Record crowds??? (2 Viewers)

[Toejam]

First off, I have nothing agains't what Kenny Knowling is doing with the ADRL! Give fans a good show for free, what can be wrong with that right? But I am getting tired of all this "Record crowd" stuff I keep seeing on Comp plus and DRO! Seeing 25-30,000 at an NHRA Natl. event knowing full well 90% of those fans paid $45-60 to get in is a far better barometer of the popularity of Drag racing than letting 40,000 people in for Free IMO! I saw where some guy from ADRL claimed that the 41,000 fans they got at Houston Raceway park was a record for the sport! Maybe Tony George should print up 5,000,000 free tickets to the Indy 500 next year, who knows maybe a Million people might show up!

 

[Joker]

First off, I have nothing agains't what Kenny Knowling is doing with the ADRL! Give fans a good show for free, what can be wrong with that right? But I am getting tired of all this "Record crowd" stuff I keep seeing on Comp plus and DRO! Seeing 25-30,000 at an NHRA Natl. event knowing full well 90% of those fans paid $45-60 to get in is a far better barometer of the popularity of Drag racing than letting 40,000 people in for Free IMO! I saw where some guy from ADRL claimed that the 41,000 fans they got at Houston Raceway park was a record for the sport! Maybe Tony George should print up 5,000,000 free tickets to the Indy 500 next year, who knows maybe a Million people might show up!

Joe it doesnt matter if 40k pay to get in, if 41k show up for free, its still a record crowd. The ADRL is where its at. Its drag racing at its best. I dont give a sh*t how they do it. And though it may be free to get in, its certainly not free as with anything. Its a brilliant idea and its working out quite well for them.

Would you rather have 5k people at $100 a piece ($500k)
or
40k people at $50 a piece ($2m)

And dont forget, Kenny and the ADRL may let you in free but for every ticket stub they collect the National Gaurd is giving them money for it. Its briallant.

 

[PJ]

Plus its only free to get in the spectator side. You have to pay the upgrade to get in pit side

 

[Raconteur]

First off, I have nothing agains't what Kenny Knowling is doing with the ADRL! Give fans a good show for free, what can be wrong with that right? But I am getting tired of all this "Record crowd" stuff I keep seeing on Comp plus and DRO! Seeing 25-30,000 at an NHRA Natl. event knowing full well 90% of those fans paid $45-60 to get in is a far better barometer of the popularity of Drag racing than letting 40,000 people in for Free IMO! I saw where some guy from ADRL claimed that the 41,000 fans they got at Houston Raceway park was a record for the sport! Maybe Tony George should print up 5,000,000 free tickets to the Indy 500 next year, who knows maybe a Million people might show up!

Hey Joe,

Do you attend anything but NHRA events? Ever been to another sanctioning body show like ADRL? The problem with all drag racing is the age of the person buying the ticket. Many people who have never seen a drag racing show are coming to the ADRL to experience drag racing for the first time.

The ADRL system works fine, record crowds are record crowds and Kenny Nowling is doing something for the future of our sport... new spectators.

The empty grandstand seat doesn't buy a hot dog or a beer.

 

[Joker]

Plus its only free to get in the spectator side. You have to pay the upgrade to get in pit side

Not true. Its free to get in. They charge like $5 or $10 to park or at HRP this year they let you bring your car in the pits for $20 and you could park up on the fence which we did and cooked all day. It was great. Ask anyone that was there. And some tracks they do charge $20 or something if you want to have reserved seating up by the burnout box and starting line but thats it. Your free ticket will get you to the pits its just the other stuff that cost.

And Darr's right, a newbie who knows nothing isint going to pay $50 to attend a NHRA race but if you give them a free ticket they are more willing to go and then become hooked. This past year for HRP's ADRL race I know I personally gave out over 100 tickets to people who have never been and about 30 of them showed up and have even came to a bracket race since then.

 

[scubasteve]

I'LL be @ norwalk this weekend, tickets arent free but wouldnt matter id go anyways . i dont care if its 1/8 1/4 1000' etc etc . drag racing is my way off life basically, and them adrl cars are just *****'n. I HATE WINTER . maybe joe will let me move in with him in nm during the winter . i can be your eye candy spotter

 

[na]

From what I've read online the ADRL puts on a great show and if it's free and putting butts in the seats......more power to them. If they came out west I'd go check 'em out.

 

[Nate]

It is a heck of a show. Extreme 10.5 , drag radial and extreme prostock are awsome classes to watch. Free tickets , a few bucks to park and some hot dog money aint a bad deal for the show. Plus it is cool as hell to see guys like Glidden out there laying it down on a 10.5, with a small block single 4 barrel on the jug

Video - JDM Sponsored Bill Glidden's Ford Powered 06 GTO at ADRL - MIR

 

[PJ]

Not true. Its free to get in. They charge like $5 or $10 to park or at HRP this year they let you bring your car in the pits for $20 and you could park up on the fence which we did and cooked all day. It was great. Ask anyone that was there. And some tracks they do charge $20 or something if you want to have reserved seating up by the burnout box and starting line but thats it. Your free ticket will get you to the pits its just the other stuff that cost.

And Darr's right, a newbie who knows nothing isint going to pay $50 to attend a NHRA race but if you give them a free ticket they are more willing to go and then become hooked. This past year for HRP's ADRL race I know I personally gave out over 100 tickets to people who have never been and about 30 of them showed up and have even came to a bracket race since then.

I think I went to an adrl event?? Maybe it wasn't, tickets were free to get in and I think 20$ to get into the pits

 

[Terry Stears]

I was at Martin and it was free to get in and 10 bucks to park and that was all. It was a great show,and I hope Alex Hossler goes to the finals at Nowalk.

 

[PJ]

I'm an idiot now that I think of it it was nmca or something like that, sorry

 

[Wes]

The ADRL method is nothing new...the free ticket idea goes back to the 60's to accomplish getting butts in the seats. Knowling has taken the idea many steps beyond and made it work wonders for the industry.

You guys ever wonder why when you call Joe on his statements he never answers?

 

[Toejam]

You guys ever wonder why when you call Joe on his statements he never answers?

Say what Wes? I work 60 hrs. a week to support this addiction, sorry if I can't be on here 24 hrs. a day. As for the ADRL's where it's at? If free tickets is the only way this sport can survive, than it's marketability must be Far worse than any of us ever thought. Do you think they'd get anywhere near those crowd's if they charged $15-20 a pop?

As for Darr's suggestion about the Average kid 16-24 can't afford a $50 ticket? There's some truth to that, I've always thought NHRA's tickets are Too High! It's bad enough for me going by myself to these deals, if I had a family I'd be lucky to go to 1-2 races a year. But even with the prices NHRA does charge, the Stands are pretty full on Sat/Sun in most markets if the Weather's good so what incentive does NHRA have to lower them?

Would I attend an ADRL race? I probably would, even though 1/8 mile doesn't float my boat. But being in New Mexico the Drag racing options are limited. My Point in all of this is; the only thing Free tickets prove is just how popular something is when you don't have to pay for it!

Wes, Darr and Justin; How over-run would Indy, Pomona or Dallas be if NHRA Tickets were Free?

 

[StockersRock]

I'd love to see them come up north to New England!

 

[JFrechJr]

My Point in all of this is; the only thing Free tickets prove is just how popular something is when you don't have to pay for it!

Ill agree with ya on that Joe. I mean come on who doesnt take a free sample at a grociery store and NEVER buy the product they are selling? Huh Huh? haha

 

[Nunz]

Joe, it's all good man. I love NHRA racing, and I'm a die-hard like you, so I'll pay, but what the ADRL is doing is cool, it's a whole different biz model. And like others have said, what a fantastic way to bring new blood into the sport. The races you mentioned are decades old, and have a huge following, so they don't need free tickets (although NHRA would be smart to market price cuts given the economy & gas & etc.). I know for a fact I'm as hard-core as you, read my post on the Indy memories thread, but I am excited that there are other series out there growing the sport on both the fan and participant sides. Also, if you were a promoter, could you imagine the power of having 40K people at your race to up-sell, sell T-shirts & souveniers to, food & drinks, etc.?

 

[clwill]

There are a number of businesses that work just fine off the "give it away and make it up on the peripheral business" model. How about radio stations or network TV for example? Or today's hottest example, Google? This is a fine business model, it works exceptionally well -- they've just decided to make money in ways other than the gate.

Ever take at look at the crowds at an NHRA event? Notice the age skew toward the "aging hot rodder"? How many 16 - 25 year olds do you see? Not enough... Everything anyone can do to bring new folks to the sport is a good thing.

I think it's not only a very interesting business model, but every drag racing fan should be ecstatic that they're bringing thousands of newcomers, rice-burners, and street racers out to sanctioned drags.

 

[Toejam]

Nunzio I think some here are missunderstanding my intent here, I'm a Drag race fan period. I'm not going to slam anyone's favorite class or the ADRL preticularly, I just feel these News releases about Record crowds is pretty misleading IMO.

Christopher while the bulk of fans at NHRA races are over 35, I think the recent influx of younger drivers such as Ashley, JR and Hillary have spliked the number of younger fans we see as opposed to say 3-4 years ago. NHRA used to have a ticket policy that for every one adult ticket, two kids under 15 were admitted free! Why they discontinued that is beyond me.

 

[Greggo]

NHRA used to have a ticket policy that for every one adult ticket, two kids under 15 were admitted free! Why they discontinued that is beyond me.

I know you know the answer but I'll give it anyways - MONEY!!!

 

[Rajunz]

...............The ADRL is where its at. Its drag racing at its best..................

Well, that's your opinion Justin, therefore it must be wrong......................