An honest question to countdown fans.

[.]

Ever since the resetting of points, I have had a sick feeling in my stomach.
And as if Indy wasn't tarnished enough this year, next year the points will be reset there too.
This whole thing sucks so bad.

 

[yoda]

They picked the wrong group of folks to sell it to, Peej...and have to continuiously force feed it to us to make sure we are all on board (have some more Kool-Aid, son...)

We already get it. We may not like it, but for the most part, we understand it and are deaing with it.

The Clowndown was started with the concept that the sport of NHRA Drag Racing needed some additional drama and excitement (!!!!!!) to obtain additional attention from Corporate America and larger media outlets. At best, NHRA has garnered as much attention in these locations as they probably would have without the changes- there is no marked improvement on rasing the public conciousness of our sport.

The poorly thought-out concept mirrored the other major US racing series and was obvious to fans of the NHRA-sanctioned series, while gathering only minimal attention in the major media markets. Our contracts with ESPN are still exorbitant and we carry no more leverage than in years before the C/D, as shown by the programming changes that exist to this day. How powerful or important is our sport when we can still be pre-empted by random changes?

Magazines that do not regularly feature drag racing still don't. Events that do not regularly present drag racing content or competitors still don't. The increase in the overall public eye that was supposed to come with the implimentation of the C/D never materialized. The only place that the C/D became important was in the 21st Century version of the house organ- the NHRA coverage of the events on the tour on ESPN. The C/D still does not regularly make the Ticker at the bottom of the screen, or SportCenter, or ESPNews. If it couldn't be sold to them- and they actually LIKE us- how was it expected to be pitched to things like morning shows, and regular network programming?

Print media, and in particular, newspapers, are a dying breed. Writers on websites and blogs carry more weight than the local fishwrap. It seems the C/D was designed to make the sport more attractive to that market as well as to corporations. The timing couldn't have been worse- but that was not the fault of Glendora. What is the fault of the Ivory Tower folks is their belief that they no longer needed to listen to their constiuants (sounds familiar?)- the foundation of the sport that formulates its base and in the future, will be the basis of its history. They felt they could walk away from those of us that fly to races, bring out guests and buy the products advertised by the sponsors. And now, they are paying the price with empty seats.

Can they affford to backtrack now and return to the days when only consistant, superior performance is rewarded, and move away from the soccer-mom concept of rewarding all that came to play? Probably not. And with that, those that can recall the "golden age" of NHRA drag racing should do so with reverence of an era that made the sport attractive to us in the first place. We'll never see the "good old days" again- no matter how hard we try.

 

[SundayNiagara]

X3, I like the excitement it brings to the last 6 races of the year. I remember the years when John Force was dominating and I recall how less meaningful the races were knowing everyone was racing for second. Sure, the old system would have great title races like TF in 1999 and FC in 2005, but that was the exception instead of the norm. The Countdown raises the probability of having a close and exciting finish to the year in each category.

When the Yankees are winning, baseball is more interesting. The same applies to John Force, (love or hate him) in drag racing.

 

[Rich]

I'm not so sure that the broadcasters are overselling the Countdown. Or, better, even if they are overselling the playoffs they are only doing what is done in other sports. For instance, if you'd watched any of the the last couple of NASCAR races you would have heard a heavy emphasis on the Chase (sometimes lap by lap, and pass by pass). And the stick and ball sports are just as guilty.

 

[Joker]

They picked the wrong group of folks to sell it to, Peej...and have to continuiously force feed it to us to make sure we are all on board (have some more Kool-Aid, son...)

We already get it. We may not like it, but for the most part, we understand it and are deaing with it.

The Clowndown was started with the concept that the sport of NHRA Drag Racing needed some additional drama and excitement (!!!!!!) to obtain additional attention from Corporate America and larger media outlets. At best, NHRA has garnered as much attention in these locations as they probably would have without the changes- there is no marked improvement on rasing the public conciousness of our sport.

The poorly thought-out concept mirrored the other major US racing series and was obvious to fans of the NHRA-sanctioned series, while gathering only minimal attention in the major media markets. Our contracts with ESPN are still exorbitant and we carry no more leverage than in years before the C/D, as shown by the programming changes that exist to this day. How powerful or important is our sport when we can still be pre-empted by random changes?

Magazines that do not regularly feature drag racing still don't. Events that do not regularly present drag racing content or competitors still don't. The increase in the overall public eye that was supposed to come with the implimentation of the C/D never materialized. The only place that the C/D became important was in the 21st Century version of the house organ- the NHRA coverage of the events on the tour on ESPN. The C/D still does not regularly make the Ticker at the bottom of the screen, or SportCenter, or ESPNews. If it couldn't be sold to them- and they actually LIKE us- how was it expected to be pitched to things like morning shows, and regular network programming?

Print media, and in particular, newspapers, are a dying breed. Writers on websites and blogs carry more weight than the local fishwrap. It seems the C/D was designed to make the sport more attractive to that market as well as to corporations. The timing couldn't have been worse- but that was not the fault of Glendora. What is the fault of the Ivory Tower folks is their belief that they no longer needed to listen to their constiuants (sounds familiar?)- the foundation of the sport that formulates its base and in the future, will be the basis of its history. They felt they could walk away from those of us that fly to races, bring out guests and buy the products advertised by the sponsors. And now, they are paying the price with empty seats.

Can they affford to backtrack now and return to the days when only consistant, superior performance is rewarded, and move away from the soccer-mom concept of rewarding all that came to play? Probably not. And with that, those that can recall the "golden age" of NHRA drag racing should do so with reverence of an era that made the sport attractive to us in the first place. We'll never see the "good old days" again- no matter how hard we try.

Normally, Martin and I have different opinions on things however I couldnt have said this any better. Exactly, this was done to try and create "excitement" and boost tv ratings and whatnot. We dont get any more coverage now than we did before.

The "excitement" is just that, generated to me. I also agree they are trying to sell it to the wrong crowd. Any true drag racing fan thats been around for a while isint going to like this clowndown crap.

To me, NHRA 100% TOTALLY fails when it comes to marketing the sport. They always have. Winston did a better job than anybody. I was excited when Coke came onboard but that was a huge bust. Then I was excited when they hired a major marketing group and I havent seen the rewards of that yet either. The racers, teams, and track owners do most of the marketing.

 

[yoda]

As much as I want the old system back. I could at least live with it if 8 were on one side and had to race each other. It would eliminate the guy who won without winning and it would also take care of the guy who won by simply not having to beat the other countdown people.

If they must continue with the foolishness: 16 car field- 8 C/D cars on one side of the ladder, still running regular qualifying and going for spots ON THEIR SIDE OF THE LADDER. Do the same for the non-C/D players on the other side of the ladder for the other 8 spots. We'll see a Top Eliminator at the end of the day, and maybe, just maybe, we'll get a bit of "excitement" generated by the "little guy" getting to race the "Goliath" in the Finals at every race, while still rewarding the guys that made the playoffs by allowing them NOT to be eliminated by a "non-player" until the final round.

The only teams that would be affected is in the cases of larger than 16 car fields, if a "non-player" missed the field on their side of the ladder but had a better qualifying pass than someone on the 8 C/D car/bike side... (It would make them try harder next season to get into the Top 8 mix tho, wouldn't it? )

 

[PJ]

X3, I like the excitement it brings to the last 6 races of the year. I remember the years when John Force was dominating and I recall how less meaningful the races were knowing everyone was racing for second. Sure, the old system would have great title races like TF in 1999 and FC in 2005, but that was the exception instead of the norm. The Countdown raises the probability of having a close and exciting finish to the year in each category.

doesn't it seem artificial though? I can't watch it and go oh yeah this guy deserves to be here.

__________________________________________________________
Martin Very well said.

I too have been willing to accept an 8 team playoff with 1/2 the field open and the other being the playoff cars. Then it would mirror what other sports do as a playoff. It would be what they want and possibly generate excitement in that even if you weren't the best car all year at least you had to beat the best in the playoffs (which is completely the opposite now). Although my #1 choice is a season long champ, I can live with a real playoff

 

[AAFA-Freak]

HellYes I would go back to the World Finals crowning the world champs!!!
Because all seven divisions would then send the top three in TF FC TAD TAFC and all other classes they then would qualify for 16 spots at WF and run off till we had champs in all classes!

All Division races back to racing all classes sign me up!!!

 

[yoda]

HellYes I would go back to the World Finals crowning the world champs!!!
Because all seven divisions would then send the top three in TF FC TAD TAFC and all other classes they then would qualify for 16 spots at WF and run off till we had champs in all classes!

All Division races back to racing all classes sign me up!!!

And all nitro World champs would be coming out of Div. 3 forever (Brownsburg, IN)...

 

[AAFA-Freak]

Martin I could even see it run at INDY or Route 66 in Oct!!

Well we would see if they might change locations again
hmmm what a way to stimulate the economy!!!

 

[kingcobrafan]

They picked the wrong group of folks to sell it to, Peej...and have to continuiously force feed it to us to make sure we are all on board (have some more Kool-Aid, son...)

We already get it. We may not like it, but for the most part, we understand it and are deaing with it.

The Clowndown was started with the concept that the sport of NHRA Drag Racing needed some additional drama and excitement (!!!!!!) to obtain additional attention from Corporate America and larger media outlets. At best, NHRA has garnered as much attention in these locations as they probably would have without the changes- there is no marked improvement on rasing the public conciousness of our sport.

The poorly thought-out concept mirrored the other major US racing series and was obvious to fans of the NHRA-sanctioned series, while gathering only minimal attention in the major media markets. Our contracts with ESPN are still exorbitant and we carry no more leverage than in years before the C/D, as shown by the programming changes that exist to this day. How powerful or important is our sport when we can still be pre-empted by random changes?

Magazines that do not regularly feature drag racing still don't. Events that do not regularly present drag racing content or competitors still don't. The increase in the overall public eye that was supposed to come with the implimentation of the C/D never materialized. The only place that the C/D became important was in the 21st Century version of the house organ- the NHRA coverage of the events on the tour on ESPN. The C/D still does not regularly make the Ticker at the bottom of the screen, or SportCenter, or ESPNews. If it couldn't be sold to them- and they actually LIKE us- how was it expected to be pitched to things like morning shows, and regular network programming?

Print media, and in particular, newspapers, are a dying breed. Writers on websites and blogs carry more weight than the local fishwrap. It seems the C/D was designed to make the sport more attractive to that market as well as to corporations. The timing couldn't have been worse- but that was not the fault of Glendora. What is the fault of the Ivory Tower folks is their belief that they no longer needed to listen to their constiuants (sounds familiar?)- the foundation of the sport that formulates its base and in the future, will be the basis of its history. They felt they could walk away from those of us that fly to races, bring out guests and buy the products advertised by the sponsors. And now, they are paying the price with empty seats.

Can they affford to backtrack now and return to the days when only consistant, superior performance is rewarded, and move away from the soccer-mom concept of rewarding all that came to play? Probably not. And with that, those that can recall the "golden age" of NHRA drag racing should do so with reverence of an era that made the sport attractive to us in the first place. We'll never see the "good old days" again- no matter how hard we try.

Excellent post, Martin.

 

[d'kid]

HellYes I would go back to the World Finals crowning the world champs!!!
Because all seven divisions would then send the top three in TF FC TAD TAFC and all other classes they then would qualify for 16 spots at WF and run off till we had champs in all classes!

All Division races back to racing all classes sign me up!!!

The Problem is we Don't have AA/FD or AA/FC at divisionals... and we'd have to Cut back on National Events (like that would hurt my feelings)

The only other problem I have is that the NHRA is Headquartered in Lost Angels... They Think we need Hollywood Shows and Action Flick Excitement.

I miss the days when Jim was a pain in Wally's @$$, AHRA keep Wally honest, I miss the days of Independent Shows, Bakersfield ALWAYS meant more to me than the winter nations, The PDA meet was second only to Indy. There were great Funny car shows in every part of the country.

And Jim wasn't afraid to pay appearance money to the top ten cars in the points.

But a wise man (my dad) told me you can't go back. I tried it when I got out of the service, picking back up as an Angles Fan and a Rams fan... the games had changed in the four years I was gone

But I did pick right back up with Drag Racing, right up to the late eighties, when the kids started school... 12 years later the needle was back in the arm... but now from the other side of the guard rail... but now, it's only a couple of cars I really pay attention to... guess I'm a Dixon fan, because his dad was nice to me years ago... I'm a Triple A fan because of Eric Lane and Robert.

You know what really set my opinion of Wally's NHRA... The fact they wouldn't let 'Goose drive for Chops to take the car to the World Finals after Moe passed away. John Had won division 7, hands down, that just started the bad taste in my mouth, or maybe it goes back from before then....

rambling again
sorry

d'kid

 

[yoda]

...You know what really set my opinion of Wally's NHRA... The fact they wouldn't let 'Goose drive for Chops to take the car to the World Finals after Moe passed away. John Had won division 7, hands down, that just started the bad taste in my mouth, or maybe it goes back from before then....

rambling again
sorry

d'kid

Good ramble, K.... I had almost forgotten about that one- yeah, that was pretty punk of NHRA. And it doesn't even compare to the junk coming out of there now....

 

[.]

And all nitro World champs would be coming out of Div. 3 forever (Brownsburg, IN)...

Don't forget about Div. 7 (Yorba Linda, CA.)

 

[yoda]

Don't forget about Div. 7 (Yorba Linda, CA.)

That's where the checks get mailed to... Where's the workshop?

 

[.]

That's where the checks get mailed to... Where's the workshop?

The way I understand it is.... John and Ashley are based out of Yorba Linda, and Robert and Mike are based out of Brownsburg. If this has changed, please forgive me.

 

[yoda]

The way I understand it is.... John and Ashley are based out of Yorba Linda, and Robert and Mike are based out of Brownsburg. If this has changed, please forgive me.

I think you're right Brian...

 

[Baron]

PJ, to answer your question: yes. Of course, they over-emphasize a lot of things. I was re-organizing the basement over the weekend and had the race on the TV. Paul Page asked (I paraphrase), Do you remember John Force's horrifc crash here at Dallas two years ago? I was home alone. Still, I shouted at the TV, "How in blazes can I forget it? You guys show it every few minutes!"
At least I think I said blazes.
I would find the telecast a great deal more interesting if they would include more coverage of the non-stars. I've got no heartburn with the guys that have made it to the top of the mountain, but there are some great stories, yet untold, of people who are putting their hearts and souls into this sport.

One more thought: our sport differs from the stick and ball sports in an important respect. All of our top teams are "on the field" every time we have an event. There are more NFL teams than there are weekends in a season. A playoff makes more sense when the teams don't meet at every event.

I give the guys at ESPN a lot of credit for innovating new ways to approach the events as they go along. Maybe we can help 'em with some friendly suggestions.

Cheers,
Ed
Rocky Mountain Superchargers

 

[Paul]

doesn't it seem artificial though? I can't watch it and go oh yeah this guy deserves to be here.

Nope, doesn't seem artificial to me, it is the rules that were outlined in the beginning of the year. Teams are racing within the guidelines established.

 

[clwill]

Nope, doesn't seem artificial to me, it is the rules that were outlined in the beginning of the year. Teams are racing within the guidelines established.

Hmmm, rules say "no diving", though... Just sayin'