RPW Exclusive: Even I Can Learn That Less Really Is More

Column By: TOBY LAGRANGE / RPW – GLOVERSVILLE, NY – The old saying goes, you cannot teach an old dog new tricks. While I may not be an old dog just yet, I certainly can be a stubborn one and thus changing my way of thinking is not always an easy thing to do. Don’t believe me, ask my wife. By the time I tucked my son into bed Sunday night this stubborn dog had learned something.

What did I learn? I learned that less really is more.

It took two of the very few New York State Fairgrounds race tracks remaining (and their forward-thinking promoters) to get this stubborn announcer to change his mind on some things. What are those things you ask? Well, they involve honoring the best of our sport and bringing fans into the stands.

I should probably explain.

Saturday night I opened my (and the CRSA Sprint Car) season at the Land of Legends Raceway. The three hour each way trip is one that I will make four times this season for five events. Following the qualifying program, the track added a new member to their Wall of Fame.

For anyone that has read my columns here on Race Pro Weekly, then me explaining how much I love honoring the past via Hall (or in this case Wall) of Fames would be repetitive at best. To those who haven’t then let’s just say that I love them when done correctly and not unnecessarily overloaded. Hence why I am a member of the Glen Ridge Motorsports Park Hall of Fame Committee and brought the Fonda Speedway Hall of Fame back to life in 2015.

Land of Legends Raceway Promoter Paul Cole and staff have the right idea. Instead of a Hall of Fame, they have a Wall of Fame. The Wall of Fame is located on the turn four side of the change booth behind the bleachers on the general admission/spectator side of the track. There, the plaques of the four inaugural (2018) inductees can be found. They are not hidden and can be seen by anyone walking behind the stands at any point during the program.

Those four – Glenn Donnelly, Alan Johnson, Bob McCreadie and Dutch Hoag, were all inducted on different nights last season. This year they were joined by the patriarch of the Johnson brothers and master engine builder – Milt Johnson.

What did I learn? I learned that not only do you not need to have one, big induction ceremony but you create a lot of anticipation by not releasing the inductees name(s) until a few days before induction. I was thoroughly impressed with the ceremony and how it was handled leading up to and during the nights action. Spreading the inductions out throughout the season creates more exposure and positive energy for the track than just one program. It also allows for further recognition for the inductee(s).

Also on Saturday night, about three hours east of Canandaigua first year Fonda Speedway Promoter Brett Deyo went out on a limb and hosted a one-dollar admission night. At first, I was skeptical. Knowing what the Track of Champions had become over the past few seasons, I saw a potential disaster in the making and a solid bad financial night for a promoter who holds the keys to a good chunk of the northeast racing history book.

Thankfully, I was wrong and the fans came out in droves to support the oldest track still in operation in New York. The 105-year-old facility was so packed that only the original Thunder Along the Mohawk and maybe the first Jack Johnson Tribute event could compare in modern times.

For those not familiar, the area around the Fonda Speedway is not exactly a booming metropolis. The counties of Montgomery, Fulton, Schoharie, Hamilton, Herkimer, Otsego and western Schenectady are not thriving financially. During the track’s heyday, these areas were blue collar, industrial areas. Unfortunately, those days, like the factories that graced the skyline are gone and generating new fans is even harder when financially it is hard for the typical family to get to the track.

What did I learn? I learned that sometimes people (in this case race fans) need a push to get back to the track. Deyo and team created that push by offering them an olive branch so to speak…come check us out for a dollar, you will not be disappointed. From all that I have read and heard, no one left disappointed. Kudos to all that are making my home, the Fonda Speedway great again.

Learning is not always the easiest thing to do. When I started announcing in 2014 one of the first lessons Jim King taught me was to try and learn something every time you get on the mic. I challenge everyone out there in our little slice of the sports world to open their eyes and minds and try to learn something each and every time they head to a race track. Who knows, you may be in the position to help our sport in some way, some day and what you learned could be the knowledge needed to keep things moving forward…just like Paul Cole and Brett Deyo did.