Gilbertson to skip NHRA Event in Las Vegas (1 Viewer)

[whyisthisarequiredfield]

I got the scoop of last year's Autolite deal straight from a couple of the crew over beers last year at Virginia. Without being too specific, let's say it's about a third of what it takes to run the schedule, leaving Bob a tremendous deficit to cover.

 

[Toejam]

I got the scoop of last year's Autolite deal straight from a couple of the crew over beers last year at Virginia. Without being too specific, let's say it's about a third of what it takes to run the schedule, leaving Bob a tremendous deficit to cover.

Sean a lot of the Heavy hitters are in that situation, most sponsorships won't cover a Top 5 Nitro gig.

 

[knightrider]

Sean a lot of the Heavy hitters are in that situation, most sponsorships won't cover a Top 5 Nitro gig.

You can see the same thing over on the nascar deal also.. Cars that used to have 1 deal for the whole year are now running different paint at different races. They are having to have many different sponsers to run the whole series.

 

[stanman]

Well, as has been discussed before, many of the pros are largely self-funded, and I expect Bob's deal is one of them. I don't pretend to know how much his Autolite deal is worth, but I'll bet we would all be surprised. This move on Gilby's part is understandable, but also raises another question that I've asked before: Why does the tour start in Pomona, go to Phoenix, then all the way to FL, and back across the country to Vegas? Imagine the $$$ saved by everyone if Pomona, Phoenix and Vegas were all completed before the tour headed east. Am I missing the reason it's not scheduled that way?

The answer is... market saturation!

Pomona, Phoenix, and Vegas all pull from the same regional market. By stacking all those races in a row you would severely impact the attendance. How many race fans do you know would be able to attend, or can afford to attend, three races over a 6-7 week period?

 

[Nunz]

You have a point, except that Vegas is only pushed out a few weeks because of the Gators. So from a budget standpoint in relation to fans, it's still very close to the other 2 western events, except the racers have to go to the east coast and back in between. I may be wrong, but I think the Pomona, Phoenix & Vegas markets are each strong individually.

 

[megadeth]

Money is becomming harder to come by and it isn't going to get better anytime soon!
Has anybody noticed how far the dollar has been devalued lately?
The cost of racing is escalating to almost match the health care industry if it keeps going in that direction you will have less people insured and even less competitiors in drag racing the future doesn't look to promising!

 

[Toejam]

The answer is... market saturation!

Pomona, Phoenix, and Vegas all pull from the same regional market. By stacking all those races in a row you would severely impact the attendance. How many race fans do you know would be able to attend, or can afford to attend, three races over a 6-7 week period?

Anyone remember that 50th Anniversary race in Pomona? It was at Night which was good, but the attendance was terrible! How Pomona and Vegas get the crowds they do with 2 races is beyond me.

 

[Rocketman 207]

Anyone remember that 50th Anniversary race in Pomona? It was at Night which was good, but the attendance was terrible!

Yep, I was there...great race; light crowd...still fun!!

 

[Toejam]

Yep, I was there...great race; light crowd...still fun!!

I was there as well, It sure was Hot as Hell during the day. Glad they ran it at night!

 

[jackass]

Well at least we get to see Bob here in Rockingham next weekend... See ya then Bob...

Billy

 

[Rocketman 207]

I was there as well, It sure was Hot as Hell during the day. Glad they ran it at night!

I'll second that, Joe...I was glad when it finally cooled down!!

 

[Just Paul]

Well, as has been discussed before, many of the pros are largely self-funded, and I expect Bob's deal is one of them. I don't pretend to know how much his Autolite deal is worth, but I'll bet we would all be surprised. This move on Gilby's part is understandable, but also raises another question that I've asked before: Why does the tour start in Pomona, go to Phoenix, then all the way to FL, and back across the country to Vegas? Imagine the $$$ saved by everyone if Pomona, Phoenix and Vegas were all completed before the tour headed east. Am I missing the reason it's not scheduled that way?

The answer is... market saturation!

Pomona, Phoenix, and Vegas all pull from the same regional market. By stacking all those races in a row you would severely impact the attendance. How many race fans do you know would be able to attend, or can afford to attend, three races over a 6-7 week period?

Don't forget, right in that same time frame, Nascar has back to back races out west, one at the Vegas track, and California Speedway.

 

[you]

I've often wondered why the tour jumps around the country the way it does......I know they probably do it for the weather, but just think of all the money the teams would save........I would be willing to sit in the Houston heat in the summer if it meant that all teams could participate.