UDLMCS Media
What a rookie year it has been for the United Dirt Late Model Challenge Series. ?Without a doubt the biggest buzz around dirt tracks in Georgia and Florida has been the “Ken Kinney Series”, as drivers are fond of calling it.
Now asphalt fans around the country will be getting an insight into what the “buzz” is all about.
This month another milestone was achieved for the series which has set a new standard for promotion and media for regional touring series. ?Readers of Circle Track Magazine,(with a circulation exceeding 2.5 million), are being treated with a cover story featuring the United Dirt Late Model Challenge Series in the January issue.
The six page article by Rob Fisher features 17 photos by Rick Warren, the photographer for the UDLMCS. ?The article focuses on the trip to Charlotte County Motorsports Park in August where the UDLMCS hit one of its many home runs in 2008.
Fans will recall the excitement in the packed grandstands as the drivers of the series ran 50 green flag laps, led by “The Locomotive” Johnny Collins.
The January edition of Circle Track is on popular news stands now, and you can get a subscription on the magazine’s web site at www.circletrack.com.
The article states, “The grandstands were full and the grassy hill between the turns?
3 & 4 were stuffed with people, blankets and chairs. ?With that kind of success, Diehl and Kinney would be crazy not to have the series make a return trip.”
In 2009 the UDLMCS series will make a return trip to the asphalt track on August 15, a repeat of the Battle on the Blacktop.
The feature in Circle Track tops off a great year of media for the UDLMCS. ?Twelve of the fourteen races run this year have been broadcast on Internet radio, carried by Real Racin’ USA with a combined audience of several thousand listeners. ?Plans are already in place and partnerships created that will greatly expand both the audience and the quality of the broadcasts in 2009.
Bob Culbertson’s Florida Video’s have been viewed online more than 20,000 times by over 5,000 race fans from more than a dozen states. ?Rob Kohler’s video interviews highlight the sponsors of the series, the promoters at the various tracks the series visits as well as the stars who make it happen on the track.
?
The videos, combined with Internet broadcasts have allowed fans from all around the country, but especially in the Georgia, Florida and Alabama regions, to stay closely tuned to the series throughout the year.
Series announcer Rick Anges, bringing 12 years of motorsports media experience to the table, also writes in depth reports of each event. ?Throughout 2008 each week following the race enormous exposure for the sponsors and drivers of the series was maintained via web sites such as WhoWon.com, Hoseheads, Real Racin USA and sites within the KARNAC.com racing community.
An estimated 180,000 race fans a month are exposed to the series through those web ites alone, with thousands more through articles appearing in print publications such as Motorsports Weekly, Keels-n-Wheels Magazine, Tampa Tribune, and many others.
Series promoter Ken Kinney realizes the vital importance of using a multitude of media sources to help fill the grandstands. ?”The effective use of the media is absolutely essential to our success.” Kinney said.
This weekend the series will crown its 2008 champion at East Bay Raceway Park. ?An afternoon concert of live Southern Rock music will kick off the day’s events, leading up to the 60 lap, $5000 to win feature. ?Crowds have been stellar at all the UDLMCS events and this will be no exception so fans should get to the track as early as possible to get a good seat.
Fans out of state or unable to make the race can listen live on Real Racin’ USA (www.realracinusa.com)beginning at 6 PM.
For much more on the series visit the web site, currently undergoing a complete remake for 2009, at www.uniteddirtlatemodels.com
