What's Right With NHRA? (2 Viewers)

[Sandman]

Ok, I'm going to ask one thing right off the bat: no whining allowed. That means no politics, no talk of the points system or how you hate the all Camaro P/S class or anything else remotely resembling a complaint. I want to hear something positive about what the NHRA is currently doing for drag racing, or what you like about an NHRA event. Here's my initial list, but I may add more later.

Every fan gets up close and personal with their heroes.​

I've been to lots of races of all kinds and no place else can you rub elbows or get photos of your heroes like you can at an NHRA event. Plus you get to go home smelling like nitro and burnt rubber!

Lots of exciting racing all day long.​

Again, I've been to Indy Car races and left waaay early because the leader was so far ahead the race was boring. The finals at an NHRA race are just as exciting as round 1.

Shopping in the Midway​

For me, one of the fun parts of an even is buying a new T-Shirt, either from the event or one of my favorite drivers. The prices are reasonable, good selection and my wife likes it as well.

The announcing keeps the fan involved​

Somehow NHRA keeps finding great track talent. From Dave McClelland to Bob Frey to Alan whatshisname (just kidding) the announcers at the track have a natural, easy to listen to style and manner.

Sponsor Involvement​

Fun stuff like the Traxxas bunch, the Skoal girls that allowed a tour of Snake's pits and the girls handing out free Mello Yello at the event exit all add to the event, plus make me want to support the sponsors that support our sport.

Ok, that's a quick list, feel free to add to it as you see fit.

​

 

[TK]

The invocation followed by the National Anthem, and then the firing of the top fuel dragsters to begin eliminations on Sunday, is such a grand moment, and unequaled in all sports.

 

[.]

The invocation followed by the National Anthem, and then the firing of the top fuel dragsters to begin eliminations on Sunday, is such a grand moment, and unequaled in all sports.

Hellz yeah!

Plus the skydiver with our flag and the flyover by the warbirds. At Pomona we had a couple P-51 Mustangs buzz us.

 

[camaro]

Funnel cakes at every race !! ......... but seriously, NHRA Racing is the only major motorsport or sport in general where Men, Women, Minorities etc can competitively compete at a top, equal level together and against each other !

 

[mick]

women compete, and win. this a.m. i heard danicka is retiring.....agree with announcing
at the nat. events over the years. delivery
and knowledge of all classes and racers is excellent; better include tv annoucers too.
can nit pic, but nothing is lacking, again a very talented group comprised of females and males.

the anthem/s, skydivers, and first round immediately firing is goose bump stuff.

 

[BrianT]

It's impossible to explain to somebody how you can FEEL the cars going down the track, in your chest and your butt in the stands. way cool!!

 

[Cliff]

No other race cars in the world can accelerate as quick as the nitro cars.

 

[stitcherbob]

You get to feel what it's like to have a simultaneous stroke and poison gas attack in the pits, the juice of a thousand lemons and onions squeezed in your face

A feeling of having a heart attack during a 8.0 Richter scale earthquake during the nitro run, collapsing your ribs and lungs with 20,000 horsepower

And live to do it all over again next round!

 

[Jack]

All day entertainment and a great variety of race cars (I love door cars too) and passionate owners and drivers who are for the most part very happy to talk to you in the pits. I also love the TV coverage these days (both pro and sportsmen shows) as I have been around the sport since the days that I had to wait 2 weeks after a race for my national dragster to come to find out what happened!

 

[Jimbo]

I think the NHRA has done a great job considering the changing times that we are in right now.

Many forms of racing are facing difficult times trying to figure out the right changes to make to stay relevant to today's world.

Jim Hill
www.nostalgicracingdecals.com

 

[steve]

You can race your street car down many of the tracks the pros race on. You won't pull 5 G's on the hit, but you can stage the car and race just like they do.

 

[PJ]

The invocation followed by the National Anthem, and then the firing of the top fuel dragsters to begin eliminations on Sunday, is such a grand moment, and unequaled in all sports.

I do like that, although I miss the flyovers that used to be more commonplace.

 

[PJ]

Great thread idea.

While having friends in the Alky pits the schedule shuffling does get frustrating BUT the NHRA does a really good job of jostling a few hundred cars every weekend. Always trying to balance, TV, weather, oil downs, curfews and so many other variables can't be easy and yet they are able to pull it off.

The feel of a Nitro car, can't be experienced on TV must awesome in person.

Race any car you want

Dial in racing. I forgot what race I was at now (may not have been NHRA) but a slower car going rounds and fans were into it. Watching it get huge head starts and seeing if they could be chased down was fun. The .90 classes might not be good for fans but comp. stock and super stock are great to watch.

The safety safari

Pit access

Antron, Brit, Courtney, Kalitta, Capps, Cruz, Torrence, Force, Line, Schumacher...... start rich, start poor, boy or girl, don't care about race or ethnicity. Come from Texas, Cali, Minnesota or Michigan. It's the ultimate equality sport. If you have what it takes and can prove it on the track; you're in. All are welcome.

Same day TV. Depending on what era your fandom started in this is huge. Waiting months to read results in a magazine, seeing 20 minutes of coverage on Wide World of Sports for 3 events a year, weeks delayed on Diamond P, calling a hotline to get same day results, 2am finals coverage to everything being shown the same day. No it's not perfect, but it has come a long way.

Walk 1000'- really cool interviews with Amanda and not the usual we get at the end of the track.

Track walk- people love being able to experience the track

 

[TooTall999]

While I agree with everyone above, one thing was overlooked in my opinion, the people. The fans, crew members, drivers and owners. The fans are probably among the most knowledgeable in any sport, the crew members, drivers and owners are all very accessible and most are very personable and willing to talk to the fans. No other motorsport can claim this, as the pit and drivers areas are pretty much off limits if you aren't somebody who knows somebody.

 

[stitcherbob]

PJ forgot to put on his list "The Countdown"


yeah I know...I'll just sit in this corner here....

 

[PJ]

PJ forgot to put on his list "The Countdown"


yeah I know...I'll just sit in this corner here....

View attachment 4300

You are in timeout

 

[Jimbo]

In my opinion the hardest thing for the NHRA is trying to adjust to a world that is changing faster then ever.

Today people have so many things to choose from on any weekend to do and spend their money on so it's very important to keep the program fresh and interesting for fans who just watch on TV and for fans who attend the events.

The difficult part is every other sport is trying to do the exact same things with their programs.

For the typical family mom wants something that appeals to her while dad may want to go to the drag races the kids want to see a Monster Truck Show or something like that.

Honestly I would not want to be the NHRA trying to figure this out. Appealing to people who love drag racing is one thing but trying to appeal to the rest of the family is a whole other deal.

Jim Hill
www.nostalgicracingdecals.com

 

[Sandman]

I agree 100% that attracting new fans is a tough sell. But here's what I did and I think any of us can as well: as a lifelong drag racing fan, I was disappointed that my son didn't instantly love drag racing. Don't get me wrong, he'd go with me to the local races and liked seeing the cars, but wouldn't dream of watching it on TV. So when I went to Seattle last year, I drug him along with me, even though I could tell he could think of better things to do. We got to the pits right as they were getting ready to fire Matt Hagan's car. There wasn't much of a crowd yet, so I told him lets go watch them warm it up. The car was in the pits forward and after a couple minutes, Matt came over got in the car and the crew put on their masks and fired the car. There's something about a blown fuel car that changes people's outlook on our sport and my 16 year old son and I stood there as long as we could breathe then walked away, teary eyed and grinning. Then we heard a guy in Schumacher's hospitality area call over their PA that anyone who wanted to could come over and meet the drivers, so we went. It was a huge thing for my son who is a Tony Shoe fan, but that day he got to see what a great guy Jack Beckman is and became a fan of his. And so it went throughout the day, he met Tim Wilkerson, Alex Laughlin, Jeff Deihl, Robert Hight and a list too long to mention. He saw cars up close that he'd only seen on TV. After a rain delay, we wandered the pits saw what he wanted to see and when we came back, he asked if we could sit near the finish line so he could se what 330 mph looked like. He was so caught up in the action that when Courtney re-arranged the wall, he didn't complain about the down time at all. That's right, my kid, who has the attention span of a gnat, patiently sat there, watched the track crew and talked funny cars with me and other fans sitting near us for the entire time the repairs went on. THAT is the difference between seeing a race on TV and seeing it live and why it's worth it to our sport to take someone new to the races, let them see in person what a great sport this really is and how family friendly the whole experience is.

 

[Greggo]

You are in timeout

Bob Reese is my hero!!!

 

[Greggo]

​

Every fan gets up close and personal with their heroes.​

I've been to lots of races of all kinds and no place else can you rub elbows or get photos of your heroes like you can at an NHRA event. Plus you get to go home smelling like nitro and burnt rubber!

Some teams are better than others but if you are ever at an event that we [Maddern Racing] are competing at, please stop by. If Chris Demke has time, he is absolutely one of the best at showing people the ins and outs of the car. You can take some pics, etc. Better at the end of the day of course.