Successful events grow their own ecosystems of support businesses, and for the National Championship Air Races, now in Roswell, New Mexico, that ecosystem is rebuilding following the move from Reno, Nevada.
As everyone likes to say, “It’s not Reno, it’s something new,” and the vendors are feeling the change, too. Dan Angelo is the main imprimatur (to bend the language) at Valley of Speed, an apparel and decal shop serving the air racing community. His bold designs are fan favorites, plus he does good business supplying team shirts for competitors.
With the move to Roswell, fan knowledge and tastes have changed. Reliance on the headlining Unlimited class favorites doesn’t work so well in a community that’s never seen or heard of the many historical Unlimiteds featured on his shirts. Nor have they had a chance to build a relationship with some of the Sport, Biplane, T-6, Formula 1, or other airplanes, which at the most have raced at Roswell only twice so far.
What has been keeping Dan returning with his Valley of Speed tent is event shirts. Green aliens zooming around pylons are doing what heroically posing Bearcats can’t so far. Hopefully, the appetite for hero race planes will grow with exposure.
If you already have a penchant for hero race planes, you can help Dan clear out some of his stock at valleyofspeedapparel.com.
