There was a day in the middle/late 60s thru most of the 70s and perhaps into early 80s that if you were careful, got a few match races and show up money, got some help with oil, sometimes some spark plugs and a few parts along you could break even or even make very small bit of money. Accidents and blown motors could put you on the sidelines (I speak from experience) but it started getting out of hand for most of us in the late 70s. Ever increasing Nat'l events killed the independent racer. We just couldn't afford to run them and compete on a level playing field. I remember RFI almost tripled the price of nitro almost over night, Darn near killed our racing program.
NHRA article on yahoo (not good news) (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Mike
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There was a day in the middle/late 60s thru most of the 70s and perhaps into early 80s that if you were careful, got a few match races and show up money, got some help with oil, sometimes some spark plugs and a few parts along you could break even or even make very small bit of money. Accidents and blown motors could put you on the sidelines (I speak from experience) but it started getting out of hand for most of us in the late 70s. Ever increasing Nat'l events killed the independent racer. We just couldn't afford to run them and compete on a level playing field. I remember RFI almost tripled the price of nitro almost over night, Darn near killed our racing program.
Cliff
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John you guys made more $$$ at match races than the national events. I've heard a lot of guys say the only reason they ran national races was for publicity. If you won Pomona, that was worth a lot of bookings, etc. I miss those days. A lot more cars were running T/F and F/C than now. I could go to Lions for a 16 car show & see times better than most of the country. Well, I still love drag racing, even in these times. Stay well, Bro.
Cliff
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Alan, I thought the payout was better than that for Indy cars, even the last place car. Well, maybe I should just say that I wish drag racing had better payouts. Wonder what the yearly budget for Indy Car is, or F1. Everything is so expensive. I don't think that even a "privateer" can put together a competitive T/F or F/C team for under a million & that's before you start racing.
mikebcurve
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Last I seen the top F1 team budgets were pushing $500 million a year!!!! Unreal!
none
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Cliff,
Don't mean this to sound like I'm calling you out specifically but if you're going to make that statement you should do a little research before stating as fact that the IndyCar guys get a better return on investment.
Also, surprised that no one mentioned that the total purse for the Indy 500 in 2019 was $13,090536.00 (yes that's 13 million plus)
When Roger Penske purchased the speedway and the series he vowed to increase the purse 2 million+ to over 15 million dollars this year.
When it was decided that no fans would be allowed he announced that the purse for 2020 would be 7.5 Million. Funny how nobody lambasting NHRA mentioned that. And I can't seem to find where anyone is complaining about what Roger makes or calling for his head on a platter for cutting the purse.
Roger is a VERY smart businessman, he knows that he needs to run the race for the teams that compete. He knows that the purse is nice but, it's not the main source of income for the teams that compete. And without the race they would be damaged MUCH more than a cut in purse. He knows that by taking a big financial hit, he will benefit every race team that counts on his series to survive. So he ran the race at a track he owns, took the hit on both sides (Series owner and track owner), ran the race with a reduced purse and kept the teams in business. He took the financial hit for the good of the teams and the series. I can't state this part as fact but I believe that the race teams LOVE him for it.
NHRA knows that the teams need to race so they host races at a track they own taking the hit on both sides (sanctioning body and track owner) to keep the teams in business. They make the strictly business decision to cut the purse based on not being allowed to sell many tickets, but they keep the teams in business.
The NHRA teams through PRO then make a public announcement that they are dedicated to finish the season because they NEED TO RACE to stay in business. Sounds like they understand the business decision to cut the purse. While some here and other places still call on NHRA to cancel the season.
And at least one states every week that "this will be the last race" and that NHRA is folding the tent for the year. I wonder if he is through crying "Wolf" yet?
I'm glad that he is not running NHRA and so are all the teams that make a living doing this.
Still, just my opinion,
Alan
Don't mean this to sound like I'm calling you out specifically but if you're going to make that statement you should do a little research before stating as fact that the IndyCar guys get a better return on investment.
Also, surprised that no one mentioned that the total purse for the Indy 500 in 2019 was $13,090536.00 (yes that's 13 million plus)
When Roger Penske purchased the speedway and the series he vowed to increase the purse 2 million+ to over 15 million dollars this year.
When it was decided that no fans would be allowed he announced that the purse for 2020 would be 7.5 Million. Funny how nobody lambasting NHRA mentioned that. And I can't seem to find where anyone is complaining about what Roger makes or calling for his head on a platter for cutting the purse.
Roger is a VERY smart businessman, he knows that he needs to run the race for the teams that compete. He knows that the purse is nice but, it's not the main source of income for the teams that compete. And without the race they would be damaged MUCH more than a cut in purse. He knows that by taking a big financial hit, he will benefit every race team that counts on his series to survive. So he ran the race at a track he owns, took the hit on both sides (Series owner and track owner), ran the race with a reduced purse and kept the teams in business. He took the financial hit for the good of the teams and the series. I can't state this part as fact but I believe that the race teams LOVE him for it.
NHRA knows that the teams need to race so they host races at a track they own taking the hit on both sides (sanctioning body and track owner) to keep the teams in business. They make the strictly business decision to cut the purse based on not being allowed to sell many tickets, but they keep the teams in business.
The NHRA teams through PRO then make a public announcement that they are dedicated to finish the season because they NEED TO RACE to stay in business. Sounds like they understand the business decision to cut the purse. While some here and other places still call on NHRA to cancel the season.
And at least one states every week that "this will be the last race" and that NHRA is folding the tent for the year. I wonder if he is through crying "Wolf" yet?
I'm glad that he is not running NHRA and so are all the teams that make a living doing this.
Still, just my opinion,
Alan
Cliff
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Thanks Alan. Will do my research next time.
It is nasty expensive!
Michael...that 500m was for a 4 car team, so lets keep it in perspective
I don't think there's a racing series in existence that makes financial sense for racers who aren't sponsored. My wish would be that if NHRA can partner with Camping World or some company that sees the value in drag racing, that purses can not only return to previous levels, but also improve in 2 areas: Non-qualifier and early round money (IMO more important than an event winner's purse), and a World Championship check with 2 commas in it. Better money at the bottom will continue to bring out the smaller teams, who by coming out, have a chance to build their programs and climb the ladder. Finally, a seven figure bonus for a championship will give the sport more importance. Again, IMO.
mikebcurve
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I believe the top two being Red Bull and Ferrari only have two team cars but yes there are some things to take into consideration like Ferrari shares a lot of its operations with the road racing teams so I don’t know how that fits in the budget.It is nasty expensive!
Michael...that 500m was for a 4 car team, so lets keep it in perspective
there certainly are teams that have to race for their sponsors, but there are certainly others that do not have to race......the PRO article mentions concessions made due to cut in purse.
concessions IMO geared towards the lesser funded teams and their willingness to participate. the racers are trying to race for good of the sport and nhra; and will do their best to finish the season and fill the fields......rite now there are 15 each in FC and TF for this weekend. it is apparent that not all racers feel the urgency to tow, stay, and race in this closing period of 2020. fingers are crossed for positive news as this season draws to a close.
concessions IMO geared towards the lesser funded teams and their willingness to participate. the racers are trying to race for good of the sport and nhra; and will do their best to finish the season and fill the fields......rite now there are 15 each in FC and TF for this weekend. it is apparent that not all racers feel the urgency to tow, stay, and race in this closing period of 2020. fingers are crossed for positive news as this season draws to a close.
it's a little more complicated than that mike.....this year mercedes is running away with championship with hamilton....again. these top teams have their fingerprints all over the lesser teams; knowing
it's their support that keeps the sport going; much the same the larger nhra teams help many other teams to stay out there.......an interesting F1 story this year is the sale of Williams Racing. they have
been a fixture in F1 for decades. earlier this year, williams terminated it's sponsorship with ROKIT. the williams team was where i first noticed the ROKIT brand, and knew nothing of the company,
much less it's product or service or owners. the F1 car also flew the ABK breweries logo too.
The F1 series has a unique financial model, one that I am not knowledgeable enough to explain. For instance, at each event throughout the season, the drivers are racing for a trophy, there are no event purses. At least I think so, lol. Also, there are 20 spots each season, meaning where I could go buy Jim Maroney's TF operation and show up at a national event, you can't go buy a used Ferrari and try and qualify for an F1 race.
SundayNiagara
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thinking a lot of you guys have correct assumptions with money and nhra, it will not get any better as long as we have attorneys and accountants running the deal for a paycheck and nothing more. Must figure out a way to make it cheaper for the racer. nhra will never have the pro purses where they were, get used to that...…….with no changes it will die a slow death, with Coke leaving you'll start to see many more teams lose sponsorship. the only way any marketing person with half a lick of sense would sponsor a car with the limited exposure is if it were really a good deal, it's not. must figure a way to slow the cars and go back the 1320'...….A/Fuel dragsters and Funny cars is somewhat of an answer but even that is very expensive,
Von Halen
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Roger Penske does if for LOVE. That ship left Glendora many moons ago.
I couldn't agree more. I can't even believe Alan compared Roger Penske to the NHRA brass, in any capacity. Penske pours money into racing, as opposed to sucking it dry.
Dragracer
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Pete, each F1 team is only allowed 2 cars. There are companies like Ferrari that lease their power module to other teams like Haas and others. Mercedes does not lease their power module to any other team except their own 2 car team. The amount Ferrari spends includes the development and support of the power modules they lease.It is nasty expensive!
Michael...that 500m was for a 4 car team, so lets keep it in perspective
I remember being in line at Indy at the hot gate watching car after car make a pass with the full intention of destroying the motor at the finish line just to qualify. Guys would bring 4 motors for the first day, pick up the parts from their broken motors and try to have two or three for the next day. Some who did qualify had nothing left for eliminations. Never understood their logic although qualifying ws always good for some help with parts.
why not just run TF winner vs FC winner for overall champ.
I thought Racing Point and Williams use Mercedes power?
