I Love Pro Mod But... (2 Viewers)

[glofria]

Drag racing by far and away is more popular as a participation sport than a spectator sport. Go to any given race track on any given weekend and count how many people are in the pits vs. in the stands and you will understand.

 

[Z28LT1]

Also, the super classes have the highest car count, and there is NO WAY the NHRA or track owners are going to give up that back gate revenue at Divisional and National events. At the Divisional events, it is the ONLY revenue.

I'm going to start by saying I'm not bashing the Super classes. I know several people who run them and enjoy it and I enjoy watching them. However, if the appeal was so great why are these classes only run at national and divisional races? Looking at track schedules and classes around the country, I don't see any super class or throttle stop racing beyond the NHRA series in any tracks local/weekly/points programs. Throttle stops aren't spendy enough to be the deterrent. If the NHRA series went away from the Super class racing and when to a bracket style format; Do you think the guys would quit showing up? Doubtful. The revenue wouldn't go anywhere; it'd still be there, in fact it might open it up to guys running locally on track points weekends who don't care for the idea of super class racing. The guys running the NHRA series are still going to show up for the points. Like anything else in life, just follow the money. If there were no super classes, would there be a need for throttle stops anywhere anymore? Perhaps, I'm sure some guys might still use one to keep the car more consistent or move up into the next time bracket. The need for the fancy software, Crew Chief Pro, etc., would be diminished with less people running throttle stops. Do the software and hardware manufactures want to see the super classes disappear. absolutely NOT! The funny part is 90% of people agree it needs to be overhauled, the not so funny part is no one agrees how to do it. I personally believe you'd probably see cars count go up at divisional and national events if it was moved to a bracket racing style format, but I'm no expert. ha ha!!

 

[MM]

I'm going to start by saying I'm not bashing the Super classes. I know several people who run them and enjoy it and I enjoy watching them. However, if the appeal was so great why are these classes only run at national and divisional races? Looking at track schedules and classes around the country, I don't see any super class or throttle stop racing beyond the NHRA series in any tracks local/weekly/points programs.

http://www.midwestsupercomp.com/
http://www.sesupergas.com/
http://www.bandimere.com/racer-corner/race-series-information/magnafuel-super-series
http://midatlantic90.com/

These are just a few....

 

[Z28LT1]

http://www.midwestsupercomp.com/
http://www.sesupergas.com/
http://www.bandimere.com/racer-corner/race-series-information/magnafuel-super-series
http://midatlantic90.com/

These are just a few....

None of these are local track points programs, These are just another series (with the exception of Bandimere)...

 

[MM]

None of these are local track points programs, These are just another series (with the exception of Bandimere)...

You said that the super classes are only run at national events and divisional events. Those are all regional series run independently and are designed for the super classes.

 

[SoCal Racer]

Synopsis of comments and my 2 cents…

1. Index classes are participant classes, not spectator classes: This is absolutely correct. Having run index classes I can tell you it’s a lot of fun, but that isn’t really evident to spectators. Usually the spectators of these classes are crew, family, and friends. At Big Show events, it’s hot dog and a soda time for most fans. Plus being all-run classes your weekend doesn’t end after a few qualifying shots if you don’t make the cut. That's attractive to racers, but spectators probably don't care.

2. NHRA enjoys the back gate money: You bet they do! Huge car counts helps pay operating costs. Don’t expect to see these classes going away any time soon.

3. Lowering the index a second for each class would help spectator appeal: Maybe, maybe not. One idea I’ve thrown out before is to enforce a speed limit to kind of force cars into the class they should be in. I say this because I’ve seen 7-second cars running 10.90 class and crossing the stripe at well over 170 mph - but it was on the throttle stop for over 3 seconds, which would look odd to spectators. The poor guy with a 130 mph car never saw him coming (which is the strategy).

4. TD & TS rock: Agreed! Yeah it’s dial-in racing, but at those speeds you're too awed by the performance to notice.

 

[Randy]

Synopsis of comments and my 2 cents…

1. Index classes are participant classes, not spectator classes: This is absolutely correct. Having run index classes I can tell you it’s a lot of fun, but that isn’t really evident to spectators. Usually the spectators of these classes are crew, family, and friends. At Big Show events, it’s hot dog and a soda time for most fans. Plus being all-run classes your weekend doesn’t end after a few qualifying shots if you don’t make the cut. That's attractive to racers, but spectators probably don't care.

2. NHRA enjoys the back gate money: You bet they do! Huge car counts helps pay operating costs. Don’t expect to see these classes going away any time soon.

3. Lowering the index a second for each class would help spectator appeal: Maybe, maybe not. One idea I’ve thrown out before is to enforce a speed limit to kind of force cars into the class they should be in. I say this because I’ve seen 7-second cars running 10.90 class and crossing the stripe at well over 170 mph - but it was on the throttle stop for over 3 seconds, which would look odd to spectators. The poor guy with a 130 mph car never saw him coming (which is the strategy).

4. TD & TS rock: Agreed! Yeah it’s dial-in racing, but at those speeds you're too awed by the performance to notice.

Great post.

Back when we bracket raced at OCIR the place was packed with racers but the stands were nearly empty. The gate paid the bills and management had to like the fact that the weekly racers picked up after themselves and didn't leave the place a mess when the night ended. In fact, when concrete starting lines came into being it was the bracket racers who pitched in to upgrade the facility to concrete because the racers cared.

Many of the racers I spoke to at Pomona said the real racing is the club races and big buck bracket races, not the NHRA stuff. Being a retired alky racer I didn't realize what's available on almost a weekly basis. It's amazing.

 

[FABMAN]

Great post.

Back when we bracket raced at OCIR the place was packed with racers but the stands were nearly empty. The gate paid the bills and management had to like the fact that the weekly racers picked up after themselves and didn't leave the place a mess when the night ended. In fact, when concrete starting lines came into being it was the bracket racers who pitched in to upgrade the facility to concrete because the racers cared.

Many of the racers I spoke to at Pomona said the real racing is the club races and big buck bracket races, not the NHRA stuff. Being a retired alky racer I didn't realize what's available on almost a weekly basis. It's amazing.

Randy you are going to have a lot of FUN racing T/S !!!

 

[Cliff]

It was the same thing with Lions Drag Strip. Sat night was "the show" and Sunday was all sportsman racing. No one in the stands but a lot of racers. But Sat night was special cuz Lions ran the "fast brackets", cars that ran low 10's & once in a blue moon, high 9's. I loved watching those cars just as much as the fuelers. Vintage GTO was one of those. It was a 1940's Pontiac 2 door with a big ol' rat motor, ran low 10's.

 

[Jeff]

Hey Jeff, I really enjoy your posts, as you along with Randy, are two of not many racers posting here these days. And, I'm a fan of the TD/TS classes. One thing though, I haven't been to an event this year yet, so I'm not sure who you met! Having said that, I'm sure I will end up seeing you at a race eventually.

oops, I think age got me ... I think it was Armand Keller!

 

[Reese]

oops, I think age got me ... I think it was Armand Keller!

LOL it was. Thanks for the time and info.