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RIR To Work With Paul Heyman For NASCAR Fall Race
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Richmond International Raceway (RIR) will work longtime wrestling promoter and WWE advocate Paul Heyman for its fall NASCAR race, set to take place on September 9.
Mike Waddell, RIR’s vice president of marketing and communications, is promising something “bold and fresh,” both from his in-house promotional team and Heyman’s Looking 4 Larry promotional organization.
Heyman was on hand for the spring race, meeting with fans and filming videos that will be a part of the group’s promotional strategy leading into the Sept. 9 Federated Auto Parts 400.
Waddell emphasized that Heyman isn’t just bringing wrestling out to the track.
“People want to feel like this is the place to be,” said Waddell. “That’s our challenge: We have to make Richmond International Raceway the place to be on Sept. 9. If you don’t come at it with a fresh angle, nobody’s ever going to notice you. If you don’t make waves, you’re going to drown. So we got out the wave machine, and we’re going to get after it.”
Heyman, who spoke at the track about his desire to make the fall race the “premier event on the East Coast” that weekend, said his team will use online tools that allow him to target the demographics his group believes are the most interested in attending.
NASCAR will crown a regular-season champion for the first time after the race, and Waddell emphasized that NASCAR is the only professional sport that can be seen in Virginia.
Waddell said fans can expect Heyman’s “one-of-a-kind” energy to be pervasive on race weekend.
“People see him as the outrageous, the bombastic character he is in WWE,” said Waddell. “But I’ll tell you this: He might be one of the smartest and truly strategic businessmen that I’ve been around in a long time, including my 27 years in college athletics.”
Mike Waddell, RIR’s vice president of marketing and communications, is promising something “bold and fresh,” both from his in-house promotional team and Heyman’s Looking 4 Larry promotional organization.
Heyman was on hand for the spring race, meeting with fans and filming videos that will be a part of the group’s promotional strategy leading into the Sept. 9 Federated Auto Parts 400.
Waddell emphasized that Heyman isn’t just bringing wrestling out to the track.
“People want to feel like this is the place to be,” said Waddell. “That’s our challenge: We have to make Richmond International Raceway the place to be on Sept. 9. If you don’t come at it with a fresh angle, nobody’s ever going to notice you. If you don’t make waves, you’re going to drown. So we got out the wave machine, and we’re going to get after it.”
Heyman, who spoke at the track about his desire to make the fall race the “premier event on the East Coast” that weekend, said his team will use online tools that allow him to target the demographics his group believes are the most interested in attending.
NASCAR will crown a regular-season champion for the first time after the race, and Waddell emphasized that NASCAR is the only professional sport that can be seen in Virginia.
Waddell said fans can expect Heyman’s “one-of-a-kind” energy to be pervasive on race weekend.
“People see him as the outrageous, the bombastic character he is in WWE,” said Waddell. “But I’ll tell you this: He might be one of the smartest and truly strategic businessmen that I’ve been around in a long time, including my 27 years in college athletics.”
