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Excitement Gone! (1 Viewer)

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Registered member said:
Well I guess according to you the sport is finished, and there is nothing either one of us can do about it! Guess I can count you in the "It's all over" crowd!
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That's because it IS all over...

I'm sure the NHRA will still be around because the nuts and bolts of Sportsmen racing will always show up. But the crowds, the stars, and the mass amount of fortune 500 company sponsorships are history.
 
Registered member said:
I think the older generation grew up around cars. Used cars that needed to be fixed, which led to engine work, and then finally a little competition. That seed that used to be planted in everyone naturally isn't there anymore because cars have changed. Heck, I wonder if my son knows how to check the oil in his Liberty. I know my daughter doesn't. I've taken him to drag races when he was a kid, and he just couldn't relate because there was no need to work on vehicles..

Hindsight is always 20-20, but I believe the first bad move of the NHRA was to allow multi car owners to place more than one team car in a single class. Al Hofmann had it right when he told Force to lose the second car. By allowing more than a single team car in one class, it shut out what made the NHRA special, and that was the independent.
Now, nepotism reigns supreme, and the NHRA stands are empty.
Coincidence?
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George I am a little older than you and lived right smack in the middle of the glory years. I feel the reason we got involved was because we could do it. Back then two or three guys with decent jobs could run a top fuel car. And we did, every saturday night at Lions, and again on Sunday at San Fernando if it wasn't broken. Everyone I met back then that was a fan was involved with a car.

At some point Wally decided to turn it into a spectator sport.

I am not so sure that if all the big sponsors left and people went back to racing out of their own pockets, that that would necessarily be a bad thing. True the Forces, Schumachers, etc would be gone, but would that be a bad thing?

It might all get exciting again.
 
I don't think Shoe, AJ, Connie would be gone, but it would be interesting to see who stayed if the corporate bottom fell out tomorrow (it kind of has- watching the Snake and Mongoo$e movie, those days may be further away than we think).
Where the attrition would come from is the cost of maintaining the car- parts, fuel, tires. Many teams would fall out just because those expenses would be overbearing. You can't expect the manufacturers to lower their prices, with the investments they have to make. Aluminum will still cost the same, steel tubing will still cost the same, CNC machines will still cost the same (along with their operators).

It will be very interesting to watch next year with JFR probably taking a huge budget hit with whoever the new sponsor is- no company will match the amounts Ford and Castrol are kicking to him, so I will be very curious as to where the cutbacks will be seen. Is it in the shop? Personnel? The touring operation?
As JFR goes, so goes the majority of the pro classes.
 
Registered member said:
That's because it IS all over...

I'm sure the NHRA will still be around because the nuts and bolts of Sportsmen racing will always show up. But the crowds, the stars, and the mass amount of fortune 500 company sponsorships are history.
Click to expand...

yes, the years of the beer cars, motor oil cars, continually re-upping because the nhra was a valid spectator base to reinforce a brand name IMO are gone, the spectator base is much smaller and aging without replacement of younger demographic......i would wonder if the
lucas family would even field a full time car if not for geico.
 
Registered member said:
This thread amazes me, but is so predictable of this place. A bunch of fanboys who aren't willing to invest more than 130 bucks a year on a sport they claim to live and breath. And bitch about it when they do.

Poor, poor you all. You didn't get to see a 32 car field try and qualify. You didn't see any world records set. You didn't see your favorite driver win.

Ya know what? There are teams out there going to races. Living on the road. Chasing points. Scrounging parts. Eating fast food. Living 3 or 4 to a hotel room. And local guys who look for 2 or 3 races in the area they can afford to go to and still keep a day job and a house payment current.

You want to play? Go buy a full TA/FC operation. CHEAP. 175k for Vern Moats' operation. Turn key with spares. Hit the road, walk the walk, talk the talk. You wouldn't last 2 races. And that is a good setup.

Otherwise, sit on the couch, bitch about the NHRA being screwed by ESPN, and how you don't get to see as much as you want to see at a national event, and the fact they charge 5 bucks for a diet Coke that you don't need anyway. And then come post here about how fed up you are about the sport.

I swear, some of you who have never owned, invested in, driven, sponsored, or even had anything to do with an actual race car are some of the biggest whiners I have ever heard in my life.
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Just like sponsors, fans need ROI. If they don't feel they are getting the bang for their buck, then they will not come. The NFL is feeling this as the home watching experience(with the advances in TV's) is better than being there to some people.

Also the $130 you mention, is just for you. Those of us with families will see that number multiplied by 4 or 5. I'll take my family camping for a week this summer for less than a day at the races. Which is worth more? That will depend on the person.

Another way to look at it is that I can do 1 nhra race and be done or I can take that same $60 and go see three shows at the local track.

I'm not the federal government, I actually have to live on my budget.

I like drag racing, it doesn't have to be NHRA although that is still the best. I also see the problems with it and get frustrated when it appears that they are not addressed.
 
Registered member said:
Greg and Joe how about you just go about ignoring each other. Policing your tired act over the years is getting old. You guys couldn't agree that today is Monday nor could you debate it in civil manner either.

Either stay away from each other or go away.
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I don't take kindly to being told to go f*** myself. Same as I don't take kindly to being called a thief and a liar.
If that is acceptable around here, then let the gloves come off for everyone.
 
Greg (and Joe) based on the history of you two, there is no "he started it". Everything seems to simmer from the time before, which is from the time before and so on. It is much like the chicken vs egg question, what came first him slamming you or you slamming him. Guess what? Nobody cares, we are just all tired of it. I'm all for healthy debate, heck I even love trash talking, but with the two of you it become a battle of 3 year olds. You both look bad and it drags the site down.

Just avoid each other or don't post anymore.
 
I'm not sure what it would take for my interest in the NHRA to reform.
I do know that as "us" old schoolers who witnessed the golden years could agree that the "magic" is gone.
It's nobodies fault. It's simply the further development of a once grass roots sport from the early 70's into the TV years, into the corporate spending years.
The beer wars and oil wars. All of the great independent efforts that kept coming like Dick Lahaie, Dan Pastorini, Kenny, Billy, Joe, Shirley.
All from separate corners of the earth coming together to duke it out 16 weekends in the summer to the final round where the points winner actually won the championship..

Now, what you have left is the survivors of the fittest, who now hand feed their children a ride. Children who never endured the effort of those before them. Efforts that took every cent and every hour of the year from guys like Darrell, Del, Coil, Gary, Connie, John Martin etc.

Now, you have Tony Schu begging on camera that his crew only makes 30K while he retires to his motorhome. The Force Girls and their royal lifestyle..none of which is their fault, and I hold no bad feelings for their opportunities, but just doesn't further the "magic" that only the golden year guys understand..

My heart started to pound a week before the Springs, and I couldn't get to the track fast enough on that Friday after work.
I was in heart attack mode the entire length of I-70 between Columbus and Indy when Big was in contention.

Spencer Massey? J.R. Todd? Tony Shu? Brittany Force?
I'm staying home....
 
nice post George and true, but myself and several others on this site would not be honest if I/they did not say I was somewhat jealous/resentful of the ones you spoke of having rides because of who they are otherwise they would not have a ride and possible no college education,,this pokes at us for working our asses off just to field a car in any class
but this is normal if you have family money so the BS about working hard and moving up the ladder is a bunch of crap now days, money can buy you what you desire ,,2 cents from Bama
gk
 
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GEORGE

I remember the 70's well, and every name you mentioned. The greats of today, are just as good...if not better.
 
Registered member said:
The greats of today, are just as good...if not better.
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eh.

They're quicker, yes, but who is responsible for that?

They used to shift. They used to deal with sub-standard tracks (an 8x8 trouble patch on a glue covered track doesn't count), and a groove that didn't necessarily go right down the middle of the lane. They used to have the ability to grenade the thing during a burnout if they goofed. In a 100th of a heartbeat they used to feel it nose-over and decide whether they could afford the consequences if they continued, or deal with the loss if they didn't. They actually wrapped their firesuits around their waist and crawled under the car. A few still do. A few still deal with operating the team, making the tuning decisions, and then jump in the thing. They can hang.

I know the advancements have allowed the cars to go quicker, but it also takes more of the driver out of the equation.

I'm not saying the majority don't have the skills, they're just not tested.

So better? A few perhaps, but we'll never know.
.
 
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Kevin; That post was spot on. I remember in southern MI we had 15+ TF cars tucked away in garages while the owners usually 2-3 per car were off busting ass in a factory to support the car.
 
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