Where do you think drag racing is going for 2021? (1 Viewer)

[Jeff]

Lots of good points for discussion here.
What hooked me when I 1st went to the races was a variety of cars I would see at a Saturday show at Fremont, funny car match races, quick 32, 16 and 8 shows, alky shows. Eff the jets... I learned to dis like those when I started racing...
Start in the morning and end after or at dark, nothing like nitro at night.
With a reset of sorts, and less national events we might be able to see some of that, with some of the smaller teams and an occasional touring pro.
That would be great for the local tracks. I think...

 

[Gone Dead Train]

With no elephant's (read nitro) you have no circus!
NHRA you better feed the elephant's!

 

[TSK]

For better or worse the NHRA may hold the keys to the future of drag racing.

That statement, albeit brief, says a lot.
While I believe that as long as there are two people with cars, there will always be competition to see which is faster. Hence, I believe drag racing will always exist in some fashion. But, with reduced payouts, sponsors being forced to pull back support, people not being able to afford to take their families to the races, among many other issues that have cropped up since the beginning of the Wuhan virus pandemic, it is incumbent on the high sheriffs in Glendora to re-think their business model.
Do they continue with three, or four, day events? Or, are the events reduced to two days, or even one day?
NHRA does not have the luxury of being paid for the rights to broadcast their races, such as NASCAR does, and that makes NHRA and their tracks highly dependent on people buying tickets, paying for parking, paying for high priced hamburgers and drinks, and buying souvenirs.
Unless a vaccine is developed, tested and approved before next season begins, I'm not too optimistic about the future of professional (nitro) drag racing.
But, drag racing takes a back seat to the needs of getting this country back to where it was at the beginning of this season. The country can survive without drag racing. Drag racing cannot survive without the country.
All I've got is a bunch of questions. I sure wish I had some good answer(s).

 

[FABMAN]

With no elephant's (read nitro) you have no circus!
NHRA you better feed the elephant's!

No Fans no money you can't feed the circus without fans it really sad to see a lot of businesses not reopening because of lost revenue it gonna take a lot of give and take to help small business recover if they try to.

 

[Rajunz]

Drag Racing is a thousand times better at night, under the lights. Saturday night, I was going to Lions. If I had a date that did not want to go, I went with friends. There were six other days in the week to do other stuff. When we had our Alky Funny Car, we would run it to test and for fun on Wednesday nights. Saturday nights are for racing!!! The first date that I took my wife on was to OCIR. She never heard of drag racing before. It was at night and she loved it. That was almost 50 years ago.

If NHRA had Saturday night shows, I believe they would sell out every one of them. Night racing is better because your brain is not getting cooked by the sun all day and the track cools down so you see more complete runs. Also if the track is nearby, you can get done what you have to do before heading out to the track.

I believe they would all sell out too. I've read many times before that the reason they haven't moved the finals to Saturday Night is that they don't want to give up a Sunday of ticket sales.

 

[Gone Dead Train]

No Fans no money you can't feed the circus without fans it really sad to see a lot of businesses not reopening because of lost revenue it gonna take a lot of give and take to help small business recover if they

No Fans no money you can't feed the circus without fans it really sad to see a lot of businesses not reopening because of lost revenue it gonna take a lot of give and take to help small business recover if they try to.

NHRA needs to find away feed the elephant's (READ NITRO) with no nitro no fans. With nitro the fans will find away to come.
My post had nothing to do with any other business. Only the NHRA!

 

[sammi]

National Event drag racing has, over the past 20 years, has morphed into a large lumbering behemoth, that is like watching a cruise ship steam by. Kinda cool to see something out of the ordinary, but because it moves predictably, kinda dull also.
This is a unique chance to sparkle up the show.
I would like to see:
1.Variation - - - each event needs a uniqueness and its own brand. One event could be a night show. Another could be only dragsters. Another could feature a one day, pro only event.
2.Do we really need a season champion? Does NHRA exist to crown champions or should it exist to showcase cars and racing.
3. Revamp sales and advertising. Your sales of event sponsorship is only as good as the people who sell it. Event advertising needs to fully embrace social media.
4.Bring back the daredevil. Have we made our sport so safe that it really doesn't interest anyone.
5. Start looking outward. My perception as an outsider is the NHRA has limited use for outsiders. They want us to buy tickets, buy product and click. Beyond that they stiff arm us away from those who made their way to the inside. I have witnessed the scorn insiders have for those who do dare to comment about the traveling circus.

 

[FABMAN]

The first part of my reply was about NHRA and the problems they may have they need full capacity to make ends meet. The other part was about small business and troubles they're encountering. NHRA is a not for profit small business..without fans they have nothing car count is not an issue.

 

[FABMAN]

Sorry about double post please fell free to delete one if them.

 

[Gone Dead Train]

The first part of my reply was about NHRA and the problems they may have they need full capacity to make ends meet. The other part was about small business and troubles they're encountering. NHRA is a not for profit small business..without fans they have nothing car count is not an issue.

Say what car count is not a issue? What i'am saying is NHRA needs to keep the nitro class healthy!!! The fans will come.

 

[FABMAN]

Say what car count is not a issue? What i'am saying is NHRA needs to keep the nitro class healthy!!! The fans will come.

The fans haven't been able to come because of regulations NHRA has lost a lot of revenue this year that can't be recovered that's why they reduce the pay out. They can borrow to recover but that's putting a double edged sword into the equation. Bottom line it takes money to make money.

 

[Jimbo]

The fans haven't been able to come because of regulations NHRA has lost a lot of revenue this year that can't be recovered that's why they reduce the pay out. They can borrow to recover but that's putting a double edged sword into the equation. Bottom line it takes money to make money.

Jessie Robinson:
your comment was very true "Bottom line it takes money to make money" but that is also true for the racers so when they are being asked to take either 25% or 30% less at the payout the window it hurts them and they have less money to spend on the parts they need. I think it is called the trickle-down effect

Jim Hill

 

[Dragracer]

IRP drag strip has been limited to 5,000 spectators per day and have done a excellent job of following the restrictions. 50% of NHRA's annual revenue is from spectators. Even with NHRA owning IRP they can only continue racing for a limited time as the spectators don't even cover the cost of opening the gate.
JUST IN: 2 hours ago it was announced that the Indy 500 race will be run without any spectators.
ALL of this is a lot of "NOT GOOD" for auto racing especially drag racing that has no TV revenue to fall back on.

 

[Dragracer]

Jessie Robinson:
your comment was very true "Bottom line it takes money to make money" but that is also true for the racers so when they are being asked to take either 25% or 30% less at the payout the window it hurts them and they have less money to spend on the parts they need. I think it is called the trickle-down effect

Jim Hill

The PRO racers have taken it in the shorts with the reduction in purse and the raise in nitro price. All nitro is purchased from the same Chinese distributor and that price is flat and has not increased to Sonoco. Mello Yello/Coca Cola and other major sponsors pay most of the PRO payout money. So why the reduction in prize money and increase in nitro pricing? Take a guess.....

 

[Rudos1]

NHRA needs a better TV deal as others have noted it costs them money to be on TV. I'm not sure how this can be corrected. If Covid gets under control by next Feb they can at least continue to have events while searching for a paying tv deal even if the level of exposure isn't as good ex. Late and overnight air times

 

[Usual password less 1]

After the IndyCar announcement today stating that there will be no fans for their race at Indy, I am not getting a good vibe for the upcoming US Nationals.....

 

[Jack]

Pretty sure that IRP holds around 40k spectators and I believe they can now run at 50% capacity. Will this weekend still be limited to 5K spectators or will 15 to 20K allowed?

 

[Nunz]

How can IRP be allowed to run at 50% capacity while 15 minutes away, the biggest auto race in the world is not allowed ANY spectators? Am I missing something?

 

[Huge]

At this point I will be happy if we have any racing in 2021.

 

[Cliff]

Someone mentioned going back to the way racing usta be. Am thinking of when a Divisional had T/F & F/C & Pro Stock. Well, instead of having National events, why not Divisional w/ smaller fields? Like 8 car T/F, F/C P/S T/AD, TA/FC, etc etc. Q on Thur & Fri & race on Sat w/ nitro elims at nite. Just throwing this out, but I well remember we had great crowds at shows like these across the country. OK, to stir the pot. I hate buying anything from China. Hate that nitro comes from there. Would there be an equivilent fuel that could be used instead of nitro? Or, no nitro, just alky, but maybe put an additive in the alky so that flames would show up at night. I know alky makes flames, but ya can't see it at night. Alky would be cheaper to run, say only 2 mill per year instead of 3.... Just my 2.5 cents....