Krista Voda: Twitter And Facebook Bring NASCAR Community Closer Together
Twitter helps fans feel a closer connection to their favorite drivers. // Sam Cranston, NASCAR Illustrated
Social media has enhanced NASCAR in many different ways — in particular the way drivers interact with fans. Fans might not have the opportunity to meet their favorite driver in person, but Twitter and Facebook help bridge that gap to create a personal connection.
Denny Hamlin ranks among the most active Sprint Cup drivers on Twitter. Why?
“I just thought it was fun when I started and I could read what people’s thoughts and replies were right away,” Hamlin says.
Fans get a fairly intimate glimpse into the lives of NASCAR competitors, and the experience has been a positive one for Hamlin.
“I haven’t really seen many drawbacks to it. Other than a life that isn’t that private [anyway] gets just a little more open,” he says. “But just like the people that follow me, it’s also interesting to follow other celebs to see what their day is like.”
Aside from enjoyment, Hamlin says he doesn’t benefit in any specific way from using Twitter. In most cases, he is the one giving rather than getting.
“It hasn’t affected my brand at all but maybe the way that people view me. I also use it to give a lot of things away to fans,” he says.
Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Scott Speed are among my favorites to follow. With Speed, what you see on Twitter is what you get in person, because that is who he really is. No holds barred! Both he and his wife Amanda are hilarious.
I’m a bit of a half-twit because I probably don’t tweet as often as I should. But I might be the only person still using a CD Walkman instead of an iPod when I go running, so that might help explain why I’m still learning my way around Twitter.
Many of us on SPEED and NASCAR on FOX began using Twitter early last year. At that point, though, most of us had never even heard the term before.
Even Darrell Waltrip is on Twitter now! DW tweets a lot but jokes that he’s merely doing some “research.” But he’s right — Twitter actually can be very beneficial for those of us in the media.
For example, David Gilliland had his rental car broken into at Texas and tweeted about it. I followed up with his PR rep, who said there was even more to the story of his rental-car woes. It all began with a flat tire earlier in the race weekend.
Tweets are often a great source of springboard topics we can study before reporting a story.
Twitter, in a sense, gives everybody the chance to be a reporter. This can be confusing, though, when the line between fact and opinion gets blurred.
Media members take time gathering facts and doing research; it’s the legwork that must be done before a story is printed or aired. The Internet allows people with strong opinions to post things anonymously and sometimes without regard for fact, unfortunately. Opinions are great, too, but there should always be accountability instead of anonymity, and that’s not really always possible anymore.
When it comes to our race coverage, I report a lot on people and human-interest stories but depending on how the race unfolds, those types of stories don’t always make our broadcast. This is when the “Mom Factor” kicks in for me and social media really comes in handy.
My mother doesn’t necessarily care about a sway bar but she’ll be interested in what Kasey Kahne did during the race weekend, so I try to relate those stories on my Facebook fan page, which doesn’t confine you to 140 characters per post like Twitter.
My fan page is linked through my website (KristaVoda.com) that also connects to my Twitter account.
It’s a great way to keep fans in the loop whether you’re talking about discussions with drivers or events away from the track. There is also an interactive element at work.
Fans will occasionally take my picture at the track, and I always tell them to get in the photo, too, and send it to my website. That way, the Facebook posts aren’t always just about me.
I remain a bit technologically challenged (remember the Walkman?), but I’m really trying to get up to speed with social media. After all, if Denny can tweet seconds after standing in victory lane then I guess I’ve got some catching up to do.
