National Dragster (1 Viewer)

[Nick Name]

I have been getting ND for so long I can't remember. To me it has become more and more irrelevant as time goes on.

Before the internet, you had to read it to see who won what, but no more. It got real bad for awhile, then Phil started throwing is some great stuff every so often, but the truth is, when it comes in the mail, it is good for about 20 to 30 minutes tops then in the trash.

We left the PSM contingency program along with the rest of the motorcycle aftermarket companies when the Harleys® came in. Have had no real involvement since then.

Then I was in a motorbooks store a while back, and picked up a publication called Drag Illustrated. WOW.

I subscribed to it, and it is awesome. I am still working my way through the latest issue ( it is a monthly), and have received two ND in the meantine. Read thru those and still trying to read all the cool stuff in DI. Even the ads, way more stuff than ND and a lot to learn by reading them.

So, my NHRA member ship / subscription will be up next month, and for the first time in decades, I will let it lapse.

 

[Toejam]

I have been getting ND for so long I can't remember. To me it has become more and more irrelevant as time goes on.

Before the internet, you had to read it to see who won what, but no more. It got real bad for awhile, then Phil started throwing is some great stuff every so often, but the truth is, when it comes in the mail, it is good for about 20 to 30 minutes tops then in the trash.

We left the PSM contingency program along with the rest of the motorcycle aftermarket companies when the Harleys® came in. Have had no real involvement since then.

Then I was in a motorbooks store a while back, and picked up a publication called Drag Illustrated. WOW.

I subscribed to it, and it is awesome. I am still working my way through the latest issue ( it is a monthly), and have received two ND in the meantine. Read thru those and still trying to read all the cool stuff in DI. Even the ads, way more stuff than ND and a lot to learn by reading them.

So, my NHRA member ship / subscription will be up next month, and for the first time in decades, I will let it lapse.

Who is the editor of Drag Illustrated?

 

[Bob]

Who is the editor of Drag Illustrated?

Wesley Buck. I'd buy it monthly if I knew where to find it locally in a book store or other outlet that sells magazines.

 

[Rajunz]

My dad started National Dragster back in 1970 and I kept the subscribtion running non stop until just a few years ago. It got to be the only thing I really read were Mike Dunn's columns and the human interest stories on the racers. I still have boxes of them from the 70s & 80s.

 

[daveo]

I felt the same way. Too much JFR. So I didn't renew in Feb. 12. Also I let my IHRA membership lapsed.

 

[Nunz]

I've posted this many times, but, again, I think ND is still well worth subscribing to. Sure, gone are the days of racing to the mailbox to find out who won the national event from 2 weeks ago. But I really think Phil & his crew did a great job re-inventing ND. It's more like a weekly magazine than a paper, it's got features on cars, nostalgia stuff, Hot Shots photos, it's in color, columns written by guys like Dan Fletcher, Todd Veney, etc. And more. I mean, it's a weekly print magazine that's under 2 bucks if you subscribe. I think it's still a bargain. Oh, and Drag Illustrated is awesome, I agree.

 

[sammi]

First, you have to understand that National Dragster and Drag Illustrated are apples and oranges.

National Dragster serves masters that DI doesn't have to or want to. Remember, this is a house publication for NHRA. It's purpose is to highlight the ton of positive stuff that is going on in NHRA's world. Don't expect it to take after NHRA for it's ills (this forum serves that purpose nicely). It is also a tremendous marketing tool for those in the industry to reach a very focused group of potential customers. It does not do NHRA or ND any good to write an exposé on a driver's personal failings or the failings of an organization.

Another issue ND has had to confront is our society's change from timely information to instant and complete information. I think Phil has made excellent strategic decisions that have yielded better feature writing and added color and dimension to the pro coverage. Try writing something interesting about something your readers saw on TV a week ago. Very difficult.

Now consider that National Dragster publishes over 6,000 pages of drag racing content a year.

I have no doubt that Drag Illustrated is a great read. I, for one, am glad to get my ND weekly and hope that never changes.

 

[clwill]

Unfortunately, I agree with the original poster's position. I deeply respect Phil and have, at times, enjoyed ND and the features, its time may have passed. Even its role as the "publication of record" for NHRA has faded as most now get their official news and information from nhraracer.com.

All one has to do is look at the declining page count in recent years to see that advertisers agree. If it weren't a part of my racing license, I probably wouldn't subscribe. Just as I let the WSJ and Seattle Times fade from my life. Sad, actually...

 

[mw6789]

Unfortunately, I agree with the original poster's position. I deeply respect Phil and have, at times, enjoyed ND and the features, its time may have passed. Even its role as the "publication of record" for NHRA has faded as most now get their official news and information from nhraracer.com.

All one has to do is look at the declining page count in recent years to see that advertisers agree. If it weren't a part of my racing license, I probably wouldn't subscribe. Just as I let the WSJ and Seattle Times fade from my life. Sad, actually...

Print media in general is fast becoming a thing of the past in our instant information age. Sad, because I too have thousands of old car mags (and copies of National Dragster). I let my ND subscription go several years ago since I dont race anymore and it seemed to me nothing but a collection of ads. I do appreciate Phil's nostalgia column and look forward to the online editions. My wife got a subscription to Sports Illustarated for me a while back, and it is but a fraction of what it used to be. Instead of taking several hours to read, it now takes about 15 minutes. Don't even subscribe to the newspaper anymore. I take a quick gander at it in the coffee shop in the mornings and do usually buy a Sunday paper during college football season.

 

[Nick Name]

I've posted this many times, but, again, I think ND is still well worth subscribing to. Sure, gone are the days of racing to the mailbox to find out who won the national event from 2 weeks ago. But I really think Phil & his crew did a great job re-inventing ND. It's more like a weekly magazine than a paper, it's got features on cars, nostalgia stuff, Hot Shots photos, it's in color, columns written by guys like Dan Fletcher, Todd Veney, etc. And more. I mean, it's a weekly print magazine that's under 2 bucks if you subscribe. I think it's still a bargain. Oh, and Drag Illustrated is awesome, I agree.

I do agree that given the constraints Phil has to work with, he does a fantastic job. It is those constraints that throttle it down, and there is nothing he can do about that.