WJ's interview was awesome!!

[clwill]

First let me say I race sportsman also.
But for the sake of argument. Lets just say EVERYONE is there for only the fuel cars and there are no sportsman at all.

The pits would be empty except for the fuel cars and 16 -20 pro stock. There would be no midway manufactures don't need to show as they give their stuff to pro teams. Less food trailers as not as many people. The food trailers count on sportsman racers and crew also. On the track there would be large time spans filled with what? and motorcycle jump or a guy that does wheelies. Or that A**hole that shoots T-shirts into the Empty stands. That would get old real soon.
Attendence would be good for a year or two then people would get tired of it.
There would be nothing to do between rounds, no 55 chevy, VW modified, SS/A Hemi Cuda to look at because no sportsman.
So I guess what I'm trying to say is YES the fuel cars fill the stands BUT when they are not running Spectators fill the pits and reminise over the 63 Chevy with the red interior that was similar to the old one they got laid in.

They line up at the food trailer for a Sausage, and they cruise the midway for a look at the new Ford or parts for there street ride or a old Funny car in some Manufactures pit.
So They do need sportsman If not for the on track stuff but to give everyone time to go Pee, Eat, View, Talk. and of course the added income that goes with all that.
Think of it like a Concert, we are the opening act generally because the main act although they would like to think so, Can't cover the show without us.

Well, you're right of course, but according to a bunch of people here on the 'Mater, the stands empty when the sportsmen run, they're electronic robots, they're a waste of time, yadda yadda. Maybe what they need is a pro race and a big "show and shine".

As Gordon says, that's what makes the 'Mater great -- diversity of opinion...

 

[TooTall999]

Do you really believe that the fuel cars are all there is to it? If it wasn't for the sportsmen PAYING the way for the fuel cars,there wouldn't be any. They raised the entry fees for the sportsmen this year and the fields have dropped off because of it too. Keep on thinking the fuel cars are all there is to it and there won't be any races to go to.

No...I never said that I think the fuel cars are all there is to it.I said watch the stands at the next national event, the real fans are the only ones in the stands until they fire up the first two fuel cars. Then it's a steady stream of people headed to their seats to watch the two fuel classes run,then even before the last pair has run,they're headed back down the stands and out to buy beer, food,t-shirts or to watch crews work on the fuel cars in the pits. I stay right where I am, I'm there to watch racing, whether it's top fuel or the snowmobiles at Brainerd. I've been a drag racing fan since I first saw the winternationals on wide world of sports back in the 60's. My uncle was a drag racer,my neighbor had a 57 chevy junior stocker,and I'd call the tower at Connecticut Dragway to find out if the TASCA Ford car was running,and if they were,I'd bug my father to take me down to a certain resturant they usually stopped at for dinner,just to see the car on the trailer. I'm a drag racing fan,always have been and always will be. I love the sport and realise the mass media exposure is a double edged sword. It's made the sport bigger than ever, but has also brought in the fans that only go to see the loud cars.

 

["Dr. Dirt"]

If you have ever been to a divisional, then you have seen a national event without fuel cars. No one will pay to see that.

Hey Jay, that's me! That confirms that I'm nobody! I love divisional events as much as any national.

Remember: Nobody's perfect!

 

[George.]

w.j is awesome he tells it like it is! he was 1000 percent right with everything he says!

Not always..
Although I love and agree with WJ's assessment, he is wrong about one thing.
The NHRA caters to the Fuel cars because 95% of the draw is from the Fuel cars.
If it were left up to Pro Stock, and the sportsman classes, the NHRA would be a long and distant memory. It's just us, the hard core drag racing lovers that will watch the sprotsman classes, and mostly because we may have a friend running. My kids are bored to death with anything other than the real show, the fuelers.
Just look at the grandstands UNLOAD after the Funny Cars are done..

 

[jackass]

ON a side note.. on the same subject... i was up at 3 am last night.... and saw the replay of the Sunday elims.... unless i missed it... which i dout.. no first rond PS and no WJ interview shown on the replay....which was the reason i kept with the show that late...lol.. once they hit the semis in PS.. i turned it off...


Just thought it was odd how they left that out of the re-air......


Billy

 

[tcrawf]

There would be no midway manufactures don't need to show as they give their stuff to pro teams. Less food trailers as not as many people. The food trailers count on sportsman racers and crew also.

I highly doubt that.

I rarely see any teams in the manufacturer's trailers, mostly people walking through to grab a goodie bag, use Lincoln's welders, or to look at the display engines/cars.

Food trailers? Heck, at Bristol we cooked hamburgers on thursday night, ribs friday night, and shepherd's pie on saturday night and those leftovers for sunday morning. We also hit up R2B2's trailer for steaks one night. Sandwiches for lunch, biscuits/bacon for breakfast.

What do sportsman guys eat?

 

[Toejam]

If you have ever been to a divisional, then you have seen a national event without fuel cars. No one will pay to see that.

Jay, I've been to Div. races and yes your right the crowds are pretty bare. But....most of these races get little or NO advertising! NHRA changes these tracks so much to put on these Div. races they don't have the money to advertise! I have seen Huge ticket giveaways like the ADRL does and some races have seen crowds of 20,000 or more! But will those same people pay $10-15? Who knows.....

 

[luxexpress]

Joe, you need to remember that the ADRL gets reimbursed by its sponsors for every ticket that comes thru the gate (about $10). Therefore, it isn't so easy to say we'll just give away tickets and make our money on food and parking. Also, the owners of the ADRL aren't afraid their own money to stage an event, remember they are the same people that used to PAY the NHRA to run Pro Mods at the NHRA events and they just took the money they were spending with the NHRA and started their own series. Obviously the ADRL has a very unique business model and is probably not one that others could easily implement without losing their shirts.