[UPDATED] KAM Drivers to be featured in the Checkered Flag Show\’s \”Way out West\” Series

[UPDATED 3-16-15]  If your child has shown an interest in being interviewed for a nationally syndicated Internet Radio/TV Show – the Checkered Flag Show – here are the details:

This show is in its third year and has recently reached the 1 million ‘viewer’ milestone with their programing. I am excited that we were able to negotiate an exclusive “Way out West” series with our KAM Kartway drivers to be featured every Tuesday, starting Feb 10th and continuing up until mid-June to highlight The Outlaw Kart Invitational that is scheduled to be held at KAM Kartway on June 11, 12 & 13th.  

The Host of the show is Shannon Nailor who goes by \”Ace\”. He has broad background in racing and sports announcing – and just loves the kids associated with the Outlaw Karts – man after my own heart! He knows Kyle Larson and Rico Abreu personally from their glory days in QRC Outlaw Karts and said they used to love to “prank him all the time”. He just had Rico on his show – here is a link to the raw footage of the show to see that interview: https://vimeo.com/105715637?from=facebook

In Ace’s quest to have his shown grow in our market he has also volunteered to be the Announcer for The Invitational – so I know that he will show great interest when he speaks to our drivers. 

**We need to come up with a good “Prank” to outdo Kyle and Rico for when Ace is here at KAM!**

I am very excited to host Ace at our track and let him dazzle us with his Outlaw Karting Announcer skills.

The show streams live at http://www.golivestream.tv/channels/rampage_tv/home/. It comes on every Tuesday at 9:00 pm our time (Central) / 7:00 pm Pacific time.

Ace’s personal FB page is: https://www.facebook.com/#!/snailor1?fref=ts and the show’s page is: https://www.facebook.com/thecheckeredflagshow. Please go and \”Like\” the show’s page and send Ace a Friend Request so that you can message him beforehand if you have questions that I don\’t address here in this blog, or to send racing pictures, news or other info about yourself.

If you opt to Call in to the show via the phone use this phone number: 707-701-6416. If using Skype then use “acenailor” to call in via the computer (the host’s Skype user name) – go ahead and use “Add People” to add him to your contacts list in Skype now to make sure you have it when you need it. (Do you already have an account set up? Don’t wait until the last minute please.Either waythe driver will “call in” to the show at 8:50 pm OUR TIME (6:50 pm Pacific) to make sure everyone is present, ready and there are no technical glitches. You will stay on hold until he introduces you, at which time – if you are on Skype – the camera (TV monitor) will show your beautiful face and the interview will begin – otherwise you will just be heard over the phone for the interview. Drivers will be on the air for approximately 15 minutes – so from about 9pm to 9:15pm (our time – remember there is a 2 hour time difference).

Here’s a link to the show that hit 1 Million mark last year: http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.golivestream.tv%2Fchannels%2Frampage_tv%2Fshows%2Fthe_checkered_flag_season_3_edition_11%2F&h=FAQF2VpVO – he even writes and stars in his own commercials for the show’s sponsor… cute touch. 

**SIDE NOTE #1: This kid he’s interviewing really holds his own and gave a great interview! He knew the answers to the questions so he sounded like a true racer that knew his stuff, and he was humble and not boastful – but totally came right out and said that he wanted to race NASCAR – so if that’s you, don’t be embarrassed to admit it!! Also note the TV on the wall – if you Skype in for your interview you will be shown the entire time on this TV monitor so don’t do anything embarrassing like pick your nose or roll your eyes! (The driver mentioned did a call-in phone interview and not Skype.)

~ But I would suggest doing Skype if you can as it will give the driver a broader “Reach” with helping to build your fan base and lets the audience see who you are – plus gives Grandma and Papa something more to brag about! 

**SIDE NOTE #2: if you do Skype please dress appropriately (no dirty or faded t-shirts with grease all down the front) and set the interview spot in a well-lit, uncluttered area of your home or garage (maybe by the kart?).

This may be small potatoes on the big scale of market viewership to some, but it’s invaluable as far as a learning tool for you and your driver to build the skills that you need to be successful in motorsports marketing. Every driver MUST know how to give a good interview and the only way to get there is with experience and practice. It’s no different than how they learned to race.

PRO TIP #1: Mention and THANK your Sponsors!! And practice speaking!! I know you know how to talk, but practicing will help with any nervous anxiety that may creep up.

Here are some sample Interview Questions to be prepared to answer:

  • What made you want to become a race car driver?
  • What are you long-term goals with racing?
  • How old were you when you started racing?
  • What was the first kart/class/motor you raced in/with?
  • How was it for you to transition from ____ class to ____ class? (ie: 3.5HP to Pure Stock or Gold Plate to Animal.)
  • What’s the difference between ____ class and ____ class? (ie: Gold plate and Animal or Pure Stock and Outlaw 125.)
  • Tell me about the race track(s) you race at? What track was your favorite? Why?
  • How was your experience racing ______? (ie: Lone Star Nationals or Red River Showdown.)

Things to go over with your driver:

  • I will be sending Ace a short Driver Bio and a race picture of each driver beforehand, but with all the young drivers he interviews he may forget or get confused as to what you race or your motor package, etc. – so be prepared to answer any question you can possibly think he would ask a racer. If he confuses you with another driver (asks about a win you didn’t get or a class that you don’t race in) don’t get stumped – just say something like: “well I’m not sure about that, but I can tell you that ……” and go into something that YOU do or know about that is on the same subject.
  • Remind your driver that even though 3.5 HP and Pure Stock classes are popular here in Texas, they may not be in California or that Ace may be used to different classes, or simply calling them by a different name.   I mention this because I know it rattled me when we first started and the people from down south would come to KAM and tell me they raced in the “Live Axle Box Stock Class” – ….. the axle does what?? My initial thought was always, “what makes your axle ‘live’?\”…. I had come from Asphalt racing and didn’t know anything about dirt kart/racing so I always felt ‘dumb’ and I don’t want our kids to get caught off guard and feel this way. Practicing this type of a scenario will be helpful too – so be creative when you “mock interview” them.
  • Have an answer ready when you just don’t know the answer. Like – “I’m not sure how that works, but I will find out follow up with you on your Facebook page tomorrow.”
  • A word of caution: When you go to the site to watch the above clips you may notice how the site allows viewer comments – these can be live or after the fact when the show is archived (it stays online forever – and so do the comments). I noticed one negative comment about the caller’s “sound being terrible”. PRO TIP #3: Be sure to speak up (don’t mumble) and into the phone or in the direction of your computer’s mic if you use Skype. Make sure there is no distracting background noise – like a TV playing or cell phones going off (it really will be a good idea to turn off your phones during the interview). It does looks like people have to “join” before they can comment, but you never know if they are hiding behind an anonymous user name – and those types are not always nice when it comes to leaving internet comments.

So please do a “dress-rehearsal” and practice the interview with your child beforehand so that they are not nervous and feel more confident. People can be mean on the internet and we want to have the best interview possible so that there is little room to criticize. Haters are gonna hate though and some people are just plain jealous of other people\’s accomplishments and successes, so if anything negative happens – use it as a teaching tool to explain that negative comments will be made and that this will most likely not be the only time it will happen in their racing career.  Don’t lash out or let your driver lash out in a war of words with them online (or worse take it to social media like Facebook!). It will only hurt your driver’s image in the long run. Our goal is to be taking the first steps to creating their image as a race car driver and for them to learn how to become marketable by doing these interviews to begin with.

If they do mess up – own it and laugh it off. This is their first time doing something big like this and no one does their first ever “anything” perfectly right off the bat (except maybe Kyle Larson). I remember the first time a microphone was stuck in front of Kaley’s face by a track announcer at her first \”big show\” in Nebraska – SHE FROZE SOLID – with an open mouth and NOTHING coming out kind of situation. She had just been confirmed as the youngest female driver ever to be showcased at Women in the Winner’s Circle celebration event at Indianapolis Motor Speedway that year and the event was coming – and yes I had been bragging about it – so the announcer asked her about it – well, I hadn’t practiced with her nor gave her the information she needed to answer questions about the event or the foundation. Lesson learned on both sides.

We do look back on it now and chuckle – thank goodness she didn’t care what others thought or said about her racing (yep, negative internet forum posts were made – and she was only 11 years old), and she got over her embarrassment rather quickly. 

I know that I will be super proud of all my drivers no matter what!! As their number one fan and will be listening to each and every interview over the next 4 months. Please let your driver know I am so excited that they have this opportunity to showcase their passion for racing and to get some great exposure for their race team.  

On another side note AND AS AN Optional suggestion to mention KAM (Only if you want to!!) – if he asks specifically about QRC Karts try to mention KAM Motorsports as a QRC Kart dealer – if you feel comfortable doing so. Say something like “we get our QRC parts at KAM Motorsports” or your “Dad got your new QRC Kart at KAM Motorsports”…” (if he did/does).  Of course give a shout-out to KAM Kartway as your home track – I’m sure that Ace will mention the track since the series is leading up to the big show in June at KAM and he’s coming to Texas to announce at it.

Note to drivers: Show how proud you are of being a KAM Driver – this is YOUR track after all and YOU are the reason KAM Kartway is so special!

BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY – HAVE FUN!

Here is the current list of drivers and their interview show dates:

Feb 10th – Mitchell Mobley

Feb 17th – Cody Pound

Feb 24th – Zoie Pierce

March 3rd – The Knox Brothers, Sean & Wes

March 10th – Jason Bourland

March 17th – Austin Piper

March 24th – Branden Matthews

March 31st – Team Marquez

April 7th – Tatum Bell

April 14th – Michael Buck

April 21st – Ayden Rogers [Updated]

April 28th – Ben Saye [Updated]

May 5th – Tori Tyer

May 12th – Colby Horn

May 19th –  Noah Key

May 26th – Carson Horner

June 2nd – Sammy Ace Davis

June 9th – Kade Taylor [Updated]

I have made several announcements about this opportunity online and at the drivers meeting – so the remaining open spots will be filled on a first come first served basis – so if you want to be interviewed LIVE on a REAL Race Talk Show – let me know ASAP! Email me at kelley@kamkartway.com, Text me at 817-300-5645 or fill out the form below.

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