Front-wheel-drive racer Tyler Woodard likes to bring his Facebook and TikTok followers along with him on his journey. That includes offering a live perspective from the cockpit of his race car as he wheels it around a dirt tracks, such as 411 Motor Speedway in Seymour, Tennessee, and Volunteer Speedway in Bulls Gap, Tennessee.
“It’s like you’re in the car with me,” said Woodard, 24, of Kodak, Tennessee. “It’s kind of like what NASCAR does. I was just going to do it for fun, and see how it turned out. People liked it.”
Before he hits the track, Woodard talks with his followers. However, while he races, Woodard said he does not interact with his live audience.
“I don’t even notice the phone is on in [the cockpit],” Woodard said. “I don’t pay attention to it. I’m focused on racing.”
Woodard developed a following by sharing his life. He does not limit that to racing alone.
“My channel consists of a little bit of everything,” Woodard said. “I play semipro football. [My content includes] workout videos, dirt-track racing, motocross, motorcycles, lifted trucks, fast cars. I’m a go, go type of person. I like to try it all. My skydiving videos, those blew up, too.”
Oversharing? Perhaps. But, his followers seem to love it — and it has rewarded him.
“One of my buddies that I went to high school with, he owns a painting business,” said Woodard. “He told me he’s going to cut me a check to put his logo on my car.”
Ultimately, Woodard feels his social media presence benefits the sport.
“There are a quite a bit of young kids, like my brothers’ ages [11 and 12], that get into [TikTok],” Woodard said. “It gives them the point of view that … if I’m going fast and slide sideways, I’m not going to flip over. It’s like going skydiving and thinking my parachute is not going to deploy. You can’t assume the worst. You just got to go out there and have fun.”
His audience seems to eat it up the fun he has, but Tyler Woodard recognizes why.
“Honestly, people like seeing me do crazy shit,” said Woodard.
The Outside Groove Executive Editor has covered motorsports since 2000. His many awards include the 2019 Eastern Motorsport Press Association (EMPA) Jim Hunter Writer of the Year and the 2013 Russ Catlin Award for Excellence in Motorsports Journalism.
