ASA Q & A: KEVIN SPIDDLE, SPEEDNETDIRECT.COM
Kevin Ramsell, American Speed Association PR

DAYTONA BEACH, FL (release date) - Four years ago, the American Speed Association partnered with speednetdirect.com to assist with the Joe Gibbs Driven Racing Oil ASA Member Track National Championship.  Kevin Spiddle, Owner of speednetdirect.com, and his staff worked with ASA in creating the unique points system used for the National Championship today.

The National Championship is only one small facet of speednetdirect.com, as they provide short tracks with a valuable software program to assist them with their weekly racing programs. 

ASA recently talked to Kevin Spiddle about their website, program, partnership with ASA and plans for 2011.

For some who may not be familiar with speednetdirect...could you share what your site is all about?

Speednet Direct is a revolutionary way to transmit information to race fans, drivers and team members from tracks and series across North America using the tools of technology. To accomplish this, we looked at different ways to improve data collection and then leveraged the Internet to distribute that information to the website's audience.

We were not the first website out there to post race results; however, we were the first to develop a software tool to collect and transmit that data directly from the race officials to the Internet without the need for manual data re-entry. The process is a win-win for everyone involved.

The Speednet Race Management software that we developed gives scoring officials and promoters a powerful tool that helps them run their businesses more efficiently, and saves a ton of time compared to paper-based systems. They can do everything from sending emails, calculating lineups, tracking points and payouts to processing 1099's and everything in between.

As if that was not enough, we made the decision in 2004 to distribute this software for free to any track or series that wanted to use it, including free support. Since then, over 400 tracks and series have used our software, to make their life a little easier.

That is only half of the story.

The "trade off" for the free software is that the track or series has to upload their race results, point standings and event schedule to our website where we can display that information for fans and drivers to see. Using the marketing principle of aggregation, we combine the relatively insignificant web traffic of a single track or series with 400 others to create a website that draws significant numbers of motorsports fans and drivers. Fortunately, that platform is ideal for advertisers that want to market their products to this narrowly-defined demographic.

That is how we can afford to stay in business and continue to provide our software and support for tracks and series at no cost. We do have some add-on options for those who want to customize the software, and we have a touch-screen scoring software that integrates with the two most popular transponder systems, to make race scoring even easier.

Speednet Direct also helps tracks and series keep their websites up-to-date by offering a variety of options to incorporate the results, points and schedules on their websites simultaneously. For starters, we have free syndication where a track or series can integrate results, points and schedule information by mirroring the data sent to our website. Or, for a monthly fee they could purchase a data feed that would integrate into their website. We also work with Firethorn Marketing, as they do custom web development and integration as well as web hosting, so we have the solutions to meet the needs of any client.

Our approach has resulted in many benefits for racing. For starters, our process starts with the official race scorers so we can ensure the accuracy, and timeliness of the results we display. One other significant benefit is that our software can accurately calculate complex formulas, like the one we helped design for the ASA Joe Gibbs Driven Racing Oil National Championship. There is no way that formula could be calculated on a week-by-week basis using paper, a pencil and a calculator. Using technology helps level the playing field and eliminates human error making a championship like this possible.

This year, you are offering a FREE Insider Membership.  Can you talk about that, the benefits and how someone can sign up?

Speednet Insider is our membership-based program that allows drivers and fans to access in-depth driver stats for a track, series or sanction. For the last few years, we offered Speednet Insider (for tracks and series) and Championship Insider (for ASA, USRA and WISSOTA National Championships) for an annual price of $9.95 and $19.95 respectively. This year we decided to drop the membership fee and replace that revenue (hopefully) with advertising on those pages.

The Speednet Insider allows you to look at all of the results for a particular driver, for a track or series. The Championship Insider will give you specific information on the ASA, USRA and WISSOTA National (and in some cases State) Championship races.

Anyone can sign up for access to the Insider at http://speednetdirect.com/member_option.php

It is free, and it gives you unprecedented access to driver stats from this year and previous years.

Your website is a highly beneficial site for tracks and series.  Can you talk about what you offer for them and the cost?

Well first of all, our free Race Management software, should be a must-have for any track or series. Once they have that, it opens up a world of possibilities. Printing mailing labels, doing email blasts or text messaging along with a wide range of management reports will help the promoters stay on top of things. On race night, our software can be used to calculate lineups, enter results, automatically assign points and prize money, print checks and/or track payouts.

As soon as the races have completed, they can upload the results to the Internet and our website along with theirs will be updated immediately. In fact, we have a couple of new options this year where they can upload lineups and results for display on the Internet or smart phones in real time. The days of the lineup chalkboard are rapidly coming to a close!

Any or all of these options can be purchased through our online store at https://winnerscirclesoftware.com

Our add-on prices range from $49 to $299.

This season, you will be more involved in the Joe Gibbs Driven Racing Oil ASA Member Track National Championship.  Can you talk about that relationship and what your plans are?  

Sure, as I said before we are extremely pleased to be associated with ASA and the Joe Gibbs Driven Racing Oil National Championship having helped design the points formula and providing the platform for it to run on as well. However, as a racer who spent most of my career back in the pack, I wanted to do something to recognize the accomplishments of those who "almost" made it. The grand prize - a test session with Joe Gibbs racing - is a phenomenal reward, but the winner of the other division (East or West) will get a nice prize as well for their efforts.

So with that in mind we wanted to do something to reward the accomplishments of the divisional winner who did not win the overall championship. This year we will be presenting that driver with a one of a kind Speednet Direct/ASA jacket that will let everyone know this driver is one to be reckoned with during the 2012 season.

We would just like to wish all of the ASA competitors, member tracks and series a successful year and we congratulate Dennis, Shannon and you for running a top-shelf sanctioning organization.

For more information, please visit www.speednetdirect.com or call 866-2SPEED4.
To learn more about the ASA Member Tracks and Sanctioned Series in your area, please visit www.asa-racing.com.

The American Speed Association started as a single racing series in 1968 and is a fast growing racing sanctioning body today. The ASA Member Track program sanctions dirt and asphalt short tracks along with road courses around the United States, as well as a variety of regional and national touring series. For more information call (386) 258-2221, or send an email to info@asa-racing.com. The latest news and information from all the racetracks and tours involved in the ASA can be found by visiting www.ASA-Racing.com.

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