Please Don’t Be a Robot

The last couple of weeks have been memorable for Paul Shafer Jr. He won the ASA Midwest Tour’s Salute the Troops 100 at Jefferson Speedway and followed up with a victory in the Trickle 99 Alive for Five series race at Dells Raceway Park.

He won the Jefferson event by dominating that race to an easy victory.

But the Dells race was, well, you can say, had a wild finish. Shafer would get the lead in the last few laps after Ty Fredrickson and Luke Fenhaus got into each other coming off of turn two, allowing Shafer to get by on the outside and take the lead.

Each time Shafer won, he hopped out of his car and jumped on his roof, putting his arms in the air to the delight of the fans.

His interviews were simply a mix of pure adrenaline and emotion. The dude was not shy to show what each victory means to him.

At Jefferson, he got on the PA and said how much he loved the track, loved the facility, etc. He purely shared how awesome it was to win.

He did the same thing at Dells Raceway Park. After he got down from the roof of his car, the first thing he said was, “That was awesome!!”

Visit the social media for Bowman Gray Stadium, and you will see the genuine excitement when Burt Myers’ son, Slate, got his first Modified win and dad followed up with a victory last week where Slate joined in the celebration.

The smiles, the hugs, the emotional interviews are just a few examples of succeeding at doing what you love and not afraid to show it to the fans.

I always roll my eyes when a driver climbs out of the car, as if he just finished practice and gives the most boring monotone, scripted interview.

Sadly, some who go through marketing/public relations companies to learn how to do interviews. You learn how to properly hold a Coke bottle, make sure you properly mention your sponsors, and how not to blink during photos and move your head around to help photographers get the perfect shot.

Many on social media have recognized how the drivers sound like robots doing the same cookie-cutter interviews. NASCAR is starting to get some drivers who are not afraid to share their emotions, rather than just focus on being a product spokesperson.

To a point where many have commented on how ridiculous they sound and how one thing that made this sport popular is not here today. Remember…”There’s a fight” at Daytona on CBS still has people talking to this day about how that was a turning point in building a new audience.

Sadly, some of that robot mechanism has funneled its way down to the short tracks.

I remember being at Madison one night where a 13-year-old female driver won a Bandolero heat race. They interviewed her, and she sounded like she was doing a NASCAR-style interview.

She started out by saying how her car was and what adjustments may need to be made for the feature race, and mentioned her sponsors sounding like someone who memorized a script.

But here is what ticked me off: the track announcer asked this 13-year-old what she would like to do when she grows up. Does she want to be a professional driver, an airline pilot, a stock trader, learn a trade, or anything else?

We don’t know. Why? Her answer was, “We are keeping our options open.”

Just be real, be human, and just be yourself. If you are excited about winning a race, share it with the fans because they will respond back to you.

It will also create your fan base and help the tracks entice fans to come back at the next event because, well, you were just being a human and not a robot.