Persistent Zucker turns up focus on Auto Club track

Auto Club Speedway president Gillian Zucker knows it's going to take more than just nice weather and a Chase date to fill the all-too-often empty spaces of her sprawling grandstands on race day.

Not even the scantily-clad Speedway girls are pulling in the fans these days. Although a favorable forecast, as opposed to the above-100 degree heat typically served up this time of year in Southern California, along with the excitement of NASCAR's playoff battle emerging in the sport's second-largest market, certainly will make an impact.

After NASCAR recently announced changes to its 2009 schedule, Zucker said Auto Club Speedway was the big winner as the track's second race date, normally held on Labor Day weekend, will now be Oct. 11; the fourth week of the Chase for the Sprint Cup. It's also a time of year that produces picturesque weather.

Not since California was awarded a second race date five years ago has the speedway been able to produce a sold-out crowd. Critics blame a number of reasons: bad weather, boring racing, bigger and better things in the region for fans to do.

California native and Cup driver Kevin Harvick said the impact of the date change is yet to be seen but believes "the first race has to be full first. I think in that particular area, there's just so much to do and there's so many things happening. I think there's just not as big a market as some of the markets that we go to as far as racing is concerned."

In 2005, Zucker was tapped to improve the track's attendance, among other things, and is well on her way to accomplishing some major goals. She's optimistic, maybe even a big giddy.

Auto Club's switch of dates from Labor Day weekend to one in the Chase is one of the changes to the 2009 schedule.

• 2009 Sprint Cup schedule

Zucker has reasons to be proud; her pleas for a date change were finally answered.

"It's something I've been lobbying for a number of years," Zucker said. "Mike Helton never officially took a restraining order out against me, but he may have contemplated it. So, from our standpoint, no, we didn't feel like we had the ideal date on the schedule. I frequently spoke with the media about it and acknowledged that more temperate dates were important. What ultimately happened was an alignment of the stars."

The stars may be aligned and even continue to show up at her annual red-carpet events in Hollywood to gain that big-market exposure Zucker covets, but she isn't resting on her laurels.

Zucker still has a lot of work to do convincing the SoCal masses that NASCAR racing at her house is a must-see event with some of the finest offerings of any sports venue in the region and hopefully among the best on NASCAR's circuit.

And Zucker still has to silence the haters. The haters who say California doesn't deserve a second date because the racing is boring, or insist NASCAR in the West will always be second to the South.

"My father has a saying and it's something he said to me a long time ago: Don't worry about the bad things people say about you, 90 percent of them aren't true. Just remember 90 percent of the good things people say about you aren't true either," Zucker recalled.

Well put.

"We have a five-year plan, the company has a five-year vision, we have a fantastic foundation built to experience growth and we are poised and ready for that," Zucker added.

Fast facts

What	Pepsi 500
When	8:17 p.m. ET Sunday
TV	ESPN, 7 p.m. ET
Radio	MRN (Sirius Ch. 28), 7:15 ET

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The Auto Club sign

The marquee features one of the newest versions of LED technology, two large 20-feet high by 40-feet long full-color screens that display different messages on each side of the sign. The sign also features two large, 12-feet high by 20 feet independent sponsor panels on each side of the sign that will advertise business activities at or near Auto Club Speedway.

In a seemingly short period of time, Zucker has put together a slew of initiatives to turn up the focus on Auto Club Speedway, from hosting the likes of Paris Hilton and The Hills stars to her pre-race soirees or catering to the growing Hispanic fan base by operating in Spanish and English. She learned to read and speak Spanish before launching an initiative that dictates everything in English must be in Spanish, as well, from track tours to track maps and everything in between.

She also changed the fan food menu rolling out for the first time this weekend.

"I'd like to say the fans have written the business plan for me," Zucker said, meaning she reads and responds to fan feedback in an e-mail account assigned specifically for the cause. "We revamped our food menu based on fans comments."

Some say she goes above and beyond, but we know for a fact she went above I-10 recently. The woman rose 120 feet into the air in a bucket truck to light the new marquee sign drivers can see from the interstate. The electronic sign highlights information about this weekend's events.

"For fans it's a great reminder of the events happening at the speedway. And our business partners tell us that aligning with the speedway's brand is a great selling point with their customers," Zucker said.

Movie night (Speed Racer) in the infield is another new feature the track is touting and it's just another way Zucker is trying to improve the fan experience. Sea lions, flyovers, fine dinning, stunt shows, country music and rock music; Zucker is positioning her track to be a venue that offers something for everyone, be it a NASCAR fan or just a fan of great entertainment.

Casey Mears, who crew up in Bakersfield, Calif., said Auto Club Speedway's attendance will improve given NASCAR fans are put first.

"It's a hard, tough market but it's not really. There are a lot of race fans in California and I know the track is doing a lot to cater to the fans. They've created big shade areas for the heat as well as misters. The new date and the Chase race will draw more to the track, as well, because it will a little more exciting," said Mears, who in July traveled to California to join Zucker in a go-kart race along with Jill Wagner, host of ABC's Wipeout as part of a winner's circle promotion.

"Events like this also help to promote the race. The track used it as a way to reward their loyal customers, people that come to a lot of events and buy season passes. This is a way to help attendance," Mears added.

At the end of the day, Mears said a positive experience at the track will go a long way with NASCAR fans. But at the end of the day, Zucker admits mainly great racing fills the stands. She said it's getting better but adding banking or making changes to the track isn't an option.

Tony Stewart, a two-time champion who is winless at the track, said, "They need to let the racetrack be. You can change all the banking you want. It's still a 2-mile track. The good thing is that the racing has become two- and three-wide and you can run on different spots on the racetrack. But that's all you can hope for. ... Anytime you build something that big, you're going to spread cars out."

Still, Zucker and the fans in California have something to smile about.

"Since the track opened in 1997, we've seen nothing but growth in this market, even with a less-than-ideal schedule," Zucker said. "What we see here is a real opportunity for people to come out and experience NASCAR in temperate conditions and we believe it certainly will help with our attendance and help us to continue to grow."

Zucker personally will see to that. And she has the intestinal fortitude to see it through. After all, California's 2006 Woman of the Year has come a long way herself, since the days of admittedly living off free ballpark hot dogs while working ticket sales for a minor league baseball team.

The opinions expressed are solely of the writer.