PRO Purses (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Dragracer
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Jer
Nitro Member
Would be nice to know! Wheres Marcus,not at the drags lol
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This was posted back in February: https://www.nitromater.com/threads/2021-nhra-fuel-payouts.45126/
I say Pro class winners deserve $100,000 for the win; PS, $50,000 and PSM $25,000. 1.5 times that for Indy. $1M, $500K and $250K respectively for the national championship. Similar increases for Sportsman classes as well. It's 2021, not 1980, these people (especially the little teams who at least need a chance to recoup their actual expenses) deserve a raise. Michael McDowell won $2 million just for first place at this year's Daytona 500. A top-shelf NFL quarterback earns more in 60 seconds of play than Steve Torrence does when he wins a national event. NHRA can do better.
dr flames
Nitro Member
In order to pay big purses like NASCAR you have to have the money from TV and race sponsors, NASCAR has both, NHRA does not, hopefully that will change
Understandably, NHRA can't pay NASCAR-level purses but they're long past due to up them to a level that competitors can live with. If they choose to retain the status quo then they may just have to live with 10-12 entries showing up for 16-car Pro fields - and the increase in empty seats that will likely follow.
dr flames
Nitro Member
I believe you have a good point, TV ratings is the path to bigger purses and fuller fields,I hope NHRA Can find the combo to make that happen
A quicker path to more money than waiting for a better TV deal would be to add more partners. I'm a fan of Marcus Lemonis, but the Camping World deal feels like it's a little light. So, NHRA needs to really be emphasizing on biz development. Multiple partners to fill multiple holes in the purse structure, similar to what individual teams do nowadays since finding big anchor partners is so much tougher than it used to be. I'm just spitballing, but something has to change.
Hiring a producer and an audio engineer that understand what makes the sport great, and possibly limiting announcer interference might do a bit of good for the ratings, also 4K
I think the big problem with drawing more viewership and marketing partners with NHRA is the believability factor.
Any sport that is watched has to have some element or realness or relatability to it. Once upon a time when John Force raced, people saw him as a hungry competitor, ran the car differently (harder burnouts, more on kill) . That appears real. What doesn’t appear real is when everyone of his drivers has his last name or another connection to nepotism.
that tells people it’s not really about talent or skill, but who you know. There has to be the element of “man these really are the best in the world “ as opposed to they are just here because of blood and name. The same can be said about force, Schumacher, Morgan Lucas (and friend Shawn Langdon) , Kalittas etc.
At that point you’re not paying to see the best (think NFL, 100k college players that get narrowed down to 2000 guys who make it) you are really just watching Millionaires and there min drive a fast billboard.
Just think, if shumacher racing and force said they had enough and folded shop, you would be watching a bunch of pro “part timers” compete. Guys who 10 years ago ran national events in close proximity to their home, made a good run in qualifying then parked it til Sunday (this Haddock, Novelli, Paul lee etc)
I remember one of the force girls in Indy years ago running super comp. impressive looking car sure, but pretty unremarkable results. If I told prospective fans she would be a “pro” in a year or two, they’d ask on what merit. And I’d say look at the name.
To me racing was more fun when a top team can lose first round and be exiting the facility in less than two hours. Now, a guy like John can lose first round, but has 2 other cars to possibly win. He owns half the darn circus. Kalitta was notorious for flying out of etown shortly after losing. Now he has “team mates “ to watch.
pro stock for example was best when you had or believed so many names can win. Anderson, the johnsons, Allen Johnson, v Gaines, Krueger, Connolly, pawuk etc. now it’s 3-4 older names and a bunch of guys who live close to whatever national they are running.
same goes on top fuel. When the quality sheet has Tony s, kalitta, Eddie hill, Amato, McLennathan, Herbert, Millican, dixon, Bernstein etc. the class looked like a battle, now you have iPhone Vs droid.
sponsorships too need some diversity. I remember going to a handful of nationals a year and you would see beer, tobacco, sunglasses, clothing, auto parts stores, oil companies, WWF, even the Yankees. Not every new fan cares about an auto parts store which seems to be a staple now. (Advance, Napa etc) give them different topics to see product wise and you can pull more people in, not just the few people who buy tickets no matter what. Those fans are easy, part of the choir. If nascar only had tire companies sponsor cars, it would be boring and less fans. By Having Home Depot, beers, electronics manufacturers, laundry detergent etc brings people in who go see that stuff up
Close as well as the race.
not sure why it happened, if it was inevitable and part of the cycle, but the fun of events to me is gone. Used to never know what you were going to see. I brought friends to track when toliver ran the wwf car and they paid to get in and watch races as well. Used to see celebs all the time, which is not the reason I went, but cool to see and gave it a certain level of must see. Now (last 7-8 years ) I see small fields, cookie cut interviews. The skuza, bazemore, force type interviews are gone. It’s as if every driver is the same.
All seem to be same topic too, convince the camera how “fun” the car is too race. Supposed to be racing, not selling roller coaster tickets. I won’t pay 100 plus a seat to watch the Eagles to have players say they play to have fun. Can go to local park for that. I want to see guys out to win, even if it’s hard and not fun at times.
Not sure how to fix, for me, when it really boils down down to 2-3 teams competing, and no real room for under dogs, I can’t watch and follow intently.
making it less about money and nepotism would be a start. It would be great to know Torrence had the talent and earned a ride thru racing. Then you see his personal business gross over 500 million a year and say ah ha. Make it more about competition and less about watching a rich hobby. No one wants to see yachts race.
to look at other sports, NFL for example, all those guys who are yes now millionaires, for the most part came up from poverty and earned their spot on the field, not pay for it. Would anyone watch of a starting qb was playing because he paid more than the next guy for the spot? What makes it work is those guys , to avoid poverty, had to work and earn there way on it which usually means a lot of sacrifice. How much sacrifice does one believe Britney force done? She just happens to have the “talent” no one else here has to race TF? Ashley? Courtney? Height ?
sorry for the long winded post. I just remembered the glory days where even I belived one day I could race my way up to that level. And recently I realized with my name that was never in the cards.
last example I can give is, to most, what is a more legit way of being a head of a country……being elected in by people who both know and don’t know you, or being born price awaiting the throne?
Any sport that is watched has to have some element or realness or relatability to it. Once upon a time when John Force raced, people saw him as a hungry competitor, ran the car differently (harder burnouts, more on kill) . That appears real. What doesn’t appear real is when everyone of his drivers has his last name or another connection to nepotism.
that tells people it’s not really about talent or skill, but who you know. There has to be the element of “man these really are the best in the world “ as opposed to they are just here because of blood and name. The same can be said about force, Schumacher, Morgan Lucas (and friend Shawn Langdon) , Kalittas etc.
At that point you’re not paying to see the best (think NFL, 100k college players that get narrowed down to 2000 guys who make it) you are really just watching Millionaires and there min drive a fast billboard.
Just think, if shumacher racing and force said they had enough and folded shop, you would be watching a bunch of pro “part timers” compete. Guys who 10 years ago ran national events in close proximity to their home, made a good run in qualifying then parked it til Sunday (this Haddock, Novelli, Paul lee etc)
I remember one of the force girls in Indy years ago running super comp. impressive looking car sure, but pretty unremarkable results. If I told prospective fans she would be a “pro” in a year or two, they’d ask on what merit. And I’d say look at the name.
To me racing was more fun when a top team can lose first round and be exiting the facility in less than two hours. Now, a guy like John can lose first round, but has 2 other cars to possibly win. He owns half the darn circus. Kalitta was notorious for flying out of etown shortly after losing. Now he has “team mates “ to watch.
pro stock for example was best when you had or believed so many names can win. Anderson, the johnsons, Allen Johnson, v Gaines, Krueger, Connolly, pawuk etc. now it’s 3-4 older names and a bunch of guys who live close to whatever national they are running.
same goes on top fuel. When the quality sheet has Tony s, kalitta, Eddie hill, Amato, McLennathan, Herbert, Millican, dixon, Bernstein etc. the class looked like a battle, now you have iPhone Vs droid.
sponsorships too need some diversity. I remember going to a handful of nationals a year and you would see beer, tobacco, sunglasses, clothing, auto parts stores, oil companies, WWF, even the Yankees. Not every new fan cares about an auto parts store which seems to be a staple now. (Advance, Napa etc) give them different topics to see product wise and you can pull more people in, not just the few people who buy tickets no matter what. Those fans are easy, part of the choir. If nascar only had tire companies sponsor cars, it would be boring and less fans. By Having Home Depot, beers, electronics manufacturers, laundry detergent etc brings people in who go see that stuff up
Close as well as the race.
not sure why it happened, if it was inevitable and part of the cycle, but the fun of events to me is gone. Used to never know what you were going to see. I brought friends to track when toliver ran the wwf car and they paid to get in and watch races as well. Used to see celebs all the time, which is not the reason I went, but cool to see and gave it a certain level of must see. Now (last 7-8 years ) I see small fields, cookie cut interviews. The skuza, bazemore, force type interviews are gone. It’s as if every driver is the same.
All seem to be same topic too, convince the camera how “fun” the car is too race. Supposed to be racing, not selling roller coaster tickets. I won’t pay 100 plus a seat to watch the Eagles to have players say they play to have fun. Can go to local park for that. I want to see guys out to win, even if it’s hard and not fun at times.
Not sure how to fix, for me, when it really boils down down to 2-3 teams competing, and no real room for under dogs, I can’t watch and follow intently.
making it less about money and nepotism would be a start. It would be great to know Torrence had the talent and earned a ride thru racing. Then you see his personal business gross over 500 million a year and say ah ha. Make it more about competition and less about watching a rich hobby. No one wants to see yachts race.
to look at other sports, NFL for example, all those guys who are yes now millionaires, for the most part came up from poverty and earned their spot on the field, not pay for it. Would anyone watch of a starting qb was playing because he paid more than the next guy for the spot? What makes it work is those guys , to avoid poverty, had to work and earn there way on it which usually means a lot of sacrifice. How much sacrifice does one believe Britney force done? She just happens to have the “talent” no one else here has to race TF? Ashley? Courtney? Height ?
sorry for the long winded post. I just remembered the glory days where even I belived one day I could race my way up to that level. And recently I realized with my name that was never in the cards.
last example I can give is, to most, what is a more legit way of being a head of a country……being elected in by people who both know and don’t know you, or being born price awaiting the throne?
Dragracer
Nitro Member
You are absolutely right, the Camping Word sponsorship is less than Mello Yello was. Marcus said he would be helping out the racers, haven't seen that yet.
Marcus, through his Camping World, is a MAJOR if not the largest purchaser/seller of many big name products that are not only used by camping enthusiasts and he should be able to leverage those manufactures into becoming supporting partners of the PRO Series. It wouldn't hurt his business at all, it could increase his business and at the same time increase the purses.
I was reading Bobby's post. Got me to thinking about racing in the 60's & 70's. I think even back then, the racers knew a time was coming soon that they either had to be wealthy or have a sponsor to be able to compete. "Speed costs, how fast ya wanna go?" I don't think anyone then thought racing would end up like it is now. The costs have gotten so out of hand that we're left with just a few Pro racers in the nitro classes. Same with the Alky classes. Sometimes at a Divisional, you barely see 8 cars in T/AD or TA/FC. I will say one thing, racing 1000' is so quick that if you blink, you missed half of it. You have to watch the replay to see what really happened. Well, just my 2 cents.
I agree, and what’s the odd thing now is it seemed then (wasn’t born until 85) you put money to speed the car up, now it seems it takes way more money to slow them down with the rules and safety.
all hobbies are expensive I get that. To me it just seems the money there is out there has funneled down to only a couple teams. It would be like being a yankee fan finding out it would only be them and the Red Sox playing every night. When the competition level drops the wow factor goes with it.
These I’m just happy to be here, or this car is a joy to drive and it accelerates so fast doesn’t sell tickets. That’s like me telling people my motorcycle rides like butter, come pay and watch me ride.
somehow they need to round the money out. Instead of force taking in 8 or 10 million per car so he can have all these amenities and building sites, that money can run 4-5 other non force cars. Talk about being a big fish in a little puddle. After all of DSR folder up, who would he really be racing? His team mates? Whoever Jim Dunn allows to drive his car that weekend?
nwspeedshots
Nitro Member
Drag racing on TV...; like it or not, drag racing just doesn't look all that great on TV. In person, there's nothing that can compare. But no one who isn't already a fan is going to watch it on TV. I am a fan, and I don't bother to watch.
I think more - and more creative - in-car video would help. There used to be quite a bit of this, then it seemed to disappear other than an occasional go-pro video from Greg Anderson's roof or Erica Enders' floorboard showing her squealing after a win. There's been a bit more of it lately but more is needed, along with some serious audio improvement.
But let's face it - the proverbial 800 pound gorilla in the house as of late has been COVID - and he's back. Neither NHRA nor the track owners can make money when only a handful of masked fans are allowed in the stands and half the races wind up being cancelled. Until that situation settles down, if it ever does, everything else is pretty much a moot point.
All it takes to make somebody a fan of drag racing is for a racing friend to take them to the track. I took a couple of neophytes to Ennis about 20 years ago. Today, they are some of the biggest racing fans you can find. They became hooked the first time they saw a fuel car do a now almost non-existent throttle whack while warming up.
The track even had Force's in-car radio playing over the PA system after he fired the car and did one of his, also now non-existent, long burnouts. Force was talking the entire time. But, since there is only one John Force, with his gift of gab, I don't know if it would be feasible to ask other teams to allow their in-car communications to be played publicly on television.
I'm not so sure TV is the path to growing NHRA. It definitely helped NASCAR when Cale Yarborough and Bobby Allison had their helmet tossing, fist flying "discussion" about who crashed Donnie Allison at the end of the 1979 Daytona 500. I'm not saying I want to see fights. Maybe some of the more senior teams can throw their bottles of Ex-Lax at each other.
However, NHRA's TV coverage has got to focus on all the drivers and teams, and not just JFR or DSR. Why a losing JFR driver gets interviewed when the winner is overlooked is inexcusable.
No sponsor is going to give a team, or teams, money just so more "little guys" can compete. They (the sponsors) want to know that their money is going to a team with a track record of good performance, and one that will reward them with more business. They want to see their company logo on television.
I still remember a trailer I saw in the early '70s; "Drag racing will make you moderately wealthy...if you're a millionaire to begin with." It has always been a sport where the search for money to go faster is never-ending.
To be honest, I'm not too optimistic about professional drag racing's future. With more and more tracks closing, short fuel fields, smaller crowds, the Wuhan virus, low TV viewership, ever increasing costs, and the established teams getting older with little new blood coming into the sport, it's getting harder to put a positive spin on the sport's future.
I'm not saying the sky is falling. But, the clouds are getting lower.
The track even had Force's in-car radio playing over the PA system after he fired the car and did one of his, also now non-existent, long burnouts. Force was talking the entire time. But, since there is only one John Force, with his gift of gab, I don't know if it would be feasible to ask other teams to allow their in-car communications to be played publicly on television.
I'm not so sure TV is the path to growing NHRA. It definitely helped NASCAR when Cale Yarborough and Bobby Allison had their helmet tossing, fist flying "discussion" about who crashed Donnie Allison at the end of the 1979 Daytona 500. I'm not saying I want to see fights. Maybe some of the more senior teams can throw their bottles of Ex-Lax at each other.
However, NHRA's TV coverage has got to focus on all the drivers and teams, and not just JFR or DSR. Why a losing JFR driver gets interviewed when the winner is overlooked is inexcusable.
No sponsor is going to give a team, or teams, money just so more "little guys" can compete. They (the sponsors) want to know that their money is going to a team with a track record of good performance, and one that will reward them with more business. They want to see their company logo on television.
I still remember a trailer I saw in the early '70s; "Drag racing will make you moderately wealthy...if you're a millionaire to begin with." It has always been a sport where the search for money to go faster is never-ending.
To be honest, I'm not too optimistic about professional drag racing's future. With more and more tracks closing, short fuel fields, smaller crowds, the Wuhan virus, low TV viewership, ever increasing costs, and the established teams getting older with little new blood coming into the sport, it's getting harder to put a positive spin on the sport's future.
I'm not saying the sky is falling. But, the clouds are getting lower.
dr flames
Nitro Member
The TV coverage is were potential sponsors see ROI, I don’t care for all the fluff between runs, waters down the racing, that being said the fluff is needed to help new viewers understand the racing, I think showing the first 4 pairs of the pros in the first round gives a more track like experance, a little fluff for newbies then the next 4 pairs would be great, my opinion that NASCAR is doing well is the amount racing on track between fluff, yes I know two different formats, still bringing the track experience to TV viewers as close as possible is important . Everyone talks how they bring someone new to track and they love it, that gets lost in to much fluff on TV
Dragracer
Nitro Member
Obviously spectators are not ready yet looking at the crowd at Pomona today. I understand they usually have 2 qualifying runs at Pomona on Friday and only had 1 today and it was real hot but the biggest crowd was at the end of the grandstands where all the old racers sit. I would be surprised if they had 1000 today, more racers than spectators. Tomorrow will be interesting but I wouldn't bet on a big crowd.
