- Joined
- Jul 10, 2006
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- 6,861
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- Ann Arbor, Michigan
exactly. motorsports in general has so long been known for season long points
battles; now we have NASCAR & NHRA throwing the proverbial "fork in the road": it's a tough pill to swallow, but I really think both these two sanc. bodies have realized one of the keys, if not THE key to increasing revenue, is to maximize excitement surrounding each individual race in the series.
With a manipulation of the points, that alone is one common thread that adds
excitement earlier in the year and follows through to the end.
Yes, it's a gimic, but if it brings more exposure and sponsor $$ to the sport,
who's the better for it? I would say everyone is.
I can't find the article on comp. plus and I read it earlier today, but read
Jim Head's comments about some of the pro teams dying, some just at
greater rates than others.
The key is gimmicks are short term, people wear out on gimmicks then they shuffle off to see the next shinny object down the road. If you want true growth then you don't need gimmicks. I don't believe in mortgaging the soul and integrity of a sport to gain a few people for a short time. I do appreciate that NHRA is trying to do something to increase the number of fans but this is not the right move.
Since we're copying nascar on this lets look at how they have done. The first year of the chase did see a jump in numbers. However it has gone backwards every year since. Currently TV ratings are down 9% from last year and 20% from 2 years ago. They have already changed how they run the points for this year. How does that look to last years champ? When people look back at championship now they have to figure out what year it was to know how it was determined?
Give me real honest racing, no BS, no games, no timeouts or redo's. Best person wins.
As for the champ being the one with the most money. Sadly that is part of it. But its not like there is only 1 team out there in each class with deep pockets. The Cagnazzi team has shown that they can stand with KB racing. Allen Johnson is right there as well. Yes team Force is Force both at the track and at the bank but last I looked schumacher is doing very well too. Don't we consider an unsponsored team an underdog? Well let me introduce you to the tf points leader Rod Fuller, who's ahead of such money teams as Bernsteins Beer wagon and Schumacher's ultimate Army car. Money does play a huge roll but flopping stacks of cash on top of the car doesn't make it go faster, you have to know how to use that cash to go fast.
If they want to increase the sport, do night of fire's throughout the country on off race weekends. Send 4 funny cars or dragsters to tracks they don't normally go to. Saturday night show, make a few passes, gain a ton of fans. Have each driver pull 2 of these a year and its spreads the burden out.
Get our merchandise into mass retailers. Yes this may mean working together and possibly some profit sharing (not all of it just some). The more visibility the better.
Have one website for all merchandise of all teams.
Get tv coverage with a more dedicated time slot. Even if it means moving networks. I like the production the espn 2 does but when I have to wait to see drag racing because a scrabble fest is on (that was the case this weekend) it is crazy. Kids are the future of the sport, I became a fan young and have stayed a fan. My oldest 2 kids (5 & 6) are fans but 10pm-1am telecast is just beyond what they can watch. I wonder if a channel like Spike would allow for a dedicated 7-10 timeslot on race weekends?