Doug Rice has been with Performance Racing Network for three decades — both in the C-Suite and the booth. The Speedway Motorsports Inc.-owned network has about 375 affiliates on any given race day. This gives Rice, who is president and GM of the network and co-anchors PRN race broadcasts, a unique perspective on NASCAR — from the state of the radio business in the sport to how NASCAR can try to recapture its former momentum.
I have never been given marching orders on what to say and have instead been left to our discretion on what to say, and as a broadcaster, that’s a nice freedom.
Doug Rice
Performance Racing Network
Serving as an executive and announcer: It gives me a unique perspective in that I can work with the sales team and senior vice president of sales Gerry Horn, if he says, “This client wants this; they want to integrate a promotion.” Since I’m the person who is going to be executing that, I feel like that gives me a nice advantage to say, “Well, we can do this for this client and work it seamlessly into the broadcast.” A lot of people may look at that as, “Oh, player, coach — that becomes a problem.” I think it’s an asset in the sense that I’m able to sit down with the sales team and sometimes directly with the client and help integrate what they’re going to do into the broadcast.
Doug Riceperformance racing network
How the business side of NASCAR radio has changed: When I first started, and I’ve been with PRN for 30 years, most of our work was done in the garage area, talking to sponsors who were endemic to the racing world already, and that’s where the deals got done. As time has moved on, our sales team spends a lot more time in New York, Chicago and L.A., liaisoning with different advertising agencies and courting their clients. … The biggest part of this is done from us approaching advertising agencies and clients directly.
Balancing the search for new fans and keeping avid fans: It’s extremely tough. One of the best moves I’ve seen in 20 years is what they did with this year’s All-Star Race, putting out a brand new car package [that slowed cars down and therefore kept them closer together], try it in an exhibition — and it blew everyone’s minds. Will it work everywhere? No. But I like the thinking that NASCAR was willing to take a chance to do something totally off the scale, and it worked, and I think that’s the thinking it’s going to take to engage new race fans down the road. Also, all these new young drivers that NASCAR has put a lot of stock in have to start winning.
How young drivers can gain the allegiance of fans: I don’t think they can get enough fan interaction. They need to use every occasion they can to be in a campground, sign an autograph, take a selfie — if they want to keep this engine running, that’s what it’s going to take. For drivers either hiding in their motorcoach or buried in their cellphone, shame on them. These [fans] are working-class people paying good money to come watch them race — give them that 10 seconds of time. Right now, the two that jump to the front for me [who are doing it right] are Ryan Blaney and Bubba Wallace. Ryan has won a Cup race and understands social media; he’s personable and funny. Bubba has a big personality, and if he was ever in equipment that ran up front, he would easily be the biggest name we have in this sport.
— Adam Stern
