Latest / Kenny Wallace Media / St. Louis Track Owner Curtis Francois Has Big Plans For NASCAR Playoff Race | Lights Out With John Roberts

Transcript

St. Louis Track Owner Curtis Francois Has Big Plans For NASCAR Playoff Race | Lights Out With John Roberts · Kenny Wallace Media

• 0:09
  It is time to go lights out with the one and only Curtis
• 0:13
  Francois, founder and owner of Worldwide Technology Raceway.
• 0:18
  Curtis, when you embark on something like this, I know
• 0:20
  there's a long history behind it, but what made you think,
• 0:24
  hey, let's go out and do one of the most difficult things there
• 0:28
  is in the world right now is to go after getting a racetrack and
• 0:32
  getting a Cup event. You know, John, to be perfectly
• 0:35
  honest with you, I had no idea how difficult it was.
• 0:39
  So I didn't know what I was in for.
• 0:43
  And so, you know, I, there was no anxious moments.
• 0:46
  I just went right after it. I figured, you know, I built a
• 0:50
  business or two over my life. I'll just go do this.
• 0:53
  And my goodness, it's been a journey and and rewarding on so
• 0:57
  many different levels. So Curtis, looking back on the
• 1:00
  beginning of this whole thing, you have a racing background as
• 1:04
  well, don't you? Yeah, it really that that was a
• 1:07
  big part of I think why I was led to this, this venture.
• 1:12
  I, I certainly have competed around the country a lot of
• 1:15
  different race tracks over the years, particularly in, in the,
• 1:21
  in the 90s and all through the 2000s.
• 1:24
  And that allowed me to see race tracks from a totally different
• 1:28
  perspective. You know, I was seeing it from
• 1:31
  behind the steering wheel. And that gave me that confidence
• 1:35
  to say, well, if I could drive a car, maybe I could own a
• 1:38
  racetrack. And once again, I just went
• 1:42
  after it and realized that there were two top totally different
• 1:46
  things, but equally exciting, just in different ways.
• 1:50
  It's been great to see the see the world from behind the
• 1:54
  steering wheel, but boy, seeing it behind from behind the desk
• 1:58
  here is is a different view entirely.
• 2:00
  So, Curtis, if you're looking at the beginning of this racetrack
• 2:03
  and what you had to do, if, if we know the story right, and
• 2:07
  correct me if I'm wrong on this, that you had other owners, other
• 2:11
  investors too, but their idea was to try to get money out of
• 2:15
  the grandstands and scrap this whole project.
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  How difficult was it for you to convince everybody to hold on to
• 2:22
  this thing which is now a Saint Louis gem?
• 2:25
  Well, John, it actually kind of went that there was when Dover
• 2:32
  exited the Saint Louis market, the racetrack went back to the
• 2:37
  original owners of the property. And that's who I worked with.
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  And they were all getting up there in years and were
• 2:46
  interested in finding an exit. And what I learned once I
• 2:51
  started peeling back the layers of the onion here is that they
• 2:54
  were in, they were in a bit of trouble.
• 2:56
  It was time that they found someone else to take over the
• 3:00
  racetrack because simply the just the, the tax bill for
• 3:04
  keeping this monstrosity running was, was significant.
• 3:08
  And so that's where they can't, they have the idea that they had
• 3:12
  to pay the tax bill. One of the great assets they had
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  here was all of these grandstands and all of the, the
• 3:19
  aluminum and all of that. And ultimately that was one of
• 3:23
  their potential solutions. Thankfully, I came along at the
• 3:26
  right time before any of that happened and I purchased the
• 3:29
  property in the grandstands and the entire facility ultimately
• 3:33
  from them. So they were wonderful people by
• 3:37
  the way. And it was really neat for me to
• 3:40
  see their their joy when the racetrack reopened and they were
• 3:47
  around long enough to kind of see some of our early successes
• 3:51
  here and really to see how that was coming together.
• 3:56
  It really made some special moments as as they saw what
• 3:59
  they're they originally envisioned actually happened.
• 4:03
  So Curtis, one thing you guys did at the beginning of this
• 4:06
  thing, which I think is absolutely remarkable that you
• 4:09
  guys took the time to do this. There were some mistakes made by
• 4:13
  different groups when they went to have that first Cup race.
• 4:17
  And we had the honor and privilege of being with you guys
• 4:20
  on that first race that you had. But you guys obviously did your
• 4:24
  home homework. You didn't have the the traffic
• 4:26
  problems, you didn't have that. You took care of the fans so
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  well that not only did you guys sell out the first time, but
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  just about everybody came back because of such a great
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  experience. And I don't think that was an
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  accident, was it? No, it wasn't, John.
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  You know, I look at so much of what we do from from being just
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  a genuine fan and having participated in in racing,
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  having been to so many races as a fan before I ever got involved
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  in the industry. I know what it likes to go what
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  it is like to go to a a great event.
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  And so much of that great event is the feel and, and to know
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  that the fans that are there are appreciated and one that we are
• 5:10
  looking for fun things to do and things that make memories for
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  the fans that come out to, to spend their entertainment dollar
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  at our facility. So anytime there's a first,
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  there's going to be things that we have a chance to learn from.
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  But we went at it hard to make sure that we were getting people
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  in the facility and and you know, just tremendous investment
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  in infrastructure to make sure that we got the people in.
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  But we also realized there were things we could do better.
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  We improved our concessions dramatically from that first
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  year. And now as we keep moving
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  forward, we're finding more and more ways to to really just re
• 5:49
  engage and engage new fans. We just are completing a major
• 5:54
  renovation to our Wallace grandstands here in the Turn 1
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  and turn 2. And that is really that was a
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  project that was meant to meant to meet a need that we realized
• 6:08
  there was not enough hospitality options for our corporate
• 6:15
  partners. And so we've added a number of
• 6:19
  new outdoor suites, we've added new opportunities for Logebox
• 6:24
  entertaining, so smaller companies can come and get a
• 6:27
  Logebox with, you know, 8 or 16 people and, you know, just have
• 6:32
  a great afternoon watching a race and and just enjoying each
• 6:36
  other's company. So we're always leaning in to to
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  find a way to enhance the experience.
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  And this year, as you would expect, and you've seen the
• 6:45
  crowd out here, we're expecting another sell out crowd and
• 6:50
  another great Kenny Wallace live with John Roberts.
• 6:54
  You know, I think that's been a big yes and it's it's going to
• 6:58
  be fun this year with all the all the crazy stuff that we do.
• 7:02
  You've seen a little bit of it. Yeah, and I know a lot of the
• 7:05
  credit goes to Chris Blair with what he's done at the kind of
• 7:08
  promoter he is together with you.
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  You guys, it seemed Curtis, you guys embraced from the start
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  what a lot of people were talking about at the time, but
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  not necessarily doing at race tracks.
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  What was creating that carnival atmosphere was creating so much
• 7:23
  more of an attraction other than just the race.
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  Now that the race is the product and the quality of racing at WWT
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  has been fantastic, but I think not only getting the fans in and
• 7:34
  out safely and comfortably, but you guys put a lot into it.
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  The music there is fantastic before and after the race.
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  The hospitality areas inside from the get go were were second
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  to none and I think again, Curtis said that must not have
• 7:48
  been an accident. You guys must have really
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  thought all those things through.
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  You know, from the beginning, John, I recognize that it's so
• 7:56
  important to empower people with particular talents and just lean
• 8:00
  into them. And, you know, Chris has no
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  shortage of ideas and for sure, and and I would say I have a few
• 8:08
  myself from past adventures and things that we look at to to
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  really try to to relate to fans and making sure that I think
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  they recognize we have a sense of humor and and trying to just
• 8:22
  have fun. So it was the perfect
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  partnership when he and I joined forces to start promoting races
• 8:29
  here and, and figuring out what we know would work and then not
• 8:34
  being afraid to try things that might not work.
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  But you know what, our wrestling is coming back again,
• 8:43
  professional wrestling on the midway.
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  That was a long shot to throw in there, but you know, it's it was
• 8:51
  hugely popular last year. And so that's coming back.
• 8:54
  And this year we're adding Watermelon Adventures with Ross
• 8:59
  Chastain. I got to leave it at that.
• 9:02
  I'm sworn to secrecy on what that means.
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  But you know, we brought, now we have The Shed, which is our new
• 9:09
  concert venue out in the campground.
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  And so there'll be concerts going on throughout the weekend
• 9:16
  in the campground. You know, it's just all of these
• 9:19
  things that not everything's going to work.
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  But for the most part, we've had great success with introducing
• 9:25
  all of this crazy stuff. And we hope that people take it
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  in, in, in, in the the sense that it's meant, it's meant all
• 9:32
  to, to bring camaraderie and make memories that last a
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  lifetime. So Curtis, when you get invited
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  back to a place in business, I think that's the biggest
• 9:41
  compliment. But but also for you guys in
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  your business that there's probably not much of a bigger
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  compliment, not only then to continually be put on the
• 9:50
  schedule, but to go from a regular season race now to a
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  postseason race. How big of a of a sense of pride
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  did you guys get when NASCAR said, hey, we want to playoff
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  race at your place? Well, we were.
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  We were obviously thrilled and what I liked about it the most
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  was it just validated what it validated all the hard work
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  that's been done to to make a new Cup city out of Saint Louis.
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  Our, our, our community has embraced it.
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  Our business community has embraced it.
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  Our fans have embraced it with with selling out the races.
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  And I think, you know, when you look at that, there's just a
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  sense of satisfaction in a community that has leaned in
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  trying to do the right things. And then it's recognized and
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  clearly NASCAR recognized it. I think they recognize there's a
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  long future here in Saint Louis. And to be honest with you, John,
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  we're just getting started. We are not resting at all on our
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  laurels here. And I think there is a lot of
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  cool things that are going to happen here in the future.
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  It was a long time ago, Curtis, but I'll never forget it.
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  I had snuck into a place where Darryl Waltrip was speaking and
• 11:08
  he was speaking to a group of younger people and he said the
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  best thing you can do in life is to find your passion and they're
• 11:15
  therefore you're going to be successful if you find what
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  you're passionate about, because then you're going to work really
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  hard at it. You and your group obviously
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  show so much passion towards racing.
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  I know sometimes we see the people that are in the
• 11:28
  forefront, but man, it takes a small army of very passionate
• 11:33
  people, doesn't it, to put on an event like a Cup race.
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  It's it's amazing. And I think, you know, when I
• 11:39
  talk to groups about what we're doing and all of that and you
• 11:42
  start getting into the weeds a little bit on what our
• 11:45
  organizational chart looks like on a race weekend and it's not
• 11:49
  for the faint of heart. There is an awful lot of moving
• 11:52
  parts that that come together, but that's the other 364 days of
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  the year that that we build all of that infrastructure and the
• 12:01
  organization and training and bringing on tremendous team
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  member members that share our passion that makes it all come
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  together on race day. And I think it's it's just
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  really satisfying for the people that are a part of our team here
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  to recognize they are a part of history as we're one of the
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  very, very few tracks that they've ever had a comeback like
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  ours. And those that have been with me
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  for the 14 years now, all I think feel a tremendous sense of
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  pride as well as the note, the people that are coming in for
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  their first year to say, hey, I was there and I contributed all
• 12:39
  of that teamwork and a coming together.
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  The way that it does is, is not by accident.
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  It's by hard work from all that are involved.
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  And you also, Curtis, have to have a good product too, you
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  know, if you're selling. I remember I had a boss not too
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  long ago tell me that you could put Tide on the side of a race
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  car. If it doesn't wash clothes, no
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  one's going to buy it. And I think you can have a
• 13:01
  racetrack, you can have a great fans.
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  But if you don't have a great racing product, I think the
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  racing that's gone on at WWT over the years here has been yet
• 13:10
  another reason. Yeah, you want a great fan
• 13:12
  experience to begin with, but you also have to have quality
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  racing on the track, and I believe we've gotten that out of
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  your facility. Well, you know, one thing I
• 13:21
  couldn't do, John, was change how the racetrack was going to
• 13:25
  race. It It, it's it, it I'm just so
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  pleased that we that I inherited a very racy racetrack and
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  provides great drama on the track.
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  And we're seeing it now, particularly with this this
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  generation car that we're we're running now.
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  I think you're, you know, you're seeing the best of what the
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  track has ever offered. You know, we're seeing two and
• 13:50
  three wide racing in in in those those moments like that, they
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  make the highlight reels and I think the there's been a great
• 14:01
  validation by drivers that are coming here and enjoy racing
• 14:05
  here. You know, when I repaved the
• 14:07
  racetrack several years back, you just never know how that's
• 14:11
  going to work out. But it's turned out tremendous.
• 14:14
  Great grip, but also good tire wear.
• 14:18
  We had good tire test this year. I think we're going to have a
• 14:20
  tremendous package as the drivers race this year in 2025 S
• 14:25
  so many things come together. Some are are certainly scripted,
• 14:30
  some are through hard work, and some are just happened to be at
• 14:34
  the right place, the right time, the good Lord watching out for
• 14:36
  us. So we'll take all comers,
• 14:38
  whatever comes our way. We're thrilled with the product.
• 14:42
  Yeah, I certainly agree with you on that, that sometimes you got
• 14:44
  to have a little bit of help from other places, but you also
• 14:47
  got to have help, Curtis, from the local authorities, local
• 14:51
  officials. I'm glad you mentioned a while
• 14:53
  ago that not only they're they're great race fans in Saint
• 14:55
  Louis, but you guys clearly got some really good support from
• 14:59
  the emergency services, law enforcement, the kind of people
• 15:03
  that have to jump on board and have to be In Sync.
• 15:05
  If you can get the fans in and out safely year after year, how
• 15:09
  much do you rely on the local community to to make a race work
• 15:13
  and to make a race track work? Well, I you know, your community
• 15:16
  support all the way from from the governor's office to my
• 15:22
  local mayor, all of our local police fire.
• 15:25
  It's it's foundational. And we have built this
• 15:30
  camaraderie over the years of the little engine that could
• 15:34
  right the trace that the track was closed and we were able to
• 15:39
  reopen it, rebuild it and build it into something now very
• 15:43
  special so that anyone that's been involved has a sense of
• 15:47
  pride. We we, we get the best out of
• 15:51
  everyone because they believe in the mesh.
• 15:53
  The mission, you know, starts with the governor with the Enjoy
• 15:57
  Illinois 300 and then coming on early on to, to use this as a
• 16:03
  sponsorship tool and a tourism tour tool for state of Illinois.
• 16:09
  But you know what, There'll be times where over the years I've
• 16:12
  seen our mayor out with his flashlight and in his in his
• 16:17
  suburban with the flashing lights and helping get people
• 16:20
  out of the racetrack. It's it takes that kind of
• 16:24
  through and through support top to bottom, bottom to top that
• 16:27
  has made us successful. And I can't say enough about our
• 16:31
  community and how they come together to to support what
• 16:33
  we're doing. I'd of course, you guys are
• 16:36
  probably a little bit like a race team.
• 16:37
  When you guys finish an event like that, you can you can
• 16:41
  celebrate for a little while, but then you have to get back
• 16:43
  working right away again. But well, what's the feeling
• 16:46
  like for you, especially after the first couple when everything
• 16:51
  was said and done, when you guys finally locked the door for the
• 16:53
  last time on the racetrack, How much of A sense of satisfaction
• 16:57
  did you get know knowing the kind of work that went in to a
• 17:01
  project like this and how successful it came off?
• 17:04
  You know, those are special moments.
• 17:06
  We actually do something that just developed organically that
• 17:10
  after the race, when the last fan is out, we all get together
• 17:15
  at the end of that night and there's several hundred of us
• 17:19
  get together and we sometimes we're down in Victory Lane,
• 17:23
  sometimes we're in the turn 4 club, but we get together and
• 17:28
  share and share the moment and, and make a moment out of another
• 17:32
  accomplishment of, of, of, of an event.
• 17:36
  And those things are something that I certainly never forget.
• 17:41
  Those times spent with people that have just given everything
• 17:44
  they could to make for a special event.
• 17:48
  And I can tell you some of the most rewarding times that we've
• 17:51
  spent together as a team happened that night when we get
• 17:54
  to share in success of the the events and really just celebrate
• 17:58
  the hard work that goes into it. What do you see in Curtis in
• 18:02
  terms of the sport as a whole? I feel this year, you know,
• 18:06
  there has been the we started the season out with the earliest
• 18:08
  ever Daytona sell out and then after that TV ratings clicked
• 18:12
  up. We got new TV partners involved
• 18:15
  in this thing. And there just seems like when
• 18:17
  you go to a racetrack these days, because quite honestly,
• 18:20
  there were times at the racetrack over the past few
• 18:23
  years and a lot of it had to do with the pandemic.
• 18:25
  A lot of it was in the early 20s, early 2000 twenties that we
• 18:29
  found, you know, there was a little bit of lack of
• 18:32
  enthusiasm. But it seems to me like it's
• 18:34
  coming back. And I would imagine that you're
• 18:36
  in a very unique position when you're going out to sponsors
• 18:39
  into and to local people that you get an idea of how popular
• 18:44
  the sport is. Are you feeling a good, positive
• 18:47
  movement when it comes to NASCAR racing as a whole?
• 18:50
  I certainly AM and I think that that most in the industry are
• 18:54
  are recognizing the importance of our broadcast deal that was
• 18:59
  done and now seeing how that is coming to fruition, you know,
• 19:05
  new partners, new energy into the sport it it just is always
• 19:10
  good to have new perspectives that are brought to brought into
• 19:14
  the mix. So, you know, just in, you know,
• 19:17
  certainly I would say that I'm biased huge supporter of NASCAR
• 19:22
  and and the leadership and what all is going on.
• 19:25
  But when I look at it objectively and purely from the
• 19:28
  business standpoint, when you bring in the the strength of all
• 19:32
  of the new partners that we have, you, you can expect to see
• 19:37
  good things. There's so much wisdom and
• 19:40
  knowledge that it has been added to the sport through it, through
• 19:44
  the new partners that we're able to bring in on the broadcast
• 19:47
  side and new companies that are coming and becoming involved
• 19:50
  because of all of that energy. I'm certainly bullish and I
• 19:54
  believe a lot of people are. You know, a lot of people say
• 19:57
  sometimes they'll look at people that own sports teams or own
• 20:01
  stadiums, Curtis and say, well, you know, that's just a that
• 20:04
  that's just a rich dude having some type of hobby.
• 20:07
  But I think it's really when you talk to the NFL owners and you
• 20:11
  track owners and everything, you guys didn't get to the position
• 20:14
  you're in by by not being good business people and by, you
• 20:18
  know, I always say that this is not the United way.
• 20:20
  This is a for profit company and you have to keep that side of
• 20:24
  the whole thing that it's. It's one thing just to say you
• 20:27
  put on a great event, but you guys are also in the business of
• 20:31
  business and and this has to be a good business, doesn't it?
• 20:35
  In order for you guys to continue on to put so much into
• 20:37
  it, you have to make a buck, right?
• 20:40
  Well, I think if you look at this as a hobby that might, that
• 20:46
  might last a little bit, but it doesn't take, it doesn't take
• 20:50
  long until reality sets in that it takes a tremendous investment
• 20:56
  to keep these monsters running. And you know, in in particular,
• 21:01
  a lot of what we've done, John, and I think, you know, some of
• 21:04
  our story is, is we have to have a viable business here to do
• 21:09
  what our goal is, is, is to really to, to give back to our
• 21:13
  community and to help build a community and our surrounding
• 21:17
  area here. And so the, the, the resource
• 21:22
  and the ability to leverage the tremendous brands that we're
• 21:26
  working with here at the racetrack gives us that
• 21:30
  opportunity. But it takes the hard work to
• 21:33
  get in there and make it make it happen.
• 21:36
  And so I think is, is you're looking at the long term
• 21:40
  sustainability, it has to be at some point a, a business model
• 21:46
  that can be repeated over and over and, and it works with or
• 21:51
  without of a, an owner that is investing all the time.
• 21:55
  You has to be self-sustaining. So we're working on that and
• 22:00
  that and we're hoping to get there at some point.
• 22:02
  And, and I'm losing no steam whatsoever.
• 22:06
  As a matter of fact, we're continuing to reinvest because
• 22:10
  we believe in the future of NASCAR racing and we believe in
• 22:14
  and that it will make a huge difference in our community.
• 22:17
  And I think what we've done so far is, is showing that, but
• 22:22
  there's a lot more to be done and we continue to work on it.
• 22:24
  It's. A little bit cliche, Curtis, but
• 22:26
  I think it it applies to so many different things.
• 22:29
  When people tell you if, if you really want to do something and
• 22:32
  you want to do it, well, it's a marathon, not a Sprint.
• 22:36
  And those who Sprint don't finish, don't make it to the end
• 22:39
  of the race. The ownership and running of a
• 22:43
  racetrack and and the success of it over the years, I'd imagine
• 22:46
  that would be a bit of a marathon.
• 22:48
  John, sometimes I feel like I'm sprinting a marathon.
• 22:54
  So, so. But catch me.
• 22:56
  It depends on when you catch me. But no, in all seriousness,
• 23:01
  yeah, it is. It is.
• 23:02
  You have to have a measure and you have to have measure
• 23:08
  success. And you, you, if you swing for
• 23:11
  the fences all of the time, your average is not going to be very
• 23:14
  good. So we're out there making it
• 23:18
  happening on a daily basis and making sure that we have the
• 23:22
  little wins that keep this track running.
• 23:25
  You know, we're busy. We have 300 and some odd event
• 23:28
  days per year. Our karting center is busy all
• 23:32
  the time. We have very robust league that
• 23:35
  runs through that. And you know, also at our
• 23:38
  facility we have drag racing, we have the import face off guys,
• 23:43
  we have the drifting and all of the other amateur events that go
• 23:48
  on. So coupled with a Cup race and
• 23:51
  an IndyCar race, an NHRA drag racing, there's all the things
• 23:55
  that we do on a daily basis to keep the lights on.
• 23:58
  And it's really important to to fill out your schedule and make
• 24:02
  sure you've got people coming through the gates on a regular
• 24:04
  basis. Well, you guys were the first to
• 24:07
  bring myself and Kenny back to the racetrack.
• 24:10
  I appreciate that so much. We're looking so forward to
• 24:13
  another great year with you guys, Curtis.
• 24:16
  You guys epitomize the, the work ethic and the showmanship and
• 24:21
  the promoting, well, skill for lack of a better term, that that
• 24:26
  puts together a great, a great event and there's a lot of us
• 24:29
  who really appreciate it. John, we appreciate you too.
• 24:32
  We're looking forward to see you in a couple of weeks here and
• 24:35
  we'll see what type of high jinks that you and Kenny are
• 24:38
  going to be up to. And I'm sure that'll be an
• 24:41
  entertaining show. And just looking forward to all
• 24:45
  the fans showing up again here on September the 6th and 7th.
• 24:49
  I think we're going to have just a wonderful, wonderful event and
• 24:53
  just looking forward to seeing all the fans and you guys when
• 24:56
  you get here. Curtis, can't wait.
• 24:58
  Thank you for the time today. We really appreciate talking to
• 25:00
  you again. Again, can't wait to see it.
• 25:02
  Great to be with you.