NFL games rarely run over 3.5 hours, and they draw 50x the viewers. Even wire-to-wire coverage of the most important golf tournaments do not run to 5.5 hours. And they draw 10x the viewers that NHRA does. Maybe the show you're discussing could be run on ESPN8 ("the ocho"), but I'm just not clear why/how anyone would run a show that long on the main channels.
I thought someone else had a great idea. Run round one on Saturday aft/evening. The current "qualifying" show could be a recap of qualifying and full round one coverage. The show for the real nerds of the sport. And it covers the longest (and often most painful) of the rounds.
The Sunday show could be the "mainstream" version. Show the highlights from qualifying and round one, and pick it up at round two. That show, with the 50min turnaround would be in the three hour neighborhood, and could often be live.
There would also be the side benefit that people who buy the tickets for the Saturday show would see actual racing that matters, not the frequent "tire blowoff" festivals they see today. Heck, you could even increase the price for Saturday's tickets.
This would even make the "top-12" qualifying format make more sense, since you'll actually be running races on Saturday. And the pressure to be "racing on Sunday" would be even more intense. You can't just run a number to make the Sunday show, you actually have to beat someone.
Yes, you'd have to redo the format of the Sunday live show. Yes, the driver intros would have to be moved. Yes, sponsors for rd1 losers wouldn't be happy.
But it would make for a great weekend of racing. And maybe increase attendance. If you want to see all the eliminations, you have to be there both Sat and Sun.
Who knows, seems like it might be a workable idea?
