France Family Interested In NHRA? (3 Viewers)

[JL]

Anyone on this board that thinks they can just walk away from drag racing is crazy. It is in your blood, more than the average "fan" or racer... I would much rather see B. Smith at the helm.

 

[none]

I for one would love to Bruton Smith at the helm of NHRA.

 

[clwill]

I have been thinking about this in another way. The HD deal was big news in the motorsports community because of the low price and of course the possible ROI [return on investment]. Perhaps the nascar thing is just sniffing about and that is ok. What I am thinking is it might push others to take a longer look and maybe do something. Of course Bruton comes to mind. But there maybe others.

Exactly. The HD thing being a public offering pushed NHRA into the sights of a lot more folks with money. The deal falling apart didn't help, but as they say -- there's no such thing as bad publicity. People know NASCAR, and know it has a lot of money moving around it. They also know that, because it's a family business, they'll never get any part of that. To get another motorsport thought of in the same kinds of terms is not a bad thing.

I know there are a number of people here who say they'll dump drag racing if the France's get involved, and while I think that's largely exaggerated, I understand the sentiment. Bill France seems to have turned the commercialization knob in NASCAR to 11. But there is little doubt that there are plenty of sponsors and plenty of attention over there, both of which NHRA could use more of. Perhaps there's a middle ground.

 

[StockersRock]

If NASCAR truly had an interest in drag racing, ISC would be popping some more national event caliber drag strips in at their tracks like they have at Chicagoland/Route 66.

 

[d'kid]

Anyone on this board that thinks they can just walk away from drag racing is crazy. It is in your blood, more than the average "fan" or racer... I would much rather see B. Smith at the helm.

Justin,
Not from Drag Racing, just 'The Big Show'... there's more than one way to get a NITRO Fix...

d'kid
24hrs to P1 and like a jonesing junkie, I've got the shakes...

 

[hellfirejim]

Found it interesting that at the end of the video posted by Jackie about the Char drag srtip, they said that there were a number of nascar teams that were going to add a drag racing team.......


And yes there are now more places to go see the type of racing that interests you. This has been helpeed along with the changes AT NHRA. People just said, if you are not going to be responsive to us we will start our own deal. and they did.

 

[Joker]

Anyone on this board that thinks they can just walk away from drag racing is crazy. It is in your blood, more than the average "fan" or racer... I would much rather see B. Smith at the helm.

I agree with Justin. There is really nothing anybody could do that would ever piss me off enough to not watch the sport. I know everyone's main concern is pit access but even if they stopped that we'd still show up. I know some will say they wont, but as soon as the gates open they'd be there. Hell I went and watched footbrake and street cars run at HRP last week b/c I was having withdrawls! March cant come fast enough.

 

[Dave]

If NASCAR truly had an interest in drag racing, ISC would be popping some more national event caliber drag strips in at their tracks like they have at Chicagoland/Route 66.

And not trying to close the Route 66 Dragstrip to make more room for motorcoach parking for the Nascar drivers. That's a rumor I have been hearing lately.

Dave

 

[nick name]

Anyone on this board that thinks they can just walk away from drag racing is crazy. It is in your blood, more than the average "fan" or racer... I would much rather see B. Smith at the helm.

You're probably right if you're thinking of drag racing 2008, but I'm certain that France ownership would totally change the sport as we know it.

It's not the commericalization, pit access, or any of that which concerns me. It's the competition side.

NASCAR finally lost me. As far as I'm concerned, it's no less staged than a WWF match. There are phantom yellows if someone is gaining too large a lead. Rules are applied according to the entertainment / fan value. No manufacturer is allowed to gain a competitive edge for very long.

Most people don't know that there was another reason for the Car of Tomorrow. From industry insiders, I was told that NASCAR intended to copyright the design and then license it back to the manufacturers when they allowed them to put their own grill, headlight, and taillight decals on the cars. NASCAR intended to hold all rights such as for diecasts, advertising rights, souveniers, etc. Only the chance happening that one of the manufacturer's attorneys was in attendance at one of the conferences kept this from happening.

If you pay close attention, all of the COTs started wearing a "NASCAR Race Car" logo near the A pillar.

To help boost a shrinking fan base, NASCAR allowed Toyota in a couple of years back and appararently those fans are the current demographic hot spot.

Consider this: Toyota developed their V8 after studying the Chevy, Dodge, and Ford engines. They were allowed to take the best of all the designs and then make improvements. At this time in the development cycle, they have finally been able to gain an edge but it's in the very top of the RPM band.

So how does NASCAR change the rules for Talladega this year? Cars now have to run a 3.60 gear instead of a 3.30. That sure does move the RPMs up, eh? But since Dega is a restrictor plate track, NASCAR made sure to take care of the details - they're also allowing a larger restrictor plate. That sure helps the teams that need to run up high in the powerband.

Anyhow, these changes might make for closer racing and give the new Toyota fans something to cheer about, or simply reward Toyota for their investment. It's not the end of the world, but to me it's the end of open competition.

 

[rocketman]

very interesting.

 

[67 Cuda]

You're probably right if you're thinking of drag racing 2008, but I'm certain that France ownership would totally change the sport as we know it.


It's not the end of the world, but to me it's the end of open competition.

It is all about money. If you don't have the fans and TV paying $$$$ then your drivers and teams won't make the BIG $$$$. NASCAR has gotten to where it is because of the larger then life drivers and the selling of hats, Tshirts, diecast, etc. NASCAR still has lots of grassroots weekend racing for people to enjoy locally. I doubt the France family would buy NHRA but I think it could help our sport if they did.

 

[Jay]

NHRA for Sale - Bruton Interested? NASCAR Interested?
Jayski's® Silly Season Site - Sprint Cup News Page

 

[none]

I think there is a very important piece of information that may have gone unnoticed. At the end of the press release confirming that the HD deal had been voted down, a comment was made that there had been too much time and effort put into the deal. "They" would not be entertaining any additonal offers any time soon. It is my guess that the "golden parachutes" made the potential deal worth investigating. Everyone that thinks Bruton or the France Family would offer the same incentives, hold up your hand