By Bob Gangwer
“Generation When?”
(Reprinted from Wailing with Wing Side Up LIVE internet radio show)
Oswego, NY 03/16/09…..I have heard several times that our society is aging more gracefully and that the live span of the American has been greatly extended. If we can afford to stay alive we can certainly plan on enjoying a lot more sunsets and plenty more bench racing sessions.
That’s a pretty good thing all in all. Us younger folks get the ribbing from the ‘older’ crowd that we don’t know so much as we think. That’s probably ok because in reality we don’t and I, for one, am glad they are here to teach us.
I’ve learned a lot over the years from my mentors. I’m wicked grateful for the things the wise old sages have taught me. I think what bothers me the most is the fact that we don’t seem to be replacing these legends as they finally run their last lap.
There was a time in supermodified racing where most of the people who were doing the racing were in their 20s or at the oldest their 30s. In fact most of the people involved were a whole lot younger then on average than they are now. From announcers to tech officials to starters and scorers the group was young and full of youth, ready to take on the world.
Now it strikes me as pretty scary when I get to the garage on the race car that I sometimes try to work on and I get ribbed that I’m the young guy at 41 years old. In fact, I’m the YOUNGEST guy other than the car owners son to have worked on the car in a while. I wonder how many other teams face this same issue.
I was appalled that there wasn’t a supermodified in the Gator Racing News Motorsports Expo this past weekend. My first reaction was to blame the Oswego Speedway, and while I can’t say that I think they shouldn’t have had a something that at least attempted to represent the DIVISION that they are the “Home of”, I know that I have to look a lot deeper than that to explain why this happened.
I think it goes back to the whole age factor again. It’s a lot of work trying to get one of these cars around and ready to race by May let alone the second week of march for a car show that doesn’t pay a purse. I have to believe that as the nights wear long in the garage that the veterans, lets’ call them, start wanting to close up shop a little sooner than they did even 10 years ago when they were a little more excited about getting a car ready to roll.
It seems very probable to me that nobody was much in a hurry to get the cars ready until they need too and again, when you get older, you’ve got a little less of that sense of urgency. So even though Oswego Speedway asked car owners to help out, it wasn’t as high on the list of things to accomplish as maybe sitting in the easy chair and watching S.U. go for the Big East championship.
I wonder where the new blood is going to come from. We’ve got a few, and they sure are exciting to watch. But I’m worried that there’s not a lot of attraction for young racers that don’t’ know anything about the supers to want to get involved with them. Remember, I’ll say it again for those that haven’t heard me bark it yet, there was a time when there were a lot more people who wanted to race supers than not and there was a pretty big reason why. Money.
Time was the money was good compared to the costs and it was attractive to all those younger guys. Money today doesn’t go as far and sometimes I wonder if maybe the younger crowd would rather spend that money, wherever they get it from, on more instant gratification than learning how to machine birdcages on a Bridgeport, or figuring out the physics of a split axle.
We’ve talked a lot about what I think we could do to promote the DIVISION better, but maybe we need to look not just how to promote it but who we are promoting it too. Really, what reason do you have to put down your iPod or your Wii to go to the races? It’s a different generation now, we have to figure out how to reel them in before it’s too late.
If you’ve got ideas on how we can do that, we want to hear about in the comments section below!
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I love reading your soapbox, even after I listen to it live on Monday eves. So….today it’s slow at work and I’m bored. Here’s a thought and maybe I’m just shooting from the hip on this one BG….like I said I’m bored today.
If we want to reach the younger generation today we need to think outside the box and be more proactive then ever before. Where do these kids hang out? Other than their bedrooms playing on the computer or sitting somewhere with their heads plugged into the iPod…where do they spend their time? I certainly don’t know myself BG….hell my oldest is barely 4 years younger than you are. I do know that the times I convince myself to go to a local mall that the place is crawling with kids…or so it seems to me anyway. I know this isn’t anything new……but I’ve always thought that having mall shows in your area and displaying 8-10 cars all shiny and having schedules to hand out and knowledgable people answering all the goofy questions….it can’t hurt. TV monitors set up with quality video running all day long. Discount ticket packages to give away. like I said….I realize this thought isn’t anything new….but I don’t see it happening out here very much, if at all. And I know of a guy that has an in in a handful of malls that has offered his help with the right contacts to get er done….and nobody takes him up on it. Why??? You are correct in that no matter when the first event is scheduled…early…late…whatever….many of the cars sit in shops until the last minute. Getting these teams to participate in things like this is not easy. I understand why….but if they want to help themselves then they need to understand that just talking about the supermodified isn’t going to attract new fans. These folks need to touch and feel and the video helps in a small way with the sound. Not sure how to recreate the smell….lol. I think that reaching the younger folk is the thing to do…but you have to go where they are…they aren’t going to just show up. Like I said….think outside the box and be proactive.
Ok….guess I better go back to work…there’s my .02 for the hour anyway….lol. Keep up the good work young man.
Curt,
You have a great point on the mall shows and maybe that’s where we need to rethink some of our scheduling. It seems to me that the shows were made to be more current fan driven with the hopes that a couple new fans will be made. I think that it’s good to have stuff going on in the off season but I believe it would be easier to get the cars out to the shows once they are done. Maybe a little closer to race time is a better time or maybe instead of putting them all inside, why not put a couple outside as teasers as to what is coming up when they walk in the door. Again, static displays don’t cut it, you need people manning the displays with enthusiasm. Pretty girls are even better. Thanks for commenting and thanks for the kind words my mentor!
Had a thought last night BG….with the mall displays…..what a perfect place to set up a traveling SUPRS racing computer or 3. If that doesn’t get their attention….nothing will. Gives the kids a chance to actually “race” one of the cars they are sitting next to. Just a late night thought…lol.
BG,
I thought it would be nice to send out “kudos” to one of our dear friends who is currently working on getting the college-age student involved. Doc Hathaway. Last year at Berlin, I saw at least 6 new students, if not more, wandering around the pits and checking the cars out. A few of them even got their hands dirty. Nothing like seeing Physics in action IRL (In Real Life – for you non-IM’ers).
Maybe there are others who are in that kind of atmosphere who are doing the same thing. If so, thanks!
I know with http://www.SUPRS.net, everyone is super busy; but maybe let the young one’s get ahold of our race cars more than once a season. I was visiting my high school friend recently and brought my racing computer with me. My friend’s son (11yrs old) took to the car like a natural and had a blast, and he was only racing against the computer. He was asking his dad if he had ever seen them IRL. Along with a bunch of other questions. The excitement in his voice is what caught my attention. Do we have time for a under 18 club on http://www.SUPRS.net, probably not at this stage. But it’s something to make you think.
@ True-I don’t think that’s a bad idea. But like you said time to do it all is something that we are short on. That and the fact that the last couple Family nights we’ve had at SUPRS were, let’s just say, lackluster.