USTS Season Opener and Breaking News

[Tim Small]

Plans are well under way for the USTS SEASON OPENER April 25-27 in Winter Haven Florida. The host hotel this year will be the RED ROOF INN. To make reservations you can email or call Kathy at 863-438-2782 and use promo code RACE4 THE $54.95 RATE. Also information on reserving Motorhome pit spots will be coming soon.


BREAKING NEWS: The USTS will be introducing our all new WEBSITE in the very near future with many neat features. It will be easy to register for events and will be user friendly. Also a new YEAR END AWARD will be introduced this season. It will be the USTS ELITE CHAMPIONS AWARD. This prestigious award will be given at the year end banquet to the outstanding driver (drivers) for the 2014 season. The award will also be an important part of the USTS history for future generation drivers to strive for.

For all the latest news visit the new website in the near future or go to raceforthekidsfoundation.org

[DeanFHobart]

Everyone Knows

Tim,

You guys have your "stuff" together...... Everyone knows this. Keep up the great work in the USTS. I just wish I lived East of the Mississippi !!!

[dlmurray]

More info on USTS Winter Haven Race sponsored by Race for the Kids Foundation and Marvin Windows!

http://www.raceforthekidsfoundation....tleseries.html

The Host Hotel for the US TITLE SERIES is:
RED ROOF INN DUNDEE
28610 HIGHWAY 27N
DUNDEE, FL 33838
863-438-2782
RESERVATIONS MUST BE MADE BEFORE APRIL 10, 2014!
salesatredroofinn@gmail.com
Room rate = $54.95 plus tax/night
PROMO CODE = RACE4 FOR THE $54.95 RATE

MOTOR HOME PARKING - 20 spots available - $20/day: CONTACT Gary Levin - glevin12@aol.com

[baries]

Looking forward to seeing all again, great job. Let me know if I can be of service in any way. My contact info is in my Aero-Marine ad on this site.

[raceright]

From The Sidelines: Plans For MSC And US Title Series Powerboat Racing




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MSC - From The Sidelines
From The Sidelines
In 2013, I decided to work through the process of producing four (4) or seven (7) US Title Series races. The idea was to understand the racing format and develop a methodology for recording the races and presenting it to an ever broadening sports audience via Maximum Sports Channels. The results are available on the MSC-TV page here on the site. The total downloads for each of the race videos ranged from a few thousand downloads to the Winona races that averaged over ten thousand downloads. While I went though some efforts to verify the counts using unique IP Addresses, the best statistics came from Alexa and Google whereby their numbers were confirming our own counts.

So what does that mean? Basically, the product presentation was consistent with what is typically available on the
internet. The subject matter, Powerboat Racing, seems to have a measurable appeal that could be harnessed and channeled to attract a broader audience. Realistically, more effort, coordination, and promotion needs to be developed to achieve that growth. The results of 2013 translated into conversations with ESPN, FOX Sports, GSTV and a few other media outlets about potential content contributions. In some cases, the interest was greater than I expected and it is now high on the ‘wait and see’ list. Towards the end of 2013, there was some discussion about distribution and event promotion but when the numbers were counted and the advertisers were talked to, it was the advertisers that drove the ‘wait and see’ decision (which is completely understandable). In the end, money talks, and unless the fan-base growth is real, the sponsors and advertisers will continue to look but not necessary commit.

So what does that mean? Basically, more effort needs to be expended in tightening the presentation to become ready
for ‘prime time’. That translates into greater access to the racing teams, personalizing that access, and putting
the racing events and the racing teams front and center to achieving that access; thereby broadening the appeal. As
the appeal broadens, the audience grows. While race sites like Winter Haven, Pleasant Prairie, Winona and DePue are lovely communities, their media footprint is small. But then again, Watkins Glenn is not exactly a media mecca, yet it plays host to major NASCAR events. But remember, Watkins Glenn was NOT the birthplace of NASCAR’s popularity but rather the receiver of that popularity.

So what is the plan for 2014? How does PBR get there or more specifically USTS PBR? Well, first of all we need to
crank up the racing event promotion and advertising before the event. We need to grow the audience. With the exception of Depue (where the entire town comes out for the race) the crowd sizes range from a few hundred to a few thousand over the entire weekend of racing. We need exposure and that comes from the public getting to know the drivers and the racing teams. Here is where internet and Maximum Sports Channels has been focusing its attention. In 2013, attendance at the USTS events MSC attended were measured. Knowing this will help us measure the growth and consequently help advertisers and sponsors make decisions about sponsoring and advertising at future racing events.

So, 2014 and beyond will be an effort in increasing visibility. So having each racing team needs to think about setting up a Facebook page or their own website which will go a long way in starting the process of generating increased exposure. Let’s face it, you should be your own best advocate. If you cannot convince your own friends to take an interest, how do you expect anyone else to give a ****. Some of you have started and this is a good thing, get me your link address and we will get you up on Maximum Sports Channels (just use the contact page and I will do the rest on my side). If you want to place a link on your Facebook page or website pointing to MSC, let me know and I will get you the link and banner. For those of you who do not have a clue how to start, give me a call and we can talk about it and I can direct you to some sources that can help you get started. I am certain that many of you are worried about the cost, don’t, MSC is here to build not broker and it costs you nothing to talk to us. So let MSC help you get in gear, that is what we are hear for.

In the end, it is the racing teams and drivers that are going to broaden the appeal, MSC can provide the channel to a growing base of sports fans interested in broadening their access to sports other than the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL. God only know there are enough sites dedicated to these sports already.

I would like to leave you with a classic example of PBR promotion. There was a plug to powerboat racing on FOX and Friends towards the end of the summer of 2013, that showed a racer flying off the water (the event was in Seattle) during a race; bouncing through the crowd, coming to rest somewhere against a tree. The footage was recorded by a person attending the event. Comic relief, scary situation, wow … the commentary left you wondering why anyone would go to such an event, like watching an accident on the Expressway … btw … did anyone know who the racer was or what class of race was running, or who won the racing event. You can guess … no! Moral of the story, if you let them define who you are, I can guarantee you, it will not be in your best interests.

Also, I received number of questions about putting the races on YouTube or Instagram or any of the other community
free-for-all sites. The answer is actually simple. PBR is not the NFL, NBA, NHL or MLB with a huge core of content
that can be tossed all over the place with the hope of getting a few extra hits to websites. Content value is based on presentation control, so throwing it all over the place does not help, it actually cheapens the content.

And finally, MSC is in the process of setting up a race in Dallas Texas over the Labor Day weekend. We are coordinating with USTS to get the event planned, scheduled and booked. The next post will get into this in greater detail but suffice to say, it is going to happen. So in our first year with the USTS, we produced a product that appears to have some marketing and promotional legs. In 2014, our objective is to scale it up at a single race, that being Dallas. We will most likely select an initial race that we will use to start the process of managing the scaling.



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[kampenracing]

Usts

That is very exciting news and sounds like the USTS has a great partner is MSC. Great job!!!!

[T Chance]

I have registered for Winter Haven for 250ccR. I would also like to also run 500ccR but it looks like it the two classes are in the same flight on Saturday along with 350ccH. with K-Pro 125ccH and 500ccH the second flight. Can anybody tell me if my thinking is correct? My days of jumping out of one boat and right into another are over.

[Smitty]

In reading about all of your efforts to promote interest in USTS racing (and like Dean, I wish we had it out here on the West Coast), this question came to mind. It seems to me that the best places for our little sport might not be in big urban locales with numerous other attractions and distractions, but in little burgs like DePue, where we are the biggest deal in town, and the town-fathers and the residents of the area are proud to have us there.

It seems to me that a group of racers who want to talk to the leaders and opinion-makers in a new little town that looks good to us would gain credibility by having an essay written about the yearly races by the mayor or a town councilman from DePue. An essay from one civic leader to others, talking about the excitement of having a lot of expensive race equipment roll into town, owned by ordinary clean, middle-class, well-behaved, family-friendly folk like themselves. Do you already have such a letter? A similar letter from the editor of the local DePue newspaper for the consideration of other editors, radio station owners, town-bloggers, etc., could add to the buzz when all these guys get together for coffee at the local diner to talk about our request. Finally, a note from the DePue police chief for his law enforcement counterparts in other small towns, assuring them that we aren't a pack of dope-smoking rowdies from the Big City could be additionally persuasive.

(EDIT, 4/16/14) Well, so much for that idea . . . .

FWIW, Watkins Glen was famous among auto racers all over North America, Great Britain, and Europe long before the NHRA discovered the place.

[dlmurray]

The Host Hotel for the US TITLE SERIES is:
RED ROOF INN DUNDEE
28610 HIGHWAY 27N
DUNDEE, FL 33838
863-438-2782
RESERVATIONS MUST BE MADE BEFORE APRIL 10, 2014!
salesatredroofinn@gmail.com
Room rate = $54.95 plus tax/night
PROMO CODE = RACE4 FOR THE $54.95 RATE

[dlmurray]

REMINDER - FINAL DATE FOR ROOMS - 4/10/14 - TOMORROW!!!! The Host Hotel for the US TITLE SERIES is: RED ROOF INN DUNDEE 28610 HIGHWAY 27N DUNDEE, FL 33838 863-438-2782 RESERVATIONS MUST BE MADE BEFORE APRIL 10, 2014! salesatredroofinn@gmail.com Room rate = $54.95 plus tax/night PROMO CODE = RACE4 FOR THE $54.95 RATE