Live vs On Time

[d'kid]

I think it is a nice change of pace. To me it is like the 4 wide nationals. In no way would I like it to be this way all of the time, but is cool to have something a little different once or twice a year. Hopefully they don't try and make this the normal.

Believe that's what today was all about... I missed the whole thing... well caught the last ten minutes... fell asleep at noon... didn't wake up until 4:45... normally have the Race on the 'puter here in my office/bedroom... upstairs TV is in K'dubs o/br across the hall...

So I guess for me, at least... Total Fail

d'kid

 

[Randy]

I'm just glad no one got run over in the pits.

We've had people step between the tow vehicle and funny car several times over the years. At Pomona one year Tom Lemon had a guy dive in front of his TA/FC and roll on the ground while Tom was towing through the pits. The idiot was hoping to get hit so he could sue Tom and the NHRA. Thankfully Tom's guys saw it coming and hit the brakes. They told the guy to get the fudge off the ground and away from the race car so they could get moving again.

 

[Treeshaker]

I liked the idea and the execution. The live show gave the NHRA a definite time slot and created the ability for on time social media chatter, which is what most sponsorship values are rated on today. And PC doesn't get the most action.

Take notice of how many people are famous, and become rich, just because they do things that get the masses to talk about them on the many social media networks. Drag racing, and the individuals involved, have not been on the map in the past few years and need to start doing things to get everyday people talking about them.

The turn around time should not be a concern. I love watching a good crew as they work quickly together in a small area without getting in each other's way. As seen all 4 cars made it on time, and the two dragster teams had time to spare. The funny car teams just added a little drama to the program. The teams will adapt to the norm and can get the job done.

 

[vegasnitro]

I'm just glad no one got run over in the pits.

We've had people step between the tow vehicle and funny car several times over the years. At Pomona one year Tom Lemon had a guy dive in front of his TA/FC and roll on the ground while Tom was towing through the pits. The idiot was hoping to get hit so he could sue Tom and the NHRA. Thankfully Tom's guys saw it coming and hit the brakes. They told the guy to get the fudge off the ground and away from the race car so they could get moving again.

People could get run over at any race, live TV or not ... Particularly with the scenario you described.

At Houston, they had motorcycle cops escorting the winners back to the pits.

 

[Rajunz]

I think it is a nice change of pace. To me it is like the 4 wide nationals. In no way would I like it to be this way all of the time, but is cool to have something a little different once or twice a year. Hopefully they don't try and make this the normal.

I agree Doug, it was fun to watch, just wouldn't want it for every race. I still think that there should be a few Saturday night finals throughout the season too.

 

[Leebone]

I'm totally AGAINST the live broadcast. To me, it's a safety issue. It's taking away from the time the pit crews have to check the cars. I would NOT want to send a 300 mph nitro car down the track without making sure everything is checked properly.

 

[Mark]

On the one hand, it's good publicity, on the other hand, the safety issues are definitely a concerned. If I had to pick a side, I'd say I'm not in favor of it, but I've been wrong before, and I'll darn sure be wrong again.

 

[Butch]

What was NHRA's plan in case of the big OIL DOWN? I recorded the show so I only noticed the sound difference. The big $$ teams I believe are OK with the quick turn around time, but teams like Wilk and others are cutting it close.

 

[Jim]

I agree with Gene (and several others).

That said, this show COULD have been an enormous embarrassment for NHRA but for a change in the weather and a couple oil downs. I don't think it's worth the risk.

PS: In case it isn't obvious, I think Twitter (and the like) are the "flavor of the week" but, what do I know?

That was the best drag racing telecast that I have seen in a long time. It was like I was watching two races today...one was the cars on the track, and the other was the crews in the pits. Anyone that doesn't think that going rounds doesn't drain the energy out of these crew guys, then take a good look at Travis when he was waiting for Wilk to do his burnout in the final. Having the track a little less then 100%, leveled the nitro field a little, and it was nice to see some of the non mega buck teams in the finals. I have a friend of mine that had never seen a drag race on tv, or in person, and she just called me a few minutes ago to tell me that she watched it today and that she is hooked. She couldn't believe how fast and intense the crews are when getting the cars ready for the next round. Now, she wants to know if I can get here some tickets for the next Vegas race.

 

[Larry jr.]

I thought it was great. I watched alot of racing on tv over the last few years, stuck at home recovering from cancer, this was by far one of the best.

As far as seeing more pit action than race action, Thats just the nature of our sport, drag racing is a gear head motorsport, its about building tuning ,Then driving the car, and having built and tuned you're car better and faster then the guys in the other lane, whats hard to understand about that?

You can't compaire this to any other motorsport, because there is nothing else like it.

The facts are NHRA change and slowed down the formate at the events Years ago to accomindate the video crews and comentators to do the recorded shows.

Fast paced is how this needs to be with more focus on who is on the crews, and how the team get by each round.

 

[Silly Savage]

Being a live show means nothing in the grand scheme of things. You still need to get people to be at the races in person. If they really are concerned with the TV aspect, make sure the shows are ALL shown at a decent hour. There were a few races last season where I had to wait until 10-11 pm to watch. I pretty much have just been DVR'ing all the races because I don't sit on my a$$ all day waiting for a race to come on TV. I say tighten up the current TV package and work in new angles to play on pit coverage and ???

 

[Marchboom]

That's it? That's what it's all about? Watching a crew doing between round maintenance with a clock ticking on the screen is not entertainment to me.

What would the NHRA do if one car would be 10 mins late? Would there be a single run? Not what people come to see. This shortened pit time is an invitation for disaster. A crew member will get hurt, an important step will be omitted, etc. IMO any benefit gained from a live telecast (I saw none) would not be worth someone getting hurt.

I was waiting for a backfire on Wilkerson's car when they tried to start it the first time before finding the ignition problem.

For me, I can wait a few hours to see the regular show. Safety is everything, especially with these 10,000 HP cars.

 

[Huge]

I thought it was great. I watched alot of racing on tv over the last few years, stuck at home recovering from cancer, this was by far one of the best.

As far as seeing more pit action than race action, Thats just the nature of our sport, drag racing is a gear head motorsport, its about building tuning ,Then driving the car, and having built and tuned you're car better and faster then the guys in the other lane, whats hard to understand about that?

You can't compaire this to any other motorsport, because there is nothing else like it.

The facts are NHRA change and slowed down the formate at the events Years ago to accomindate the video crews and comentators to do the recorded shows.

Fast paced is how this needs to be with more focus on who is on the crews, and how the team get by each round.

Good post, Larry. There will be some fans that may not appreciate what the crews do between rounds or they might find watching between round maintenance boring, but from seeing how crowded the pits are and listening to their questions at the ropes, makes me feel that there are a lot of fans that will be interested in watching some pit action on tv. I watched the race again last night, and I loved it as a fan sitting in my chair, but if I had been there working then I don't know how I would feel about this deal. My hats off to all the crews.

 

[Bullard Anderson]

If this were to be the new norm, then the sponsor TV time goes up dramatically for teams making it to the semi's. Car shots, crew shots, signage on uni's, trailers, pits, etc.

 

[mick]

......and the ratings say what?.....didn't watch, busy working and don't tivo.
wished i would have seen it, great finalists

 

[RebilasPhoto]

Can anyone name any major sports series that don't show their events live?

Me either...

On another note, with Cruz pulling up to line late for final they had him all strapped into car and went straight from the pits to starting line without stopping in staging lanes. Wonder if that might be something teams start to explore to save precious minutes when needed?

I only wish the fans could have seen round one live. That was one of the most entertaining rounds of nitro I've ever seen. Its how I'd imagine the racing being if they did less track prep each weekend and put the race back into the hands of the driver. It essentially came down to driving over budget in round one yesterday... I can't imagine anyone not being in favor of that.

Many of the people Im friends with who are involved in the series loved it because from we were done and out of the track by 5pm! I can promise you I was one of the happy ones!

 

[Reese]

I was there so didn't get to see it. They did show some of it on the big screen. There was racing action all day, they did not show the pro mod and alky classes on tv(at least from what I was told) which also had fantastic racing. Also there were alot of people following the rebuild between rounds. The only thing that suprised me was that the mega teams did not do that well. I thought with the short turn a round they would have faired better with the bigger crew they have. At least I got to see Bob win, worth the price of admission. And don't get me started on what they did the other classes.

 

[Joker]

I dont know how the live tv came across bc I was at the track but from what everyone is saying, I would like to see the finals of the other classes instead of 55 mins of interviews, commercials, etc. Now, I know we didnt have any of that really yesterday other than alky and pro mod but they didnt show them either.

However, with that being said, the pro finals were over at 4:10 yesterday. Thats got to be a record. And I really enjoyed that and so did just about everyone I spoke to, racers and crew mbrs included. Gave them plenty of time to get stuff done and still catch decent flights back.

 

[my friends call me Zappy]

Very well put, " an invitation for disaster ".

 

[Rajunz]

I thought it was great. I watched alot of racing on tv over the last few years, stuck at home recovering from cancer, this was by far one of the best.

As far as seeing more pit action than race action, Thats just the nature of our sport, drag racing is a gear head motorsport, its about building tuning ,Then driving the car, and having built and tuned you're car better and faster then the guys in the other lane, whats hard to understand about that?

You can't compaire this to any other motorsport, because there is nothing else like it.

The facts are NHRA change and slowed down the formate at the events Years ago to accomindate the video crews and comentators to do the recorded shows.

Fast paced is how this needs to be with more focus on who is on the crews, and how the team get by each round.

Great post Larry. I thought it was pretty exciting to watch, almost like a panic scenerio. But like I said earlier, I wouldn't want it for every race. Mix it up NHRA, some live events, same tape delayed with well thought out commentary, and add in some night races. Saturday Night NASCAR races are some of their most attended, most watched all season. Add in nitro flames and they're sure to sell tickets.