The Fan Experience (1 Viewer)

[Nunz]

This is a great article, and absolutely nails it. Time to stop blaming the economy and threatening weather for huge vacancies in the stands. Times are different, very different, from the early days of racing. And it's not just drag racing, not even just motorsports. It's time the NHRA starts acting like a company and gets proactive, it needs to repackage the sport. Don't have to say much more, it's all in here:

http://www.competitionplus.com/drag...mmentary-the-fan-experience-is-most-important

 

[legendman]

Bring back throttle whacks, dry hops and 1320 foot racing!!!

 

[Nunz]

Robert, read the article. Those things are cool, cuz we remember them, but do you think bringing them back will suddenly fill the stands? I don't. It's not as simple as that. What industry do you know of that can thrive today while using a formula from 20-30-40 yrs ago? Nothing stays the same, and especially in today's world, changes come faster and more often.

 

[Toejam]

I'm waiting for the first Geezer to chime in and lecture all of us about how Wonderful everything was back in 1972, Yada...Yada...Yada!

 

[legendman]

Robert, read the article. Those things are cool, cuz we remember them, but do you think bringing them back will suddenly fill the stands? I don't. It's not as simple as that. What industry do you know of that can thrive today while using a formula from 20-30-40 yrs ago? Nothing stays the same, and especially in today's world, changes come faster and more often.

Only thing that would suddenly fill the stands is free admission.

The experience in the pits is one of the reasons I went, with that gone it's just not worth it to me. I was spoiled by the 90's experience.

 

[yoda]

More bathrooms and less, but wider seats... That's the fix? We already see the results of less seats (closing grandstands at 800 feet)- a much more uncomfortable experience for the sardines a.k.a. the paying fan.

Non-race entertainment? Go to Disneyland then. Come to the drags for the cars and the competition- I don't see any other reason to come. Especially if it means compromising the sportsman racer any more (how much further down the food chain CAN you move teams that are out of pocket by 6 figures a year and STILL have to pit in a mud hole?). If you need more entertainment at the races other than the actual RACES, you may have picked the wrong place to spend your expendable income.

How about we make it substantially more affordable to attend the races, both for the potential fan and the racer alike. Get rid of the overhead. Lose the things that are weighing down the race experience. I'm not a fan of the circus atmosphere in the pits anymore- it was a better experience to cruise the pits, catch an autograph and a few pics, grab a cheap burger and watch the cars duel it out from either a reserved seat at the starting line (and NOT one at 800 feet), or down in the lights.

I think everyone is forgetting the real basics- its supposed to be about the racing, people. All that other stuff is just distraction. Sorry Michael doesn't see it this way- seems he's been swayed more by the bean-counters than the car guys....

 

[Nunz]

Sometimes it's hard to have a discussion in this format, vs. having a bunch of guys bench racing and shooting the breeze in person. Anyway, IMO, yes it's about the racing. I'm a hardcore guy, I'll drive to my local track when there's a Quick 16 show happening, it's a riot. Maybe 12 people in the stands. There's all kinds of pure drag racing going on. I think the discussion is about the "Big Show". If it went away, there will still be racing. But if things don't change, that's what will happen, drag racing may become entirely a hobby sport again, with no professional tier. It's just an evolution, if we are to continue to have Bellagio type facilities, with out of this world performances, and teams that can make a living at this, then the economics need to work.

 

[Muddy]

I'm waiting for the first Geezer to chime in and lecture all of us about how Wonderful everything was back in 1972, Yada...Yada...Yada!

I'm a Geezer and I'll tell you there were many many problems back in the day but it wasn't with fans showing up. Bad tracks, unsafe cars, track operators that wouldn't pay after the races and rampant bending/breaking of the rules to name just a few items.

Having said that I believe before this decade is out drag racing will look more like it did in 1972 than it does in 2013. Today there are too many national events, travel costs are out of control, way to much labor cost and it's too expensive to attend let alone compete etc.

My crystal ball is no better than anyone else's has but if I had to guess I think the days of match races, divisional points races and 4 or 5 national events at super tracks that will handle quarter mile races are on the way back. The current financial model for both the racers and track operators just won't support the ever increasing overhead. JMO

 

[mick]

.......The current financial model for both the racers and track operators just won't support the ever increasing overhead. JMO

i agree john, i think castrol & ford departing is a reflection of this; john is already admitting that he needs to build
more value in his team outside of nhra.....why? to run his business and remain at his current comfort level
....the old saying 'your lifestyle will expand in proportion to the size of your wallet'.

dry hops / burnouts / nitro cackle / track length / throttle wacks / PS wheel stands / chasing 1/4 mi. et & mph records
ok, believe whatever you want and tell me the current version is every bit as entertaining as 20-25 years ago
I've never felt like the track or nhra owed me any over the top accommodations or amenities; it's a *#cking dragstrip with
a tower, bleachers, concessions and pits and it all used to be an unbelievable experience.
give me a great race, great racers, great winners and great losers.
count the damn points if you must, it's not necessary to hold a great event.

one thing i think the nhra is doing right is the trend towards pit hospitality; it a unique up close and personal way
for sponsors to entertain clients, employees or customers.

 

[yoda]

...one thing i think the nhra is doing right is the trend towards pit hospitality; it a unique up close and personal way
for sponsors to entertain clients, employees or customers.

Isn't the Hospitality part of the deal between the sponsor and the team? NHRA just designates out the pit space... Those that came on the scene first with that extra hardware were, at first, envied, followed by resented for taking up so much valuable asphalt.

 

[Nunz]

NHRA charges the teams a lot for the hospitality real estate.

 

[mick]

nunz and martin, pretty sure you're both rite, so really as i stated it nhra just
benefits by it, didn't really create it, but i do think they(nhra) now embrace it....and profit from it.
I like it, hope it increases.

 

[PJ]

Not sure that there is anything wrong with drag racing. I see Norwalk fill the stands for non national events, smaller local tracks put together special events that bring people in and even Pinks was able to do well showing 8-10 second cars.

The big show is great but....has it grown beyond itself. The cost to race, the cost of overhead, priorities being out of whack by the powers that be.

 

[yoda]

nunz and martin, pretty sure you're both rite, so really as i stated it nhra just
benefits by it, didn't really create it, but i do think they(nhra) now embrace it....and profit from it.
I like it, hope it increases.

I feel it alienates the crowd... Being on the inside always felt like I was on display in a zoo. I don't like them.

 

[Toejam]

I wish I had a Dollar Everytime somebody predicted NHRA's and Pro Drag racing's demise the past 10-15 years!

 

[Nunz]

Joe, in one sense I agree, I remember a period in the early '70s where between the energy crunch and escalating costs, the future looked bleak, and i was just a kid. Here we are, 40 years later, with the same fears, but still going strong. Like I said earlier, this isn't so much about drag racing in the purest sense, as it is about the big show. I think we need a healthy big show, as much as we need a healthy grassroots level of racing. And we have quite a bit in between, with all the different associations, circuits, etc. It just seems that somehow we've just missed "it" over the decades. Champions in other sports become set for life. How many champions have we seen have to park, and go do something else? In some cases go broke becoming champions. So I think the conversation is, again, about preserving and growing a healthy "big show", and that begins by filling seats...

 

[mick]

I feel it alienates the crowd... Being on the inside always felt like I was on display in a zoo. I don't like them.

it may alienate some, and an equal amount may come to the races because of it, the rest of the crowd indifferent.
football stadiums are being replaced with the same capacity seating but more 'suites' for those looking for a greater
comfort level.....i think tower/grandstand suites and hospitality afford the same; it's a sign of the times for sporting venues.
sun, bleachers, corndogs & beer are fine for me; others need a little more (which is sad really)

 

[Mike]

Joe, I was gonna say 62 but nevermind

 

[PJ]

I wish I had a Dollar Everytime somebody predicted NHRA's and Pro Drag racing's demise the past 10-15 years!

It is by no means dead but ignoring the issues doesn't not bode well.

It's not all doom and gloom but companies that do not react positively to change and create the next great thing, often become former companies.

You can't look at things now and think it is going as well as it was 10 years ago. Now that all of the factors are NHRA created, for instance the economy hit everyone hard, but how they react to it and what they do to get through is, is a result of their moves. It hasn't been all bad by any means. Sure Winston left but they got Coke on board. While we can argue the monetary difference between the two, it is still a huge positive step that they made.

We can counter that though with issues that have made it tougher. Rising cost of attendance, racing, marketing questions, countdown and such.

 

[Nick Name]

I wish I had a Dollar Everytime somebody predicted NHRA's and Pro Drag racing's demise the past 10-15 years!

Joe; It is demising right in front of you...and you don't see it.