A better show for drag racing (1 Viewer)

[nitrofishblue]

I must be one of the few that loves the Pro Stock Motorcycles. When I was physically able to attend the races, my first stop was always the motorcycle pit area. I was in the stands for every round of the motorcycles.

I just wish that ESPN2 would start interviewing drivers other than the ones named Force. I would have loved to have seen an interview with the "Golden Greek". It has gotten to the point that I leave the room when another Force interview comes on. His stick has gotten rather old and boring. I don't find his ramblings entertaining in any way, shape, or form.

 

[FC138fan]

It has gotten to the point that I leave the room when another Force interview comes on. His stick has gotten rather old and boring. I don't find his ramblings entertaining in any way, shape, or form.

Funny, I fast forward any time I see or hear Force, or his daughter, or family. I think Id love them if they got as much coverage as everyone else, but for me Im just annoyed with how often theyre on, even when other classes are running.

 

[nitrofishblue]

Funny, I fast forward any time I see or hear Force, or his daughter, or family. I think Id love them if they got as much coverage as everyone else, but for me Im just annoyed with how often theyre on, even when other classes are running.

Wish I could fast forward but no DVR.

I love your Al Hofmann tribute site. When I got my husband interested in drag racing, Al was the only driver that he liked. He was really sad when Al passed. He cherishes the shirt that Al signed for him.

 

[mick]

Funny, I fast forward any time I see or hear Force, or his daughter, or family. I think Id love them if they got as much coverage as everyone else, but for me Im just annoyed with how often theyre on, even when other classes are running.

nick,
you may be even more annoyed if everything JFR has done for nhra drag racing
were suddenly not there tomorrow.
the man is a salesman extraordinare and the nhra is fortunate to have him.

 

[Terry]

nick,
you may be even more annoyed if everything JFR has done for nhra drag racing
were suddenly not there tomorrow.
the man is a salesman extraordinare and the nhra is fortunate to have him.

Mike, I certainly can't argue with your statement about the JFR contributions to drag racing. But even friends of mine who are hard core Force fans think all of the time spent showing John Force ride his scooter up and down in front of the stands could be put to better use.

I am not a big Force fan, but I'm also not a "Force Hater" as I often get labeled here if I say anything negative about the overkill on Force coverage. But to me, a prime example of the "over the top" Force coverage came on the last broadcast, when during one of the many Force interviews, John forgot the name of the Ford dealer in the area, and we then returned to Dave Rieff not once but twice for John to blurt out the dealer name, and then go back AGAIN because he had said the wrong name...

I realize tv has made Force "the show" and we need a marquis name to help ratings, etc. but I truly do feel many of the other teams are being "shorted" in airtime because of the preponderance of coverage of all things JFR. Just my two cents worth..

 

[mick]

Mike, I certainly can't argue with your statement about the JFR contributions to drag racing. But even friends of mine who are hard core Force fans think all of the time spent showing John Force ride his scooter up and down in front of the stands could be put to better use.

I am not a big Force fan, but I'm also not a "Force Hater" as I often get labeled here if I say anything negative about the overkill on Force coverage. But to me, a prime example of the "over the top" Force coverage came on the last broadcast, when during one of the many Force interviews, John forgot the name of the Ford dealer in the area, and we then returned to Dave Rieff not once but twice for John to blurt out the dealer name, and then go back AGAIN because he had said the wrong name...

I realize tv has made Force "the show" and we need a marquis name to help ratings, etc. but I truly do feel many of the other teams are being "shorted" in airtime because of the preponderance of coverage of all things JFR. Just my two cents worth..

wonder if there's some sort of tv production formula for niche' sports
with repetitive cast of characters?

 

[bukweet]

STOP and I do mean STOP the interviews from being a commercial for every sticker on the car/driver suit/hat/scarf/towel.
Yes that is why they do it because I remember it. But, I already know who you are, I've seen your name on the racecar and I will support your products that I can use because you support my sport.
Now, tell me about the race and why you won or lost and how good a job your crew did but STOP turning it into a commercial.
Imagine how good an interview could be if they didn't have to worry about remembering or forgetting a decal.

 

[afx421]

Here are my suggestions on improving the race coverage from NHRA national events.

1)Limit all JFR coverage to 60 seconds per show.
2)Create a five minute drag racing history package narrated by Phil Burgess, Snake or Garlits. This would be a part of every show.
3)Create a five minute "racing around the country" package that examines grass roots racing.
4)Profile the best appearing, best engineered and best appearing crew awards in a series of small packages.
5)Make a serious effort to look for stories in the bottom half of the qualified fields.
6)Feature a sportsman category every event. The success of Pinks is largely due to the interest the public has in the wide variety of cars. Make this reality work FOR the telecast.
7)Maintain the actual race telecast. Get rid of Paul Page, make Mike Dunn the featured announcer and bring in Whit, Snake or Shirley for color.

Mark Watkins

well lets see- how about limiting all don shumacher racing coverage to 60 sec!!!!!! and dont slam me for that because no one slammed him! get rid of paul page, and please stop the stupid trackonary and dumb down interviews. people who watch NHRA drag racing are hardcore grass roots fans, we all know what a burnout is!

 

[Rusty]

Here goes nothing...

I'm a big Force fan and could just sit back and listen to him all day (as long as it was just one day ), but I have to agree that other teams are getting shunned and that can't be a good thing for their sponsors.

PSB? Well I'm a lot more interested in it than I used to be, but it can't hold a candle to a cold drink and a hotdog here in the Texas heat. I will brave the heat for Pro Mods. In fact their diversity, personalities and unpredictability may make them (arguably) the most interesting class to watch.

I'm all for more support of the alcohol classes and miss the Pro Comp days of pitting the funny cars against the dragsters. We should be smart enough at this point to make that a level playing field and I think that would be more interesting for the fans...but I digress.

Paul Paige has improved, but is still pretty much nails on a chaulkboard for me. Particular phrases include "and Capps goes away" he didn't break, lose a motor or go up in smoke. He "went away" but I'm sure he's right there behind the wheel. Another would be the constant reference to the fuel cars as "Nitro". Guess I was brought up to believe it was a fuel - not a vehicle classification. Not fair to compare him to Steve Evans.

I like the stat guy...not sure about the presentation but it is interesting.

I always like retrospectives and would like to see more "what are they doing now" stuff and features on the people we talk about here all the time but rarely ever get a mention on the tv screen - before there all gone.

Considering I used to only get to see The Winternationals and the US Nationals on TV every year, I guess I shouldn't complain. Also all the male enhancement ads...not sure why us drag racing folks are the target audience, but "Smiling Bob" gives me the creeps.

 

[DrRocket]

.......Just my two cents worth..

YO!!! TERRY!! checked your PM's lately???

 

[mick]

I always like retrospectives and would like to see more "what are they doing now" stuff and features on the people we talk about here all the time but rarely ever get a mention on the tv screen - before they're all gone.

i'll second that

......Also all the male enhancement ads...not sure why us drag racing folks are the target audience, but "Smiling Bob" gives me the creeps.

think those companies have really done their homework and recognize
an aging demographic when they see one!

 

[FC138fan]

I love your Al Hofmann tribute site. When I got my husband interested in drag racing, Al was the only driver that he liked. He was really sad when Al passed. He cherishes the shirt that Al signed for him.

Thank you for the kind words about the site and Al. I do not run the site though, his girlfriend Susie runs the site. She has been doing a very good job keeping his memory alive with that site. I lost my AlHofmannRacing.com site due to funding issues. I might bring it back some day.

On a related note I remember TV saying back when I first started watching the races that Al and John were bitter rivals who hated eachother (I've found that to be mostly TV hype) and me thinking how can Al hate such a fun guy?

Maybe because they raced eachother so much, Al got annoyed with him just as I am today... annyoed; he's always there, in your face.. even if you don't want him to be. Take a step back and realize it's due to lots of hard work. So you gotta give him respect (As I am sure Al did)

 

[Terry]

wonder if there's some sort of tv production formula for niche' sports
with repetitive cast of characters?

Y'know, Mike, that's a great observation! (and thanks for not calling me a "hater" like some others have in the past) After reading your comment, I reflected on several other "niche" sports that have a racer or two elevated to "nearly god-like" status. Monster Truck racing--I don't follow it very closely, but when it comes on, it seems that the names Dennis Anderson/Gravedigger and Tom Meents/Maximum Destruction get most of the air play. Supercross will give most of the camera time to James Stewart even if he's in 6th while some unheralded rider is riding the race of his life out front...etc.

You have a point---if I ask friends who don't follow drag racing about it they will always say Yeah, John Force, right? I used to hear Big Daddy and Shirley. And if the hero-building centered around one team will help out our ratings, guess I need to quit *****in' and be supportive of anything that will help out the sport we are all part of, huh?

 

[Randy]

Y'know, Mike, that's a great observation! (and thanks for not calling me a "hater" like some others have in the past) After reading your comment, I reflected on several other "niche" sports that have a racer or two elevated to "nearly god-like" status. Monster Truck racing--I don't follow it very closely, but when it comes on, it seems that the names Dennis Anderson/Gravedigger and Tom Meents/Maximum Destruction get most of the air play. Supercross will give most of the camera time to James Stewart even if he's in 6th while some unheralded rider is riding the race of his life out front...etc.

You have a point---if I ask friends who don't follow drag racing about it they will always say Yeah, John Force, right? I used to hear Big Daddy and Shirley. And if the hero-building centered around one team will help out our ratings, guess I need to quit *****in' and be supportive of anything that will help out the sport we are all part of, huh?

Tiger Woods comes to mind. I watched a little of the TV coverage last weekend and he was in 33rd place or so. He was shown missing shots all weekend along with several replays of those missed shots, and analysis of those missed shots...while giving minimal coverage until the closing rounds of the guy who actually won the event.

 

[BrettV]

wonder if there's some sort of tv production formula for niche' sports
with repetitive cast of characters?

The problem with focusing on a few stars to bring in the ratings is what to do when the stars retire. I think the NBA took a big hit when MJ, Magic, and Bird retired, it took several years to "find" the new "stars" to market. ON the other hand the NFL has had consistent ratings because they market the teams not individuals. (Yes I understand football is different from drag racing, but the perils of marketing a few stars are applicable.)

Tiger Woods comes to mind. I watched a little of the TV coverage last weekend and he was in 33rd place or so. He was shown missing shots all weekend along with several replays of those missed shots, and analysis of those missed shots...while giving minimal coverage until the closing rounds of the guy who actually won the event.

Exactly my point. There is a huge difference in golf ratings when Tiger is not playing or not in contention.

 

[mick]

....Exactly my point. There is a huge difference in golf ratings when Tiger is not playing or not in contention.

or happy gilmore

 

[Terry]

or happy gilmore

'Zactly, Mike! We are lacking the Happy Gilmore aspect in drag racing (or we (meaning NHRA) are too pc to let them speak. The Hot Rod/Shoe verbiage back and forth comes to mind---nothing bad, but many folks watched the coverage to see what they were going to say. And people are still talking about Dougzilla vs Millican and WJ and the 'punk' comment. I believe the Happys in our sport are out there (Heck, John used to be one of them!!!). I think our sanctioning body just needs to realize a little verbal sparring as long as it's not mean spirited or (shades of NASCAR) racial slurs, etc would possibly draw in some curious viewers that may become fans if they like what they see. But that's just an opinion from someone who lives in the middle of a cornfield.....

 

[BrettV]

or happy gilmore

LMAO! so true

 

[none]

This comment may not go the way most have but how many of you watched the American Dragster show? It had story lines about people. My wife watched it and followed it up by watching the races to see how the "characters" did. After they cancelled the show, she lost interest and quit watching. My point is........It is important to have characters and storylines if you want to attract main stream audiences. Just watching cars go down the track on TV doesn't really cut it.

 

[Billy]

maybe there should be thinking outside the box - like change the schedule so there is a Saturday night qualifying session and broadcast that live for all the Pro Categories - then they could get a little bit of the "live" coverage everyone says we so desperately need.