with radio – how many of you listen to radio other than to catch the local news, weather, or traffic reports or the occasional Leaf game and really pay any attention to the commercials. Then when do you listen and to what station – is it Am of FM or now even satellite or your MP3 player or CD. Where and when do you spend your money – morning or afternoon – major stations or local? All have one thing in common – they are expensive. For a traveling series it is just not cost effective and for a track to do it sporadically it is no more than hit or miss with minimal return. Giveaways over the radio prove to be just that – giveaways. Traveling series such as the SOS are not in a position to give away tickets and for the speedways there is a better way to do this.
Print media is a bit better as you usually have a fixed circulation but how many of the demographic target groups read the newspaper thoroughly enough to see the ad that most of us can afford to take out. And how much support do you get from the local media in covering auto racing? I am not bashing either as they are also in business to stay in business. The fact is they don’t see auto racing as a highly visible market with major support to their listeners or readers.
And some people will say that television is the real way to get out your message but again, other than price – where do you go to market your wears and when?
The internet is the other major area that needs attention and has proven to be the quickest and best means of advertising and reporting. It is definitely growing in strength. It is also putting major strain on the print and radio side of the business.
We have had some moderate success with both print and radio but not what I would like to see. A concentrated effort will be made with Raceline radio (Burlington) this year to try to take advantage of their syndicated show. RaceTime radio (Owen Sound) has also been supportive in the past and we will continue to utilize their service while stepping up our support to them.
CFPL Radio (London) who produce a racing report weekly will also be a focus area while print efforts will be concentrated locally within the Brantford market as well as Racing print media in New York State.
Other than that, the most effective results for the track are local show and shine events, Custom car shows, and in reality anywhere where the fan and racers can interact. |
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| You’ve
been to tracks all over North America – what
track/promoter really seems to be above all others in
terms of putting fannies in the seats? And why do you
feel they have been successful?
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| There is no doubt that Eldora is among the leaders. It is mainly due to the established product that people can see year after year. Big names, Big car counts, and Big shows. The fact that Tony Stewart now owns the place hasn’t hurt anything either as there are still people who will go there to see a glimpse of Tony. But it is more or less the longevity of the establishment that has been the key to their success coupled with location, big purses, and racer support. |
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