A look back at 2025 and our growth at Poplar Grove Speedway

Behind the Lens at Poplar Grove Speedway: How Active Posts, Game days and Media Boosted Engagement by 56%

Poplar Grove Speedway has become a favorite place to create videos, photos, or play some games. Between announcing at the mic and flag, photographing some race nights, running live streams, and helping with social media, I’ve been able to watch the track grow. Not just on race nights, but online too.

This season, the numbers were incredible.

Here’s a look at how creative media helped shape Poplar Grove’s momentum in 2025.

🔥 Social Media Growth at a Glance

• 56.5% increase in post interactions
• 21% jump in page visits
• Photos were the #1 most engaging content type
• Best posting time: 6 PM (with strongest engagement from 6AM–6PM)

These were driven by consistent posting of updates and race days, high-quality images, live streams and focusing on racers and their families.

🏁 More Engagement = More Racers on Race Day

Comparing racer entries year over year:

2024 Averages

• 29.8 entries per race (with Nationals)

• 26.7 (without Nationals)

2025 Averages

• 47.1 entries per race (with Nationals)

• 41.1 (without Nationals)



That’s a 58% increase with Nationals, and 54% without — a huge jump that mirrors the growth on Facebook.

🎉 Theme Days & Track Games: The Heart of Poplar’s Community

One of the biggest surprises this season was just how much racers and families LOVED our special event days.

Some days included:

• Relay Races
• Bingo Day
• Egg Toss

These activities added something that wasn’t just racing, but they added connection to our racing community.

According to our survey:

• 90% of people said they enjoyed the added activities and theme days
• Many families said it made the track feel more welcoming and memorable
• Kids said the games were their favorite part of the night
• Adults loved that their children were entertained between heats including kids who may not have been racing but showing support for a parent or sibling.

It wasn’t just a race night. It was a family night out — and that’s exactly what people responded to.

🎥 Live Streams: Bringing Race Nights to Every Home

Nearly half of the participants shared or re-watched the livestreams after race night.

For family members in other states, this became their way to be part of the excitement.

“Please run them for every race night. Our family in Michigan can tune in.”

Live streams didn’t just connect people...they expanded Poplar’s reach far beyond Kamrar and Iowa.

📷 Track Photography: The Most-Loved Feature

Based on racer feedback:

• 98% of people said they enjoyed the track photography
• Organic posts of Victory lane and action photos had the strongest engagement
• These posts consistently outperformed every other content type

Photography didn’t just document the season, but it also helped fuel the social media growth that led to bigger race nights, more sharing, and stronger community ties.

Huge thanks to Mysti with Lil Moments Photography for uploading even more photos to her Facebook/website. As the track photographer, she is always available to capture your needs. Please reach out to her if you'd like to order photos from this past season!

(We will update this blog with her updated website once it's up and running)

🌟 Looking Ahead to 2026

Next year, we plan to build on this momentum:

• Continue consistent posting + racer-focused storytelling on our page
• Post victory lane photos within 24 hours to our official page and website!
• Expand livestream coverage
• Improve racer tagging
• Create more themed event days (Picnic day 2.0??)
• Introduce larger payouts to boost growth
• Add more sponsor opportunities
• Keep the website updated throughout the season

Poplar’s growth isn’t slowing down — and neither are we.

Fan Photos

Something fun we plan to do next year is have a place fans can upload your favorite photos from Poplar Grove. We will choose some to post on our social media to share with not only our racing community but the world! These photos will be shared via Facebook and our new website.

Our New Website

Speaking of.... Along with growing our entries, we’ve completely transformed the online experience. Both on Facebook and our official website. We will be posting faster updates, easier race-day info, better photo galleries, and all your favorite events in one place.

👉 Visit the new site here: http://poplargrovespeedway.com

To finish things off...

This year at Poplar Grove Speedway wasn’t just about racing.

It was about families, connection, creativity, and a community that keeps getting stronger.

Being part of this growth through photos, videos, livestreams, and social media has been one of the most rewarding parts of running Rusted Rose Studios.

Here’s to an even bigger 2026 season. 🏁✨