What's a holeshot? (2 Viewers)

[Muddy]

I had a dog once that usually honored the collar but occasionally you'd see her stop short, make a face, grit her teeth and charge beyond the signal range yelping all the way. Stubborn English pointer. Sure miss that dog she was a great hunter and friend. Old age got her. I guess I could have upped the discomfort but it just seemed too cruel. She'd stop short when she wanted to come home and bark until someone came out to let her in. Never went far or stayed long...it was almost like she was asserting her independence.

 

[ANDY]

I thought they were talking about a holeshot . that means one of the 8 cylinders was lean. right?

 

[Sandman]

The would be a "hole short"...

 

[Nick Name]

I swear, I am so sick of Reiff and Tony explaining what a holeshot is every single time one driver leaves on another one that I can't take it anymore! I'm also a baseball fan, and I hear the announcers use terms like slider, cutter, 6-4-3 double play and other "inside" terms and NEVER hear them explain it. So why is it that the simplest form of racing on earth needs to have every single detail explained to death every single weekend? I understand how the staging system works, I too can see the timing blocks and I know that leaving first helps your chances of winning, and I'll just bet that everyone else watching TV does as well. Can we please put the filler to rest for good?

I am not a stick and ball guy so I don't understand any of their jargon. One evening I left work and turned on the radio and some kind of game was on. Announcers were talking jargon. Just for fun I decided to leave it on until I could tell what they were playing. Made it all the way home and never figured it out.

 

[Bob]

You have to tailor the reporting to fit the audience. I would expect more explanations of the basics of our sport throughout the course of a 3-hour national network broadcast than you would get during a cable/satellite sports channel broadcast of the same event.

 

[Sandman]

I agree that the reporting should fit the audience. Having said that, who watches NHRA drag racing? My guess is that very few people who seek out or happen upon a drag race can't grasp the idea of something as basic as a holeshot without having it explained as if they were just born yesterday. I first read the term in motocross magazines in the early '70's and I didn't need it explained then and I don't need it explained some 40 years later. Using the baseball broadcast as an example, anyone who's ever seen a baseball game knows full well the announcers have a ton of time to fill in their 3 hour broadcast yet they never, ever, EVER explain how the game works. I truly love drag racing but the sport itself is a basic and primal as sports get, and trying to explain the obvious repeatedly is hardly any way to draw in new spectators. You either love it or you don't.

 

[megadeth]

The show sucks since Mike Dunn was let go!

 

[PJ]

It does get annoying but then how many of us have been sitting in the stands listening to some genius around us, expounding their vast knowledge to some newbie that leaves us shaking our heads. Perhaps having these lessons drilled into their head every week on the telecast will help them learn. I get that they need to hit all a wide range of people. It is difficult to make the show interesting enough to keep a newbie from feeling lost without boring the veterans. Too often I feel like I'm watching Dora the Explorer since so much is a repeat week after week. In today's day and age where so many people are playing on a mobile device while watching TV they could easily send people to Racing 101 videos with still having some occasional descriptions on the show. Having the same explanation of what a Top Fueler is every week get old. I'm not sure the casual fan who happens to stop while channel surfing is going to care and if they do they will hop online. This could be a means of driving people to the website as well.

 

[SoCal Racer]

It does get annoying but then how many of us have been sitting in the stands listening to some genius around us, expounding their vast knowledge to some newbie that leaves us shaking our heads. Perhaps having these lessons drilled into their head every week on the telecast will help them learn. I get that they need to hit all a wide range of people. It is difficult to make the show interesting enough to keep a newbie from feeling lost without boring the veterans. Too often I feel like I'm watching Dora the Explorer since so much is a repeat week after week. In today's day and age where so many people are playing on a mobile device while watching TV they could easily send people to Racing 101 videos with still having some occasional descriptions on the show. Having the same explanation of what a Top Fueler is every week get old. I'm not sure the casual fan who happens to stop while channel surfing is going to care and if they do they will hop online. This could be a means of driving people to the website as well.

I've sat near that guy. It usually makes me cringe. People should refrain from explaining things like "driving through the clutch" or "black tracking" unless you really understand it yourself. Those are esoteric things that if someone really wants to understand they could (and should) look it up. I think the objection is to the stating... and restating of the obvious. Banged a blower, dropped a cylinder, blew the tires off....it's jargon, but you don't need a degree in engineering to figure those out just by watching. Same with the holeshot.

And since we're doing the baseball analogy thing, I never took the time to look up some "insider" terms like the "infield fly rule," but it doesn't detract from my enjoyment of the game. I don't think the newbies watching drag racing really care about some of that stuff... they just like the action. If they really want to know more they'll look it up, or ask someone, on their own.

 

[Nunz]

I get what they're doing, but they're overdoing it. Like others have said, if the excitement hooks them, it's never been easier to go and research something. I started getting into F1 a couple years ago, and I went and looked up what I didn't know. You could actually find the answer to almost anything from your smartphone between runs!

 

[my friends call me Zappy]

I swear, I am so sick of Reiff and Tony explaining what a holeshot is every single time one driver leaves on another one that I can't take it anymore! I'm also a baseball fan, and I hear the announcers use terms like slider, cutter, 6-4-3 double play and other "inside" terms and NEVER hear them explain it. So why is it that the simplest form of racing on earth needs to have every single detail explained to death every single weekend? I understand how the staging system works, I too can see the timing blocks and I know that leaving first helps your chances of winning, and I'll just bet that everyone else watching TV does as well. Can we please put the filler to rest for good?

I couldn't agree more Jim. No other sports coverage treats their viewers all like first timers. Ever hear the announcer explain a " birdie", a " sack", a "touch back", a "strike", a " spare", NO !!
If they want to do a documentary on our sport, fine DO IT !!. But not during race coverage, its an insult to the fan.
i

 

[mike]

I think it goes back to the folks in charge of the broadcast don't know what is or isn't important in a drag race so they have the on-air guys fill in with drivel. It has been this way since probably the post Nashville Network era of TV coverage so I don't think we can blame Tony on this one.

 

[Sandman]

I agree that it's probably someone above Tony and Reiff. I just know that when I listen to Alan, or Bob Frey before that, or Dave McClellan before that, all the way back to Steve Evans, hell even Keith Jackson for that matter, I never felt like the show, whether it's live or on TV had been "dumbed down" like I now feel when I watch. Like Paul said, what other sport over-explains their game? None. Please NHRA, make the stupid stop. Talk about past heroes, show clips of dramatic races, I'd even settle for wheelstanders and guys with hang-gliders strapped to bikes on-screen if that's what it takes to entertain today's ADHD fan for the 90 seconds until the next pair roll to the line.

 

[MidnightbluS10]

I agree that the reporting should fit the audience. Having said that, who watches NHRA drag racing? My guess is that very few people who seek out or happen upon a drag race can't grasp the idea of something as basic as a holeshot without having it explained as if they were just born yesterday. I first read the term in motocross magazines in the early '70's and I didn't need it explained then and I don't need it explained some 40 years later. Using the baseball broadcast as an example, anyone who's ever seen a baseball game knows full well the announcers have a ton of time to fill in their 3 hour broadcast yet they never, ever, EVER explain how the game works. I truly love drag racing but the sport itself is a basic and primal as sports get, and trying to explain the obvious repeatedly is hardly any way to draw in new spectators. You either love it or you don't.

You have to remember that most of the general public is like Richard Rawlings. Even with an explanation and graphics, they'll still wonder why that driver lost and then ask Frankie Taylor wtf just happened. And still not get it.