Rob Ramage is focused on ‘closing the deal’, fan diversity as Texas Motor Speedway’s new president
FORT WORTH – Two months after his dream job as top manager of Texas Motor Speedway, Rob Ramage is still working in the office he has held for eight years.
The adjoining “big office” – the one that housed Eddie Gossage during his extravagant 25-year tenure as TMS President / General Manager – is just a few steps away. Gone is Gossage’s prized collection of racing helmets, many of which have been signed by a number of NASCAR and IndyCar drivers. The office is in the process of being renovated and will soon be decorated with a range of items that define the personality and passion of the new Senior Vice President / General Manager and die-hard hunter of TMS.
“Hunting is just a way of life,” said Ramage, 54, who began this pastime in his Oklahoma homeland when he was 8 years old. “I love being outside. I think it’s good for your brain and your soul and your mind. Soul, reason and synapses – how about that? “
In fact, it almost sings. Ramage’s current office walls feature a pair of stuffed and assembled deer heads filmed in Wisconsin and South Texas. The Wisconsin stag is an 11-pointer stag whose antlers score 179 points on the Boone and Crockett Club’s official scoring system for North American big game trophies. The South Texas stag is a 10-hand with 154 points.
And there is this – a large mounted wild black Russian boar head almost begging passers-by to stick a stray finger into an open mouth framed by four fangs. Ramage killed it in Tennessee with a spear strategically thrust into the beast at arm’s length.
In the business world, Ramage now deals daily with what amounts to a deal.
“Prior to this promotion, I thought I had a 24/7 job,” said Ramage, who joined TMS in 2013 as General Counsel and Director of Government Affairs and Senior Vice President of Finance and Compliance.
His responsibilities included risk management and working with government agencies, business leaders and community officials. Ramage received his Juris Doctorate from Oklahoma City University. He also holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Oklahoma.
His new job requirements fit seamlessly into a hunter’s lifestyle.
“I usually get up every morning from 4:00 am to 4:30 am and want to be here as soon as possible, regardless of whether it is 5:30 am or 6:00 am or 6:30 am. That’s me, ”said Ramage. “And on a normal day, I leave here around 7 or 8 o’clock at night. You still think about work when you drive home (a 45-minute drive to Dallas), and while I have my dinner I still think about work.
“So when I go to bed – I stop thinking about work when I say my prayers – and then when I finish my prayers, I will probably start thinking about work again.”
Ramage and the 48 full-time TMS employees will crown the track’s 25th speed season with NASCAR’s Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 playoffs on the weekend of October 16-17. Speedway Motorsports Inc. President and CEO Marcus Smith, son of TMS Founder and NASCAR Hall of Famer O. Bruton Smith, wants Ramage to provide fans with “fantastic memories to share with friends and family for a lifetime” .
Married for 26 years and father of four children, Ramage is family oriented. He regards the 48 employees at TMS – compared to around 130 during the heyday of NASCAR’s expansion – as an extended family. “I know everyone who works here. Everyone, ”said Ramage. “We are a tightly knit group.
“My style of leadership in management is that the subject matter experts make their own decisions. What have you seen in the past few years that you may not have liked? Or what might they not be allowed to do? We have a very open dialogue.
“I wish I didn’t have an office door, but philosophically I don’t have one. Anyone who works here can come to me with any idea, any thought, any way of optimizing or repairing something, and most of the time I’m good with it – certainly 100% receptive to your ideas. “
Ramage controls a well-oiled machine that nonetheless grapples with COVID-19 protocols, a steady decline in attendance in all series and the competition between various social media for a younger and more diverse population group.
So how does a 25-year-old stationary “shop” stay relevant?
“You need to know your market, and that market includes existing and potential customers,” said Ramage. “You have to listen to them and communicate with them. You have to find out what their wants and needs are. They have to be of great value and they have to be priced right. If you don’t hear the voice of your audience – the consumers, the fans, the people you do business with – you will fail. “
Ramage does not believe that institutions like TMS will be laid off and laid off by a generation just beginning to exercise their purchasing power.
“Not at all. As times change, consumers see sport differently,” said Ramage. “This device that I hold in my hands, my iPhone, used to be a secondary or third platform. Now it’s a primary device. Everyone has one. And what you can do on this device is amazing, we know that as a company.
“What you cannot achieve on this device is social engagement – interaction with other people. You can’t experience the sights, the sounds like that. You can take this device and watch a race, but what you’re missing is all in the air, the noise, and the human perception of watching a vehicle go 1.5 mile. And when it zooms right past you, the hair on the back of your neck will stand up. You don’t get that on this device. “
Traditionally based on the concept of “continuity”, the TMS 2022 schedule has been restructured again. At the heart of it all is the return of the NASCAR All-Star Race with a million dollar win for the second year in a row, albeit in its traditional slot on May 22nd instead of June 13th.
“Those discussions were all between Speedway Motorsports and NASCAR, and from my point of view I’m just grateful that they did,” said Ramage. “You’re telling me you want to do it this Friday, you want to do it next Friday – you just tell me when and we are ready to go. It’s a marquee NASCAR event. “
The Spring slot, traditionally held by a NASCAR Cup and Xfinity double header, remains “on loan” to the Circuit of The Americas in Austin for the second year in a row, with SMI acting as the event promoter. Enter the NTT IndyCar Series here for a single race on March 20th. The XPEL 375 will be the second event of a 17 open wheel race and the only oval race before the 106th Indianapolis 500 in May. Recall TMS hosted an IndyCar double header on May 1st and 2nd.
“Our IndyCar race, this is a great opportunity to have a spring race,” said Ramage. “The weather is usually good, a great time to camp and make those memories with your fans.” Spoiler alert: The weather in North Texas in March can be “dubious” and turn off a fan.
“I wouldn’t say she [IndyCar officials] pushed it [the date] in my throat, ”said Ramage. “There have been a lot of different discussions about what works best for our schedule and what works best for their schedule.”
Meanwhile, the glory days of the IndyCar race in June – “America’s Original Nighttime IndyCar Race” – have apparently become an entry on the back of Eddie Gossage.
In a final optimization, a date swap with the Speedway Motorsports sister route Las Vegas Motor Speedway will take place on the NASCAR Playoffs weekend at TMS. The 2022 NASCAR Cup Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 will be postponed from mid-October to September 25 – from the seventh to the fourth race in the playoffs and the first event in the round of 16.
Ramage said data he has reviewed over the past 60 to 90 days shows that consumer sales have increased “across the board” and is a positive sign for season tickets. “People are coming back,” said Ramage, adding that he was particularly interested in attracting Hispanic and Black fans to “The Great American Speedway.”
“My general message is that we are open for business,” said Ramage. “I want you to come here, I want to welcome you to my home and I know you are going to have a great time. There are so many ethnicities and cultures that just love cars, love sports, love motorsport racing, love to go to events and have fun. I promise you and everyone you will have a good time. They come and are treated with respect.
“It is a blessing for me to use my platform to publicly embrace and support these communities. I really want our business and NASCAR to be open to everyone. “
John Sturbin is a senior writer at RacinToday.com based in Fort Worth. He can be contacted at jsturbin@racintoday.com.
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