NHRA had a very good event in Seattle. Consider that the city's beloved hydroplane race landed on the same weekend, the Blue Angels were their half time show and the Seattle media for the most part ignored the the NHRA event in favor of the boats. Still, the stands were 90 percent filled during the second round with hundreds more lined up along the fence. I think part of the success was a ticket promo with O'Reilly Auto Parts where a fan could get a reserved seat for 45.00 and a kids ticket was only 10.00. You just had to go to the parts store to buy them. How easy is that? When you include free parking and pit access I think it was value priced for a family of four living on the ropes these days. So, congrats to NHRA on a marketing plan that worked even when the odds were against them!
NHRA did well in Seattle Even With Stiff Competition on the Lake (1 Viewer)
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vegasnitro
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I guess NHRA leaves it up to the event promoters as to how much to charge. It is the only possible explanation as to why it is $20 to park at Gateway, yet it is free at Norwalk, or why it is $10 for kids at Seattle and full freight at other tracks.
seattle almost had one for record books....if densham could have won, it would have surpassed if not equaled the bode win @ brainerd
a few years ago. watched densh lose to force in final in his own car years ago at brainerd too.
the independents only get a few shots every now and then, sure wish they could win more often.....the lagana ru to schumacher
at vegas a few years ago comes to mind too
a few years ago. watched densh lose to force in final in his own car years ago at brainerd too.
the independents only get a few shots every now and then, sure wish they could win more often.....the lagana ru to schumacher
at vegas a few years ago comes to mind too
I wonder what the crowd looked like at Gateway? I think 20.00 parking would be a recipe for disaster. Are you sure that wasn't premium parking or something? Here's what happens at drag races: A large portion of the crowd leaves after the semi-finals so to be fair, start judging the attendance during the second round not the finals when a lot of people have already left. At Seattle the joint was nearly full. there were a few seats available in the general admission section on the pit side. The spectator side was packed to the max and it was 93 degrees too. Route 66 could learn from Seattle.
vegasnitro
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It was $20 everyday to park at Gateway last year. They got you as soon as you got on property, it was basically first come, first served ... and NONE of the spots were close. If there are premium spots, and they are close, it would be well worth the extra money IMO.
This was the first Seattle race I've missed since '97. Would've been cool to have been there to see Densham go to the final. But hey, saw him double up at Indy in '04. Sadly things have changed in the big show since that time.
Might actually not even make one Natl event this yr. We have 30 yd line seats for the Hawks/Giants game in Nov. Doing the UCLA/U of W game that wknd too and we are looking forward to that instead of going down to the Finals. I really wish I can say I missed not going last wknd.....but I can't. Will be out at Firebird this wknd for the Nightfire race tho.
Might actually not even make one Natl event this yr. We have 30 yd line seats for the Hawks/Giants game in Nov. Doing the UCLA/U of W game that wknd too and we are looking forward to that instead of going down to the Finals. I really wish I can say I missed not going last wknd.....but I can't. Will be out at Firebird this wknd for the Nightfire race tho.
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I agree about a lot of fans leaving after the semi finals. I was at Seattle, and on Sun afternoon i decided i wanted to leave to head back to southern Cal on Sun night instead of Mon morning, so i figured if i went back to the hotel to get my luggage right after the semi finals i could be back to the track in time to watch the finals. I couldn't believe how long the line was to get out of the track after the semi finals.
Toejam
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I met a guy who has been to the Sea-fair's a few times and the Seattle NHRA races, he says they are totally different crowds!
Yeah, and......God only knows how many people are watching the hydros from their boats out on Lake Washington. Would love to see a guesstimate on Seafair attendence. Half a million for the weekend, including all the boats on the lake? That event is huge!
nwspeedshots
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Pretty close. Generally (these days) around 400,000, over the three days. A huge portion leave following the Blue Angels performance.
