Input Wanted (2 Viewers)

[none]

How someone can win 1/3 of all the races and then tell them they didn't earn the championship. That's still mind boggling to this veteran.

The same way the New England Patriots won 18 games then lost the Super Bowl. The same way the Houston Astros won the World Series without winning their division. First you have to earn a spot in the Playoffs, then you have to win the playoffs.

Alan

 

[none]

[QUOTE="

1. The track announcers need to make use of the replays to explain things out of the ordinary, multiple times throughout the event
2. There should be a social media hashtag (or some means of communicating) that is permanently displayed on the jumbotron for fans to ask questions real time. It may be a pair or two later, but it would be cool for the production crew to spool up a video and the announcers answer any questions (would also be great during downtime)

[/QUOTE]

Dennis,
Not arguing, just asking. Can you give me an example of a time when something out of the ordinary happened and I didn't explain it? I'm not claiming to be perfect but I try very hard to see things that are odd and share with the crowd what they just saw and why it happened.

As for the second one I personally set up an email two years ago where fans could ask me questions directly, about anything they saw and I would answer between rounds or during downtime. I ended up shutting it down because I was being bombarded with complaints about everything from the price of a cheeseburger to the volume on All-Access needing to be adjusted. When I said "Send me your technical questions and I will do my best to answer them" then I would receive "I can't believe it cost $8 for a beer" so I gave up.

Alan

 

[Jer]

Yes the delay classes,like the ones that fall on their face. He asked whats wrong,i just said there stupid and boring to watch,lets go get something to eat until some good cars come up!

 

[Paul]

The same way the New England Patriots won 18 games then lost the Super Bowl. The same way the Houston Astros won the World Series without winning their division. First you have to earn a spot in the Playoffs, then you have to win the playoffs.

Alan

Astros won their Division and had the 2nd best record in the American League.

 

[Pete]

Explaining index racing has gotten easier for me over the years. Simply put, people understand what horsepower is and by explaining you have a multitude of Stock classes because due to different horsepower ranges some cars are faster than others (the Prius vs. 2017 SS Camaro example usually works), so the slower car (Prius) gets a head start based on the calculated difference between how quick the faster car, (Camaro) is over the quarter mile. Throw in a "so the race is fair for the Prius, because if they left heads up the Prius wouldn't have a chance. Usually I see the lightbulb turn on at that point.
After that, .90 classes are essentially the same concept, except all cars have a set index of what the class runs..etc...
Move on to breakouts.."The class states that the cars can't run quicker than .90 or whatever dialin and if you do, then you lose" However, if both cars run quicker, the winner is determined by whomever did it by the least amount or "who wasn't as bad".

You'll have to run through a few of those points again, but eventually its not as daunting for the newbie.

 

[stitcherbob]

[QUOTE="


As for the second one I personally set up an email two years ago where fans could ask me questions directly, about anything they saw and I would answer between rounds or during downtime. I ended up shutting it down because I was being bombarded with complaints about everything from the price of a cheeseburger to the volume on All-Access needing to be adjusted. When I said "Send me your technical questions and I will do my best to answer them" then I would receive "I can't believe it cost $8 for a beer" so I gave up.

Alan

Hey! I forgot that one!

Why is an NHRA cheeseburger so expensive?



I know, I know....back to the corner....

 

[BaldyLochs]

I like to explain to people I bring, some of the ( I guess you'd call it ) human-interest stories and facts; particularly with the pro drivers. As in, most of the pro drivers - nowadays that's their job to drive that vehicle; full time. But do they have "weekday" jobs; i.e. Doug Kalitta running his aviation businesses; or when Scelzi raced - he built service truck bodies; or this guy over here is a dairy farmer; this guy raises alligators; or whatever. I also point out the amount of time and effort that goes into bring the whole "nationals" circus into anytown USA for 4 days, then packing it all up in trucks and doing it all over again next weekend somewhere else. The amount of time these race teams spend traveling and remember that all those people there are away from thier families, homes while they're at the tracks.

And I always like to point out that most tracks allow any licensed driver to get in thier family crossover SUV and run it down that same track on certain days; and that's really how it all starts - You do that, then you can run it on an index, then maybe buy another race-only car; or in the case of youngsters, get them into a JD; then go get sponsorship, run some more, jump into other classes and vehicles if you can and want - and that is really how alot of the pro drivers get to where they are.

 

[santed66]

How about:
How changing weather conditions mean different tune-ups, and what is involved.
More personal information about driver. That might help build rapport.
Give more history and talk about how things have changed.

 

[mick]

#1 rule for a new fan. don't make it their first and last drag race. you want a return customer.
not that it isn't explained, because it is, but i think the biggest thing a newbie should be told is what they can buy while they
are at the race.....racer's souvenir trailers / traxxas stuff / midway stuff / beer / specialty foods per track (BIR has their turkey legs) /
nitro mall. take 1/3 of the fan's money at the gate. take another 1/3 for racer/nhra souvenirs, and then
let him/her spend the last 1/3 on concessions......nhra and track split the gate. nhra & racers split the souvenirs, vendors, track,
and nhra split the concessions.......yes, they are there to watch a race. you (nhra) are there to get them to spend money
and have them leave thinking they saw a great race and not feel gouged.
IMO the nuances of the races are explained very well already. don't over complicate it. nitro fc's and tf's sell themselves.
and don't forget to inform about websites and streaming opportunities for the nhra. perhaps add more signs around entire
venue reminding of these opportunities (more revenue), when they want to watch the next event 2 weeks later, and hopefully will continue to watch the rest of season.

 

[Sean D, shondoo]

[QUOTE="

1. The track announcers need to make use of the replays to explain things out of the ordinary, multiple times throughout the event
2. There should be a social media hashtag (or some means of communicating) that is permanently displayed on the jumbotron for fans to ask questions real time. It may be a pair or two later, but it would be cool for the production crew to spool up a video and the announcers answer any questions (would also be great during downtime)

Dennis,
Not arguing, just asking. Can you give me an example of a time when something out of the ordinary happened and I didn't explain it? I'm not claiming to be perfect but I try very hard to see things that are odd and share with the crowd what they just saw and why it happened.[/QUOTE]

I think you guys do a very good job at reviewing things that happened, both on-air and at the track live. The big screen has been well utilized for those things, in my trips to the races.

I have found most newbs can grasp the concept of individually timed lanes, as well as the breakout situation. But for whatever reason, I STILL have trouble sometimes getting through to people the concept of how being the faster car is viewed as beneficial when the Super class cars do what they do, but I wouldn't have a lot of input as to how to address that. Maybe some sort of visual on how much easier it is to see the race unfold in front of you, rather than having to look back, through the eyes of a helmet cam on both combinations? I don't know......

And as always, I'm still gonna complain about not having dials on the screen during the Sportsman shows. Lol!

Sean D

 

[nitrobobby]

Best solution for a newbie is to watch All access a couple of sessions. Alan does a great job explaining .Then when you go to the track ,it would make more sense.

 

[my friends call me Zappy]

The hole shot win is most common to me. Also never explained properly to clarify, on TV, or at the track. "There is no way a 9.30 can beat a 9.20." No mater how quick the guy reacts to the tree.
The key is to explain to them that each car is recording it's own time.
The newbie naturally believed the clock starts for both at the same time.
In All other sports, both / all competitors are on one clock.
I use the exaggerated example of: a walker & a runner.
Light comes down and I start WALKING, my clock starts, takes me 4 minutes to finish.

After 3 minutes you start RUNNING, your clock starts, takes you 2 minutes to finish. You took less time, & were going much faster, but I got to the finish first.

Second often is the throttle stops. A drag race is supposed to be a contest of acceleration, not a coast-a-thon. They should be set up to kick in at the finish, 1,100 or 1,200 ft, not in front of the majority of the fans. Jmo

 

[Butch]

The fall on your start. After doing the burnout staging revving the engine then after leaving what appears the drivers foot slips off the gas.
That is the most confusing to 1st timers that I've encountered.

 

[my friends call me Zappy]

Alan ya do a fine job. Don't over explain. You're there to call the race, not a class on " drag racing 101". When I watch other sports I've yet to hear a announcer explain, " he's putting for bird". Or what a " red shirt freshmen", or " from the shotgun". If a new fan is truly interested, they will find out. Every sport has it's own terms/ language. To repetedly explain hole shot wins, breakouts, etc. Is an insult to your hardcore fan, which is by far the majority of your audience.
Keep up the good work.

 

[Huge]

Alan ya do a fine job. Don't over explain. You're there to call the race, not a class on " drag racing 101". When I watch other sports I've yet to hear a announcer explain, " he's putting for bird". Or what a " red shirt freshmen", or " from the shotgun". If a new fan is truly interested, they will find out. Every sport has it's own terms/ language. To repetedly explain hole shot wins, breakouts, etc. Is an insult to your hardcore fan, which is by far the majority of your audience.
Keep up the good work.

Why would it insult you if you know he is not talking to you?...it doesn't insult me at all because I know he isn't really talking to me, but I still listen because I never know when I might learn something I didn't know. I don't think the hardcore fan is the majority anymore anyway.

 

[my friends call me Zappy]

Look around you in the stands, gray hair, bald heads, canes. Very few teens or 20 somethings. It's the life long fan that grew up as the sport was growing also. Far more over 40, than under 40, imo.

If we don't interest the young, it will die a slow death. Nothing wrong with learning something new, but there is a time & place. Imo

 

[Huge]

Look around you in the stands, gray hair, bald heads, canes. Very few teens or 20 somethings. It's the life long fan that grew up as the sport was growing also. Far more over 40, than under 40, imo.

If we don't interest the young, it will die a slow death. Nothing wrong with learning something new, but there is a time & place. Imo

I don't get a chance to sit in the stands much anymore but I see a lot of the younger generation walking through the pits and standing at the ropes watching the teams working on their cars. Some times Alan hold his nitro school right behind our trailer and the fans seem to love it. What better place is there to learn about drag racing then at a drag race? You are definitely correct about the need for a younger generation of fans to keep the ball rolling when you and I and the rest of the diehards are gone...and that is why I don't understand you or anyone else getting offended when NHRA tries to teach them some of the basic fundamentals of our sport.

 

[Greggo]

Alan: I think you [and the rest of the guys] do a great job trying to explain things the best you can. I would say when you start talking about correction factors that it might lose some folks. :-D

Keep up the great work!

 

[mick]

.......I don't think the hardcore fan is the majority anymore.......

i think you are rite about this eugene

 

[SoCal Racer]

The same way the New England Patriots won 18 games then lost the Super Bowl. The same way the Houston Astros won the World Series without winning their division. First you have to earn a spot in the Playoffs, then you have to win the playoffs.
Alan

I understand the rules, but that doesn't make them right
Seriously, NHRA needs to revisit this whole countdown thing - it's an abomination....IMHO.

I don't think the hardcore fan is the majority anymore anyway.

I see two kinds of fans; those who know what they are seeing and came to watch racing, and those who are the "Oh look! The Circus is in town!" who come for the spectacle. But the ratio has changed over the years with a higher percentage of circus watchers than in the past. I suspect this is in part because the demographic of the country has changed from a car-oriented culture to something else. NHRA needs both kinds, as some of the circus people will become hardcore fans, but NHRA needs to be careful to not alienate the current hardcore fans in the quest to attract more newbies - a bit of a balancing act.

That said, overall you guys do a good job of presenting the sport for both, but don't be afraid to dig in deep to technology, share historic milestones, or spread out the interviews to others beside the regulars. The circus fans may have never heard of anyone other than John Force, but they never will if all they see is John Force.