RADFORD, VA :: Gary Cody recently acquired the role of General Manager at Motor Mile Speedway back in January and has already made a splash as he plans to take the track to the next level. Cody has already changed the track’s formerly-controversial media policies and plans multiple events at the track which will appeal to residents in the New River Valley.
Motor Mile Speedway has become the premier facility for Late Model Stock Car racing boasting the highest car counts in the region year after year. The track was strengthened even more in 2013 with the Dirty Dozen championship series in partnership with Southern National Motorsports Park. Cody plans to expand on the logic that brought forth the Dirty Dozen and work with neighboring tracks on similar deals in the future.
“We plan to work with other track,” Cody said. “We had a meeting planned with other [NASCAR Whelen All American Series] Division I that in proximity didn’t take place because of short notice. It was ways of working together with all the tracks close in proximity. That’s a goal of mine to have a point’s series. You want to engage the fans as much you can. People can watch the points on the internet and it’s a good way to engage people.
“I’m familiar with the other tracks. Even on our dragway side, we get a lot of people from Franklin County, VA that race. It tells me if they’re coming here to drag race, we can draw fans here too… I’m open to anything working together that benefits people in our area. They’re adjacent tracks and we want them here as well. If you’re close enough, people are going to travel. That’s just the natural thing.”
Cody has previously worked in positions where public feedback was essential to his job. He’s served as the Tourism Director in Wythe County, VA as well as a Parks and Recreation Director in both Wythe County and in Martinsville, VA. So, the first thing Cody did when he took over as General Manager at Motor Mile was put out a survey on the track’s website to get feedback from the fans.
“We did a survey when I came on board,” Cody stated. “I’m used to working with the public so it’s something I like to do. The majority of people who took the survey who come to the track say they travel over 50 miles to get here. I also want to survey groups that step foot in here as well so I can get a better account of that this year.”
Taking knowledge of the car counts Motor Mile boasts will be a selling point on the marketing side for the .416-mile track located just outside Radford’s city limits.
“It’s a selling point. I haven’t thought of it in that direction but I think we can use that as a stepping stone to take it to the next level for our fans.”
Another way Cody plans to market the track is to open up media access in a way the track has not in previous years.
“We want our media to make a relationship with us and that’s a big part of our advertising to be in the sports page,” Cody explained. “Sometimes, it’s a thing for sports writers that they want to cover racing more and some stick with more ‘traditional sports’, like baseball, football and basketball. We want to open it up.”
Cody has already planned a media day at the track for early April with several guests attending. The track plans to be more accommodating to the media at the track as well, installing wireless internet access in the VIP suites and opening up a suite to working media. This is in sharp contrast to Al Shelor’s policies in which media was essentially not welcome at the track.
A Local Destination
Cody has already scheduled outdoor events at the track and hopes to add more events as the year moves on. Some of those events include an outdoor expo, an arts and crafts flea market and a beer and wine festival.
Along with the outdoor events, Cody plans to add more races and at the dragstrip and, in future years, at the speedway.
“I’m adding more events to the venue out here, outdoor related,” Cody said. “I want to do cruise-ins at the dragway and in the speedway pits. We’re doing some movies at the speedway. We’re looking at adding some more races to the dragstrip right now. We’re looking to add races there and to the speedway in the future.”
Cody elaborated on the many special events the track already has planned for 2014.
“We’re going to do the monster truck show and fireworks on July 5th, that’s one of our biggest events. We’re working with Ram Trucks. They want to sponsor an outdoor expo out here on August 16th. We’re also looking at an arts and craft flea market on June 21st. We’re working with some human societies, going the mile for pets. It’s to raise money for spay and neutering for pets. We’re shooting for September 13th there. We’re going to do a beer and wine festival in October and have some band out here and have vendors for tasting. As the year goes, we want to add more events. We’re also being more accommodating with the media. Those are the main things in a nutshell.”
The main principle for Cody is to get more fans to the track and, as revenue increases, add more events and increase payouts for the racers.
“We hope to add more fans and get more people out here and that we’ll be able to add more races in years to come. If we increase revenue, we can increase purses as well. I was a former tourism director so I know why people are coming to and what the market is, I believe in flooding the market as well with radio and television advertising. I know what ties we have to this area.”
Cody taking over as General Manager will free Al Shelor up to get involved with business development with new venues the company is getting involved with. Cody will work alongside Randy Merriman, JW Martin and Joe Hodge.
The 2014 season at Motor Mile Speedway kicks in to gear on Saturday, April 26th with twin 75-lap Late Model Stock Car races, 50-laps for the Limited Sportsman division as well as races for the Street Stocks, MOD4 and UCAR divisions. Ticket prices will be held at $10 for regular season races.
