For Your Reading Pleasure....
 

SPORTSMAN RACERS TO NHRA: THERE'S DEFINITELY A DISCONNECT

http://www.competitionplus.com/drag-...y-a-disconnect

Re: For Your Reading Pleasure....
 

Graham Light's response pretty much says it all. He goes on the defensive and then makes a comment about NHRA spending money on the sportsman programs. Considering the cost of entries, I'm still having trouble with the math.

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And even tries to use the Junior program to justify it.

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Jim Hughes- Dead on with a 0...

"The sport has changed so much. The industry needs the next Wally Parks"

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Great article hope NHRA looks at what was being said and does some reasearch. But knowing NHRA they will not do anything to fix the problem .

Glad to see some one had the balls to speak out.

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GRAHM LIGHT,while disagreeing there is a disconnect between NHRA and the sportsman racers.
NOW RIGHT THERE IS THE PROBLEM !!!!!!!! were telling him but he is not listening!!!!!!!

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I run a low 8 second car in super stock , at a lot of track's I have raced in the last year mostly div races past the 1/8 th mile I'm seeing spike's in my data log on the drive shaft and feel the car moving around .

At the Atco Div1 race a few weeks ago I made one pass then parked the car for safety . I did not wait for any one to wreck. My car was real lose on the top and it was not safe

I run a 10in tire and at 165mph it needs to be glued on the top end . As racer"s when we know it's not safe we need to check are ego's and park the car's.

I agree with Mr Hughes 100% NHRA could do a better job on the tracks at div races since we are paying customer's

NHRA has some highly skilled people working for them , let guy's like Redman prepare the track the way it should be done and they would not have any complaints

No racer should die for a badly prepped track

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The Problem all the racers do is complain to each other and never have a solution to their complaint to NHRA. We need to complaint about a problem and then offer a solution

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At the very least, when you park it or leave the event due to safety issues, make sure the DD knows you are parking or leaving, and why.
Follow up with an polite email to Graham Light and NHRA Tech.

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This man deserves a perfectly strange award!

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How about the part in which Hughes suggests that it should be a pro show only because of the track prep required? That they should use fillers such as Monster Trucks and wheel standers?

sounds alot like IHRA to me. How about the dancing backhoes they had at Rockingham a few years ago.

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I think NHRA has shifted from a competition based sport to an entertainment format. I think more Sports Nationals for us would be the way to go. Let them have the big show for Nitro and Monster Trucks. The run schedules for us "fillers" is simply degrading.

Tracy

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Hey Tracy. I just received my new issue of Drag Racer magazine. There is an article about the new techniques of plumbing NOS. Maybe you can upgrade your system.

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It may be time to separate the sportsman from the pros.
What if the divisional races were the venue for the sportsman racer? {Up to comp)
Raise the payout and the contingecy to attract more racers. This might be done by raising entry fees slightly and eliminating contingency at national events. This could be done at no cost to NHRA and probably zero net increase to to the contingency sponsors.
We would have places to race instead of camping in a parking lot. Track prep could be tailored to the sportsman and we could eliminate the out at 8 and back at 8 syndrome.

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Just ran some numbers from the NHRA event registration site for the first 6 races this season---total quota 2849
total entries 2536
percent of quota 91%
pro entries 427
sportsman entries 2109
pro percentage 16.8%

if you take out G'ville & Charlotte because they also have PSM & PMOD you end up with the average Pro participation of ONLY 12.9% or 224 pro vs. 1726 sportsman---so you can see what is really going on here folks

2109 sportsman entries 6 events @$350 + per car & driver entry=$738,150
1726 sportsmanentries less G'ville & Charlotte @$350 +per car &driver entry =$604,100
plus add in any pit crew @ $80 each

They could run one round of the ALL the pros with 2 minutes per run allowed and do the whole thing in about 90 minutes so that the first T/fuel car with 50 min between round service could be sitting in the staging line to make another pass with 40 minutes to spare after his first pass

NHRA definately needs the sportsman there is know way they could get by without us unless they split the pros and sportsman and made the Nationals pro only and 2 day events--works for me how about you??? FED387

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NHRA Definitely needs us at the Nationals.... Just to pay the bills. They don't care what time they run us, as long as we bring our entry money and a few pit crew members. Imagine how empty the stands would be if we weren’t there. Seriously, I know 9 people who would have never came to Houston if I wasn't racing. They like the sport, but would never have traveled to Houston and spent that kind of money unless I was there. I’m sure there are plenty of racers out there that can say the same. Sportsmen bring at least an avg of 3-4 people per car. That’s a lot of cash out of their pockets. As far as I'm concerned, they can have the Nationals as long as we have Sportsnats and the prize money/contingency from the Nationals. They can even have the track oiling Alkys, TS and TDs. Those take so damn long to run it will be plenty of fill between pros.

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I can imagine the stands filled with the "true racing euthusiast" and Racers friends. It's called a divisional and they are nearly empty! I laugh on yellowbullet with the guys who say "I'd rather watch the sportsman guys" but yet the stands are nearly empty. The other comical thing is the constant complaining about the NHRA but not many choose to leave. I don't want to see them seperate at national events because it would lose sportsman exposure. It's hard enough to get sponsors in the sportsman world and it would be even harder with less traffic. A lot of the people that go to national events are fans of the Excitement the nitro cars bring. A lot are not "car guys"(not quite as bad as the NASCAR group though).

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In case you haven't noticed, they are nearly empty at nationals also. The only reason they have anyone there is because of the exposure. If NHRA would promote sportsmen the same way they do pros, you would get a similar response at divisionals. Like I said before, a lot of those people are there because they know a racer. Just because nobody cares to see some people race, doesn't make my point invalid. My 8-10 people will make up for your nobody. Still an avg of 3-4 people per sportsmen show up just to watch. Take that away and our entry fees and NHRA can't do a show.

Put us on TV and explain the classes and watch people show up. Look at Pinks. A bunch of junk bracket cars and fans turn out because they have TV time and do interviews with avg racers. I don't have to be on yellow bullet to laugh at you hoping some sponsor stumbles into your pit after watching the John Force show. I'm the real show and a separation from the pros and some TV time would only highlight that.

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Have you noticed at the Houston divisionals one or more of the high schools will bring a bus load or two of students? I think they do this at other tracks, but I am not sure.

The kids seem to roam the pits in groups and are truly interested in the cars, engines, etc... Must be an automotive class or something, but there are also several girls. Not that girls don't take those classes because I realize they do.

Whatever it is, I try to take as much time as I can to explain the car and each time I ask them if they want to sit in the car. They always do and hand their phone or camera to their buddy to take pics of them in the car. You can see a small transformation of the whole concept becoming a little more real.

Slowly, but surely we are gaining fans of people that we don't even know by doing things like this.

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Graham Light's defensive posturing in the article shows just how out of touch NHRA is....really sad when Jim Hughes pulls his team and you read Mark Lelchook's account of his run and helpless feeling standing at the end of the track while people are asking them to stop running cars and they continue on until a racer is fatally injured. Recall the Phoenix fiasco of three years ago when Larry Morgan and others simply pulled their Pro Stock cars back to the pits and it finally got their attention. Granted, any sportsman class refusing to run is not going to be as effective but somebody has to demonstrate that this crap has to stop.

Would it be so terrible to withdraw from a race when you think people are needlessly put at risk and then just go bracket race for a while?

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What would happen if no one registered for a National event. Would NHRA get the message. I know that if people stop coming to your local store the message is quite loud to the owners usually.Remember that NHRA needs you for your money that you bring in and the show that you contribute. As I fan that spectate many events a year, I have found throughout the recent years the total lack of care from NHRA to it's core customer the racer and it's spectators. Without your millions of dollars they're in trouble. Maybe just maybe this would get the ball going in finally having a real executive committee for the sportsman. I'm not NHRA bashing, they seem to do a good job without my help, I just want them to be more accountable to the racers who bring in all those millions they need to continue operating. I do care and do not want to see NHRA becoming a Fields Entertainment running John Force Snoopy Dog Funny Car! CR

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I would try to go to The Gators especially to see Stock & SuperStock, and stay away from the sat. or sunday shows, but somehow I ended up there on sunday when they had just installed those "dumbo tron" t.v./commerical things 1/2 way down the track on either side grandstands. While I was sitting there watching them prep the track for what seemed like an eternity and listening to one commerical after another, wanting to see the finals, and thinking about the ride home to Arcadia, I had enough.It is like that nascar stuff, I'd pay $100.00 to see the '67 Permatex race, but you couldn't pay me to go to the current stuff.

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This is the absolute truth and this is why nothing gets done. I wouldn't be surprised if Graham Light is being totally honest and really is ignorant to what is going on.

Us pulling our cars back to the lanes is a blessing for NHRA, less cars they have to wait for. Pro Stock or Fuel cars doing the same, now that gets ***** done. Separating us from Pros is not the answer, we currently have 0 fans watching us at divisionals and opens. Also, as outrageous as our entry fees are, they still don't need us! Do you know how much Lucas Oil, Mello Yello, PC Richard, and whoever is on the national event bill for the weekend are paying for this? Enough where they still don't need us for financial support. Ticket sales wouldn't suffer for us not being there, just crew passes. Big deal.

I don't watch pros but I go to their pits and talk to them and tell them I race super stock. Had a long talk with Morgan Lucas about it last year at the hotel. I like explaining the class to them, they are the ones that could potentially help us - Imagine the pros standing up for us..

I've emailed ESPN, NHRA, even John Force Racing! Trying to get us better coverage and better acquainted with the average fuel fan but I feel like I am the only one actually trying here. Kyle Ratliff, I do the same thing you do man, that's awesome.. anything to get get people interested in the sportsman categories, keep it up!

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A couple posts have stated zero fans for divisionals, and for the most part that's true, however Bader at Norwalk has the stands full for the Calvacade, and Cordova last year had a very good turnout.....Denver had a fair amount....it comes down to the local track promoter doing more than a half page ad in ND (which I believe is mandatory)

In discussing the potential monetary loss to NHRA if no sportsmen enter, I don't think anyone fully knows the TV $ support....could NHRA, like a lot of ball sports make it on that alone?with sportsman dollars as "gravy"...I don't know, but I have read where the empty seats at stadiums are less of a concern to team owners than the media sports dollars. ESPN has a lot of hours to fill (see bowling and poker), and no matter how lousy the program (to us) it is programming filler they need (w/o NASCAR)

For my 2 cents, I could see a replacement organization based on Sportsman and Nostalga Fuelers and Fuel F/C and Altereds for the noise and bang...the clinker is venues; possibly an auxilliary NHRA arm, that would reverse schedule: 2 day Pro Show at an Eastern venue with Real Racing at a western facility. It would take some vision and passion.......uh.....never mind.