Wednesday, December 8, 2010
1:30-3:30 p.m., Orange County Convention Center
No charge for registered attendees
In the 1990s, legendary race engine builder Smokey Yunick created the Industry Roundtable as part of the PRI Trade Show to provide racing entrepreneurs a frank and open forum on key issues in racing today. And with noted TV race commentator and former NASCAR crew chief great Jeff Hammond serving as the current moderator, the Industry Roundtable continues to provide insights on the future of motorsports.
Hundreds of racing entrepreneurs attend this important pre-show event every year, where a panel of respected figures in racing share their views on racing from questions posed by the audience. And there's some great fun along the way, in addition to valuable perspectives, making it a 'must attend' annual event.
In 2009, the panel included Bobby Rahal, co-owner Rahal-Letterman Racing; Dave Despain, host of Speed TV's racing show "Wind Tunnel"; Robert Davis, senior vice president, product development and quality, Mazda North American Operations; Gale Banks, founder of Gale Banks Engineering; Tom Knox, vice president, business development, IMG; Charlie Harmon, president of the NMRA and NMCA; and Scooter Brothers, director of R&D and part owner of Competition Cams.
"It's always good to hear from the folks who are on the inside of the industry who are making bigger decisions, and to hear from a legend like Gale Banks or Bobby Rahal," said Michael Koehler, Truechoice Motorsports, Powell, Ohio.
This outstanding group of motorsports figures sat down for a detailed discussion about how passionate racers really are about this sport to be able to make ends meet so they can continue racing in this tough economy.
Other topics of discussion were how sponsors expect more than just their name on the side of a car and what racers can do to help their sponsor in a valuable manner. In regards to finding sponsorships, Rahal suggested to never give up. "You want to really work hard, which is really what it takes. When I was coming up I was knocking on a lot of doors and I was getting 'no' nine times out of 10, and all it took was one 'yes' to make stuff happen," he said.
As the discussion went on, Davis touched on how tracks around the US can promote their racers more effectively. "Be a student of the business," he said, referring to checking out what other successful tracks are doing and creating a similar model.
Other areas covered were the differences and strengths of the various racing disciplines, safety for drivers, the trouble with spec engines and rules, and the outlook of Danica Patrick's racing future in NASCAR.
Hammond concluded by saying modern day racers know how to adjust to the evolving technology in the market today to make themselves as best as they can be. "They adapt, they improvise and they overcome," he said.
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