Amazing Jon Asher Article (2 Viewers)

[funnycarguy]

this is an emotional post I see......we all love the sport! As I said earlier. There are marketing experts but they need to know our sport and what it is we are trying to measure and accomplish. To me....more spectators is the goal but who knows what the long term strategic plan of NHRA is. Not posted that I can find.....not accountable to the members so I guess not.

Earlier in the thread there was a mention of You Tube.....here is an example of what I think is a good piece that helps the fan whether it is novice or not understand what is going on. The pits are not the same as they were for up close and personal as in the early days. You Tube would have the stats on number of videos viewed and compared to topics searched what was viewed. Thats how new fans could be educated.

Inside a Top Fuel Drag Racing Engine

You Tube is such an opportunity.....if it wasn't, you wouldn't see rock bands posting new recordings etc on this forum. I see on the news today that 2011 was a record year for rock album purchases......digital is so far out ahead of others but You Tube is a big part of the music business now. I would love to see the demographics on these purchases and the breakdown.

 

[PiPPi]

I don't go outta my way to proof read on mater. It's a hobby where accuracy should not be judged and a point should be debated.

Unreal.

 

[George.]

seriously?
what do you think the countdown is all about? they may not have
been the leader with this deviation,
but they certainly did not change for change's sake.

- 45 min. turnarounds / 90% or less nitro
- 1000' distance
- night qualifying
- jr. dragster program
- kids and veterans ticket incentives
- top eliminator club
- improved 'diaper' and restraint systems
- tower & bleacher suites
- espn contract - sunday broadcasts
- paved pro pits
- amenity improvements

these are not in any particular order, but rite off the top of my head this
short list in the last 20 or so years are great examples of change for
the betterment of the sport..... whether or not successful is debatable.

In order.
1. Great change for broadcast
2. Will equal total turn off of said broadcast.
3. Duh... No offense to you Mike. Recognizing the obvious isn't something the NHRA should crow about.
4. There needs to be an even greater commitment.
5. Sell that to the unemployed of this economy. Lower overall prices are needed, along with budgeting in one or two more T-shirts for those silly gun giveaways...
6. See 5.
7. See 1, then 2.
8. I wouldn't worry about tower suites when you can sit anywhere you want in the grandstands.
9. ESPN would never tape delay a nascar race, or push back the starting time for a Nascar race in order to finish up some no-name tennis match or some bogus cheerleading competition. The NHRA contract is clearly "filler time" for ESPN, and I don't see anyone else competing for the broadcast rights..
10. This is foresight? I thought this was a necessity for any serious sanctioning body to see that their competitior's rigs don't have to park in the weeds.
11. Do you mean better outhouses?

These are nice things that I would expect to see, but they fall into the "pothole filling" catagory, and not actually having the pulse of insuring future marketing to the next generation of fans..

 

[Rat]

In order.
1. Great change for broadcast
2. Will equal total turn off of said broadcast.
3. Duh... No offense to you Mike. Recognizing the obvious isn't something the NHRA should crow about.
4. There needs to be an even greater commitment.
5. Sell that to the unemployed of this economy. Lower overall prices are needed, along with budgeting in one or two more T-shirts for those silly gun giveaways...
6. See 5.
7. See 1, then 2.
8. I wouldn't worry about tower suites when you can sit anywhere you want in the grandstands.
9. ESPN would never tape delay a nascar race, or push back the starting time for a Nascar race in order to finish up some no-name tennis match or some bogus cheerleading competition. The NHRA contract is clearly "filler time" for ESPN, and I don't see anyone else competing for the broadcast rights..
10. This is foresight? I thought this was a necessity for any serious sanctioning body to see that their competitior's rigs don't have to park in the weeds.
11. Do you mean better outhouses?

These are nice things that I would expect to see, but they fall into the "pothole filling" catagory, and not actually having the pulse of insuring future marketing to the next generation of fans..

That's what Im trying to say, I care less about the critcism. George just says it in a smarter way.

 

[Rat]

But at the same time, it is hard to take a post or an opinion seriously when the poster can hardly form a cogent sentence amongst their ramblings.

Last I will ever say about this. It's my choice how I want to be presented and a good point will win the day all day long no matter how good it follows the needs of the english grammer bookworms. Being an author speaks for itself, I would not be an author if I wrote the way I write on mater. Say what you all will, this is my choice and making a good point will never, ever fall short to shotty grammer. It's just like my radio career and I am sure many that are watched by the fcc in the media. Once that On-Air light is on, you don't even remember how to curse.

 

[Muddy]

Astounding...Patrick has managed to keep this thread going thru 145 posts. A bit less encouragment would be a good thing. JMO

 

[Jeff]

And post 147 needs to be realizing the difference between "your" and "you are" or you're ... yes its the internet, but dang reread your post once before hitting submit.

I can't wait until racing or even testing starts so we have something better to talk about!

 

[George.]

C'mon, let the guy post his opinion without the grammer school punctuation and spelling corrections. I make a ton of mistakes, and I hope the message I'm trying to send doesn't get derailed by my lack of patience or time when constructing a paragraph. I'm sure Patrick spends plenty of time editing and correcting his final print than a post on the Mater.
Move on..

 

[Rat]

Astounding...Patrick has managed to keep this thread going thru 145 posts. A bit less encouragment would be a good thing. JMO

most of the posts are thanks to you guys who have nothing better to do than to tell someone they have shotty grammer or are beating a beyond dead horse.

1. Nobody says you guys have to read it.
2. Nobody makes you respond but yourself
3. It's a beyond dead horse because nothing is ever done by (whoever you consider the barrier) to change the conditions of this sport. Why do you think every couple months a new thread/artice/situation comes to the attention of the web about the decending pattern of the NHRA? Nothing has changed since the first thread ever posted about the NHRA and it's issue on mater. As time goes on the NHRA just gives people more reasons to debate whay the status of the sport is not as strong as it could be.

Thank You George.

 

[clwill]

I believe it's "shoddy grammar"

I agree this horse is dead. I helped beat it well beyond the grave. For that I apologize.

 

[Rat]

Dont be sorry for anything, I truly wonder why anyone ever writes anything about it anymore if it's such a dead horse. Take Jon Asher. He's not wrong, Ok he's in the same beating a dead horse class, but a change needs to be made. When the right people who can make a difference care, there gonna be hoping it's not too late. Between this and my constant grammer pokes (I have no idea what entertainment you guys get from it) im done with this thread.

It's sad that thread is a classic example of what mater has become or has always been. An unpopular view gets you told constantly that your wrong (You might take offense to the opinion, but wrong nope) or that you can almost predict exactly what user is gonna find something to take shots at you over. I can't name how many shots I have taken the last year. I'm not looking to go through this for another year, unless I post facts that can be proven wrong, my unpopular opinion is never ever wrong.

I don't need to have perfect text book grammer to make a point, a good point will speak for itself. Why must this be a site where somebody always takes a shot at somebody on some thread over an opinion or the way they present it. What is this an elementary playground? My grammer may present itself like it's elementary at times, but it is complete bs that there has to be members on here that just do not know how to debate a conversation without making it personal. Yea, the truth is that I shape up alot better in my profession, but I am personally not the best at grammer.

It's not my site, but I like to be a member of a place where the topic at hand is debated and discussed any personal shots (posts on here are never personal until there's always the disagreement) are left out. It's not about thick skin at all, it's about the fact that why does it even need to be a part of this site. What's really being accomplished by responding that someone is stupid or just posted the dumbest post they ever seen? Does it make the fifth grader ego satisfied?

That's why I love the election debates, i am positive they all think of each other as a-holes, yet when everyone's watching you'll never know it publicly. Mater should be like that if anything.

 

[clwill]

Please, you can't be serious. You want this to be like election debates? Where nobody says what they think but only speaks from talking points, and the minute they go off script there's a whole team of people behind them cleaning up the mess? That's not discussion and discourse. That's theater.

The Mater is special. It's a place where you can discuss drag racing with some modicum of control. People say what they want, but there's at least some measured discussion. Nobody swears at each other. Personal attacks are limited to "that's the stupidest idea I've ever heard" and not "you are the stupidest human on the planet" (a key distinction). Is it perfect? Hardly. Do people still get their feelings hurt? You bet. But it's a nice place in an internet filled with the vile and disgusting and with blatant attacks on anyone and everyone for any reason at all.

If you want to taste drag racing discussion with no holds barred, spend a Saturday night over on http://www.yellowbullet.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=11 Post some of your opinions over there. Then wander back here and tell us how you're treated.

Chris

 

[Toejam]

I think the Moral of this thread is; Everybody thinks they have a magic wand to somehow make this sport more popular than it has been in 40 years! And if NHRA just listened to us.....

 

[Rat]

Please, you can't be serious. You want this to be like election debates? Where nobody says what they think but only speaks from talking points, and the minute they go off script there's a whole team of people behind them cleaning up the mess? That's not discussion and discourse. That's theater.

The Mater is special. It's a place where you can discuss drag racing with some modicum of control. People say what they want, but there's at least some measured discussion. Nobody swears at each other. Personal attacks are limited to "that's the stupidest idea I've ever heard" and not "you are the stupidest human on the planet" (a key distinction). Is it perfect? Hardly. Do people still get their feelings hurt? You bet. But it's a nice place in an internet filled with the vile and disgusting and with blatant attacks on anyone and everyone for any reason at all.

If you want to taste drag racing discussion with no holds barred, spend a Saturday night over on Trash Or Be Trashed - Yellow Bullet Forums Post some of your opinions over there. Then wander back here and tell us how you're treated.

Chris

Nah I love mater for what it is I like the so called family here even if I am a type of black sheep. What was that famous Tommy Boy quote, I think "I can get a good look at a T-bone by sticking my head up a bull's ass, but I'd rather take a butcher's word for it."

 

[I was NITRO BREATH]

QUOTE=Patrick Keenan I'm not looking to go through this for another year,

QUOTE=Patrick Keenan;284280]Nah I love mater for what it is I like the so called family here even if I am a type of black sheep.."[/QUOTE]

Spoken like a true schizoprenic!! Patrick i'd get a check up
I've been on this site for many years and i never heard someone complain soooo much about how bad it is here. If you dont like it move on.

 

[Rat]

QUOTE=Patrick Keenan I'm not looking to go through this for another year,

QUOTE=Patrick Keenan;284280]Nah I love mater for what it is I like the so called family here even if I am a type of black sheep.."

Spoken like a true schizoprenic!! Patrick i'd get a check up
I've been on this site for many years and i never heard someone complain soooo much about how bad it is here. If you dont like it move on.[/QUOTE]

Read between the lines. No matter how much hassel anybody gets on here, this site is addicting, mainly cause it's the most organized chat forum out there.

 

[I was NITRO BREATH]

Spoken like a true schizoprenic!! Patrick i'd get a check up
I've been on this site for many years and i never heard someone complain soooo much about how bad it is here. If you dont like it move on.

Read between the lines. No matter how much hassel anybody gets on here, this site is addicting, mainly cause it's the most organized chat forum out there.[/QUOTE]

Ok---- lets hear more thinking and less complaining

 

[DAN]

Jon raises some very valid points in his article - relevance is crucial to the survival of Drag Racing. Perhaps Jon or someone could answer this question - NHRA have utilized the services of IMG, one of the most acclaimed Sports Marketing companies worldwide - what is IMG's strategy for the NHRA over the next couple of years?

 

[Bill]

Bill, you make some interesting points. I'm not sure you can lay the entire blame for the ways things have developed squarely at the feet of Glendora.

Harry Truman said it best: "The buck stops HERE."

Sure, Kenny Bernstein, John Force and DSR (among countless others) injected their own systems and M.O.'s into the mix, but did NHRA ever have the BALLS to "Man up" to the situation, and with a modicum of foresight, say, "No, we're not going to allow multi-car teams into the sport, nor will we allow Funny Car bodies that owe their shapes to a wind tunnel, rather than the OEM profiles they are supposedly patterned after, into competition."

Or, "PRO Stock engines must be based on production, assembly-line blocks, and ditto, the heads." "NO 'DRCE' or phoney-baloney "HEMI" designs that never came on a production "stock" car."

NHRA was in a position to do that, but chose not to.

They are proving, currently, with their iron fist, that they ABSOLUTELY CAN dictate what is and is not legal, with this last round of so-called "parity" they are dishing out in Pro Mod, with regard to engine sizes, car weights, and turbocharger specifications, even to the extent of dictating a "spec" turbocharger from a specific manufacturer (that cannot be modified.)

The "modern" NHRA ruling faction that this sport exists under, has always had that ability.

How is it then, that the sad, expensive, un-sustainable direction that drag racing has found itself in, can be the fault of ANYONE ELSE BUT NHRA???

They have built a financial "empire" that is run by suits who have never been down a drag strip in a race car, have NO experience in spotting trends and significant changes in the way things are done with regard to HOW that might change the sport, aand yet they think this thing will run itself???

Nope; sorry David... it's THEIR FAULT. Only THEY could have stopped the onslaught of multiple factors that have put the sport in the considerable decline it's in. But they didn't know HOW, and won't listen to outside advice (their paranoia trumps everything!) so I have to think it really IS their fault.

Insofar as the "no place to race" comment attributed to me, I have to clarify that: There's no place for ME to race that is "thanks to NHRA." I can take my bracket car (won't fit ANY NHRA Class) to a variety of non-sanctioned tracks here in Arkansas (no NHRA strips in this state) and have fun driving down the strip, but it's no thanks to NHRA.

That's not a part of my argument though; I never should have implied that.


W,J, said, "Auto racing at the professional level has become "Engineeing Entertainment."

So it has; but the blame for that lies, as you so aptly put it, squarely at the feet of the powers that be in Glendora, I think. It didn't have to be that way... but it is. An educated and forward-thinking managerial staff could have prevented a lot of it... but those people just weren't there. We got lawyers and finacial statisticians, instead.

Now, look at it...