NASCAR captivated a TV audience of nearly 4.3 million households Feb. 6 for its Busch Light Clash at The Coliseum at Los Angeles and 50,000 fans in the grandstands. Rapper Ice Cube provided the halftime entertainment for the younger, avant-garde clientele the stock-car racing executives are hoping to hook, as the 150-lap event on the unique, purpose-built track was divided into 75-lap segments. NASCAR hired music-industry entrepreneur DJ Skee to perform during all caution breaks. 

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway announced Thursday that superstar DJ/producer Martin Garrix will headline a lineup of global electronic music artists May 29 at the Race Day concert at the Snake Pit at the Indianapolis 500. Among the performers will be deadmau5, Galantis, Steve Aoki and Yellow Claw. And the venue is charging between $45 and $150 for tickets for the separate-admission event (and a package that includes both the general admission to the Indianapolis 500 and Snake Pit for $85, and a VIP package for $190). VIP amenities will include access to a raised viewing platform located beside the stage, a private cash bar and private air-conditioned restrooms. 

Those motorsports entities have captured ways to add entertainment/broadcast value and monetize that in significant ways. So what might the NHRA glean from that level of innovative promotion to draw more spectators and a larger TV audience? 

Independent Funny Car owner-driver Alex Miladinovich, figuring that “they’ve tried the T-shirt cannon guys and the dancing bears – they need to try something different,” had an idea how to keep the crowd in their seats during oildown cleanups. 

During the preseason testing a week ago at Phoenix,, Funny Car owner-driver Alex Miladinovich mused about how the NHRA might rip a page from NASCAR’s playbook for a blockbuster crowd, or at least for an entertaining show for the fans, even during the inevitable oildowns. 

“I could come up and sing!” he volunteered. “I’m tone-deaf and out of key, but I’ll do it. We could do Driver Karaoke. I love Tom Jones!” (That’s in spite of the fact wife Marcie – the inspiration for the Hot4Teacher logo on the sides of his Toyota Funny Car – “doesn’t like it when I do karaoke.” She’s not Hot4Singer.) 

He hones his – ahem – “vocal craft” at the Elks Lodge in his hometown of Orange, Calif. It’s kind of cheesy, but after a couple of drinks, I’m like, “I’m singing Tom Jones! ‘Why, Oh, Why, Delilah?’ . . . that’s my song. And yes, I did get up on the tables.” 

It’s no surprise that Miladinovich exuded a spirit of fun and camaraderie. He said fans “just want to come out to the races and have a good time. So that’s why if someone comes out, I’m going to make sure they get their money’s worth when they come to the drags. I don’t work on the car at the track. I’m always available to anyone who wants to talk. I’ve got friends I just haven’t met yet.” 

What made Miladinovich an instant hit last year when he debuted at the Winternationals is his fun-loving energy and his approachability, his humble style. 

He runs the operation (“the car and clutch stuff”) out of his backyard detached garage in Orange, just a few miles from this venue – and his brother Robert preps the engines at his garage nearby. Ron Ver Steeg keeps the hauler at his home. 

As they banged on some equipment and kidded one another about their Everyday Joe approach to racing, one of Miladinovich’s crew members (referring to the elite nitro racers with the big shops at Brownsburg, Ind.) quipped, “I’m sure this is how they do it in Brownsburg.” 

Miladinovich said, “We kind of outsource everything, at someone’s house or yard or whatever. I don’t have the big, polished, shiny shop. It’s at my house. I got low overhead. You come over, we clean up after the dog, move the bikes. When we’re done, we’ve got to put all the bikes away. It’s fun. I’ve got cool neighbors. We’re regular people. Lots of barbecues.” 

Don’t think, though, that Miladinovich is goofing around on the racetrack. He wants to win. 

“Our goal right now is just to focus to shoot for that No. 10 [Countdown] spot,” he said. “I know I can’t outrun the guys with the 3.90s and the 3.89s, but it’s our goal for this year. Still chasin’ money, always have a few things brewing. All the current sponsors are glad to help keep us going. 

“We’re planning to hit five races this year, and after that, I’ve just got to be a better salesman,” he said. “If we get the numbers, that’ll get us there, and statistically the odds will be in our favor. We’ve just got to keep this ball rolling. I’ve been kicked in the teeth harder than that.”