Dubs
Nitro Member
Over the past few months, I have seen teams getting parked left and right. Obviously, this is a result of the poor economy we are currently in. I am sharing my views on a couple different things related to that. This is not a post to bash other peoples thoughts, but rather one offering a different perspective.
The NHRA's recent 'silence' has obviously made a handful of people angry. A lot of people think they should step in and and at the very least address the issue. I too wouldn't mind a mere press release stating that they are at least aware of what is going on. However, I think what the NHRA can do is somewhat limited. The NHRA is such a large and strong organization that I believe is has tendencies to self correct itself. NHRA has been around for almost 57 years and obviously has seen similar situations to these (ie not enough racers, potential dropoff in fan attendance etc.) Obviously, the sport has battled through the tough years to be what it is today. I think the NHRA's silence has been due to the fact that they are confident that the sport won't be affected greatly.
Just take a look at Pomona. Without the presence of 'corporate teams,' smaller teams are incentivized to attend and race as the prize money is much easier to get. This theory is similar to that of a macro-economic theory that the economy self corrects itself when in a recession or when there is inflation.
People say that NHRA does not roll out the red carpet for sponsors, but there really is no way of telling this. You can say what you want about it, but unless you hear of experiences from sponsors that have been there and done that, I think that it is not right to assume. I am a firm believer that sponsors and potential-sponsors are very important right now, but just making judgments about how they are treated isn't right unless you have a first hand account of it.
Now on to fan attendance...
Although NHRA has stated that they will not lower ticket prices, I think that they will have to to get fans back in the stands. Back to economics, at the current price, there is not a lot of demand in the drag racing market, so they need to lower the prices to raise that demand until the economy is straightened out. I still believe that the 'every pass is a pit pass' is one of the coolest things in the motorsports world. Being able to interact with the drivers and watch the crews wrench away is amazing. Hopefully the NHRA can market that this season to get more people in the stands.
-Chris
[email protected]
The NHRA's recent 'silence' has obviously made a handful of people angry. A lot of people think they should step in and and at the very least address the issue. I too wouldn't mind a mere press release stating that they are at least aware of what is going on. However, I think what the NHRA can do is somewhat limited. The NHRA is such a large and strong organization that I believe is has tendencies to self correct itself. NHRA has been around for almost 57 years and obviously has seen similar situations to these (ie not enough racers, potential dropoff in fan attendance etc.) Obviously, the sport has battled through the tough years to be what it is today. I think the NHRA's silence has been due to the fact that they are confident that the sport won't be affected greatly.
Just take a look at Pomona. Without the presence of 'corporate teams,' smaller teams are incentivized to attend and race as the prize money is much easier to get. This theory is similar to that of a macro-economic theory that the economy self corrects itself when in a recession or when there is inflation.
People say that NHRA does not roll out the red carpet for sponsors, but there really is no way of telling this. You can say what you want about it, but unless you hear of experiences from sponsors that have been there and done that, I think that it is not right to assume. I am a firm believer that sponsors and potential-sponsors are very important right now, but just making judgments about how they are treated isn't right unless you have a first hand account of it.
Now on to fan attendance...
Although NHRA has stated that they will not lower ticket prices, I think that they will have to to get fans back in the stands. Back to economics, at the current price, there is not a lot of demand in the drag racing market, so they need to lower the prices to raise that demand until the economy is straightened out. I still believe that the 'every pass is a pit pass' is one of the coolest things in the motorsports world. Being able to interact with the drivers and watch the crews wrench away is amazing. Hopefully the NHRA can market that this season to get more people in the stands.
-Chris
[email protected]
