Mad Mikie: And just what opportunity is that Your Highness? Trying to fleece fans in a new and exciting way like with the shipping, handling, and processing fees of the race tickets? Sure, the economy has hit every large corporation in America. But folks are still buying diamond rings and laying out big bucks for NFL games. Why? Because these are decent products. You need to do a massive revamp on your “product” there Princess Lesa. Fans want to see 500 laps of racing, not a 490 lap single file, follow-the-leader, bore-me-to-tears procession and 10 laps of racing. Fans want to see real passing on the track, not some numbers cranked out by a computer that says there was passing. Fans want to see a Charger that looks like a Charger. They want to see a Fusion that looks like a Fusion. Fans want to see real rivalries, not these made-for-TV rivalries the lamestream media keeps cranking out. Fans want to see drivers go nose-to-nose pushing, shoving, and maybe even swinging their fists at each other or side by side beating and banging on each other with a car. Fans want coverage that shows all 43 cars during a race and not just the Chosen 13 cars interlaced with whoever has blown an engine or tagged the wall. Give fans this and you might see a change in your bank ledgers Your Majesty.
France: "We've taken over 500,000 of our tickets and repriced them. We've taken some of the tickets that were previously bundled and created new packages. In addition, we've taken the opportunity to widen some of the seats and make more luxury seats available. We're focused on value across the entire company."
Mad Mikie: And the repricing of the tickets hasn’t done anything. You still have a lot of empty seats in the grandstands princess. Right now, the widening of the seats is only at one track. And while comfort may be the reason we’re hearing publicly, it’s more smoke and mirrors to try to make the track look full. You and the Idiot Savant who’s not a savant should’ve learned by now that forcing fans to buy ticket packages doesn’t work. Especially when you try forcing them down the throat of the season ticket holders. If folks want to buy season tickets for only the Truck Series races, then give them that option. Don’t force them to buy tickets for all 3 series just so they can see the Truck Series. If a fan only wants season tickets for the Busch Series races, give them that option. Cater to what the fans want, not what you think they want.
And just why are you making the luxury seats more available now Your Highness? Could it be because of the number of corporations and sponsors who have left the sport are leaving you with some big, gaping holes in the grandstands? Why hasn’t everything been lowered by 1/3 like they did at Michigan? You want butts in the seats? You’ll need to do more than what’s been done so far.
France: "We find that about two-thirds of the people buying restructured tickets are brand-new buyers," Kennedy said. "Our history also tells us that if we can get them to that one event, the product sells itself. So our challenge is getting them to that first event and it goes from there."
Your brother went after the Short Attention Span Crowd and look at what that’s gotten you. Lots of empty seats. Your history also says that the average fan is gone after about 6 years Your Majesty. That’s probably why curmudgeons like me are a pain in your Royal Backside. We know what the sport is supposed to be like. We know when smokes is being blown up our tailpipes. And we’re not afraid to let other fans know about it. Instead of chasing off the core fan base, like the Moronic Maladroit did, you need to do something to actually get them back instead of paying that lip service Your Majesty. Listen to the fans all the time and not just when it’s convenient. The fans have been sending a message with their wallets and remotes, but are you listening to the message? So far your brother hasn’t. Are you?
France: “People are consuming our sport in different ways now, like NASCAR.com for instance. Social media, I know especially for the younger folks, that is how they communicate. All of our tracks now have social media outlets where they communicate with potential fans and new fans, as well as the younger audience. We always have to be refilling the pipeline."
Mad Mikie: Obviously you haven’t read the thousands of fan complaints about NA$CAR.com and the fact that those same fans won’t go to that web site. Social media doesn’t have the bucks to buy race tickets or souvenirs. It’s their parents that have the money. Right now, blogs and Facespace pages are passé. Being a twit is the current rage. By the time NA$CAR finally got around to things like blogging and Facespace, they were already outdated. And how much longer will twitting be the “IN” thing before it’s replaced by something else? And Your Majesty’s statement about refilling the pipeline wouldn’t be happening if the Royal Family of Daytona had bothered to listen to the fans instead of Faux King Brian spouting off, “ I know what’s best for the sport”.
France: “One thing that we're working hard to adapt to is ‘green’ initiatives. ISC has done a lot with renewable energy and partnering with NextEra to try to figure out our next steps. It's a learning experience, and something that we're all learning about. It's very, very important to all of our partners and it's also important just as a good global citizen. It's about recognizing that change and making sure that you're on board with it and trying to figure out how you can be accommodating to try to get to that goal."
Mad Mikie: Obviously you haven’t been paying attention to the news Your Highness. With the EPA being able to regulate CO2 emissions, you better start scrambling to figure out how to make the fleet of NA$CAR vehicles, the race support vehicle, the emergency track vehicles, the team haulers, and the race vehicles emit less CO2. You’re not going to be able to purchase carbon off-sets to get out of this mess. If you can figure out how to harness all the hot air generated by Jabber Jaws during one race broadcast and turn it into useable energy, like with wind turbines, you could probably solve the nation’s energy shortages.
And what about the next step of hybrid and electric vehicles? When will we be seeing those on the track? Has Your Highness figured that one out yet? And just who are these partners you’re talking about Your Majesty? I thought NA$CAR was an entity solely owned by the Royal family of Daytona. Did somebody buy into it that we fans haven’t found out about yet?
Part 2 has some more interesting comments from Princess Lesa and continues to show just how much she follows the party line while being able to complete a sentence and a thought without getting distracted. Too bad we can’t say the same for her brother.
I want to give a big hand and a thank you to
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