Bamboozled? (2 Viewers)

[Sully]

Yes, I am convinced that people go to the races to watch a race, not to watch a championship, but you wouldn't know it from the pre-race and post-race releases from NHRA. The race gets lost in the constant drumbeat of Countdown hype, and if it doesn't have anything to do with the Countdown, the winners are barely mentioned. Andrew Hines won the Bike shootout and was virtually ignored in the Saturday release from Indy.

 

[Rexfiles]

Now see.........personally I would Love to go to Vegas and Pomona.

Alas I'm on the opposite side of the US plus in the middle of my busy (as in $$$$$) season.

And I wouls go because of the new format.

The spectator in me finds it intruiging.

Of course I realize my opinion is a individual one.

As many here have & still continue to infer.........Ah'm jess one 'o' da' "Idiots"

Oh well..........guess I can live with that

REX

 

[kingcobrafan]

I may be in the minority, but I always thought each race was something special and the season-long championship was an honor that went to the driver who did best in all the events, not just four or two.

By no means in the minority, Larry. Not only do I agree with what you posted above, but as far as I'm concerned, between qualifying and eliminations, each event is a playoff unto itself. If the inherent excitement already in drag racing doesn't attract new fans, the countdown won't either.

 

[d'kid]

Hey Paul........good story. And now we see the blueproint to a lifelong fan. Cool

Mel...

I was at my first Drag Race in '66 age twelve... and I'll tell you the open shows and the AHRA shows were always better than the NHRA shows... and Jim listen to racers unlike...

Which would I rather see... a 32 or 16 car open flopper show, The PDA Meet, The June 32 car Nitro show at the country, almost anything Pappy Hart did at the Beach, The MFG meet at the County or at Rockford... The County's 4 race Winter series... BAKERSFIELD!!!! or the Winters and 'SuperNationals' @ O.M.S.

Honestly, the open stuff was much better... and wasn't so 'retentive'... and the NHRA divisional points races were a much better more fan friendly show...

Personally, I think we have too many National Event and they are all equal in Value... At least Indy was Double Points... We (NHRA drag racing) have grown too big.... In 'the day'... a pro could run all the NHRA events... be bought in to AHRA events, and still run the Important OPEN shows (which really paid the better money)... but, being NHRA Champion and a buck will get you a cup of coffee at 7/11...

Sorry to say this, but to understand my views on this season, all I have to say is know your Roots... does the championship mean anything to me? not really... I really feel the Sport has outgrown the Glendora concept of what it should be... Pass the belt every week... We aren't Stick and Ball, we aren't NASCAR, WE aren't NCAA... every week is the Sweet Sixteen... Promote it That way...

Geez.. they're promoting the Dirt Cars over the P.A.
Do we get Promoted at a USAC or NASCAR race?

 

[Nitrohaulic]

Here's what the 'outside' media said in the Oct 8 LA Times.... note, the 'Countdown' is referred to as a 'two race championship'. Nice

"Four-time series champion Gary Scelzi earned one of four berths in the two-race championship, beating teammate Ron Capps in the Funny Car final Sunday in the Torco Racing Fuels NHRA Nationals at Dinwiddie, Va.

Scelzi, who jumped from sixth to second place, was joined in the winner's circle by Top Fuel's Doug Kalitta and Pro Stock's Dave Connolly, who has won five straight races overall to take the No. 1 seeding.

Capps secured the fourth and final berth in Funny Car with his semifinal win over Tim Wilkerson. Tony Pedregon and Robert Hight will be the other two finalists.

The drama in Top Fuel played out in the first round when Brandon Bernstein ousted Bob Vandergriff to cement his position in Top Fuel's final four. Larry Dixon, Rod Fuller and Tony Schumacher are the other three finalists.

In Pro Stock, Greg Anderson will be seeded second and the Pro Stock final four was filled out by No. 3 Jeg Coughlin, who drove his way in with a first-round win Sunday, and Allen Johnson, who clinched the fourth and final berth.

The top four drivers who remain alive in the Countdown to the Championship will have their points reset in 10-point increments, from 3,030 to 3,000, before heading to Las Vegas (Oct. 26-28) and Pomona (Nov. 1-4) for the two-race championship."


Who knows? Perhaps the SoCal readers are sophisticated enough to read into the story, but I'm pretty sure the 'new fans' the Countdown has created, are still scratching their heads at the points reset, two race Championship, etc.

I think I might rather explain bracket racing as in why the car that got there first lost because he didn't hit his brakes hard enough.

 

[rocketman]

I don't think there is a Thing anybody or sponsor can do that will get Drag racing the Media exposure everyone expects! The Best way NHRA can promote itself is to advertize on NON-Drag racing events! And I don't expect that to happen anytime soon.

Joe, your right. One reason we get a lot of attention with our program is because we take our car to events where you wouldn't see a dragster. It pops out and is memorable. At a car show its just another car. NHRA needs to get in other venues besides the dragstrip and televised races. I proposed a national safety program that would have increased that exposure but Compton wanted nothing to do with it.

I'll say that in the first round at Indy there was a little bit of excitement. And perhaps interest in the countdown has increased interest the media by perhaps one notch. But basicly after Indy the bloom is off the rose. It's actually more confusing then a streight run for the championship. Hell, I still can't figure it all out. At Indy a couple of years ago I only noticed 5 or 6 cars and one TV station van in the parking lot behind the tower marked for media only.

 

['Sage']

I'm looking at the "Countdown-To-The-Chase-To-The-Championship" (yes, that's how it's referred to in our house) this year (and any subsequent years ~ if any) as the "Asterisk Championships". Sort of like...well...Barry Bonds. Yeah, they may have won the championship and gotten the big check, but were they really the champions?

This has to be the first time that I can recall being totally uninterested in the championship chase (and I go all the way back to ABC's Wide World of Sports & Diamond P coverage). I find the whole thing stupid and boring as all get out. It's almost like it was back in the beginning where the "Champ" was crowned at the World Finals...by winning the World Finals. Anything else that you did/accomplished during the year meant diddly. That, I believe, was the deciding factor behind going to a season-long chase format in the first place. And now they've tossed it aside for this "game show"?

What's next...the winner will be determined by a trivia question or some "challange"? I can only hope that next year will be better. But I doubt it.

 

[I was NITRO BREATH]

The Countdown gets a lot of NHRA media attention, so much so that the individual races are now almost afterthoughts. The special races, like the Top Fuel race this weekend, are virtually ignored because they play no part in the countdown and the national events themselves are just backdrops for the Countdown.

I would think that the tracks and the race sponsors would be objecting to the shift in focus - even the pre-event publicity has become mostly about the Countdown. The race itself is secondary and event winners are not featured in the post-race story unless they are also in the Countdown.

I may be in the minority, but I always thought each race was something special and the season-long championship was an honor that went to the driver who did best in all the events, not just four or two.

Good point Larry-- maybe one good thing about the countdown is that it has opened up a dialogue on how the sport should be promoted in the future. It's a given that everyone on this forum and all the other die hard fans love drag racing. So, going forward how is the sport going to face the economic realities of attracting more fans and therefore more sponsors.Or, is this even necessary??? The last part of your post alludes to an alternative approach to the countdown. What comes to mind is more of a driver personality based competition like a Snake versus Mongoose battle from the old days. Scotty cannon came into funny car with an attitude of ''John Force look out I'm gunnin for ya''. And while it didn't pan out it did create some buzz.And we all have seen how Whit B can stir the pot .Maybe to stir up more fan excitement and therefore more media attention NHRA should concentrate more on the Drivers and their individual battles to win each race and in the end a real deserved championship. How about a real hero like Tim Wilkerson who gets no attention but who battles each race. How about the season JR Todd had.He had his crew chief kidnapped. It got alot of attention on this forum but hardly any from NHRA. One thing I do before taking anyone new to the races is tell them to watch a few races on TV so they begin to know the drivers.Because when you know whats happening under the surface it wouldn't be just some cars going down the track --it will be people in the cars.

 

[Rexfiles]

[/B]

Good point Larry-- maybe one good thing about the countdown is that it has opened up a dialogue on how the sport should be promoted in the future. It's a given that everyone on this forum and all the other die hard fans love drag racing. So, going forward how is the sport going to face the economic realities of attracting more fans and therefore more sponsors.Or, is this even necessary??? The last part of your post alludes to an alternative approach to the countdown. What comes to mind is more of a driver personality based competition like a Snake versus Mongoose battle from the old days. Scotty cannon came into funny car with an attitude of ''John Force look out I'm gunnin for ya''. And while it didn't pan out it did create some buzz.And we all have seen how Whit B can stir the pot .Maybe to stir up more fan excitement and therefore more media attention NHRA should concentrate more on the Drivers and their individual battles to win each race and in the end a real deserved championship. How about a real hero like Tim Wilkerson who gets no attention but who battles each race. How about the season JR Todd had.He had his crew chief kidnapped. It got alot of attention on this forum but hardly any from NHRA. One thing I do before taking anyone new to the races is tell them to watch a few races on TV so they begin to know the drivers.Because when you know whats happening under the surface it wouldn't be just some cars going down the track --it will be people in the cars.

"KIDNAPPED"???

Oh fer heavens sake..............

 

[I was NITRO BREATH]

"KIDNAPPED"???

Oh fer heavens sake..............

See it working:

 

[Nitrohaulic]

I like what Frank Oglesby said on Classicfunnycarboard.

"If a 330 mph Fire breathing NITRO FC race in itself is not entertaining enough you are following the wrong sport----Showmanship of course but a phony welfare points chase where LUCK is a BIG part --NO.

Aside from the limelight and mouthing the party line EVERY PRO RACER I KNOW hates this with a passion.
Now if you are A weak suck loser who KNOWS you will never be champion with out some welfare deal to benefit you I would suppose you might like it fine.
Your other point--NO one has to do this-- your memory is pretty short as here is how the deal went down----Kenny Bernstein at PRO was the ONLY RACER to know about this before hand and KEPT THIS TO HIS SELF while serving as the head of PRO---Bernstein should be tarred and feathered and ran out of the sport by his fellow racers as what he did was inconceivable.
ALL the Nitro teams by the time they even heard of this deal had their plans in place for this year and were basically coerced into putting a "Happy Face" on this years fiasco.
We will see how this all plays out in the future but remember the biggest balance of power change in Drag Race history took place when HD bought the PRO part of nhra.
With out the PRO TEAMS they basicly paid 121M for about 40M worth of real estate.
For the record I had been a member of nhra about 35 years before Tom Compton saw his first drag Race so no one has more respect for Drag Racing than I but I still won't drink the coolade.
Frank"

 

[Rexfiles]

Frank who?

Honestly..........enough is enough.

I don't care what Frank thinks, with all respect.

I won't change anyones mind on this........that is quite apparent.

The funny thing is mine is still open.........

And if this thing tanks I'll admit it was a bad move.

I CAN change my mind. I'd admit I was wrong.

But then again you'd have to be kidding if anyone thinks HDP was not in on this last year. As far as input.

I do not think they appeared out of thin air

That would be pretty niaeve stuff there....................

The jury is still out.........if $$$$$$$$$ starts coming in........the naysayers better develop an appetite for crow........

As I must also if it goes the other way.

REX

 

[PJ]

In the interest of fair complaining, I do have to say not ALL the pro dirvers were against it. Obviously with KB sneaking behind the scenes he was for it as well as one other prominent driver, which shocked me coming from him. Like said above those who have no chance where also in favor it, but the poor always love lotteries right, the ultimate get rich quick scheme.

 

[mike]

Frank who?


The jury is still out.........if $$$$$$$$$ starts coming in........the naysayers better develop an appetite for crow........

REX

why?


I don't like the Countdown and it won't matter if it makes NHRA bigger than NASCAR I still won't like it...and I'll still think it was a mistake, being popular doesn't have anything to do with being better, I just don't understand why the countdown's success or failure has any bearing on whether one likes it or not... :shrug:

 

[Rexfiles]

Ummmmmm...........could possibly be that I in particular.......or probably NHRA or better yet HDP, in general.........really do not care if you do not.

REX

 

[RAPID]

Ummmmmm...........could possibly be that I in particular.......or probably NHRA or better yet HDP, in general.........really do not care if you do not.

REX

Rex, isn't that kinda a major part of the problem,,,NHRA or anyone higher in the chain than the starter do NOT care what the racer thinks????

Rapid

 

[Rexfiles]

Rex, isn't that kinda a major part of the problem,,,NHRA or anyone higher in the chain than the starter do NOT care what the racer thinks????

Rapid

No matter how hard I try.......I cannot imagine any entity deliberately trying to destroy itself.

I think this is an experiment.......

That may or may not work..........

for the bottom line.

I am self employed, and from time to time I make changes.

Almost all the time my employee's that are used to the "Old way" complain.

I on the other hand wait for results.

If it works it stays.......if not it goes.

Complaining to me will change nothing at all until I see results.

Pretty much the reason given here........to sum it up I mean.......is pretty much that people don't like it.

I never said anyone was wrong.

If you or anyone does not like it..........fine.

I think it has merit and could positively benefit the sport.

If I did not I would stand against it.

I still am going to wait and see.

You...as I, are entitled to our opinions.

REX

 

[RAPID]

Rex, I have no problem with a reasonable change of rules or plan, other than the inherent human nature part that doesn't like change of course.

I don't feel this move was really thought through well enough to implement it without some major discussions with the racers. The way I understand it, KB knew and none of the others had any advance knowledge prior to the public unveiling. If that is true, that is just plain wrong. JMO

One other thought, I don't think the entity is really trying to kill themselves off, but I do believe there are too many people making decisions who don't really know what the heart and soul of Drag Racing is, so therefore can't make correct decisions to accomplish beneficial change.

Off my soapbox,

Rapid

 

[kingcobrafan]

I don't feel this move was really thought through well enough to implement it without some major discussions with the racers. The way I understand it, KB knew and none of the others had any advance knowledge prior to the public unveiling. If that is true, that is just plain wrong. JMO

One other thought, I don't think the entity is really trying to kill themselves off, but I do believe there are too many people making decisions who don't really know what the heart and soul of Drag Racing is, so therefore can't make correct decisions to accomplish beneficial change.

Off my soapbox,

Rapid

Spot on, Randy. I agree with every word.

 

[mike]

Ummmmmm...........could possibly be that I in particular.......or probably NHRA or better yet HDP, in general.........really do not care if you do not.

REX

but if you don't care why do you spends so much effort explaining why we should just accept it?

I get that NHRA decided to make a change, and I get why they may or may not be too worried about what the fans want...
what I don't get is why some people feel the need to tell others they should like something they don't.

if you don't want to hear from people that don't like the countdown, quit reading and posting in every thread about not liking the countdown!...that would go a long way to proving your contention that you don't care...

I'm done now...