As I see it NHRA has and will keep taking until people wake up. You have to understand that they only are in it for the money. The people (Like US) that have spent our money and time on this sport are the fools and they know it.

It is a shame that TV (ESPN) will not try to push NHRA Drag Racing more. The reason NASCAR is as popular as it is because of TV. The number of hours of TV for NASCAR is huge. There must be at least 5 or 6 shows that just discuss NASCAR, or what the teams are doing, or the behind the scenes, or who knows what. If every other add on ESPN was for NHRA drag racing I would bet you would see bigger fields, more money, more sponsors, etc. I think NHRA needs to cut a deal with FOX or SPEED for TV coverage. Then we might see some changes. ESPN does not really seem to care about drag racing.

That is exactly 100% the truth...

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Jay
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There would seem to be a perfect oppurtunity in 2008. Through their infinite greed, the "GLENDORA GANG" has opened a door. I would have to believe most if not all sponsorship agreements are in place based on a 23 race season. Race 24, forced down the teams throats, would not be funded (or even considered) in those agreements.................. I say, PARK EM TO MAKE A STATEMENT..............who could blame them.

I would like to see one of the big pro teams give NHRA a wake up call.

Imagine if Force, Schumacher or Kalitta were to send their whole organization over to an IHRA event for one race on an off weekend. I would sure like to be a fly on the wall at NHRA HQ on the following Monday.

This scenario doesn't appeal to me as much as it once did with the addition of an 1/8th mile event in IHRA. An 1/8th mile is not a drag race just a drag.

Not to disagree as I do not (in many ways), but the numbers being thrown around should be placed in context for people not involved with marketing/trade shows...

In 1999 a company I worked with paid $14,000.00 to have an overhead sign placed at a trade show. I remember a booth at Comdex (computer industry), back in the 1990s of reasonable size on the show floor could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

I know a company (which I will NEVER name) that spent $100,000 for ONE day at a race track for corporate mucky mucks to race around a circle...

The costs need to be placed in context in order to have intelligent discussion, in my opinion.

How about a bunch of teams run an IHRA event INSTEAD of an NHRA event on the SAME weekend....Good thought, Jim....

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Jay
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So be specific...I am not sure I am following your path here....

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Jay
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J. Rathman Sports, LLC.Support Bacteria...Its the only culture some people have!

This is why NHRA pays ESPN $10,000,000-$12,000,000 per year to put it on...It isn't so much though, that ESPN doesn't care..It is a direct reflection of the fact that there isn't enough demand to create the ratings that would make it attractive enough to ESPN to pay a licensing fee to the NHRA to put the shows on the network. This responsibility falls squarely on the shoulders of the NHRA...The best case scenario would be for NHRA to HELP the teams and not continue to hurt them in the many ways that they do...They also need to raise the sportsman purses, and double the pro purses...This would allow for HUGE pro fields thus making the show amazing for the fans....

They should also re-engineer the cars to have a bigger diaper system or (I am not a technical guy, please forgive me...) whatever they need to completely eliminate these oil downs...Then they could get MUCH better TV...I happen to know people at CBS and NBC that would do a deal with the NHRA in a second! Granted, its still a time buy FOR NOW, but the coverage is MUCH better than it is now, and the major OTA (over-the-air) networks are still able to "trip" over ESPN's ratings because of the fact that they have 100% coverage as well as the fact that they are much lower on the dial (as ridiculous as that sounds, this is a fact, by the way...). The networks will also include promos to run during the week to promote the telecasts...Granted it is double the price of ESPN, but the viewership is more than double, and the prestige level of the sport goes WAY up...Not to mention the fact that they could generate more sponsorship dollars, as well...Many great sporting events started as time-buuys and then were offered network deals as a result..In fact, some of the biggest college bowl games are STILL time-buys...If the network offers you money, you can either take it, or realize that you have something special, put the RIGHT people in place to sell it, and make it all yourself...

A perfect example would be the Supercross series on CBS...Now THAT series has their chit together...And they sellout everywhere they go, they sell every spot on the telecast, and do a terrific job getting and keeping sponsors..

Of course though, the "I know it all and do it best" attitudes in Glendora will never take this seriously, though...

Here would be the best case of all scenario....IHRA and NHRA merge, and Bruton Smith and Evan Knoll are partners...You expand the schedule to include the top 20 events in NHRA and the top 8 in IHRA for a total of 28 events...All the sportsman classes get their hour on SPEED each week....On Saturday, you run a 2 hour Pro qualifying show at about 2:00 or 3:00 PST with the last hour live (of course, you will have to adjust the schedules a bit for this)...Then on Sunday, there is a 1 1/2 hour countown show live on SPEED every Sunday from 9:30am-11am PST....At about 3:00 or so, you come on FOX and run a 2 hour Eliminations show, with the finals live at the end...You add a Tuesday night Recap show with a panel of drivers, etc...

Now...THAT is the TV schedule that the NHRA needs, and you know what? I know the numbers well, and I can tell you that this can be had for about 30-40% more than what they are paying ESPN right now, but they get WAY more airtime, run a lot of live stuff, and get Network airtime for the big show...THAT would make this sport grow for sure...I mean lets not reinvent the wheel...This is close to what NASCAR did and i guess IT worked, right?

God, we need Bruton Smith....HE and Evan get it...!

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Jay
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With regard to the souvenir trailers....I would suspect that NHRA is still pissed because they had to allow the teams to have those trailers, rather than force them to sell their stuff through NHRA. God forbid NHRA shouldn't get every penny they can from everyone.

Think about it, ever since the big wigs at NHRA have been bean counters rather than former racers, or those who understand from wince we came, the sport has been going down hill. I, too, have serious doubts that HD will make it any better.

Ma Green

Man thats a great Idea .IHRA seems to be the "racer" friendly place to be anymore .

Does IHRA run at any tracks that you could get a top of the line fuel car down?

What good would it do for all of the hitters to show up at an event just to do a smoke show.

Jay

I have heard that Rockingham is a first-class facility. I don't follow IHRA close enough to comment on others though...

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Jay
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J. Rathman Sports, LLC.Support Bacteria...Its the only culture some people have!

Billy Weeks and I had this discussion a few weeks ago (no pun intended ). I'd hardly call Rock a 1st class facility, a descriptor I reserve for the likes of Vegas, but Billy thinks it could definitely host an NHRA event. It's been a few years since I've been to Rockingham but I would place it just below Dallas in terms of facilities. It's a beautiful place for a race though, I wouldn't mind taking a trip back there!

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What I am saying is the associated marketing costs in drag racing are not out of line in comparrison with other forms of activities and are actually a "bargain" compared across the board with what companies generally spend trying to increase sales and visibility for their product lines.

I actually have two pink plastic chairs in my house, crafted by some "momentarily famous" designer to promote some sort of shaving device that originally cost about five hundred apiece ( there were actually two dozen chairs produced). The chairs were created for a single trade show and after their use they were stuffed into a warehouse where they sat for a year. I got them for free when they were being thrown out to make room for more useless stuff.

Corporations waste a significant amount of money on useless crap (the cost of doing business), and something like a few thousand dollars for a hospitality trailer is basically "nothing" in the total scheme of things even though it seems like a lot when I contrast the costs with my household budget and day job.

I remember attending a four hour "party" one year on the "Streets of New York" (in the Vegas NY NY Casino) where a group had rented the entire "Streets of NY" for four hours, for four hundred people, with open bar and open food... Imagine the costs of that event in comparison with what we are talking about here??????? Oh yea... It was a Saturday night too.....

However purse size and media are two areas that in my opinion, require immediate attention. As much as I may not like the countdown concept, I wager a great many people watching the race (part time fans), didn't care about the old format or the new one but simply enjoyed an exciting event (value judgement aside).

I think it is well past time for some serious consideration to major print, television, and internet media to have a compelling reason to cover professional (and to some degree local) drag racing.

The obvious public service message (take it to the track) is human interest but not newsworthy (until some street racer drives into a tree), but the comparative (compared with other automotive sports) "safe" nature of local drag racing, the wide demographic coverages, the faithfulness of sponsor support by the fans, and the generally communal (family) atmosphere of the events more than offsets the inherent downtime of the activity.

I think hands on marketing will be growing in leaps and bounds as we enter a point in our society where people commicate through non human means more than in person. Drag racing, far more than NASCAR, is poised to take advantage of a "road show" approach to this type of marketing format, due to the accessibility of the teams.

So... We need a few more non automotive sponsors, a few more nicknames
(remember Snake, Mongoose, Big daddy, Wild Willie), and a few Wheaties box covers... We need the promote the USA nature of the activity with roots in safety rather than a celebration of moonshine running, and a place for our teenagers to go where there is less chance of them drinking than at the local clubs.

I don't want to ramble anymore but we need fresh blood. Just watching john Force at the finals made me realize (once again) how fragile we all are and how much a single defining event can change all of our fortunes (for better or worse). We have bigger fish to fry than the countdown numerical inaccuracies. We need more people to enjoy what we do and corporate money follows the buyers (the people).