And Now We Have Milan

[ironpony]

We all have to admit the amount of people coming into drag racing is very small. The ROI for any one involved is very small if at all. Drag racing is a limited spectator base comparatively to other racing bodies.
In reality NHRA does not have many true sponsors, look at this year alone, Scrappers and Torco limiting races. Imagine if KB or Elite decides there are better investments or just decide well we had enough, PS would be over.
I believe we will see big changes in FC in the next few years being that Force is out of driving. Yes the sponsors are sticking it out right now but John is the life blood in FC. Prock, Beckman and Brittany are great drivers but they are not John at the top end.

 

[Mike]

One of my favorite motorsports is tractor pulling, specifically NTPA. Their first Grand National pull was scheduled for GALOT Motorsports Park in Benson, NC at the end of May. IHRA just bought GALOT.

Yesterday, they ran an article saying the event was cancelled. NTPA announcement linkLink

One quote "The Benson motorsports facility—including its 1/8-mile dragstrip, twin pulling tracks, parking areas, and structures—was recently purchased amid a significant turnover in racetrack ownership nationwide.

To date, the NTPA has not received adequate assurance from the new ownership group that the event is to proceed with the group’s financial support."

Why should I respect an organization that refuses to honor commitments? This whole IHRA buying tracks deal is giving me major Evan Knoll Torco-like vibes. How did that work out?

 

[Nunz]

We all have to admit the amount of people coming into drag racing is very small. The ROI for any one involved is very small if at all. Drag racing is a limited spectator base comparatively to other racing bodies.
In reality NHRA does not have many true sponsors, look at this year alone, Scrappers and Torco limiting races. Imagine if KB or Elite decides there are better investments or just decide well we had enough, PS would be over.
I believe we will see big changes in FC in the next few years being that Force is out of driving. Yes the sponsors are sticking it out right now but John is the life blood in FC. Prock, Beckman and Brittany are great drivers but they are not John at the top end.

Drag racing is not as big as NASCAR by many metrics, nor does it need to be. Nobody is as big as F1 right now. But, the cost for a company to get involved in drag racing and have the ability to reach a substantial fan base is very doable when compared to other series. Funny thing about drag racing, I've been hearing that's it's dying since the '70s lol. You mentioned KB and Elite, remember the other series' have their anchor owners as well, such as Hendrick, Penske, and Ganassi. Regarding this whole IHRA debacle, it's maddening that someone can come in, create huge hype in a short amount of time, and possibly end up leaving things worse off just as quickly.

 

[sammi]

Nothing kills a race track faster than a real estate capitalist. (Southern California is a prime example) We now have to tow to Famosa(Bakersfield) or Barona(Ramona) to run in SoCal.

 

[Chili]

One of my favorite motorsports is tractor pulling, specifically NTPA. Their first Grand National pull was scheduled for GALOT Motorsports Park in Benson, NC at the end of May. IHRA just bought GALOT.

Yesterday, they ran an article saying the event was cancelled. NTPA announcement linkLink

One quote "The Benson motorsports facility—including its 1/8-mile dragstrip, twin pulling tracks, parking areas, and structures—was recently purchased amid a significant turnover in racetrack ownership nationwide.

To date, the NTPA has not received adequate assurance from the new ownership group that the event is to proceed with the group’s financial support."

Why should I respect an organization that refuses to honor commitments? This whole IHRA buying tracks deal is giving me major Evab Knoll Torco-luke vibes. How did that work out?

The IHRA has created a mess for all of those involved. We have several tracks that are in limbo and who knows what the future holds for them. The original poster of this thread appears to be no longer involved with the organization either. While nothing has been said publicly, his bio on X no longer lists IHRA as his employer. It’s a shame that it didn’t work out but I’m hoping it doesn’t cost us racetracks.