NHRA boots ESPN!
 

Re: NHRA boots ESPN!
 

Maybe we can get some TV Coverage . ESPN doesn't broadcast north of the border.

Re: NHRA boots ESPN!
 

Be careful what you wish for ....

Say what you want about ESPN, it is a major sports network. If you're a motorsports series and are not on a major network, you are not going to get much attention at all.

Re: NHRA boots ESPN!
 

I wonder if a very small piece of the decision was the countless times ESPN let women's softball, soccer, ______________ (you fill in the blank) run long and push back their drag racing broadcast. That drives me nuts!

Scott

Re: NHRA boots ESPN!
 

I know what you mean but for me it can't be worse than nothing .

Re: NHRA boots ESPN!
 

If your motorsport is on at 2AM, and get's pre-empted by every rain delayed stick and ball B.S. sport on the planet, you aren't going to get any attention, period.

Re: NHRA boots ESPN!
 

*gasp*

Does this mean there will ACTUALLY be class cars on a broadcast?

I know, I know, wishful thinking...

Re: NHRA boots ESPN!
 

Hey, Kevin Cradduck was on the broadcast for the GatorNationals 3-4 years ago, when it came back from commercial, for about 15 seconds, they even mentioned his name, and it wasn't because of a crash. We were stunned, Top Fuel racer Scott Palmer actually called us and told us about it, and someone here on class racer was nice enough to make us a DVD of it.

Re: NHRA boots ESPN!
 

Was Calvert's Fairlane in that broadcast? I remember watching the drags on TV 3 or so years ago and all of a sudden there were a couple of vintage muscle cars toeing the line for a SS final and I instantly decided I had to get back to the track.

Dale

Re: NHRA boots ESPN!
 

I don't think so. They came back from commercial and ran video of the orange 69 Camaro (the stocker) in one of our trademark front wheels in the sky launches, not sure you could even see the other car. It started as the front end came up and ended right after the 1-2 shift and the front wheels touching down.

Re: NHRA boots ESPN!
 

I'm guessing the live feed will be going away as well, because I don't think Fox Sports Net has offered that capability with the Formula 1 and AMA Superbike broadcasts. I just wish they (ESPN) would have left the live feed alone like it was when they first started it, so you could turn up the NHRA audio feed, turn down the sound on the video and actually have an real opportunity to enjoy the Sportsman Classes that they made available. When it became another "showcase" for the Professionals, I quickly lost interest! Hopefully this new network will be an improvement.

Re: NHRA boots ESPN!
 

True, except 1) all those lame timeslots, provided they were ever correct to begin with, and 2) Uncle Tom greased ESPN with membership money, only to take NHRA money then push it aside. Buying ESPN time had to be one of the stupidest "business decisions" of the century. So I say good riddance no matter what.

Re: NHRA boots ESPN!
 

ESPN2 is available in 81% of homes in this country. FS1 is available in 73%. ESPN2 is part of basic cable in most systems. FS1 is on the extra-cost Sports tier on many cable systems.

If you don't get FS1, does NHRA exist? In addition, without covering the series, how much coverage do you think NHRA will get on ESPN Sports Center? My bet is only when someone dies.

FS1 also does a lot of NFL coverage during the season, so I would not count on much airtime on Sunday afternoons.

The positive point is that NHRA will be the biggest name motorsports on FS1, now that F1 is on NBC.

Re: NHRA boots ESPN!
 

Where is the Wide World of Sports when you need them!??

Re: NHRA boots ESPN!
 

Jim - Why are you trying to put such a negative spin on an apparently done deal that we have no control over anyways? Let's just hope the FS1 deal will be better for everyone involved, including sportsmen.

Re: NHRA boots ESPN!
 

Because I will not be able to watch next season unless I decide to pay more to get the sports tier on Comcast.

It makes no sense to me to intentionally move from the big network to one that is not in as many homes, Time slots, etc. are a function of the deal worked out between ESPN and NHRA. If ESPN was unwilling to give on the time slots, it is because they can make more money from women's softball than what they make from NHRA.

Jim

Re: NHRA boots ESPN!
 

Give me MAV TV for the Sportsman, and I don't care what they do with the Pros. I rarely watch them on TV, anyway. I have watched way more IHRA Sportsman/Vegas Spring Fling/WFC on the internet than I have watched the Pro's on TV this year. Show me the NHRA national event Sportsman on the internet, shut the internet camera off when the Pros run and show it on TV, and I'd be happy.

Re: NHRA boots ESPN!
 

I'm with Greg on this idea but I don't see two companies on same property cooperating with each other on this idea.

Re: NHRA boots ESPN!
 

That's the part that always bugged me about ESPN. And it's not only other sports events--if the soccer game before went 45 minutes long they would still show some half hour "just talking about sports" show before finally getting around to drag racing over an hour late.

On the other hand, I don't like this trend to live coverage at all. I don't think drag racing lends itself to that at all with oil downs and the need to do such extensive between-rounds work. Have you noticed that they cram the first round into about 1/3 less time to make room for all the dead time between semis and the finals? I hate to think of having the whole season that way with NHRA running the show.

Re: NHRA boots ESPN!
 

Mav may do good on sportsman type events but they are pretty limited in coverage. I added a package so I could get it on Dish then they got in a price disagreement now they are gone from dish. The local cable does not offer them at all.

Re: NHRA boots ESPN!
 

As a fan I thought the ESPN coverage was terrible. Hopefully whomever gets the contract will make it look more like the real track action. Our sport isn't just fuel cars, and I believe the more you show the more fans you will get.

Re: NHRA boots ESPN!
 

I agree with this. The fuel classes don't make for good live TV viewing. The racing is often decided by lane conditions and engine failures cause extensive delays in the action. Sportsman racing is more competitive, fast paced and has a better variety of cars to watch.

NASCAR has been able to train legions of fans to sit for hours watching kinda stock bodied cars for round and round for hours, so why can't NHRA give it a shot? At least fill the gap between fuel rounds with quarters and semis of Sportsman class eliminations? Educate viewers about the nuances of handicap and .90 racing and see what happens.

Dale

Re: NHRA boots ESPN!
 

Do you really think that Super Gas and Super Comp with their throttle stops will attract more fans and increase TV ratings?

Jim

Re: NHRA boots ESPN!
 

You know, show the wheels in the air launches and one car catching the other, then close in on the finish line, maybe slo-mo for effect and it'd work. Pinks proved you can race 9sec or 19 sec and make an exciting show of it.

Put camera's in the chaser car

Put several close camera's to pan along the track so it visually seems faster/more exciting

Put camera's down low to watch the front wheels lift up and off the line

Get somebody who knows how to build excitement, heck if they can show soap box derby cars starting and then coasting along a hill and pump fans up why in hell can't somebody figure out how to pump up two cars jumping the front and screaming to the finish?????

Re: NHRA boots ESPN!
 

Fox Sports now has FS2. That is a premium channel where I live. I think they were showing some Nascar (at least qualifying) on that channel earlier in the year.

Re: NHRA boots ESPN!
 

It"s all about the bucks NHRA is shelling out.Better deal on FS1.

Re: NHRA boots ESPN!
 

Jim if you show the finish line racing in the Super categories standard speed and in slow motion at the finish line it will be the closest racing at high mph.
That can be made exciting for the viewers. No difference than any of the other categories. If any of the categories are shown on tape it must be edited to show just the start and the finish line. The middle of the races no matter which category is just plain boring. The typical race viewer wants action which is the draw of the Top Fuel categories but it only lasts around 4 seconds.

I have raced Stock in the past and now race S/G and I can tell you from personal experience in the race seat it is much more exciting and much closer racing a S/G car at 160 plus MPH than my previous B/S car. The finish line racing in the Super categories is usually measured in inches and thousandths of a second at high speed.

I enjoyed the B/S car and shifting the gears but the S/G car is much more exciting and the race is at the finish line. Nothing like being planted in the seat by 1000+ HP as it comes off the stop. Everyone should experience that at least once.

We only watch the races from the end of the track at the finish line where all the action is for any of the categories.

Just My 2 Cents
Rick Cates
Canyon, TX

Re: NHRA boots ESPN!
 

You hit the nail on the head. You need someone who can build the excitement. The current announcers are very boring at the national events. A really good announcer or commentator that knows the classes and their system can make all of the classes real interesting. Some of the fans like a long handicapped race between a low hp car and a big inch killer. I also think NHRA should mix up the run order. InStead or all of the pro classes then some sportsman they should be intermixed. That might keep some fans in the stands to watch sportsman. They also need to figure out how to speed up the pro classes. Takes way to long between runs and classes.

Re: NHRA boots ESPN!
 

Dose this bring an end to D3TV which is great .....

Re: NHRA boots ESPN!
 

Pinks was not a successful show because it showed 9 or 19 second cars. The cars were secondary.

Pinks was a successful show because of the off-track drama between the competitors. The show used off-track scenes to set up the conflict and build the tension. The cars only served as a resolution to the conflict and tension. If you cut out all the off track activities and just showed the cars running, Pinks would not have been successful.

It's all about drama, tension, conflict and resolution.

Put yourself in the shoes of a fan, or in the shoes of someone who is not a fan but happens on the race coverage while he or she is flipping

Jim

Re: NHRA boots ESPN!
 

Other than the Triple Crown, how much horse racing do you watch on TV?

Jim

Re: NHRA boots ESPN!
 

TV set aside, to really boost interest in the drags bring in on track betting. Give fans a chance to get some skin in the game.

How many ways could you work this?

Storms v Boyce:
win
MOV
package
reaction time
dial to ET

Dale

Re: NHRA boots ESPN!
 

None but that is several hours of TV time and about 2 minutes of actual horse racing. The rest of the time is just talking heads analyzing what is going to happen in the actual race. Not a good comparison. Drag racing if properly presented is a great show. The HRA's need to think outside of the box to grow the sport and the fan base.

Re: NHRA boots ESPN!
 

Re: NHRA boots ESPN!
 

Now that looks like they did a good job with the new package.

Jim

Re: NHRA boots ESPN!
 

The National Hockey League increased their revenue ~60% and just about doubled their average TV ratings since they ended their deal with ESPN. I know that's miles away from an apples-to-apples comparison but I remember the same concerns being voiced back then; I mean how could you take a sport seriously when their primary TV deal was with what was then called the Outdoor Life Network!?!?

I guess what I'm getting at is, I can't see how this could be any worse than the ESPN deal was. Alan brings up a good point about the time slots and pre-emptions. It's true that a lot of people may not have FS1, but at the same time, I don't think a lot of people are watching broadcasts that start at 2am or are delayed for upwards of an hour because of some football hall of fame speech that's already being shown on ESPN News.

Re: NHRA boots ESPN!
 

Drag racing is about the cars and the drivers just as much as it is on the on track action.
Perhaps showing everything live isn't the best answer.

Its about the guys that thrashed in the evening all week to change transmission or rear-end then drove for 6 hours from a different part of the country through a blinding rain storm to wait in line to get into the track.

They have to find a way to have a lot more stories like that in between the pro runs, classes, and clean-ups and unfortunately, it takes a lot of production and editing to do that, so showing everything live.
Merely interviewing the pros in this dead time has gotten old really quick. There are may personalities at a drag race other than the pro's that can make the TV viewing a lot more interesting, but it will be a challenge to do more on TV with the intent of keeping everything live or even tape delay with only 3-4 hours of editing.

Re: NHRA boots ESPN!
 

I remember the Wide Would of Sports

They did a Summer Nationals and it was exciting.
But it was all edited by the time it was shown on TV.

They showed all the classes and they did interviews with fans, management and Drivers.

Not one of them mouthed off all their sponsors in a 15 second burst.
They showed the drivers working on their cars.

Cameras were mounted on a pole or crane. Which allowed them to use different shots. Even was able to show the handicap between the cars in the different classes and why the cars were being handicapped.

Showing Drag Racing live for the viewer is not the way to go.
Their has to be a mental and excitement build up for the viewers.

Pinks was successful adding the human element the experience the racers go through. Despite a lot of the fans in the bleachers being racers themselves. They had a packed attendance.

Re: NHRA boots ESPN!
 

[QUOTE=Dan Fahey;476500]I remember the Wide Would of Sports

They did a Summer Nationals and it was exciting.
But it was all edited by the time it was shown on TV.

They showed all the classes and they did interviews with fans, management and Drivers.

Not one of them mouthed off all their sponsors in a 15 second burst.
They showed the drivers working on their cars.

Cameras were mounted on a pole or crane. Which allowed them to use different shots. Even was able to show the handicap between the cars in the different classes and why the cars were being handicapped.

Showing Drag Racing live for the viewer is not the way to go.

I agree Dan......sadly, live drag racing does not and probably will not make for great TV. There is too much downtime for today's viewers and the announcers can only talk about so much.

Everyone (pros too) would have to be able to hot lap to keep fans interest live.

Re: NHRA boots ESPN!
 

Pinks was:

Drama
Conflict
Tension
Resolution

That's why it was successful.

Jim