High Limit Racing seeks to inject some personality into its races for 2024. That includes driver-curated music, fan fests allowing fans to meet teams in the pits, and more.
“Showcasing our drivers’ personalities and increasing fan engagement are the priorities of High Limit Racing,” said Kendra Jacobs, High Limit Racing’s new Chief Marketing and Events Officer. “It will grow the brand of the driver and give fans a personal connection with the drivers they cheer for.”
Music plays a large element in helping High Limit Racing’s events engage fans more. Drivers will create playlists that will play over the PA speakers. For example, Jacob Allen, will be the first driver DJ, with an eclectic list ranging from Led Zeppelin, to Machine Gun Kelly, to Morgan Wallen. (You can view his complete list here: https://bit.ly/3SvSkXP)
“Music has always been a part of live racing events, but typically the announcer is the source of the playlist,” Jacobs said. “We wanted to showcase High Limit Racing drivers. Their music is an element of getting to know them and learning of their personalities. Like going on a road trip, you learn a lot about a person by listening to the music they chose. It’s also a talking point for fans to get to know drivers outside of their cars.”
The Fan Fest portion of the show will allow fans to enter the pits for a half-hour between qualifying and heat races. They will be able to see up close the cars, the stars, and crews working on the sprint cars.
Furthermore, High Limit Racing will take suggestions for questions to ask the drivers in the ButlerBuilt Professional Seat Systems Hot Seat question of the night. The fan who has their question chosen will win a prize pack.
“The pit announcer has traditionally asked drivers’ questions about how it was going with them and their car,” said Jacobs. “Fans will submit a question that they would like ask of all the starting drivers. The questions will give the drivers another chance at showcasing their personalities.”
Fans will also have a chance win money with the Durst Dice Roll. High Limit Racing pole winners in the dash get the opportunity to start from further back in the pack, with the number of positions determined by a dice roll. A randomly selected fan who bought their ticket online before the show will have the opportunity to roll that dice.
“We’ve tweaked that for this season,” Jacobs said. “If the driver wins from the position rolled, the fan splits the bonus money with the driver. For example, if a 12 was rolled, the bonus would be $1,000 by 12, and that would be split between the driver and fan.”
High Limit Racing will debut these new fan features at its season opener, the Battle at the Bay. That takes place February 12-13 at East Bay Raceway Park in Tampa, Florida.
Mike Adaskaveg has written hundreds of stories since the website’s inception. This year marks his 54th year of covering auto racing. Adaskaveg got his start working for track photographer Lloyd Burnham at Connecticut’s Stafford Motor Speedway in 1970. Since then, he’s been a columnist, writer, and photographer, in racing and in mainstream media, for several outlets, including the Journal Inquirer, Boston Herald, Stock Car Racing, and Speedway Illustrated. Among Adaskaveg’s many awards are the 1992 Eastern Motorsport Press Association (EMPA) Ace Lane Photographer of the Year and the 2019 National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) George Cunningham Writer of the Year.
