Rumblebones
Nitro Member
"Go Full Throttle or Go Home."
I think I'll go home.
I think I'll go home.
Full Throttle chasing off sponsors... (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Toejam
- Start date
SST2096
Nitro Member
The term Mainstream sport is a relative term, the idea that NHRA can't grow because it's NOT Mainstream I think is naive. I think this sport has so much to offer if presented right. If there's one area that Drag racing continues to stumble in; it's TV ratings, or lack of! But hyjacking sponsors from racers as NHRA have done doesn't grow this sport, neither does looking the other way at Poor track prep! I resent the notion that NHRA Drag racing can't ever achieve Mainstream status! But I don't think it will ever happen with Compton/Light running the show sadly...
Rexfiles
Nitro Member
The term Mainstream sport is a relative term, the idea that NHRA can't grow because it's NOT Mainstream I think is naive. I think this sport has so much to offer if presented right. If there's one area that Drag racing continues to stumble in; it's TV ratings, or lack of! But hyjacking sponsors from racers as NHRA have done doesn't grow this sport, neither does looking the other way at Poor track prep! I resent the notion that NHRA Drag racing can't ever achieve Mainstream status! But I don't think it will ever happen with Compton/Light running the show sadly...
Well.......I did not say, that it "can't grow"
I said it's "not mainstream". Present tense.
I have been around and participating (on and off) in the sport for 35 years.
It HAS........never been mainstream, sorry, but it was always second fiddle to NASCAR, and even when I was small, coverage was what was in ND or Hot Rod Mag 3 months later. never saw anything in the papers here in Ct.
However between now and 30 years ago, the coverage has grown by leaps and bounds. IMO its better than it has ever been, sure there are flaws, but when I was 16 I could never have envisioned the way things are now.
Call me naive, thats OK, but when I mention John Forces name to Mr & Mrs average Joe Blow, 8 times out of ten the best response is......."Yeah, I think I heard the name".
That may change, but neither you nor I know how.
Some of us may THINK we do, but unless we are at the helm, best we can do is envision things being better and run smoother, "if only"
People have come and gone in my business, and told me flat out I was doing it entirely wrong.
I have been doing it my way for 24 years, and know how to put food on the table.
They have gone on their own and lost their shirts.
It's easy to criticize, not so easy to come up with a winning formula.
And to quote Forest Gump..........."Thats all I have to say about that"
REX
None
Nitro Member
I don't believe it's "who else is out there to step up with the economy skidding" but more "who out there really gives a crap about NHRA drag racing."
Was not Powerade getting the naming rights without much capital infusion as most sponsorships do? If NHRA is going "flatbacking," they ought to at least make a buck on it.
TAFC 5 81
Nitro Member
Dave
Nitro Member
Maybe one of you legal beagles out there can answer this question. Is what they did to Vis Viva (and possible actions against other energy drink companies) a "Restriction of Trade" case? I know you can't sue NHRA and still race, but if you don't have a sponsor you're not going to be racing anyway. Just curious.
Dave
Dave
I have to completely disagree with this statement!
In the 70's and up until the early 80's, drag racing was bigger than stock car racing. NASCAR was pretty much a regional series with only limited exposure. It wasn't until 1979 that the Daytona 500 became the first NASCAR race to be televised nationally. Up to that point, the various NHRA national events comprised a substantial portion of ABC's Wide World of Sport motorsports coverage.
NASCAR is the 800 pound gorilla now. But if NHRA had thought to become motorsports entertainment and follow the path that the France family did, instead of a remaining a pure sanctioning body, NASCAR could easily be a distance second to drag racing.
Maybe the fact that you were stuck in CT plays a role in your not knowing the facts.
So whats new? When Powerade took over they booted Gatoraid out of the pits and any sponsorships right? Its all Coke products again.
But I think NHRA shot there foot by allowing Coke to not allow other companies to sponsor other cars. Its like was said before (afraid of the competition), Tells me not much faith in there product.
But I think NHRA shot there foot by allowing Coke to not allow other companies to sponsor other cars. Its like was said before (afraid of the competition), Tells me not much faith in there product.
clwill
Nitro Member
IANAL, but the NHRA Rulebook section 1.3.2 says: 1) Participation in any and every aspect of NHRA drag racing is a privilege, not a right. 2) The participant voluntarily chooses to participate in accordance with all NHRA rules, regulations and agreements, including but not limited to those contained in the NHRA Rulebook, and by NHRA decisions, whether or not related to an event.
I think this pretty much says "we can do what we want, if you don't want to play in our pool, then fine, go play somewhere else". The PS Truck thing was something else, commitments made by NHRA and broken. This is a change of sponsor and they are grandfathering existing sponsors. Maybe it's tacky and not very fair, but I just don't see how that's legally actionable.
Rexfiles
Nitro Member
Rather than make a snide reply, why don't you debate the facts?Yep Greg, you are right. About everything. As usual
REX
I'm not adverse to a polite discussion based on facts instead of conjecture. Prove me wrong and I'll admit it.
Rexfiles
Nitro Member
Rather than make a snide reply, why don't you debate the facts?
"Maybe the fact that I was stuck in Ct plays a role in me not knowing the facts."
I inserted "I" in place of "you", but the drift is the same.
A snide comment.
OK. I'm 52, gonna' be 53 next month. So the only history I have IS my locale and age/time I have been involved/fan.
I cannot prove you wrong, likewise you cannot prove me wrong.
I came from a totally non motorsports family, anywhere, in any capacity whatsoever.
So in my early years (pre teens) which would be 1965-7 or so, I knew the names Petty, Foyt, and Andretti. when a car would come speeding through my neighborhood Either my dad or other kids dad's would yell......"WHO DO THEY THINK THEY ARE........MARIO ANDRETTI?"
the races I knew were the Daytona 500 and The Indy 500.
That was it. When I was 14 I bought my first Hot Rod Mag and Heard for the first time of Garlits, Prudhomme, etc.
Then as now the Northeast (entire region) had many more circle tracks than drag strips. Ct had one. The now defunct Connecticut Dragway.
Oh yeah.......I lived in California around twenty five years ago. You can have it. I ain't "stuck" nowhere.
I would argue that circle track racing had a large following in the southeast, Northeast, and Midwest.
Drag racing had a large following in So Cal. Mainly.
90% of the guys in my high school (1973 grad)that were gearheads were into stock cars. We drag guys were quite in the minority.
NASCAR today, yes, is the 800 pound gorilla, but it needed a base. it did not get as popular as it is overnight with few fans or participants.
Drag racing was NEVER the 800 pound gorilla. And unless radical things happen, I cannot see it displacing NASCAR as the primary racing series in the US.
Don't get me wrong, I love drag racing, but I also like other forms of motorsports for what they are.
Like I said, I offer no "proof" only my opinion.
And I do not believe you can come up with any either to validate your arguement.
We will have to agree to disagree
REX
downtime
Nitro Member
Exclusivity agreements are nothing new to sponsorship contracts. I was informed last year by a major corporation that they could not put their logo on my car due as they had a major committment in place that also held events on weekends. Each contract is different but exclusivity clauses are commonplace and is often a major component in keeping the price of such agreements at the high end of the spectrum.
There should have been a winking smiley behind my comment about your locale... that part was meant as a joke.
Rexfiles
Nitro Member
Now we're discussing!
For some perspective you should know that I'm 43 and grew up in the midwest, not California. In my formative years tractor pulling and demolition derby was more popular than Nascar in the midwest. NASCAR just wasn't a factor because there weren't any races in the Midwest region.
Also, I did provide some facts to support my argument that drag racing on a whole was more popular than NASCAR in the 60s, 70s and early 80s.
You mentioned that CT only had one drag strip.
Fact: Connecticut was an anomoly compared to the majority of states around the country, where drag stripes numbered in the dozens in many states. States like Ohio, North Carolina, Florida, Texas, Alabama, and others had dozens of operating dragstrips in the 60's and 70's. California alone had 114 operating drag strips at one time.
The following for drag racing, while centered in California, was not mainly focused there. Drag racing was having its largest events throughout the country at tracks like Gainesville, Englishtown, Indy, Cordova, Norwalk, and others. I attended my first race, the IHRA Summer Nationals at Kansas City International Raceway when I was 11. There was no mention of stock car racing during that time except when the term hillbilly was used.
Many of the biggest events in drag racing history had nothing to do with NHRA directly. I know you have to be familiar with the success of the match race circuits that barnstormed the entire country!?!?
Prior to the telecast of the 1979 Daytona 500, the majority of the NASCAR series fan base was limited to the southeast. That's not just my opinion but that of most racing historians.
We may have to continue disagree.
I will admit that in the Southeast and in certain pockets of the country that NASCAR may have been more popular than drag racing in the 60s and 70s. But for the country as a whole I will argue the contrary.
Rexfiles
Nitro Member
Well, I googled it, and could not find anything comparing the two series at any specific time. Except what we see in the present, and last decade or two.
So if you can give me a link that proves your point, I will abdicate.
In the Northeast, and I am not just talking Ct., we have always had more circle tracks than drag strips.
Also the Midwest has always been a hotbed of dirt ovals.
Yeah, I remember the match races, first one I was at was in 1971.
Spent many Sundays following those fuel coupes around the northeast.
I guess we need to find stats on attendance figures for the pre 1979 era.
other than that, yep, we have a stalemate
