Bittersweet Talladega Debut Helps ‘Lucky Dog on Track’ Bust NASCAR’s ‘Dying Sport’ Myth in Style

In NASCAR, the ‘Lucky Dog’ rule offers a lifeline to the car running a lap behind due to circumstances beyond their control. It’s a chance to get back in the race. A “free pass” to rejoin the rest of the competition. In collaboration with Fan Controlled Sports + Entertainment, EssentiallySports’ NASCAR sub-brand, ‘Lucky Dog on Track’ aimed to offer a similar “free pass” to NASCAR fans. So we may be new to the scene. A fresh voice in the sport. But last weekend, at the iconic Talladega Superspeedway, we gave the NASCAR fans a whole new way to experience the thrill of NASCAR.

From starting as a Facebook fan page with only a handful of followers to having our logo displayed on a ‘Fan Controlled’ NASCAR Xfinity Series car, we have surely come a long way. But safe to say, the ride was nothing short of a rollercoaster.

How we achieved the unexpected at the high banks of Talladega

The campaign that we hosted alongside FCSE was, safe to say, an incredible underdog story. And the thing that only made it better was the fact that, at the almost three-mile-long superspeedway complex, it was fans like you and I who played scriptwriters during the Xfinity race. 

You may be asking yourself, but what makes this initiative so legendary in the first place? Well, on Saturday, not only did the fans play crew chief for the #14 car of SS Green Light Racing, but they also helped part-time Xfinity driver, Mason Massey, bring his ‘fan-controlled’ Chevy home to a career-best Talladega finish at P11.

This advance featured an immersive fandom experience, adhering to the spectators at home as well as on the track, allowing them to make real-time choices affecting Massey’s run in his debut Xfinity start for the 2024 season. It sounds quite crazy if you sit down and ponder about it. But, unsurprisingly, the vast experience of the fans pulled through in the end, more so, considering the #14 team almost didn’t qualify. Hence, Massey’s hard-fought P11 can be majorly attributed to the vast collective experience of the loudest stakeholders of the sport.

The unique fan engagement experience also allowed one lucky fan to be ‘The Lucky Dog’ and experience the festivities straight from the infields, with the pit crew in an all-expenses paid VIP trip. The winner was selected in another cumulative fan vote, embodying the true spirit of The Lucky Dog on Track, and our partners FCSE. And as for me? Representing EssentiallySports at Talladega was 10 times more exciting than anything I had anticipated!

The crazy weekend that I’d relive any day

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No live or virtual events that I have organized till now for senior marketing leaders of Fortune 500 companies could have prepared me for my time on the NASCAR track. However, it did prepare me for a partnership with the good folks over at FCSE.

With the Ag-Pro 300 Xfinity Series race beaming on the horizon, our “Fan Controlled” team set out for an exciting RV trip from Atlanta, GA to Talladega in the Heart of Dixie.

If I have to sum up our experience with the RV, it was some of the best and worst moments of all of our lives. Our weekend started with the ‘lows’, when we flooded the RV after connecting the water hose wrong. At the same time, we found out we failed to even qualify for the race. And if that wasn’t enough, we were almost thrown out of the premises a day before the race for apparently being ‘too loud’. In short, it was not the start we had expected. 

Regardless, after Garrett Smithley’s #6 car was caught violating NASCAR safety regulations, our driver Massey filled out the empty spot on the grid in P38.

I remember talking to Grant Cohen (Co-Founder, FCSE) at the time, and telling him, ‘I think we’re going to win.’ I felt the magic. But right after I was like, ‘We’re not even supposed to be here’.

And then, during the race, as I was walking around, towards the end of stage 3, I heard Grant say, “Hey, V, we’re in the top 10!” Granted Mason only knocked on the doors of the Top 10, but going from P38 to P11? I don’t know if I will ever witness something like that again. It felt like we won.

The only thing that came close to that feeling was experiencing the fans’ energy in and around the track. At Talladega Boulevard, there was this guy who drove a school bus from Michigan that he turned into a rock band stage and he was just playing music. It was like Bourbon Street. I would even call it ‘Mardi Gras’ at Talladega. 

Even inside the premises of the superspeedway, everyone was quick to embrace us, party with us, and do interviews. I’ve never seen a crowd that friendly. And I’ve been to the Super Bowl, NBA Finals, and the World Series. This was easily the most fun experience. Just witnessing the energy of the place helped me see how all the myths about NASCAR being a ‘dying sport’ are just that. Myths.

But if you ask my absolute favorite moment? It was interacting with Mason Massey, the fan-selected driver of the #14, and his family. That was the best interview experience I’ve had in recent times.

FCSE and Lucky Dog on Track do have something big on their hands

As we were going around, talking to the fans, a few of them even recognized the Lucky Dog logo. Meanwhile, those who found out about it for the first time gave overwhelmingly great responses. As the week rolled on, more and more people started noticing the logo on the car, our shirts, and our microphones, appreciating the holistically natural brand association of The Lucky Dog with NASCAR in itself.

Amid all this, the amplification that Lucky Dog provided Fan Controlled in attracting a new set of fans was steadily apparent over the weekend. Moreover, a few fans who downloaded FCSE’s ‘The Control’ app loved the idea of voting for your very own driver.

The app had an easy-to-use interface that allowed fans to tune in to race day live streams. Even our lucky fan, known by his online moniker, Woodytheduck, listened to the live stream while watching the race live from the pits. That is almost unbelievable if one truly realizes the enormous jump this leads to providing the ultimate immersive fan experience. 

And yeah, here is something interesting. A major factor that many miss while formulating an ‘experiential’ perception of NASCAR is that they often overlook the younger demographic. But, from our race day assessments, eighty percent of audiences were under the age of 35. Only about 20% or less were over 65. Catering to these ‘Next Gen’ racing enthusiasts, Lucky Dog on Track and FCSE helped them get even more engaged in the sport.

Having our own very dedicated and diverse NASCAR fan community interact with Fan Controlled’s campaign generated plenty of buzz! So much so that I was bombarded with text messages from fans inquiring about the details of the fan contest.

What next big adventure does Lucky Dog on Track has in store?

As things stand, the Lucky Dog on Track brand is growing its fanbase rapidly through our fastest-growing newsletter in NASCAR. Not only that but, our team manages to reach out to a combined army of about 100K passionate NASCAR fans across platforms. Considering we started on this journey just 4 months ago, it is safe to say the Lucky Dog brand shines bright.

But to answer the question… seeing the level of engagement we got at Talladega, we do have plans to be part of more NASCAR races, with our next rumored outing to be at Pocono or Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Although it was my first visit to a NASCAR track, I am probably hooked. The experience turned out to be as wild as those ‘Talladega Nights’ stories, if not more. And now, as a new NASCAR fanatic, I am looking forward to the next time the Lucky Dog will have a chance to do it all again, with another innovative campaign on their hands. Until next time!