LLBB, and Espn probably pays them.

All season ESPN/NHRA has been pretty close to being on time. If it started 15 min late..it went 15 min over.

This is the first event that was affected this year..and everybody is acting like their Wheaties got pooped on. I think the coverage has been outstanding..I sure wouldn't want this happening to every broadcast..but go back and read Dave MaC's post. Take the pros advice.

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--Medicated for your safety!!--

Wow David!!! I don't think I'll ever eat Wheaties again. I'm like you in that I think this is the first time this year that we didn't get the full 2/3 hour show even though they may have started late. I guess the tennis match was more popular in their polls than NHRA drag racing & then here comes a Little League game & the race gets pinched. You know that when you check the TV schedule you can almost tell which shows are going to run over, pushing the start of the race back. It seems that the races nearly always follow a sport that has a high likelihood of running over. If the races followed pre-taped shows that wouldn't happen.
I must add though that I still remember, & not that long ago, how difficult it was to get any kind of drag racing coverage. I'm just tickled to death that we get to see all 23 races of the series & on the same day to boot. I'm certainly not saying that it can't be improved upon because it surely can be, but I also remember to count my blessings.................."HIP"

If it's obvious to us that the preceding shows are likely to run over, then why aren't they scheduled for a more reasonable time window? Afrer all, the argument against live drag racing coverage is that we might not get finished on time.

Big freakin' deal - neither do most of the other sports ESPN covers live! Rain delays and rainouts? Those happen too, so what's different about drag racing and live coverage? Everybody accepts the "can't cover drag racing live" argument without question, yet accepts the fact that other live sports coverage often runs over their alloted time slot. In fact it happens so often that we have come to expect it whenever a live event precedes drag racing coverage.

Maybe it's time to start pushing for live drag racing coverage again?

I'm with you Larry, there is something wrong when the largest grassroots motorsports principle venue has to beg for ten minutes to include the finals.
The race finished forty five minutes or more before the coverage started and like I said I have manned the video tape machines and edited my share and made decisions as to what went on.
The general format was followed including the sounds segment.
I can see the rain delay and ensuing doubts that the race would even get off had its part but a show that starts so late should be aloud to finish.
Lets just admit the racing can be preempted but it is not to preempt anything without rousting someone in Vail Colorado or something of the like.
If NHRA had any nads they could do better in contracts.

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THE CORRECT ANSWER TO THE ENERGY CRISIS IS D ALL OF THE ABOVE !

I think the difference between live drag racing and other live sports is simple. Oil downs. When other sports are broadcast live, the action continues until it's over. They don't have 1/2 hour gaps in the action like drag racing does when someone granades a motor on a run and the track has to be cleaned up. Unless someone can come up with a way to prevent oil downs, I can't see there ever being fully live coverage of drag racing. It's just the nature of the beast.

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Jackee Allen-ProStockJunkie
"The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress." -- Joseph Joubert (1754-1824) French Philosopher

Oildowns should be used to run the fluff pieces that now are pre-empting coverage (at least they did last Sunday). If they don't get enough oildowns to run the prepared stuff, run it during the following race. And you don't see many half-hour oildowns any more, more like five minutes for most of them. That's long enough for Scelzi Says or Grubnic's Nuggets - or even a good cry.

Uh, Jackee, did you forget about baseball rain delays? I can't think of a more tedious gap in the action, but I don't really like to watch baseball in the first place.

The rest isn't directed at you, Jackee, but this is a convenient place to put my opinion in

It all comes down to horsepower, and I'm not talking about what's going down the track. As long as the viewer numbers make NHRA pay to get coverage, we're going to have these problems.

Considering the billions of dollars given to NASCAR, how likely do you think the network that wrote the check is to switch away? When the broadcaster has their OWN money involved things really seem to change.

While I agree with those who wonder about darts, demolition derby racing, ping pong, poker, and other "sports" being broadcast, we all should remember that they are paying for the time just like the NHRA.

yellow flag laps, oildowns, what's the difference?

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I'm still DamnYankee

"A Friday night run in a Funny Car is just really intense" - Whit Bazemore

If time restraints were not such a problem such as another motorsports channel then the fluff and oddity segments ,reruns and interviews would more than cover the down time for oil downs.
Oil downs are mostly less than half an hour with about 15 min. the norm.
Bruton Smith already had the answer anyway with four lanes instead of two so cars can continue to run while clean up goes on the other side.
All the key elements are there and if exposure on TV comes about then the money for every one will increase which I might add will decrease the oil downs as teams can afford better parts and the services of more experienced crews.
It's funny because there are Multi millionaires out there living a dream crewing on some of those cars. Yep money sure helps grease the rough spots.

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THE CORRECT ANSWER TO THE ENERGY CRISIS IS D ALL OF THE ABOVE !

Got a question. Which of you is willing to stand in the lights manning a broom when two 330 mph dragsters/funny cars are passing within 50 feet or less, at that speed...and possibly on fire and out of control?

It's the one great drawback to a four lane race track , for both track worker and driver, unless you build 8 to 10 foot walls between the lanes....not too practical.

The four lane track is not a bad idea...just extremely difficult to make work in real life.

DMaC

Hey Big Mac,

Great to see you here. Are you going to be at Indy?

I would personally like to thank you for being the professional that you are. Your knowledge and interaction with the sport have truly made you one of the greatest.

Best wishes and don't be a stranger.

Regarding baseball games..... when ball games are on TV with the stands way less then full, it doesn't surprise me that they would continue on in the rain. Go figure.

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Jackee Allen-ProStockJunkie
"The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress." -- Joseph Joubert (1754-1824) French Philosopher

DMaC, that's the first thing I thought of concerning the 4 lane track idea. I sure wouldn't want to be standing out there. The car wouldn't have to be on fire or out of control. Just blowin' by at that speed would probably make any misguided soul change his/her mind. Remember Dickie Venables on the starting line at Indy last year? The blast would probably leave 'em naked to boot. ............."HIP"

yeah besides, they'd probably be blocking my lens if I was trying to take a picture. those guys ain't too good looking anyway. you don't want em cluttering up the tv .

Bruton thinks outside the box. Sometimes the box can get bigger.
This time I don't think so. I still don't see the difference between yellow flag laps at a nascar or irl race, and oildowns. Oildowns positively suck when you're in the stands, but on tv? big whoop. Bring in Mac to talk for 15 minutes.

how bout this- a double decker drag strip. run two races at a time, in opposite directions. put cloverleaf offramps at the end of the upper deck.

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I'm still DamnYankee

"A Friday night run in a Funny Car is just really intense" - Whit Bazemore