Dover Int'l Speedway at its NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race next month is planning to become the first track in the sport to test out Tap.in2 -- a mobile app that allows fans to order concessions from their seats. Dover -- whose execs were introduced to Tap.in2 via Veritix, which like the app is owned by Dan Gilbert and is Dover’s ticketing partner -- will test out the program in two sections of the grandstands at the Triple AAA 400 Oct. 4 in conjunction with longtime regional partner Grotto Pizza. Fans in those two sections will be alerted to the program prior to the race so they can download the app and file their credit card info. They will then be able up to pull up the app and order the desired amount of junior Grotto pies and Pepsi products to their seats. The app will show a receipt number, which track personnel will check upon delivery to ensure the food is being given to the right person. Dover is expecting all orders to be filled within 15 minutes and thinks a vast majority will be delivered even quicker -- in about eight to 10 minutes, according to Dover VP/Sales & Marketing Mark Rossi. He added, "The concept we thought was really interesting and particularly when you start talking about the next generation of customer -- the Gen Ys and Gen Zs coming up -- who are used to these types of things and using their phones for just about everything. We saw this as an opportunity to try to get ahead of the curve a little bit."
STARTING CAREFULLY: Rossi is expecting the number of users for this first-time test session to be in the low hundreds. He added, "What we don’t want to have is a failure in the sense that someone orders product and it doesn’t get delivered in a timely fashion, particularly when you’re working with hot food." Tap.in2, which recently announced a deal with the Cavaliers, adds a small fee to each order, Rossi said. He added once Dover is “able to test it to make sure we can provide quality service and that the customers are interested in that sort of service,” the two sides hope to expand the scope of the pact moving forward. On top of adding other food options, such an expansion could also include integrating in merchandise-sales options, Rossi said.
