I guess as a ex IHRA competitor I am confused.
When we won the Northern Nationals in 2006, the place was packed from one end to the other with spectators. We had really good spectator turn outs at all of the events that year......that being said...why change the whole sanction body.
What changed in the last 3 years, people are broke, thats obvious. NHRA has a hard time filling the stands. ADRL is packin em in with free admission, $25 parking and there isn't a drop of Nitromethane in the pits.......someone please explain to me why people go watch the ADRL and there is no Nitro however, IHRA and NHRA feel they would be crippled without cars running it?
I am not a fan of 1/8 mile racing, I would rather run 1/4 if I had a chocie, but it doesn't seem to bother the spectators, nor does it bother them that none of the cars run NITRO. So I guess my question is whats is the missing link. I don't think changing the face of drag racing, like the folks in Norwalk are trying to do, when it works perfectly fine in Kenny Knowlings world over at the ADRL. A elimination ladder works for ball and stick sports for their playoffs, it as worked for drag racing since day 1 and it should remain that way. Racers want to race, that is the reason they are there. The competitve drive to out qualify (the tuners desire), and the racers desire to be better than everyone in the pits on sunday should not be changed.
I hope something keeps IHRA afloat, but not qualifying and having a chicago style type elimination can be confusing to spectators, almsot as much as watching a class with a spot in the tree if you don't know what is going on.
Good Luck,
Tony
Tony,
There are multiple problems but rather than address them one at a time they’ve decided to stick their heads in the sand. Spectator counts (overall) for the past two years have been an atrocity. They’ve chased off both sponsors and competitors alike, and have done nothing to bring in any let alone new spectators. Martin had a good crowd. I attribute that to multiple things, Jason does a great job promoting that track, they have good shows on a regular basis, they promoted the race, and even during the ADRL race Kenny announced to fans to come back and support the IHRA race. On the flip side not one IHRA official came to any of the ADRL races to try and lure back some of their racers (although there were many IHRA officials at ADRL races this year in street clothes doing something).
You can’t treat EVERYONE from racer, sponsor, fan, track owners, etc like crap and expect to make money. Racing (not match races, not show, but racing) is a unique business that is multifaceted. You have the racers who are your clients that are coming. You have sponsors paying to be there, but you have to give them something in return, and then you have the paying customers. IHRA used to run like a well oiled machine. Not so long ago when it was the place people wanted to race because it was fun, you were treated GREAT, and the show moved on. Back in the day we’d have 700 to 1000 racecars at an event and it would go off without a problem. We’ve had races this year with 300 cars that couldn’t finish on time. For whatever reason they’re not able to get the cars down the track and this has made guys who were IHRA stalwarts decide to go other places.
As a sponsor a decade ago it would cost me $2500 to be a sponsor and I’d have 170 to 200 cars (in the classes I work with) to potentially try and sell product to. Today it costs $5000 to be a sponsor and there are about 30 cars to sell product to at National events. Now the math doesn’t work on this, and when I or any other sponsor asks “What can I do to help” we get what a classify as the German shepherd look (you know the head tilts a little to the side, with the tongue hanging out and a blank look).
When you talk to Sportsman racers who have competed with IHRA for years (and in some cases decades) I have not found ANY that like their TOC deal. Could they have done something so guys wouldn’t have had to travel as much? Sure they could have waited the points differently, and what not. Think about it, today is Tuesday of the final week of the season. Someone out there, who has NEVER been to an IHRA race, can show up to their last qualifier at the Rock this week, WIN, and Win again over the weekend and they’re the IHRA World Champion that is completely bogus!
You don’t need nitro to make money! You can do it with other classes, but when TPTB have had other options they have chosen not to take them. I do like the idea of not running all of the classes at all of the races, it simply makes sense. There are areas of the country that have stronger or weaker followings for certain classes so catering to that is wise. I like the idea of not going to Edmonton no offense to the great spectators up there, but as a sponsor I can attend 3 or 4 events for the amount of money it costs me to attend that one (again we’re back to simple math). There were people willing to PAY to split P/M two years ago, but IHRA said it would never happen. There were people willing to pay to keep the P/S program for this year but again no…
I wish them well with this new program, but I don’t see them generating enough money off of the back gate (the racers) to make it worthwhile to support any sportsman program in the future. Hopefully IHRA can be resurrected from this.
Doug
PS. Tell everyone I say hello
