Auto racing technology accelerates

Cars roar, mouses click.

Iowa race tracks and drivers — from the deepest grassroots to the most high-profile levels — are increasingly finding ways to use technology to get the word out about their sport.

A growing number of racers, such as Joe Zadina of Corning, adorn their dirt cars with cameras in an effort to convey to sponsors, friends and the world - via Web sites such as YouTube - the experience of powering a stock car through Iowa's rich dirt.

"When you're sitting up in the grandstands, the view's a little different than when you're in a race car," said Zadina, who drives in the pro streets class at Adams County Speedway.

"I mounted a camera on my helmet to kind of show (car owner Ross Griffith) what it was like to be in the car."

Race tracks such as Knoxville Raceway have so embraced Internet technology that this year 40 percent of the 90,000-plus tickets sold for the Knoxville Nationals sprint-car gala were sold online.

Three years ago, that number sat at zero.

On the national stage, meanwhile, racing continues to climb the high-tech ladder.

NASCAR and the Indy Racing League offer live Webcasts of select events.

ESPN's coverage of NASCAR includes a "Draft Cam," a view that graphically illustrates how "clean" or "dirty" the air is for a car in a race.

The message for racetrack promoters and racers alike is clear: "Ignore these developments at your own peril," said Iowa Speedway vice president and general manager Craig Armstrong.

The Joe Show

When Adams County Speedway began offering drivers the option of renting an in-car camera last season, Zadina thought he'd search for a more permanent fixture.

After some Internet shopping, he found his best deal: an inexpensive digital video camera and memory card.

Total cost? About $175.

Zadina started rolling - sometimes with less than perfect results.

"The first time I had it in the car I pointed it forward, went down into turn one of the first lap and caught a big clump of mud on it," he said.

"You couldn't see anything. But it's been interesting. I only do it when I have time to mess around with it."

Zadina said he's posted five or six clips on YouTube over the past year for the world to see.

Dozens of videos from Iowa racetracks - from Corning to Donnellson to Newton - can be found on the popular video-sharing site.

Beyond the exposure, Zadina said, there are practical benefits to chronicling races.

"I haven't ever done it, but if I wanted to see what my suspension is doing when I'm racing, I could mount (the camera) underneath the car and point it toward my right front tire or the rear end," Zadina said.

"Everything happens so fast sometimes you can't remember it when you get out of the car. But come Sunday morning, when you've got nothing to do, you can watch your race and say, 'Oh, that's how come that did that.' "


Knoxville live

Want to know who's leading, who's crashed, who's blown a motor during events at Knoxville Raceway?

Just log on to the Internet, type in knoxvilleraceway.com and click on results.

There, in real time, are the finishes for everything from time trials to heat races to main events.

Fans clearly appreciate the effort - at the track and away from it.

Knoxville director of business development Bruce Neimeth said the record for users concurrently perusing the results page during a race is 115,000.

That's more than the total attendance of the Knoxville Nationals, which draws between 90,000 and 100,000 fans each August.

"A key thing is how long they stay online," Neimeth said. "Wednesday (of Nationals) last year was the longest we ever recorded, 29 minutes. And we know why."

Reason one, they say: Knoxville, as one of the premier dirt tracks in the world, enjoys global cachet.

Reason two: It's the Nationals, but regular weekend races reap impressive numbers as well, with anywhere from hundreds to several thousands of people on the site at a given time.

Those eye-popping numbers also raise the eyebrows of Knoxville race director Ralph Capitani.

"I'm not convinced it doesn't keep people away from the race track," said Capitani, who has seen crowds dwindle in recent years but rise somewhat this season. "But at least they're interested and they're going to come some day."

Sorting through text results is one thing. Being there is another.

Neimeth said the online ticketing system allows fans to select specific seats, not just a section.

This Nationals, he added, four out of every 10 tickets to the four-day show were sold online with the click of a mouse - and a seamless, secure credit-card transaction.

"It's instant action and reaction," Neimeth said.

In order to stay viable as an entertainment venue, Knoxville understood the value of immediacy - and invested $235,000 to upgrade its Web site over the course of about three years.

Future plans include exploring Web-casting and possible advertising, given the number of visitors Knoxville's Web site attracts.

The Internet push at Knoxville is rooted in marketing strategy: Skew younger, but maintain and augment the value of the product.

"Kids don't read the newspaper," Capitani said. "They do read the Internet. The ultimate goal is to get on (a site) that is frequented by teens, which we haven't done yet, but I think that will help."

And Knoxville fans, hold on to your Nationals hats.

Capitani foresees a time when TV for an event like the Nationals may change as well.

"I think the Knoxville Nationals, down the line somewhere, is going to be pay-per-view," he said. "It's not going to sit out there free for everybody."


Boone's on board

For years, the prospect of Boone Speedway producing a Web site has been a question of "if."

Now, finally, it's "when."

Robert Lawton, promoter of the track that hosts the IMCA Super Nationals on Sept. 3-8, said he hopes to have a site launched within a month.

"We're five years behind the curve," Lawton said. "There's no question we should have a Web site, at least of a minimal type. We're working on it."

Lawton added novelty races and car-giveaways to several of his Saturday shows to attract more fans this season.

The Web is next - and the plans aren't piecemeal.

"I'm not so certain a blog isn't the next answer," Lawton said, adding his goal for the Web site, once operational, is interactivity. "I'm not so certain we're not going to have to hire somebody to run a blog for us."

Hiring new people, of course, requires surplus money - one of the stumbling blocks of racetracks with spartan Web sites, or none at all.

Lawton is blessed with a son well-versed in computers.

He's admittedly not so tech-savvy, but never shied from the computer-enhanced bandwagon.

Nearly 20 years ago, he invested in an Apple IIE and hired someone to manage software so he could run his promotion business, which then included the state fairgrounds in Des Moines.

"We were running 125-130 races a year at that point in time," Lawton said. "We couldn't manage the business without it."

Spreadsheets and floppy discs were daunting enough.

But live-streaming, Web cams, interactive blogs ...

"At my age, it's overwhelming," Lawton said.

Yet not impossible, so Lawton figures why not aim high?

"We'll get there," he said.


High-tech from startup

Iowa Speedway in Newton spared no expense - or technological advancement - when building its facility more than two years ago.

Two key elements were integrated into the plan: Becoming the first track to include next generation SAFER Barriers into its original construction, and adding cameras embedded in the track to offer fans a unique view of racing from below.

"Everything about that track is state-of-the-art," said the facility's vice president and general manager, Craig Armstrong. "That's one of the ways we wanted to differentiate Iowa Speedway from other racetracks."

The SAFER Barrier, as its name implies, makes racers safer. Instead of a concrete wall, the Barrier's high-tech energy-absorbing foam envelops the track.

The TV cameras enhance the fan experience at the track and at home.

Iowa Speedway also is continually looking for ways to augment its presentation, online and on-site.

Racing's a business, and fans stand at the center.

"It's up to us now to make this successful, make it work," Armstrong said. "To bring in greater and greater numbers of people to watch our events and procure better quality of events for the future. It's all up to us at this point, but the raw material, the grist, is there."


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