Tf/fc Nhra Purse / National Event (2 Viewers)

[TOOLMAN]

NHRA payouts for each National Event, how do they compare to other types of racing such as Nascar. If a T/F-F/C should win an event they would make 8 passes total for a purse w/cont of $50,000. Driver would spend a total of 40 seconds of driving time per event, that would make payout to driver $1250.00 per second.
NASCAR payout for regular Sprint Cup event would be avg $250,000. for first place finish. Driver would spend 15,000 seconds in their car per race, that would make payout to driver $17.00 per second.
What is your thought on payouts to NHRA drivers, are they fair and is risk of injury equal in both catagories.

 

[Nunz]

Payouts to NHRA drivers suck, period. No form of motorports can be profitable to a team without sponsorships, the winner of the Sprint Cup championship may win a few Mil, but it likely cost 20Mil to do it. However, even though this is an old topic, and apples and oranges and all that, NHRA payouts have not kept pace with the spiraling costs involved in operating a race team, regardless of category.

 

[Rick Rzepka]

nunz u r sooooooo right. a cup team cost $$$$$$$$, some of these teams have 300-400 employees, how many haulers? test teams? the hotel and tire bill alone from one race? . why even go there with the question? apples and oranges is right. the payouts are what they are and as long as the teams keep showing up and taking it why would it change? are owners like schumacer,kallitta,black and mr knoll making their living from the payouts? i highly doubt it. did the nhra make a profit (non-profit org) last year? i believe they did. lucky for the nhra these people have $$$$ and an extreme love for the sport or they probably wouldnt be there. they win more than a couple million. jimmy johnson won . $7,646,421 race winnings. $350,000 special awards.$7,317,499 point fund.. $15,313,920 for the season...thats not counting diecast,hats.etc.etc. not to mention lowes pays $15,000,000 to put there name on the car. so yes it is apple and oranges big time.

 

["Dr. Dirt"]

NHRA payouts for each National Event, how do they compare to other types of racing such as Nascar. If a T/F-F/C should win an event they would make 8 passes total for a purse w/cont of $50,000. Driver would spend a total of 40 seconds of driving time per event, that would make payout to driver $1250.00 per second.
NASCAR payout for regular Sprint Cup event would be avg $250,000. for first place finish. Driver would spend 15,000 seconds in their car per race, that would make payout to driver $17.00 per second.
What is your thought on payouts to NHRA drivers, are they fair and is risk of injury equal in both catagories.

Sonny, your comparison is lacking some telling expenses such as parts carnage and engine changes (7 for NHRA vs 0 for NASCAR) and pit man-hours is substantially higher in the NHRA but your original question demonstrates a huge deficiency in payout progressions over the years for NHRA when in comparison to NASCAR.

 

[Rick Rzepka]

jeff Gordon, the series’ all-time money leader, has collected $93,300,213 during his career(15years), has the nhra paid out that much since it started? wow thats crazy..

 

[PJ]

interesting, although the burnouts are apart of the prep for the car so that time should be added as well.


I looked at the last race of both cicuits last year. Nascar winner took home $359,941 I didn't find a purse for ours but went on the 50k number you used

Nascar $2518.63 per mph
NHRA TF $170.78 per mph


Their top 10 earned 84.7million last year. I don't think our top 10 in all 4 pro categories combined earned that. Jimmy Johnson, the nascar champ, earned 15,313,920 last season. Not sure what Tony Schumacher won but safe to assume its nowhere near those numbers.

One reason that sponsors are leaving is because the teams need more and more money to be able to compete. I know of one company that had to scale back this year because the team they sponsor wanted a nearly 40% increase for the same coverage. This company could not afford that. The purses need to grow to help the sport grow. The more expensive you make it for a company to sponsor the smaller the pool is of companies there are that can afford those bills.

 

[Rick Rzepka]

Sonny, your comparison is lacking some telling expenses such as parts carnage and engine changes (7 for NHRA vs 0 for NASCAR) and pit man-hours is substantially higher in the NHRA but your original question demonstrates a huge deficiency in payout progressions over the years for NHRA when in comparison to NASCAR.

7 engines! damn, id fire that crew cheif asap. shouldnt blow em' up every run...lololol

 

[TOOLMAN]

Payouts to NHRA drivers suck, period. No form of motorports can be profitable to a team without sponsorships, the winner of the Sprint Cup championship may win a few Mil, but it likely cost 20Mil to do it. However, even though this is an old topic, and apples and oranges and all that, NHRA payouts have not kept pace with the spiraling costs involved in operating a race team, regardless of category.

It may be an old topic but it keeps coming back on payday. With the shortage of fuel and cost of operation going up we all better keep our ears up and tails pointed or we just might lose our favorite hobby.

 

[Toejam]

Sonny, one Top ten player in FC last year told me his budget per race was $125,000!!!! That includes everything from Crew salaries, both transporters, Parts, Hospitality, you name it! That means if you win every race at $40,000, you still lose over a million per year!

 

[TJ]

IMO...most owners who are into blown fuel racing are doing it for their ego has there is not much return...And I do not see why NHRA should raise the pay-out..
If you do not like the purse then do not show up and participate..
C'mon people...I love blown fuel/alcohol as much as everyone else but it is drag racing..These cars are pushed/pulled around more by humans than under their own power...Sure they are explosive and a blast to watch but the show is only for a few seconds...

 

[TOOLMAN]

I fell the purse is close if you consider the amount of time racer is on the track. The problem with NHRA is there is not enough investment in sport. The only way you can pull more investment into the sport is to show the group of investors a good R.O.I. We all would be able to do that if there were more exposure and that means more races and more TV . There is no reason that NHRA shouldn't have at least 30 races a year. (24 in 2008)
Every time the general public hears about Drag Racing, it's on the news about kids street racing and someone dying, we need to work harder to change that image.

 

[d'kid]

ya know,
we had this conversation in 68, and 78, and 88, 98, now it's 2008, same points, lack of purse, lack of TV, bad mainstream press...

More Races? I think we need less that mean more... RoT? Less National Events and More local shows, Put bottoms in the seats several times a weekend... but what will the market bare?

The HRAs have to work together and have a real playoff... think AFL vs NFL...

The more things change, the more the same issues come up...
and P/S is turning into what Funny Car was 40 years ago...

d'kid

 

[PJ]

I think the number of races is fine but they are spread out too far.

Football plays every week for 25 straight weeks (pre season, regualr season and playoffs) Hockey, baseball and basketball have several games a week.

Even nascar is more consistant.

I'm not saying run 24 straight weekends. But lets run 3 on then 1 off. It would help getting a more consistant tv time and therefore viewers.

The purse does need to increase. Its been stagnant for too long. It doesn't need to cover their complete expenses but more that the laughable sum they give now. Maybe with all the money coming in from hd they will be able to throw some into the race and season purses.

 

[The Counterfeiter]

The purse does need to increase. Its been stagnant for too long. It doesn't need to cover their complete expenses but more that the laughable sum they give now. Maybe with all the money coming in from hd they will be able to throw some into the race and season purses.[/QUOTE]

Say What? The purse for the winner of a National Event doesn't need to cover their complete expenses? You win the race and lose money - there's a plan that has been going on for years.
NASCAR used to post drivers earnings at each race - if that is still the case, I can't find that information. When those stats were posted, the last place driver in a Cup race won more than an NHRA TF or FC event champion.
If you believe that "all the money" coming in from the HD buyout is going to improve this situation, I believe you are sadly mistaken.
Our only hope is that the entire buyout deal is a vehicle for Bruton Smith to buy NHRA. He wrote a check for $340,000,000 to buy a NASCAR track so he could get a second event at LVMS. Do ya think he is spending $60,000,000 to build a drag strip in Charlotte so he can watch drag racing?

 

[Toejam]

What gets me is NHRA did NOT increase Pro purses, yet they nailed the souvenior folks hard! From $1,500 per race to $2,500 per, which comes out of the Teams pockets.

 

[yoda]

Personally not ready for the $175.00 per day ticket....

 

[MM]

until you see venues the likes of the Bristol roundy round track that are packed full with 100,000 people that paid top dollar to sit 1200 feet up in the air....you're not gonna see NASCAR like payouts....its worse than comparing apples to oranges....it's like comparing a watermelon to a pile of crap


PS.......everyone go look at the NHRA.com photo of the week!!

 

[none]

Why is it always NASCAR?
Let's compare to F-1, cost to field a car vs. payout.

Alan

 

[none]

Don't forget to add into the equation that NASCAR drivers make a pretty good chunk from endorsements that NHRA drivers (with the exception of a very few)don't make.

 

[PJ]

I don't believe that we need to have purses equal to nascar or F1. I do beleive however that they current prizes are far below where they should be