Drag Racing's Failing Publicity

[Bobby Bennett]

NFL Football is my Hobby. Drag racing is my job.

You help me to figure out who is to blame.

I was watching the NFL on Thursday.

Joe Buck is the announcer and he makes mention that quarterback Byron Leftwich keep calling out Sunday.

"He keeps yelling, Sunday ... Sunday ... Sunday ... like he's advertising a TRACTOR PULL or something," he said.

That is bad.

Maybe this is just one instance from someone uneducated toward motorsports, but is it really?

 

[DG]

It seems to me that Sports Announcing is becoming like TV news "commentators". You just need to be able to talk continuously and at least appear to be excited.

Knowledge isn't required; it's all about show business, not racing!

I continually cringe throughout the NHRA broadcasts whenever my "favorite" announce murders the facts or doesn't have a clue...

DG

 

[Bill]

"Joe Buck".... wasn't he a character in "Midnight Cowboy"??? Jon Voigt did the honors ("Ever'body's Talkin' At Me...").

Announcers for the stick-and-ball sports have NO CLUE as to what goes on on a race track, curved, or straight. They think the world begins and ends with the "Football Season," "Baseball Season," and "Basketball Season." They know about the Super Bowl, the World Series, and the end-of-season, NBA rites of passage, but ask them who Ace Manzo, Brandon Bernstein, or Bob Glidden is, and you'll get the best "deer-in-the-headlights" look you ever saw.

Motorsports is a sporting non-entity to them, and Drag Racing is the best-kept secret of the bunch!

When our original, area drag strip opened, in 1955, the local newspaper religiously posted the racing results IF somebody from the track called it in.

That was the pinnacle of the PR for drag racing, here; it's been going steadily downhill, ever since.

I don't think there's enough money in the entire sport to fund a PR effort that would put drag racing into the "household word" category enjoyed by the stick-and-ball sports.

The difference is, you have to have at least a modicum of intelligence to enjoy drag racing. Unfortunately, that requirement leaves out the majority of the folks watching the boob tube on the Sports channels.
Just my .02...
So....
What's the good news???
There IS no good news...

Bill

 

[rocketman]

I wouldn't read into what they said to much as they are live and if the first thought that comes in their mind is tractors then that's what they are going to be saying.

We have always had a problem but I will say this that we show our car all the time and people always walk over and say they have seen them on tv and its the first time they have seen one in person. So people see them on tv more than we realize. the problem is the racers themselves can not rely on nhra in getting the word out. they need to start getting their cars out to where the public is and educate them on what we do and give them a promo card.

It's every racer's responsibility to sell the sport.

 

[PJ]

Ashleys explosion from last week made sports soup this week. Although they were more into making jokes for the name "funny" car, still it was pub as it showed the car and also the nhra and full throttle logo in full tilt



Detroit Free Press in the small print section does carry final round results. Also in their motorsports whats happening section they do list whatever national event there is that weekend. Most articles they do are on nasbore but a few times a year there is some type of drag racing story

 

[rollingthunder]

The local rag here did a 1/2 page story on Ashley Force when she went pro.
Other than that there maybe one once in a great while.

 

[jpee]

If you think announcers are uninformed on the sport, try sitting in the stands, & listen to the "general public, or your "average" spectator... unreal..

Many don't even understand why the left lane win light is on before the cars are at the 330' I tried to explain what a "RED LIGHT" is

Or why did that car run 10.40 at only 97 mph... his opponent broke on the line....

 

[DragFan2]

If you think announcers are uninformed on the sport, try sitting in the stands, & listen to the "general public, or your "average" spectator... unreal...

This might be true and I have experienced it, but there are many who do know the score and are as into the races as I am and most of us on here. But, there is a population out there that are of "the circus has come to town again" mentality and drag racing is a once a year entertainment outlet that has no real relevance to them. They pays their money and they occupy a seat just like you and me, but whether they care to understand the intracacies of the sport is not up to us. I don't try and correct anyone just try and get a laugh out of it. Sounds like you do too.

 

[The Little Lizard]

Nothing much in the newspaper here locally in Sacramento, usually nascar or local circle track stuff. You may get a short paragraph when their's a national event, with each sentence of the paragraph mentioning a pro category winner. A couple or so times a year when their is an event in town at the drag strip, a few of the television stations may come out and run a commercial type segment on the event for the morning or lunch news, which features a driver from out of the area.

Ain't like it use to be in the 60's & 70's, and some of the 80's!

 

[JIMBO]

NFL Football is my Hobby. Drag racing is my job.

You help me to figure out who is to blame.

I was watching the NFL on Thursday.

Joe Buck is the announcer and he makes mention that quarterback Byron Leftwich keep calling out Sunday.

Bobby, my question is why were they showing that game up there ? Or were you down here on business ?

 

[Bobby Bennett]

It was the national FOX game, besides I have NFL game ticket in order to keep up with my beloved Bucs.

 

[FC138fan]

Maybe Joe Buck is just an idiot. I don't like him or Troy Aikman, Fox's "Cowboys Duo". The cowboys are on so often that they had to go get their own announcers. And they didn't even make the playoffs last year.

The Sunday Sunday thing - I saw the same thing on a Simpson's episode. The one episode where the simpsons went to a dragstrip, the announcer over the PA was loud and obnoxious, and did yell out "Sunday Sunday Sunday!!!" FYI Mr. Burns had the cars slow down because they were going too fast!

I know lots of people who still think drag racing and nascar are hillbilly redneck sports. I don't think theres much that can change that stereotype. It is true though, you won't see too many businessmen or preppy people at the strip. You might see some very smart engineers out there though. And other then them bringing in money, who wants to hang out with businessmen or preps anyway, the funnest guy I talked to there was a biker guy.

 

[none]

Maybe Joe Buck is just an idiot. I don't like him or Troy Aikman, Fox's "Cowboys Duo". The cowboys are on so often that they had to go get their own announcers. And they didn't even make the playoffs last year.

I think you hit the nail on the head, it's funny to listen to his call of the helmet catch from last year:

YouTube - David Tyree's AMAZING Catch

and then hear Marv Albert call it the way it should have been called:

YouTube - Tyree Manning Catch Super Bowl 42 (Marv Albert Calls It)

 

[Toejam]

Ashleys explosion from last week made sports soup this week. Although they were more into making jokes for the name "funny" car, still it was pub as it showed the car and also the nhra and full throttle logo in full tilt



Detroit Free Press in the small print section does carry final round results. Also in their motorsports whats happening section they do list whatever national event there is that weekend. Most articles they do are on nasbore but a few times a year there is some type of drag racing story

What's sports soup?

 

[rocketman]

we were at the state fair last night for the Tesla concert. How many people did i see were wearing NASCAR or IRL shirts walking around the fair? ZERO. How many were wearing drag racing shirts? SIX. I was wearing one and five other I didn't know were wearing them. The shirts included: John Force, Melanie Troxell, Mike Ashley and a couple of local folks.

 

[Gipraw]

NFL Football is my Hobby. Drag racing is my job.

You help me to figure out who is to blame.

I was watching the NFL on Thursday.

Joe Buck is the announcer and he makes mention that quarterback Byron Leftwich keep calling out Sunday.

"He keeps yelling, Sunday ... Sunday ... Sunday ... like he's advertising a TRACTOR PULL or something," he said.

That is bad.

Maybe this is just one instance from someone uneducated toward motorsports, but is it really?

Tractor pulls or Monster trucks would have been the first thing that popped into my head when I heard "sunday sunday sunday" also, and I am far from being uneducated in motorsports.

I just grew up hearing commercials like this 10 times a day everyday, and they were almost always for truck pulls, tractor pulls, or Daryl Starbird shows.

YouTube - "Mega Monster Truck Rally" Commercial - Sunday! Sunday Sunday!

 

[MaC]

As much as my feeble memory allows these days, I seem to have a recollection that the initial two voice, highly processed "SUNDAY...SUNDAY...SUNDAY" commercial was created by The Gold Agency...an advertising/marketing firm that had a number of drag racing related clients.

The concept was picked up very quickly across the country and became an advertising staple for quite a number of years.

All of this occurred long before monster trucks and pro tractor pulls.

Somewhere about 1969 or 70...I heard a parody of the "SUNDAY" type of commercial that was released on a 45 rpm record. Heard it while making a call on a radio station in New Orleans. I would love to find a copy of that record today....any ideas greatly appreciated!

The late Steve Evans and I did a number of parody spots, for our own pleasure. I have torn my house apart trying to find the reel to reel tape that I know I have...but thus far has eluded me. One of the all time greats was a parody of the SUPERNATIONALS at Ontario Motorspeedway.

Thanks for putting up with an old guys ramblings.

To all, take care and stay well.

MaC

 

[paoldtimer]

OMG! I'm watching the Nationwide race and Dale Jarrett just commented about a driver and said "you know like that drag racing song, "Drive it like you stole it"...I'm in disbelief! Someone in NASCAR is paying attention. Kudos DJ!

 

[Gipraw]

Thanks for the info and history, Dave.

growing up in Oklahoma, I was in a drag racing void until I moved to the east coast, so all of my childhood memories are from roundy round races and tractor/truck/monster truck stuff.

 

[haagar]

OMG! I'm watching the Nationwide race and Dale Jarrett just commented about a driver and said "you know like that drag racing song, "Drive it like you stole it"...I'm in disbelief! Someone in NASCAR is paying attention. Kudos DJ!

That wasn't Dale Jarrett it was Marty Reed. Nice to see that he still pays at least some attention to drag racing.