KEYSYS
Case StudyFan EngagementCustom Software + AI-Accelerated Prototyping

Paddock
Passport

How KEYSYS turned a race weekend at Barber Motorsports Park into a quest, and turned the quest into the fan-engagement data SRO asked for.

SRO Motorsports Group · GT World Challenge America · Barber Motorsports Park · Sept 25–27, 2026

The GT World Challenge America field lined up on the front straight at Barber Motorsports Park
5
checkpoints spread across Barber, each pointing to the next
3
production applications grown from one prototype
0
app downloads required. It runs in the browser.
0
cameras, RFID tags or tracking. Only the scans fans choose to make.

About the project

A quest for fans.
Data for SRO.

SRO Motorsports Group runs GT World Challenge America. For its September race weekend at Barber Motorsports Park, SRO wanted two things: get fans out exploring everything the weekend offered, from the open paddock to the car festival, and find a way to measure that engagement.

KEYSYS built Paddock Passport, a browser-based scavenger hunt that sends fans to five checkpoints around Barber. Fans scan a QR code at each stop, collect a badge, and claim a limited-edition flag when they finish. Every scan feeds an organizer dashboard that shows where fans went, when, in what order and where they dropped off, with no cameras, RFID tags or tracking. AI helped the team move quickly from concept to clickable prototype, and that one prototype became three production applications: the fan app, the organizer dashboard and a reward app for event staff.

The presentation

The story in 10 slides

From the talk KEYSYS gave at DRIVE AI 2026. Click through, or jump with the thumbnails.

01 / 10
Case Morton presents Paddock Passport at DRIVE AI 2026, with the “We want fans immersed in the action” slide on the screens
Case Morton presenting Paddock Passport at DRIVE AI 2026

01 · The challenge

“We want fans immersed in the action.”

SRO already offered a lot at Barber: an open paddock, garages, a car festival and a fan zone. But access can exist without feeling accessible. A first-time fan doesn’t automatically know, “I can go over there.”

Open PaddockGarageCar FestivalFan Zone
The official public event map of Barber Motorsports Park for the GT World Challenge America weekend
The official event map. Everything is there, but nothing invites you to go find it.
A young fan gives a thumbs up in front of a GT race car in the paddock garage

SRO’s ask

“Can we see a heat map of fans at the event?”

The real goal behind the question: measure fan engagement. So SRO wanted two things at once.

GOAL 01Get fans to explore
GOAL 02Measure fan engagement

02 · The insight

Flashback · Summer 2016 · Railroad Park

Pokémon Go gave us a quest to explore the park.

People who had walked past corners of Railroad Park for years suddenly went looking for them. The game didn’t add anything to the park. It gave people a reason to go see what was already there.

Night at Railroad Park in Birmingham: a player aims her phone at the path while a small dog waits under the city lights
Aerial view of Barber Motorsports Park: the track winding through green hills and forest

What if we gave fans a quest at Barber?

03 · The solution

Paddock
Passport

A race-weekend scavenger hunt at Barber Motorsports Park

Fans scan five stops around Barber, collect a badge at each, then claim a limited-edition flag at the SRO FanDome. It runs in the phone’s browser at paddock-passport.com, so there’s nothing to download.

1. Explore

Find all five stops around Barber.

2. Scan

Scan the QR code at each stop.

3. Collect

Claim the flag at the SRO FanDome.

Paddock Passport home screen on a phone: Unlock the full Barber weekend, with the five-stop map

Explore

Five checkpoints.
Real landmarks.

  1. 01SRO FanDome
  2. 02Birmingham Car Festival
  3. 03Lady in the Lake Then ride the tram
  4. 04Scoring Tower Monkey
  5. 05SRO GT World Challenge Paddock
The Paddock Passport route map with five numbered checkpoints around Barber
Phone screen: My Paddock Passport, with SRO FanDome recommended next
The Lady in the Lake checkpoint sign with its QR code and backup code Scan a Stop screen reading the Lady in the Lake checkpoint QR code

Scan

Every stop points to the next

The route runs from the FanDome to the paddock, with a tram ride built in. The quest becomes the navigation.

Fan guide creative: scan all 5 then claim your limited edition flag at the FanDome Passport Complete screen with all five stops unlocked

Collect

Capture the flag

With all five stops unlocked, fans show the claim screen at the FanDome and take home a limited-edition flag.

04 · Measuring engagement

How do you usually get a heat map?

OPTION 01

Cameras

  • More hardware
  • Coverage gaps
  • Privacy questions
OPTION 02

RFID

  • Tags for every fan
  • Readers across the property
  • New infrastructure
OPTION 03

Timing mats

  • Built for one finish line
  • Heavy for a whole park
  • More gear to deploy

The experience creates the data.

Every scan already records where, when, in what order, and whether the quest was finished. No one is followed around Barber. We only count the scans fans choose to make.

Organizer dashboard, demo data: venue heat map of scan activity at each checkpoint Organizer dashboard, demo data: top fan journeys by checkpoint order Organizer dashboard, demo data: where fans stopped progressing, by number of stops completed
Demo dataOrganizer dashboard, test environment. Not race-weekend results.

Where

Which checkpoints fans scanned

When

When each check-in was accepted

Order

The sequence of their stops

How far

Where fans stopped progressing

05 · The build

One prototype became three applications.

Paddock Passport prototype
FANS

Paddock Passport

Explore›Scan›Complete
ORGANIZERS

Engagement Dashboard

Monitor›Understand›Learn
REWARD STAFF

Reward App

Verify›Redeem›Manage

Focused experiences

Each person sees only what they need.

Independent updates

Change one without breaking another.

Separate access

Public and staff apps stay distinct. Access is enforced through the API by identity and permissions.

FAN

“I want to play.”

Fan app home screen
ORGANIZER

“I want to understand.”

Organizer workspace on a phone with the scan activity map, demo data
REWARD STAFF

“I want to verify and fulfill.”

Reward Desk app: scan the participant's QR code or enter their claim code
Show each person only what they need.

06 · Where AI fit in

AI can be an accelerant.

AI shortened the distance between “what if?” and “what about this?” SRO could react to concept visuals and click through working prototypes before anything production-grade was built.

Early AI concept visual: a Paddock Passport one-page overview Early AI concept visual: a Start Here QR sign on an easel Early AI concept visual: a Paddock Passport phone screen
Early AI concept visuals · Not the final product
Early prototype of the fan app: Unlock the full Barber weekend Early prototype of the organizer dashboard with sample data
Fan app + dashboard prototypes · Sample data

A prototype is not a deployed application.

Iceberg diagram. Above the waterline, the prototype: visible user flow, clickable concept, sample screens. Below it, production engineering: session state, QR validation, retry and recovery logic, reward claim integrity, admin tools, inventory rules, analytics, testing, deployment, security, reliability and infrastructure.
THE TEAM

Product + experience

THE TEAM

Application engineering

THE TEAM

Infrastructure + deployment

AIDiscoveryExplorationImplementation supportTestingDocumentation

AI accelerated the work. The team owned the outcome.

07 · Race weekend

The quest begins…

The SRO FanDome checkpoint sign with its QR code and backup code The fan guide: Explore the paddock, complete the passport, with the five-stop map The live Paddock Passport home screen at paddock-passport.com
The check-ins · The app · The fan guide
The SRO FanDome checkpoint sign set up beside the GT World Challenge tents at Barber
The Birmingham Car Festival checkpoint sign on the lawn beside the festival welcome sign and show cars
Checkpoints live at Barber · SRO FanDome · Birmingham Car Festival

Race-weekend results

Fans kept going.

Share of fans who started a Paddock Passport · Sept 25–27 at Barber

41%

Completed all five checkpoints. 4 in 10 fans who started finished the full quest.

The fan journey

  1. Reached a second checkpoint65%
  2. Reached the GT Paddock63%
  3. Completed all five checkpoints41%

Nearly 2 in 3 fans kept going after their first stop.

Fans

  • Explore more
  • Discover Barber
  • Complete a quest
  • Earn a flag

SRO

  • Measure engagement
  • See check-in patterns
  • See drop-off
  • Improve future events

Better experience → better data → better next experience

Taylor Bedell of SRO Motorsports Group America

This is MEGA,
thank you!

Taylor Bedell

Sr. Manager, Marketing Communications
SRO Motorsports Group America

Practical AI · Built for production

AI systems that work in real operations

KEYSYS builds production software and AI systems that eliminate manual work, reduce errors, and give teams reliable outputs they can trust.

Birmingham's AI LeaderSince 2007Production Grade SoftwareEngineering-LedPractical AIBuilt for Operational RealityYou Own the SystemSystems That Last
Birmingham's AI LeaderSince 2007Production Grade SoftwareEngineering-LedPractical AIBuilt for Operational RealityYou Own the SystemSystems That Last