4-Wide in NASCAR Country

I always anticipate the next race on my schedule, but I think I’m most excited for the upcoming 4-Wide Nationals at zMax Dragway in Charlotte. I’ve always wanted to see the most unique race in person, as its future existence was unknown for its first couple years. It seems like the 4-Wide race will be locked into the schedule for the next few years at least.

Though many hardcore fans think 4-wide racing is a joke, I think it’s a great thing for the marketability of the sport. For decades, drag racing has been two cars going down a track with one car moving on. The four-wide concept injected a dose of excitement into an already exciting sport. Even three years after its inception, the 4-Wide Nationals still attract the attention of local and national media.

I’m looking forward to this race for many reasons, not just the opportunity to see the race in person. This will be my first race where I’ll have three NVW Motorsports Promotion clients in competition; Blake Alexander in Funny Car, Doug Foley in Top Alcohol Dragster, and Cassie Simonton in Top Alcohol Funny Car. I should be plenty busy keeping up with them all, but I certainly won’t be complaining. I’m so fortunate to have the support of my family and clients to be doing this all at my age. I’m very proud of the position that I’m in, and it wouldn’t be possible without their support.

I’m also ready to meet a lot of the fans that I’ve interacted with on Twitter. Social media is a very powerful tool that connects race fans from across the country. The amount of followers that are coming in from out of state for this race proves that it’s still a draw for hardcore fans.

One of the largest gatherings of drag racing tweeters will take place on Saturday night after qualifying wraps up. Nitro John and the Nitro Twitter Group will hold their second annual tweet up at Dave and Busters, with even more drivers in attendance. Blake, Terry McMillen, Doug Herbert, Hillary Will, and Alexis DeJoria will represent the nitro ranks. Pro Mod drivers Dina and Andrew Parise will also be there. It’s a great idea and I have to thank Nitro John for taking the time to put it together. Head to his blog for the details.

For the first time, I'm going to try to do a video blog for the race. I might tie it into TAN or it might just be its own seperate thing. I know a lot of race fans that love behind the scenes stuff, so I think it will go over well.

I'll try to do a few posts throughout the weekend, but I'm not sure what my set up will be. In the mean time, follow me on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/nitronate1320 and follow NVW Motorsports Promotion http://www.twitter.com/nvwpromotion for updates from Blake, Doug and Cassie. If you're headed to zMax, have a safe trip and stop by to see us!

The Growth of NVW Motorsports Promotion

Now that we're in the offseason, I have time to reflect on the past and build for the future of NVW Motorsports Promotion. I spent a lot of the last half of the season working on the launch of Top Alcohol News. TAN is somewhat established and on its way to becoming a legitimate media outlet, so now I'll be putting more effort in the growth of NVW Motorsports Promotion.

I started NVW Motorsports Promotion in the middle of the 2010 season. In around a few months time, I was already writing for eventual 2012 Division 1 TAD champion Darren Nicholson, along with Brandon Booher and Dave Hill. I have to give a lot of credit to Brandon, as he was the one that suggested that I start doing PR work.

My goal when I started was to eventually do PR for a professional driver. After several conversations with Blake Alexander, that goal turned into a reality. We both made our professional debuts at the Auto Plus Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway; Blake as a driver and I as a publicist. I'm really looking forward to writing for Blake in 2012.

I continued to write for Brandon Booher and Dave Hill in 2011, while adding Doug Foley Jr. to the team. I can't thank Doug enough for helping to promote the Team NVW brand. We're both working to bring a few sponsors onto the side of his Super Comp car.

Team NVW drivers enjoyed success on several occasions in 2011. Brandon reached his first final round at a national event (Norwalk), qualified and reached the semifinals at the U.S. Nationals, and recorded the quickest and fastest converter-equipped TAD pass in history at Reading. Trevor Wilson put his Tenneco Automotive ADRL Jr. Dragster in the Winner's Circle at two ADRL races and finished 2nd in the world standings. Blake Alexander qualified in his pro debut at his sponsor's race, the Auto Plus Nationals.

I'd like to thank all of the drivers that have picked NVW Motorsports Promotion to promote their racing ventures. They took a risk when they chose me, mostly because of my age. Their support means a lot to me and it's really what keeps me going.

2012 looks to be even better. There are a few new Team NVW drivers that will be announced in the coming weeks. Check in at http://www.nitronate.com/ for more information on all of the NVW Motorsports Promotion-represented drivers. I wish you all a healthy and successful 2012! Thanks for reading.