The sport needs more character and Susan Wade and Bill Stephens tell it perfectly (1 Viewer)

[Huge]

Mr. Stephens is mistaken. If anyone thinks drag racing is boring, then they are not gonna watch, period. No hyped-up interview will change that.

You need to let the drivers be themselves. To ask Doug Kalitta to copy Clay Milliken is just wrong.

I agree 100%.

 

[Billy]

Mr. Stephens is mistaken. If anyone thinks drag racing is boring, then they are not gonna watch, period. No hyped-up interview will change that.

You need to let the drivers be themselves. To ask Doug Kalitta to copy Clay Milliken is just wrong.

I politely disagree and I am constantly being misquoted. At no time have I ever suggested or inferred that drag racing is boring. The sport speaks for itself, however there is less TV vieweship, less media coverage, and a lack of overall "buzz" being generated by the sport compared to what you can find in other racings series. I would also point out that NO DRIVER who attended the seminar in Indy disagreed with the premise that they need to do a better job of expressing themselves when in the spotlight.

People, WILL watch a sport in which the suspense, drama, and conflict between passionate competitors adds meaning to the outcome. At present, we have a sport that's got all the excitement and visual electricty of any on the planet. But when drivers get out of their cars and look like they just came back from the grocery store, say something nice about their sponsor, crew chief, and opponent, it becomes predictable and that's the best way to discourage anyone from staying tuned in.

The problem that exists is that the drivers, the people who are competing in the sport and whom the fans come to see race, need to express more emotion, passion, and competitive energy when they compete. They, for the most part, are reluctant to say what they really feel about their opponents; they don't honestly convey their excitement and satisfaction of beating their opponent, rather they only express their happiness of winning--and there's a difference between the two. And they miss opportunities to tap into their competitive instincts to get "inside their opponents helmets" and take their opponents out of their comfort zone--a tactic used in just about every other professional sport to try to gain an advantage. Those are the elements that add the unexpected to the sport, they create rivalries and tension and all of the confrontational situations that come from racers determined to win and doing what's necessary to reach their goals.

The term"hyped up interview" totally misses the point. This isn't about hyping up anything; this is about taking what already exists within the emotions of every driver and letting it reveal itself. I would have been laughed out of the room by those drivers in Indy if I even remotely suggested they "hype up" their interviews. My message is that if winning is why you're out there and it means everything to you and losing to an opponent is the worst feeling in the world and when you get beaten by someone you don't like it, then don't be afraid to say so. And I can tell you from the numerous conversations I've had with drivers for the 12 years I worked for ESPN, all of them feel that way and are beginning to realize they need to be more emphatic in how they express those feelings.

Finally, as my previous post clearly states, I am not, nor would I ever suggest drivers become someone they're not Asking "Doug Kalitta to copy Clay Millican" is absurd and I would think I deserve more credit than that. I was standing with Doug Kalitta in 2006 when he lost the championship to Tony Schumacher in Pomona when Tony made "The Run". Did you see the emotion on Doug's face? Was he copying Clay Millican, and yet, it was compelling to see his reaction to what had just happened. Why don't we see more of that emotion all the time? Certainly losing the championship is much more demoralizing than losing the first round in Atlanta or Norwalk but shouldn't every round and every race mean something? If people watching our sport don't perceive the emotions and passions which come with winning and losing every single round in this sport, they walk away with the impression that it's no big whoop whether you win or lose out there--and we all know that isn't the case.

Again, I hope I've cleared up any misconceptions.

 

[stanzig44]

Why don't we see more of that emotion all the time? Certainly losing the championship is much more demoralizing than losing the first round in Atlanta or Norwalk but shouldn't every round and every race mean something? If people watching our sport don't perceive the emotions and passions which come with winning and losing every single round in this sport, they walk away with the impression that it's no big whoop whether you win or lose out there--and we all know that isn't the case.

I hate to say it but I believe this is a product of the Countdown. Atlanta or Norwalk or heck even Indy is just another of the 16 "regular season" races. All that matters is that you need to win enough rounds in the first 16 races to be in the top 10 to make the Countdown. Not even try to be #1 in points as Hight proved in 2009. I know this isn't a Countdown discussion but I do believe this is taking some of the emotion out of the "regular season"

 

[mike]

I hate to say it but I believe this is a product of the Countdown. Atlanta or Norwalk or heck even Indy is just another of the 16 "regular season" races. All that matters is that you need to win enough rounds in the first 16 races to be in the top 10 to make the Countdown. Not even try to be #1 in points as Hight proved in 2009. I know this isn't a Countdown discussion but I do believe this is taking some of the emotion out of the "regular season"

I agree...it really bothers me when a driver just talks about "going rounds" and almost never about winning the @#%$ race...I just hate that some drivers seem to look at winning a race as just winning four more rounds...

and I still believe that a lot of drag race fans are fans not because of the drivers but because of the CARS...maybe not so many now that the cars are so homogenized, but still, I suspect it is a significant percentage...

 

[Toejam]

I hate to say it but I believe this is a product of the Countdown. Atlanta or Norwalk or heck even Indy is just another of the 16 "regular season" races. All that matters is that you need to win enough rounds in the first 16 races to be in the top 10 to make the Countdown. Not even try to be #1 in points as Hight proved in 2009. I know this isn't a Countdown discussion but I do believe this is taking some of the emotion out of the "regular season"

Of course it is! The Clowndown as I call it has made the first 15 races irrelelvent! You could have a 250 Pt. Lead and about 150 Pts gets taken away!

 

[d'kid]

It's about the Crew Chiefs and crews, Tommy D., Rahn, Hopsing, Prock, Guido, Zippy, Coil, Bernie, The Bros. O, Hartman, AJ, Brooks, Green, Todd....

The loose nut holding the butterflies is important Repeatability is key. Reaction is key. The ability to NOT let emotion into the car is paramount.

One thing I did Not like was Hot Dog Fuller running on about Tony a few years back... It did not make me a Tony Shoe Fan, it just caused me to NOT SUPPORT anyone who sponsored Fuller, even to this day.

"Winning isn't Everything, It's the ONLY Thing". Smack talk does not change that in the least. Either way.

By the way, I am not a Fan of John Force, because of his 'Smack Talk' in 1993. But you do notice that I'm a "fan" of all his teams. Robert, Zippy, Princess, Courtney... Heck, I was a T-Ped fan back in the mid-90's (I hired my own ASSASSIN) I was never a fan of Cha-Cha nor Viper...

This 'Thing of Ours' has characters, it doesn't need Hype...

d'kid

 

[stanzig44]

After watching the ESPN qualifying show, it looks the workshop got through to some of the Pro Stock Motorcycle guys - Savoie, Hines, Krawiec, Phillips. I guess this is going to bring the excitement back to NHRA drag racing.

By the way, why didn't ESPN show the Indy final "controversy"? Would have added to the argument.

 

[camaro]

After watching the ESPN qualifying show, it looks the workshop got through to some of the Pro Stock Motorcycle guys - Savoie, Hines, Krawiec, Phillips. I guess this is going to bring the excitement back to NHRA drag racing.

i watched that yesterday and to me it looked a tad contrived. It looked like the director/producer instigated these guys to make mountains out of mo hills. All the situations that that supposedly caused the ruckus between the drivers were incredibly lame and didn't warrant the air time that they received. But hey, I'll give it to ESPN, at least their trying !

 

[Mooseman]

Thats what I see is the problem, anytime anything emotional happens or any ruckus between people or teams, or any kind of contraversy at all it will be just considered "running their mouth" or "scripted" by the people watching.

That I see is the big problem, you want things to be a certain way and want everyone to act a certain way but then when it is that way you throw them all under a bus. Thats not directed towards anybody when I say you I mean fans in general.

Thats the unfortunate thing today, is anything anyone does that is in some way out of the ordinary or someway contraversial is going to be called hype.

 

[Rat]

Mr. Stephens is mistaken. If anyone thinks drag racing is boring, then they are not gonna watch, period. No hyped-up interview will change that.

You need to let the drivers be themselves. To ask Doug Kalitta to copy Clay Milliken is just wrong.

You 100% missed the point.

 

[cdag]

It's about the Crew Chiefs and crews, Tommy D., Rahn, Hopsing, Prock, Guido, Zippy, Coil, Bernie, The Bros. O, Hartman, AJ, Brooks, Green, Todd....

The loose nut holding the butterflies is important Repeatability is key. Reaction is key. The ability to NOT let emotion into the car is paramount.

One thing I did Not like was Hot Dog Fuller running on about Tony a few years back... It did not make me a Tony Shoe Fan, it just caused me to NOT SUPPORT anyone who sponsored Fuller, even to this day.

"Winning isn't Everything, It's the ONLY Thing". Smack talk does not change that in the least. Either way.

By the way, I am not a Fan of John Force, because of his 'Smack Talk' in 1993. But you do notice that I'm a "fan" of all his teams. Robert, Zippy, Princess, Courtney... Heck, I was a T-Ped fan back in the mid-90's (I hired my own ASSASSIN) I was never a fan of Cha-Cha nor Viper...

This 'Thing of Ours' has characters, it doesn't need Hype...

d'kid

Well said, Karl. Especially agree with not needing hype. I've always liked drag racing for its nice people, not because of someone acting edgy.

 

[Rat]

Well said, Karl. Especially agree with not needing hype. I've always liked drag racing for its nice people, not because of someone acting edgy.

Again that's not the point of the entire topic. It's too invoke character, it's not intented to start the WWE or UFC and I have no idea how some of you got the message, are we reading the same thing?

The idea is to make each driver original again. No, it's not making drivers act fake, it's making drivers actually speak their mind and let the fan in just a little more instead of the robot interviews us fans get 85% of the time.

 

[Billy]

Again that's not the point of the entire topic. It's too invoke character, it's not intented to start the WWE or UFC and I have no idea how some of you got the message, are we reading the same thing?

The idea is to make each driver original again. No, it's not making drivers act fake, it's making drivers actually speak their mind and let the fan in just a little more instead of the robot interviews us fans get 85% of the time.

Thank you, Patrick. Shirley Muldowney said what she felt whether she was speaking to one person or a TV audience. Same with Garlits, Prudhomme, WJ. Even Lee Shepherd, as soft spoken a gentleman as anyone who ever raced, spoke honestly about how it felt to beat guys like Glidden, Iaconio, etc. Nobody faked anything. Did Whit Bazemore "hype up" his interviews? Al Hofmann? When Force got into Lee Beard's face in Memphis several years ago when John thought Whit took too long to stage, was that an act?

NHRA drivers are all great guys but they are also racers and drag racing was born when one guy said to another guy, "My cars faster than yours" and the other guy said, "Bring it on, Pal." Competitive energy, defiance, a fierce determination to win and a refusal to lose without a fight. As Michael Andretti once said when asked why he drove himself so hard, "I'm afraid to lose." We need more of that attitude.

 

[Mooseman]

Watch this at 2:30 Draggin In Olde England Part 2 - YouTube . There have been plenty of competitive natured drivers in drag racing, Richard Tharp, Snake in the 70's. Garlits all the time.

 

[Rat]

Anytime Bill. It's an approach I could not agree with more. I miss the classic interviews. Point is more guys like WJ or the infamous Al Hofmann. They were not caring to say what they thought the camera wanted to hear, they said what they wanted to say and did not care what became of it.

 

[Gordon]

Thank you, Patrick. Shirley Muldowney said what she felt whether she was speaking to one person or a TV audience. Same with Garlits, Prudhomme, WJ. Even Lee Shepherd, as soft spoken a gentleman as anyone who ever raced, spoke honestly about how it felt to beat guys like Glidden, Iaconio, etc. Nobody faked anything. Did Whit Bazemore "hype up" his interviews? Al Hofmann? When Force got into Lee Beard's face in Memphis several years ago when John thought Whit took too long to stage, was that an act?

NHRA drivers are all great guys but they are also racers and drag racing was born when one guy said to another guy, "My cars faster than yours" and the other guy said, "Bring it on, Pal." Competitive energy, defiance, a fierce determination to win and a refusal to lose without a fight. As Michael Andretti once said when asked why he drove himself so hard, "I'm afraid to lose." We need more of that attitude.

I completely understand what you're saying and I, for one, agree wholeheartedly...