Record crowds??? (1 Viewer)

[Raconteur]

...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.

You have previously mentioned TV's "Driving Force" as finding younger fans through dragstrip turnstiles, is this your own "Optical Data", a personal intuitive feeling or a premonition or have you found any Official stats to support younger ticket buyers stepping up to attend NHRA National events?

Not much has changed in the age department except all of us fans getting older. The trick will be to find, attract and keep the next generation of fans. There's the Next Level rather than an illusion of progress.

Darr Hawthorne

 

[Joker]

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

Wouldnt be the first time I've been told that and I'm sure it wont be the last..

 

[JFrechJr]

Not much has changed in the age department except all of us fans getting older. The trick will be to find, attract and keep the next generation of fans. There's the Next Level rather than an illusion of progress.

Darr Hawthorne

I dont know about that. I saw a lot of younger (my age) people at Norwalk.

 

[Raconteur]

I dont know about that. I saw a lot of younger (my age) people at Norwalk.

We were chatting about NHRA events, I don't doubt your observations... the Boise Nightfire Nationals had more young people with their fathers than most NHRA National events.

We all need to find ways of bringing in the next generation.

 

[JFrechJr]

We were chatting about NHRA events, I don't doubt your observations... the Boise Nightfire Nationals had more young people with their fathers than most NHRA National events.

We all need to find ways of bringing in the next generation.

As was I. The NHRA national event at Norwalk.

 

[Toejam]

You have previously mentioned TV's "Driving Force" as finding younger fans through dragstrip turnstiles, is this your own "Optical Data", a personal intuitive feeling or a premonition or have you found any Official stats to support younger ticket buyers stepping up to attend NHRA National events?

Not much has changed in the age department except all of us fans getting older. The trick will be to find, attract and keep the next generation of fans. There's the Next Level rather than an illusion of progress.

Darr Hawthorne

If you want to use the term "Optical Data" as my assertion that younger fans are coming to track than I'll take it! I go to enough races to observe who's there walking the pits and sitting in the stands. And Yes I bet Driving Force has made a difference with younger fans, I think John Frech jr can speak for the younger people he saw at Norwalk!

 

[Raconteur]

If you want to use the term "Optical Data" as my assertion that younger fans are coming to track than I'll take it! I go to enough races to observe who's there walking the pits and sitting in the stands. And Yes I bet Driving Force has made a difference with younger fans, I think John Frech jr can speak for the younger people he saw at Norwalk!

Optical Data is good for you, we'll all see in ten years or so.

 

[jackass]

Do you think they'd get anywhere near those crowd's if they charged $15-20 a pop?

Actualy Joe i can answer that question... YES they will and yes they do.... Rockingham Dragway, who hosts next months ADRL Dragstock event.. put tickets to the event on sale on its web site for $10 for friday and $30 for saturday.... and actualy sold several. When asked why they would pay when they can get them in a few weeks for free..... that wanted to make sure they got them... didn't want to take a chance and miss free tickets and not get in.. since the last couple years.. the gate was cut off to any new sales do to an over flowing crowd capacity...and the last two years.. several thousand people showed up and PAID to get in at the gate....

For years.. Rockingham Dragway hosted the Winston Invatational NHRA event.. which ranked in the top 5 of attended NHRA events during those years.... The attendance for the ROCK's ADRL events has surpassed those events by huge amounts.

The crowd split for the ADRL events between Drag fans and none drag fans.. is about 50/50 for rockingham. The event feeds both drag and non drag fans needs.... for the Drag fan it feeds a great show of compitition and close racing.. at a discount price. for the non drag fan it offers great entertainment at a greatly reduced cost to a family.

On a couple Pro mod web sites i have posted my address for people wanting free tickets to send a SASE and how many tickets they want and i can send them to them.. so far i have recived requests for 1200 plus tickets and growing... from as far north as Maine... far south as Miami ... from as far west as Cali... all stating they are coming JUST for the ADRL event.

Also.. i have recived a couple hundred requests for tickets from the Concord/Mooresville Area.... go figure...

I know that someone involved with the NHRA/Z-max event has been lobbying very hard to get the Jegs Pro Mod series to add the date this year to the event... or so the rumor mill goes...

In todays economic times you have to get creative to have a successful event. and i Believe that the ADRL has done that.. its finacialy successful for the tracks, the racers the ADRL and the fans... and most of all its a proven ROI for the sponsors....why else would the ARMY National Gaurd come calling to be part of the series?


Billy Weeks
Rockingham Dragway
Marketing Sales Assistant. (as of june 2008)

 

[Toejam]

Actualy Joe i can answer that question... YES they will and yes they do.... Rockingham Dragway, who hosts next months ADRL Dragstock event.. put tickets to the event on sale on its web site for $10 for friday and $30 for saturday.... and actualy sold several. When asked why they would pay when they can get them in a few weeks for free..... that wanted to make sure they got them... didn't want to take a chance and miss free tickets and not get in.. since the last couple years.. the gate was cut off to any new sales do to an over flowing crowd capacity...and the last two years.. several thousand people showed up and PAID to get in at the gate....

For years.. Rockingham Dragway hosted the Winston Invatational NHRA event.. which ranked in the top 5 of attended NHRA events during those years.... The attendance for the ROCK's ADRL events has surpassed those events by huge amounts.

The crowd split for the ADRL events between Drag fans and none drag fans.. is about 50/50 for rockingham. The event feeds both drag and non drag fans needs.... for the Drag fan it feeds a great show of compitition and close racing.. at a discount price. for the non drag fan it offers great entertainment at a greatly reduced cost to a family.

On a couple Pro mod web sites i have posted my address for people wanting free tickets to send a SASE and how many tickets they want and i can send them to them.. so far i have recived requests for 1200 plus tickets and growing... from as far north as Maine... far south as Miami ... from as far west as Cali... all stating they are coming JUST for the ADRL event.

Also.. i have recived a couple hundred requests for tickets from the Concord/Mooresville Area.... go figure...

I know that someone involved with the NHRA/Z-max event has been lobbying very hard to get the Jegs Pro Mod series to add the date this year to the event... or so the rumor mill goes...

In todays economic times you have to get creative to have a successful event. and i Believe that the ADRL has done that.. its finacialy successful for the tracks, the racers the ADRL and the fans... and most of all its a proven ROI for the sponsors....why else would the ARMY National Gaurd come calling to be part of the series?


Billy Weeks
Rockingham Dragway
Marketing Sales Assistant. (as of june 2008)

Billy are the $10-30 tickets reserved? I can see wanting to pay the $30 if it mean't I got a reserved seat in return! Look I didn't mean this to sound like a pissing match between NHRA and ADRL crowds! If the Rock gets crowds like that great, I was targeting the free aspect that many ADRL races are pronouncing as "Record crowds".

And Darr, if Drag racing doesn't get the next generation as we all hope it does. Than the NHRA will itself become it's own Nostalgia series, and there's nothing anybody can do about it! If younger drivers such as Ashley Force and JR Todd don't pull in the younger fans, than I don't know what can! We can choose to support the sport as is, or it just fades away...

 

[Nunz]

Joe, maybe we have to have two records, one for a "record paid crowd" and another for a "record free ticket crowd". Just messin'

 

[jackass]

I guess i should have clarified..

Friday
$10 for adults, $5 for children 6-12, general admission..sit where ya can..

Saturday..
$30 adults, $15 children 6-12, $10 0-5 , reserved seating plus general addmission(another $20 ticket or a free one), "Tower Of Power" seats near the starting line pit side.

$20 general admission adults, $5 general addmission children 6-12,

In the past. Parking in the main lot is free out front and across the road at the Oval.... we also offer $30 preffered tailgate parking..(inside front side gate behind concrete grandstands) and $20 Pit side parking (which i believe is the second back lot of the dragway). this is for both friday and saturday....

3 years ago at my first DRAGSTOCK event i parked on the back side of the Rockingham 1 mile oval and walked to the strip over a half mile away.. when i found out about the other parking..bought a parking pass.. walked back to the car and dove up to park closer..... well worth it....lol..


As far as record crowds goes...

the people that realy count as far as who wants to know about the record crowds are the sponsors... and when they compare the numbers from the accounting firm on the tickets turned in at the ADRL gates. compared to other numbers given to them to get them to sponsor other events that offer drag racing as the attraction. and the numbers are larger for that one day.. either bought ticket or free... its a record number for the sports one day attandance for a drag event and for their "Impressions" from a drag event which provides them with their "ROI" and shows the value to the companys sponsoring the event.

So that makes the ADRL claim "Legit". not a false or misleading statement.

Billy

 

[Wes]

Is there any dispute that Woodstock or the Super Stock Nationals @ York were record crowds in their given genre yet no concrete data can be generated as to the number of sold tickets vs. actual attendance? Remember when NHRA used to publish "attendance" numbers following each national event? I can tell you first-hand that they were totally fabricated and false. When Bill Bader purchased IHRA he vowed to never claim any attendance number...that has changed recently under Live Nation and current management. Hell...each time our local track has the Outlaw Fuel Altereds in the house they get a record crowd...but it only means anything to that track and that series.

As a 30-something racer I can attest to there being a huge age gap at the tracks...not just national events. Even the competitors are missing for the most part from 16-40. We have some younguns racing with us...but mostly because their parents do. Friday night test and tune has a huge number of 16-28 year olds but if there is any formality to the racing program they are nowhere to be found. All of my racing buddies are scattered in age from 40-60...and Aspen and I are the pups in the group.

As I have been preaching for the last 25 years...the world does not revolve around NHRA! There are plenty of other venues/series in which to compete and each one of those is entitled to its own PR campaign. Just because a track might host an NHRA national, divisional, or bracket finals event does not bind them to the pitiful PR that NHRA vomits on a weekly basis...in fact the more successful tracks in the country recognize that. The ones that allow themselves to continue to drink the Kool-Aid are the ones mired in mediocrity. Might I say the same for racers, fans, sponsors, and media types? Sure I can.

 

[Deby]

When ADRL first began they didn't give the tickets away...they attracted fairly large crowds of paying customers...then came the negative stuff from the NHRA...not wanting them to run on their sanctioned tracks...seemed like they didn't want the competition...it was about that time that Mr. Knowling came up with the plan to give away free tickets and really bring in the crowds. Now i'm not an insider on any of this...just my speculation...but with the interest that Knowling generated no way was any other sanctioning body going to stop ADRL.

 

[Toejam]

Is there any dispute that Woodstock or the Super Stock Nationals @ York were record crowds in their given genre yet no concrete data can be generated as to the number of sold tickets vs. actual attendance? Remember when NHRA used to publish "attendance" numbers following each national event? I can tell you first-hand that they were totally fabricated and false. When Bill Bader purchased IHRA he vowed to never claim any attendance number...that has changed recently under Live Nation and current management. Hell...each time our local track has the Outlaw Fuel Altereds in the house they get a record crowd...but it only means anything to that track and that series.

As a 30-something racer I can attest to there being a huge age gap at the tracks...not just national events. Even the competitors are missing for the most part from 16-40. We have some younguns racing with us...but mostly because their parents do. Friday night test and tune has a huge number of 16-28 year olds but if there is any formality to the racing program they are nowhere to be found. All of my racing buddies are scattered in age from 40-60...and Aspen and I are the pups in the group.

As I have been preaching for the last 25 years...the world does not revolve around NHRA! There are plenty of other venues/series in which to compete and each one of those is entitled to its own PR campaign. Just because a track might host an NHRA national, divisional, or bracket finals event does not bind them to the pitiful PR that NHRA vomits on a weekly basis...in fact the more successful tracks in the country recognize that. The ones that allow themselves to continue to drink the Kool-Aid are the ones mired in mediocrity. Might I say the same for racers, fans, sponsors, and media types? Sure I can.

Let's remember the cost factor, most kids 18-24 can't afford a Race car. And more so won't plop down $40-50 to watch Drag racing! So while we complain that the younger generation's not supporting Drag racing, lets remember how much it costs to attend or Race!

 

[Raconteur]

Let's remember the cost factor, most kids 18-24 can't afford a Race car. And more so won't plop down $40-50 to watch Drag racing! So while we complain that the younger generation's not supporting Drag racing, lets remember how much it costs to attend or Race!

Joe you will find that much of the "younger generation" has very little concept of what drag racing is on any level, local or national, unless dad, grampa or an older sibling was interested in our sport.

That's why free tickets and special promotions are such an important part of rebuilding both spectator attendance and racers for the future.

 

[sharkman]

Free or not, I'll be at the ADRL World finals at Ennis this Oct. it's a great show, and it's cheap!