I think part of the problem is you always have to look at racing from the sponsors perspective.
The comment someone made about why sponsors throw 20 million at a NASCAR team is a good example.
Most NASCAR races are on the TV for a few hours and you are watching cars go around in circles but think in terms of how much camera coverage a sponsor who has a car running in the top ten gets over the course of three hours or more!!
Now look at drag racing and take any top ten cars in the class and ask yourself how much camera coverage time do they get at each event and I think you begin to see part of the reason why they spend their money on NASCAR instead of the NHRA
When sponsors spend money they want to evaluate what they are getting for the dollars they are spending and if the answers don't make sense they look for other places to spend their money.
Having more TV coverage is a good place to start.
There are many things sponsors need and want to see before investing their money and I am sure one thing they are looking at very close in how strong the sanctioning body is that is putting on the events and what type of TV packages they have in place.
In my opinion sponsors are not just sponsoring a team or driver but are buying into the whole sanctioning body concept.
Most people would agree that the car counts for many events have been down along with spectators and sponsors and all of these things tend to show a trend that right now is a problem.
The interesting thing right now is it is not just NHRA drag racing but also NASCAR, Professional Golf and many of types of sporting events that are also seeing their TV ratings going down along with spectators.
Just my opinion. Jimbo
http://www.nostalgicracingdecals.com