Promoters are watching, and you probably aren’t helping your case
Now that we’re approaching crunch time of the race season, it isn’t hard for racers to find themselves on the edge. You’ve been grinding away all season trying to pick up wins and points to put yourself in the Championship hunt. You don’t even want to look at your checkbook to see how much money you’ve spent so far.
Whether something goes wrong now, on the last night of the year, or the first night of the year, I’m here again to warn you about the dangers of venting your frustrations on social med Facebook and Twitter are like a bonfire full of kindling and lighter fluid—just waiting for you to throw the match. You may think it’s a harmless release, or just a way to voice your frustrations, but it’s really just a damaging practice that causes hurt egos and cause animosity.
When I say this, I’m not asking you to subscribe to the negative-social-media-is-killing-racing narrative. In all honesty, I’ve yet to see any conclusive evidence to suggest that when you post something nasty about your track on Facebook people stay away. Is it a smart practice that benefits racing? That’s highly doubtful. But is your post about a lousy call in the tech barn going to keep someone from enjoying their weekly Budweiser while watching Street Stocks on a Saturday night? Also highly doubtful.
What I can say is this—and it’s a narrative you probably haven’t heard yet. You’re hurting yourself when you post negatively on social media. How? Because we’re watching you, and we don’t forget.
When I say “we” I’m not wearing my Circle Track Editor hat. I’m wearing my promoter/announcer/flagman/tech inspector/pit steward/etc. hat. I’m speaking for those who are usually on the wrong end of the Facebook complaining. (As an aside, the airing of a beef between two racers isn’t necessarily healthy either—but sometimes it is entertaining. Just make sure you don’t come off as a whiner. No one likes a whiner).
You may ask: “How can I do damage to myself by throwing the race promoter under the bus? He’s the bad guy who sleeps on a bed of money after every race night. (He really doesn’t, by the way.) I’m just calling him out. Besides, when I post something, no one argues with me, so I must be right.”
Well, hold on to that thought. As a promoter/track worker, I have seen outright lies posted about series and tracks on Facebook. Some are the most uniformed trash that one could only dream up with too much free time. Have I or my co-workers ever engaged? Absolutely not. The most you will ever get out of us is, “If you would like to discuss, feel free to contact me directly.” Why? Because in the court of public opinion—for whatever reason—the official is always wrong. Don’t believe me? Think about watching any sport that has refs. You sure don’t like those guys, and they’re mostly wrong. (I’m guilty of these thoughts, too. Ryan Kessler was interfering with Cam Talbot in Game 5 of the Western Conference Semis. The Edmonton Oilers should have won that game. But I digress…)
I’ll admit it. When you post something negative on Facebook, as a promoter or track worker, my hands are tied. I know that’s an argument I can’t win, or one that is going to be a serious uphill climb. Most other promoters and track workers will agree with me. Engaging in the post is just a waste of time, and a good way for racers, crewmembers, and their fans to come at you in numbers.
With that being said, I want to pass along this caveat that most likely no promoter, flag man, race director, or tech inspector will ever tell you. We take pride in what we do at the racetrack. And just like you remember when someone drives you dirty on the track, officials remember seeing posts on Facebook.
I’ve seen two instances of this so far this season. One was about a call being made and a racer who decided to air it out on Facebook. The other was by a group of racers about rules at a different track, also aired out on Facebook. As these posts were live, I was in contact with track workers. You can probably guess that they weren’t too pleased.
One racer decided to not attend the track where they disagreed with the call. The promoter let them know that if they would like to come back, they could, but the posts must be addressed. As for the other one, there was some animosity, and really no solution.
Now, I know what I’ve said here might make you think that you don’t care if you hurt the promoter’s or the track worker’s feelings. But maybe you should worry about bruising their egos. It’s only human nature to want to level the playing field—an eye for an eye, right? Does that mean next time a marginal call doesn’t go your way? Does it mean you get torn apart in the tech shed? Does it mean you get chewed out next time you see the promoter? Are you not welcomed back at the track?
Honestly, I can’t say I (or any of my fellow track workers promoters in this area) are guilty of this behavior. But I can tell you that frustration levels get very high when watching these posts on Facebook.
It’s up to you to know which buttons you can and can’t push. But for the sake of working with your promoter, you may want to hold off on pushing the one that reads “post.”
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