The 40-degree weather today got me into a bit of a racing mood, if only because it signals winter won’t last forever.
Here’s an update on the 2020 RaceChaser Blog, which is based out of Fargo.
For those new to the blog, here are the eight tracks RaceChaser covers: Sheyenne Speedway in Lisbon, N.D.; River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks; Jamestown Speedway; Red River Valley Speedway in West Fargo, N.D.; Buffalo River Race Park in Glyndon, Minn.; I-94 Speedway in Fergus Falls, Minn.; Norman County Raceway in Ada; and Viking Speedway in Alexandria. Basically using about a 120-mile radius of Fargo-Moorhead. I’d like to expand further someday and maybe add correspondents to other tracks but right now being a one-person show those eight are my limits.
Since May 1 of last year, when the site switched to Wix and was redone, there have been 19,928 users and 68,878 page views (google analytics numbers). I am very grateful for those that read this blog.
I want to thank those businesses/tracks/individuals who have stepped up to sponsor this blog: DakotaCat (Wayne Peter), Beast Custom Works (Neil Walton), Skalicky’s Auto Repair of Fargo (Jesse Skalicky), Winning Edge Graphics of Alexandria (Robyn Snyder), TP Fabricating (Matt and Tyler Peterson), Pizza Ranch of Lisbon (Kyle Schell), Mason Aaron’s Racing Videos (Mason Eisenzimmer), Sheyenne Speedway, Viking Speedway and Speedway Shots (Mike Spieker). I have a few more tracks/sponsors in the works I hope to finalize in the weeks ahead. I am humbled by those who have supported this blog.
I so appreciate the sponsorship support for the blog, but to be clear, I will continue to be objective in my coverage of local racing — I was in the newspaper business 10-plus years so that is ingrained in me. My race reports include my opinion, so I want to be up front like that. I call things as I see them. If I don’t see an incident on the track I won’t comment on it. It is like what a journalist should be — not to let sponsors influence opinion but at the same time, being objective and fair. 90 percent of the time this blog is positive.
The money generated from the ad sales will go to the following.
—Website redesign to make the site more mobile friendly
—Sponsorship of two cars in the RaceChaser area. One is set, the other is in the works. Will announce those in the weeks ahead.
—Travel costs of driving to the tracks. Going 3 nights a week adds up as I am sure many drivers, fans and crew know.
—I am going to buy two general admission tickets to each track in the coverage area to give away during the summer. I’m not totally sure how to do this, but I’d love to give the tickets to people who have never been to a race or who haven’t been to a race in years. I want to see some new people get involved in the sport we love.
RaceChaser plans/2020
—There will be a weekly preview of the eight area tracks, most likely coming out on Tuesdays. It will be a paragraph or two on what is ahead each track, and maybe just highlighting drivers on winning streaks or have made some noise.
—There will be previews of special events as time allows.
—My goal is to do 25-30 driver feature stories this summer, spreading across the eight tracks in the region. There will also be some off-the-track features such as workers, fans, etc.
—I will continue to do race reports from the tracks I go to live. This will include a few video interviews and highlights of the night. The other tracks in the region that I can’t make it to will get a recap. So basically continuing to build on what’s been done in the past.
—I am going to try and do some features on a few drivers outside the region, ones known to many who may not live in the RaceChaser coverage area.
—I will write a few editorials on things that I feel like venting about.
I want to thank everyone for reading the blog and if you have any story ideas, will out the contact form below.
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