The World’s Greatest Hobby Sport
Those of us who have another hobby in model trains, and read the magazines associated with them, know of the World's Greatest Hobby campaign touted over the past few years. This is a hobby promotion where model railroaders are encouraged to reach out to friends, family, and the general public by taking trains to work, speaking publicly about the hobby to various groups, and even having an open house for the public to view your home layout. Well, a few of our Bay Area slot car track owners and racers got together recently to do something very similar- an event which proved to be a huge success! I was fortunate enough to be in attendance for the first day and a half of this adventure… Every year during Thanksgiving week, one of the nation’s largest car shows is held in California- the San Francisco International Auto Show. Every major make and model of new car available for sale in the US is on hand, as are a host of after-market auto suppliers, vendors, and exhibitors. This event is huge, and thousands of people attend every year. Eric Eberman and Slot Car Bob Marketos knew the potential for promoting slot car racing in an arena like this. Bob brought in his brand new Bowman-built six-lane routed track and set it up for all the world to see. You can just imagine what took place in the following days… They planned carefully, knowing that 4-5 people were needed to run races, as well as sell and collect tickets. Volunteers were scheduled for each day’s activities. A nominal fee of one dollar per 10-lap race was charged, though toward the end of each day, as the show wound down, 20-lap races were the norm. Sometimes, just to get enough people interested during slower periods, free practice brought in more racers. New Johnny Lightning pull-back and X-Traction cars were donated by Playing Mantis and handed out as prizes. The track was located at the end of a ‘culdesac’ of vendors and exhibitors, just off the main floor. In our area were a go-kart racing school, a full-size racing simulator (at $7 per race), a sunglass vendor, and next to our track- a free video game area (sponsored by the US Army). Stiff ‘competition’?- no friggin’ way! The race simulator, though run by a great-looking blonde woman, didn’t have more than 10 takers per day. The video game guys only seemed to get the people leaving our race table. The big draw in our neck of the woods was the slot car track! We regularly had not just a full table of racers, but 10-15 people buying tickets and waiting for the next race. We also had a sign-up list so people could receive future e-mail info about our clubs, tracks, and of course, HO World. Guys in their 30’s, 40’s and 50’s, who probably hadn’t seen a slot car since they were youngsters, came by and said they remembered having them as kids. Those were the guys with the biggest smiles on they faces! As a Dad, the best part for me was watching the kids with their families. There was many a father, holding the controller with his child, helping them make the car go ‘round. At one point we had a guy buy a race for the entire table and filled the spots with his own family! Fun stuff!! Then there was a little seven yr. old girl named Julia. Not only was she cute as could be in her little pink sweater, but she could race. And race. And race. She must have come by the table three or four times with her family, jumping up and down asking her Dad to race “just one more time”. Not only did she get the hang of the Nascar Tyco pretty quickly- she kicked butt! She beat her older brother (who quit after that), a bunch of older kids, and several adults, too! Her Dad had slot cars as a kid, so he attributed her success to DNA. He signed up on the e-mail list, too. Not only did we have a great time with this event, but we were like ambassadors for our hobby sport. Many times we had people asking where they could race or buy cars and sets. Another thing I liked about this event was what it showed about our hobby vs. the other things kids will do with their free time. The video games, although right next to our booth, couldn’t hold the attention that our track did. Maybe it was the big crowd, the noise, and the energy- but even in times with smaller or no crowds, people came to our table first, often by-passing the video games all together. I would recommend this type of promotion to anyone reading this. Take a track (or two) to car/ hot rod shows, shopping malls, your kids’ soccer game, and SCCA or professional events at a nearby raceway. In fact, I’d venture to say that one could build a nice durable, portable routed track and make enough money over time to not only cover expenses, but have the track more than pay for itself. That aside, you’ll add racers to your club roster, and have a lot of fun watching others race on your track! So, get out there and do it! We’ll be back next year… | | | | | |
