Asher Article

[SundayNiagara]

Thanks for taking the time to respond Jon.

- I agree 5 runs for Pro Stock in a day is doable, it just seems harried.
- My untrained eyeball test usually sees Sunday as the biggest crowd. I have no empirical data to support the claim, it just takes longer to park, get concessions, tougher to move around the pits on Sundays in my personal experience.
- I agree that at some point payouts are going to have to be increased, my only point is to fix the economics of the sport first. It would be easier to do when costs and revenues are lower. Throwing more money in the pot at this point fixes the symptoms rather than the disease, in my humble opinion.
- I was completely agreeing with you that the cars need to be slowed down to go back to the quarter, my only point is that alone might bring some fans back, but more will need to be done to keep them back.
- I should have said nitro pilots either bring their own sponsors or are related to them, the others are just rich. There are the working class hero types like Scott Palmer and Terry Haddock (and god bless them, we need more like 'em) but for the most part, you better have the surname Force, Kalitta or Schumacher, be married to one or be very good friends with one or bring a fat check to one. Otherwise, no one s getting anywhere near a nitro car.

Good article and discussion!

Gainesville has their biggest crowd on Saturday, as always. However, this year I noticed the crowd, (at least in the stands & along the fence) thinned out after the first session. I wonder what caused that? Was it the outrageous prices in the concession stands?

 

[megadeth]

To be honest I'm sick of the lovefest at the top end!
I miss the days of rivalries instead of the same old politically correct ramblings you usually hear.
I hate the favoritism to some drivers and to hell with the rest.
I'm tired of girl power crap, girls have been driving and winning championships since the late 70's so cut the crap.
It should be more focused on the stuff Wilkerson and Neff who tune and drive like the old days.
They talk about Pro Stock the same goes for the Pro Bikes I rather see T/F bikes and Pro Mods at all the races Fuel Altered would be cool to!

 

[mick]

saturday racing - i'm all for it....in fact run a 2 day event and eliminate all sat. evening/night.

first we lost the cackle, then burnouts and 320', now the throttle wacks.
i would rather watch the 90's nitro program than today's.
back then jeff's list of drivers would have had many more that read: owns team

folks used to get passed in the last 320' (overtaken )
parity in a 1000'?....epler first to 300mph, let's see...middle of pack guy breaks barrier....back in '93

 

[Toejam]

Joe, you’re incorrect about Baze’s departure from the sport. That may be the public perception, but it isn’t accurate. Good seeing you in Vegas, albeit briefly.

Jon Asher
Senior Editor
CompetitionPlus.com

Jon, many Pro driver openly criticized Whit over his comments, including John Force, Jerry Toliver and Tony Pedregon.

 

[yoda]

Want longer burn outs? Give 1 point for 300ft---2 for 600 --3 for 900

Brilliant

 

[Usual password less 1]

Big Smokey Drag Racing Burnouts - YouTube

You guys/girls might enjoy this! I still think Norm Wilding was the burn out King

 

[yoda]

Big Smokey Drag Racing Burnouts - YouTube

You guys/girls might enjoy this! I still think Norm Wilding was the burn out King

Been watching VHS from the 80's- 90's lately... there IS a huge difference in the "show" now. Performance is amazing- problem with that is that performance has overtaken its venues, and soon it will overtake some of the available technology (tires).

Performance back then was pretty amazing as well- in fact, it really doesn't lack in any way, albeit many here would disagree.

 

[Pete]

Big Smokey Drag Racing Burnouts - YouTube

You guys/girls might enjoy this! I still think Norm Wilding was the burn out King

Oh I agree 100%!

 

[TSK]

Unless costs are addressed there won't be very many Local Independents left for fans to support .
Going to make for short fields in the future .

I'm still stuck on the $250,000 price for a bare Pro Stock axle housing. How many races does a team need to win in order to recoup just that cost?
It seems too many people are chasing pennies with thousands of dollars.

 

[Usual password less 1]

I'm still stuck on the $250,000 price for a bare Pro Stock axle housing. How many races does a team need to win in order to recoup just that cost?
It seems too many people are chasing pennies with thousands of dollars.

How about a million plus to lease a competitive motor for a year that you don't own or can't work on!! I would have to guess that a Top 5 or maybe 10 team spends more money per year than a pretty good fuel team ( read 2-2.5 million a year!)

 

[TSK]

How about a million plus to lease a competitive motor for a year that you don't own or can't work on!! I would have to guess that a Top 5 or maybe 10 team spends more money per year than a pretty good fuel team ( read 2-2.5 million a year!)

That really makes my head hurt.

 

[cephus]

good response Jeff, facts r facts,,, its the same ole bunch of drivers that just move from 1 team 2 another,, until something is done to allow some starts ups to get into the game, the show will still suck,, the love of money is the root of all suits,,

 

[Dave]

Top Fuel

Shaun...paid
Antron..brought Matco
Doug Kalitta..Connie
Brandon..if it wasn't for his Dad he probably wouldn't have got the ride he has now..paid
Britney...Dad
Sidney..$$$
Grubby...paid
Morgan...owns team
Spencer...paid but brings $$
Terry..owns team, has sponsor
Clay..brought Parts Plus
Tony...Dad
Torrence..owns team..family sponsor
BV Jr...owns team, has sponsor

Funny Car

John Force...owns team
Robert Hight...see above..paid
Courtney Force...see above..paid
Cruz Pedregon...owns team
Tony Pedregon...owns team
Jack Beckman..originally brought MTS sponsor
Matt Hagan..originally brought Shelor sponsor
Ron Capps...paid
Del Worsham..paid
Johnny Gray...is doing OK for himself
Jim Head/ Chad Head..also doing ok for himself
Blake Alexander...brought sponsor
Alexis Dejoria..bought sponsor
Todd Lesenko..brought sponsor
Tim Wilkerson..owns team
Bob Tasca...owns team

Rewind the clock 15 years to 1998. 100% nitro, quarter mile, no rev limiters 4.50s 320mph, Pro Stock Truck... but also a better economy, Winston sponsorship, and even some live races on tv!

The qualifying lists from the 1998 Winternationals:

Top Fuel
Mike Dunn - paid driver for Gwynn - Mopar $$$
Cory McClenathan - paid driver for Gibbs - MBNA $$$
Gary Scelzi - paid driver for AJ - Winston $$$
Kenny Bernstein - own team? - Budweiser $$$
Doug Kalitta - Connie's team
Larry Dixon, Jr. - paid driver for the snake - Miller $$$
Bruce Sarver - own team? - CarQuest $$$
Eddie Hill - own team? - Pennzoil $$$
Jim Head - own team
David Grubnic - paid driver for the montana express?
Joe Amato - own team - Keystone $$$ which he was part owner of
Doug Herbert - own team - Snap-On Tools $$$
Tony Schumacher - paid? driver for the Peek Brothers
Bob Vandergriff - own team? - Jerzees Activewear $$$
Cristen Powell - family team? - Royal Purple $$$
Rhonda Hartman - family team
Shelly Anderson- family team - Western Auto Parts America $$$
Dave Promnitz - ?
Terry Mullins - ?
Randy Parks - own team? - Rydin' Decal $$$
Bobby Baldwin - ?
Spike Gorr - ?
Ray Stutz - own team?
Robert Reehl - own team?
Tim Gibson - drove for Bill Miller?

Funny Car
Al Hofmann - own team - some GM Performance Parts $$$
John Force - own team - Castrol $$$
Ron Capps - paid by the snake - Copenhagen $$$
Tim Wilkerson - own team? - JCIT $$$?
Chuck Etchells - own team - Kendall $$$
Del Worsham - own team - Checker Shucks Kragen $$$
Tony Pedregon - paid driver for Force - Castrol $$$
Dean Skuza - family team
Gary Densham - own team
Whit Bazemore - own team - Winston $$$
Dale Creasy, Jr. - family team
Randy Anderson - family team - Western Auto Parts America $$$
Frank Pedregon - paid driver for Jim Dunn?
Jeff Arend - ?
Tom Hoover - own team - Pioneer Electronics $$$
Mark Sievers - own team
Norman Wilding - own team
Cruz Pedregon - paid driver for Gibbs - Interstate Batteries $$$
Jerry Toliver - own team?
Jim Epler - own team?

back then jeff's list of drivers would have had many more that read: owns team

you were right.. a lot more did drive their own stuff! How many teams are left these days? 6 or 7 in top fuel and 6 or 7 in funny car? It's probably easier for a driver to get a sponsor or come up with their own cash to bring to the table to a current owner rather than start their own program from scratch.

Just for the hell of it, here are the 32 drivers who attempted to make the 16 car field in Pro Stock
Mark Osborne
Mike Thomas
Jim Yates
Steve Schmidt
Jeg Coughlin Jr
George Marnell
Troy Coughlin
Warren Johnson
Barry Grant
Scott Geoffrion
Kurt Johnson
Ron Krisher
Richie Stevens
Gordie Rivera
Bruce Allen
Tom Martino
Darrell Alderman
Larry Nance
Larry Morgan
Mark Pawuk
V. Gaines
Ray Franks
Dester Cambron
Mike Bell
Frank Iaconio
Allen Johnson
Robert Patrick Jr.
John Nobile
Mike Edwards
Harry Scribner
Greg Anderson
Brad Klein

 

[TSK]

A buddy of mine sent me this;

The fact NHRA's attendance has dropped has absolutely nothing to with 1320' vs 1000' racing.
They have a product problem, it's boring. I think they are horrible when it comes to PR and promotions. I mean look at the championship celebration and you know this has been bugging me for years.
It's the most cheesy production in motorsports. Then you throw in Tom Compton, who has the personality of a toad, who looks scared to death.
I watched the Texas NASCAR ending this past weekend and hell, those guys are firing guns in the air, you got fireworks and flames, things blowing up all over the place, and that's just for winning one race.
We (NHRA) got this little banner bungee strapped down with these little sparklers a 3rd grader uses on the 4th of July.
It's not the length, it's the quality, man if I had a nickle every time I heard that from a chick. Haha
But it does make sense even in drag racing.

 

[PJ]

So many good points and ideas in Jon's article. I think one major one is the down time.

Nothing kills momentum then the constant stopping to drag and spray the track yet again. Between the semi's and finals, that long down time where often nothing is going down the track saps the energy from the crowd.

I love sportsman racing but we have too many classes, too many rules and no respect. Drop the Super classes. Run 1 or 2 bracket classes. Run whatever you want (except Throttle Stops), pick a time and go.
People get into a race when some 8 second car is trying to run down an 11:30 car. Actually the wider the gap the better. Wheels up launces, huge variety of cars/trucks/dragsters and whatever else. Less confusion as to why that car is coasting, what is a CIC and so on.

Also they can run a round or two to fill the gap before the finals to keep people going and tuned it while at the race. I am amazed at the amount of people that will leave before the finals are done.

Race schedules. Now I won't get into the countdown, but if this is your big drama push then why the long delay between races. Granted everything is pretty much wrapped up this year but doesn't it seem like Vegas was months ago? The finals should have been the next weekend, keep excitement and interest up.

They need to do a better job scheduling throughout the entire year, to keep interest up. 3 races on, 1 week off, 3 on and so on. It would shorten the calendar year for the races but would also keep interest peaked throughout. There are too many distractions for fans and downtime between races gets people looking elsewhere.

I like the idea of real interviews. I don't want some WWE style promo being run but be real. I wasn't a fan of Whit's at first but became one after his realness (and of course Roger). I may not root for Larry Morgan on every pass but damn sure respect and pay attention to him more than any other interview in PS because he will talk. Paying attention means that I will watch the interview and that means longer eyeballs and ears paying attention to the sponsor as well.

There needs to be a re-thinking of the structure right now. It appears national events are NHRA money grabs with teams coming a distant second and fans after that. While no doubt NHRA needs to make money to continue, if they put the show first, quit bleeding teams and fans dry, and make it more worth the money then in the end they will actually make more.

I go to this funny car race every year at this small track. They pack the place (not nhra national event packed, but for their place it is standing room only). They toss out more T-shirts and Frisbees on one night then NHRA will in an entire season. Free marketing all year long as people where that shirt away from the track, people are happy, they feel like they have spent their money well.

Norwalk seems to have proved that you can give a damn about racers and fans, put on amazing shows and make money.

 

[Toejam]

A buddy of mine sent me this;

The fact NHRA's attendance has dropped has absolutely nothing to with 1320' vs 1000' racing.
They have a product problem, it's boring. I think they are horrible when it comes to PR and promotions. I mean look at the championship celebration and you know this has been bugging me for years.
It's the most cheesy production in motorsports. Then you throw in Tom Compton, who has the personality of a toad, who looks scared to death.
I watched the Texas NASCAR ending this past weekend and hell, those guys are firing guns in the air, you got fireworks and flames, things blowing up all over the place, and that's just for winning one race.
We (NHRA) got this little banner bungee strapped down with these little sparklers a 3rd grader uses on the 4th of July.
It's not the length, it's the quality, man if I had a nickle every time I heard that from a chick. Haha
But it does make sense even in drag racing.

That's funny, cause on Jon Asher's article about 1000' or 1320' NHRA identifies the fact that Attendance and TV ratings are both down since the change! I'd say your friend is Missinformed...

 

[SoCal Racer]

[SNIP]
It's not the length, it's the quality, man if I had a nickle every time I heard that from a chick. Haha
But it does make sense even in drag racing.

True, but they still know longer is better!

Seriously though, while the boredom factor does need to be addressed, it was a a really bad idea to alienate the faithful fan base by sticking with 1000 ft. They could have done 1000 ft. for a short time to investigate and resolve any issues, but with an eye on getting back to 1320 ASAP.

 

[n/a]

Good input PJ. Outside of 3 races in a row I agree with most of what you have listed. Possibly schedule all races 2 weeks apart. While 3 weeks between a race seems forever I think being consistent with the schedule is important and would be easy to follow for the "Joe average fan". Right now if you aren't a diehard follower you easily forget when the next race is when there is a long gap.

 

[robinjackson]

We overlook the fact that drag racing – at the top NHRA level we are talking about, the one the public pays to watch – has become fundamentally changed. Tire limitations; the death of Scott Kalitta and the onset of 1,000-foot racing; the financial crash that squinched purse strings – all roughly coincided to bring an end to drag racing’s 50-year expansionist phase.

Outright speed has always been the sport’s special selling point. “Just how fast can drag racing get?” was the question on the lips of astonished onlookers over the decades as speeds advanced towards 200mph, then on to 300, then beyond even that.

Well, now we know: 337.58mph is the final answer, set by Tony Schumacher at Brainerd in 2005.

The “great” races that have gone down in history have been the barrier-busters: Ontario ’72 for example; Ontario ’75 especially; the 260mph Gators; the first 300mph pass. No one remembers these for the closeness of their racing. In the days before the internet, one would scour the new Hot Rod or National Dragster to find the latest race results – and it was the performance figures that really grabbed the attention. What new records had been set, what barriers broken? That doesn’t happen much any more. The emphasis has changed.

Super Comp provides inch-perfect, close racing. What kind of audience does it draw?

Doubtless some day soon we’ll see a Top Fuel 3.69 (or a 4.30 if we’d still had the quarter-mile). So what? ET means plenty to all of us in the know, but it’s terminal speed that truly resonates with the public at large. And for sure, we are never going see 340mph clock up on the scoreboards.

Now drag racing is moving into reverse. It’s a new world. Today’s talk is all about containment – containing speeds, containing costs. Worthy it might all be, but it’s hardly guaranteed to set pulses racing and the Twitter trends alight.

And therein lies the problem: it’s a new – and altogether trickier – challenge to sell a speed sport that is slowing down.

 

[TSK]

That's funny, cause on Jon Asher's article about 1000' or 1320' NHRA identifies the fact that Attendance and TV ratings are both down since the change! I'd say your friend is Missinformed...

You picked out only one small part of that message.
What about the rest of it?
Pardon me while I do an Alan Reinhart imitation in the copy below.

They have a product problem, it's boring. I think they are horrible when it comes to PR and promotions. I mean look at the championship celebration and you know this has been bugging me for years.
It's the most cheesy production in motorsports. Then you throw in Tom Compton, who has the personality of a toad, who looks scared to death.
I watched the Texas NASCAR ending this past weekend and hell, those guys are firing guns in the air, you got fireworks and flames, things blowing up all over the place, and that's just for winning one race.
We (NHRA) got this little banner bungee strapped down with these little sparklers a 3rd grader uses on the 4th of July.