intresting reading
 

i seen this article on compitition plus site i think the man hit the nail on the head
http://competitionplus.com/index.php...3323&Itemid=21
says alot abought the sponsor dealings or lack of on the part of nhra

Re: intresting reading
 

This is dead-on correct! Powerade has done nothing to promote Drag Racing outside of the sport. I remember talking to another racer last year about Powerade. We were wondering if they were going out of business. I still have a pair of "Winston" pants and several hats given to me by the "Winston Girls" at various races.Ever bought a Powerade drink at an event? It's twice the price as at the 7-11 down the street! Some support! Jim

Re: intresting reading
 

Well Powerade did give out coolers at national events there first year. It did have there name on it LOL.

Re: intresting reading
 

OK, but do you still have the coolers, and did any "Powerade Girls" give them to you? I rest my case.Jim

Re: intresting reading
 

I HAVE A BETTER ONE FOR YOU.

HAS ANY SPORTSMAN RACER EVER BEEN OFFERED A COMPLIMENTARY ICE COLD POWERADE BEVERAGE AT THE TOP END AFTER A RUN?

I THINK NOT.

Re: intresting reading
 

After reading that piece, I want to light up a cigarette.

Re: intresting reading
 

What about Winston? If you follow their product, you end up in a premature grave, or in a hospital bed. My Great Grandfather lived till he was 96, and my father is 78, and they were the only two that didnt smoke. The rest of my family died of lung cancer in their early 60's, Annette's mom died at 59, and my business partner dead in 2001 at 59. My dad's brother died at age 50 after promotion to Vice President of a very large bank after being bought out of thes largest real estate firm in Indiana, missing the opportunity to help his wife campaign for governor or being appointed US attorney by the President.

Poweraid in my book is way better, but I cant drink it cause it isnt sugar-free. With the age of racers getting up there, maybe we need Viagraid?

Lynn

Re: intresting reading
 

I agree with Jim Wahl, Powerade does nothing to support sportsman racers. Now how hard would it be if at an event there was a Powerade tent set up where the racers could come on a daily basis and show their run cards and get a free bottle of Powerade. I know it's not much but it would show some appreciation to the racers. And maybe just maybe it might eventually sell them more powerade.

Re: intresting reading
 

I got a Poweraid @ the Cajun Sportsnationals at the end of a run. Course that was from Pat. I have also gotten bottled water at the same event. A fat sweatty guy really appreciates that.

Re: intresting reading
 

Asher frequently makes a lot of great points on a lot of subjects, and on this deal he has good points as well, but he also uses a lot of hyperbole.

>> In the case of O?Reilly?s, it?s time NHRA either enforced their own widely discussed ?rule,? or just gave them an ultimatum: Either provide major sponsorship for a professional race team, or take a hike.

Riiiiiight. Like NHRA is going to tell O'Reilly to go anywhere. LOL They've got their money. Why would the push for more to risk losing everything?

Although Asher repeatedly claims that Powerade has done absolutely nothing to market or co-brand with NHRA, that's not correct. I remember seeing commercials with John Force and one or two other drivers in the early years of their sponsorship.

Asher writes: "Accelerade has embarked on the kind of national advertising blitz that POWERade has never mounted"

Actually, Powerade marketed very heavily in the early days. I'm sure everyone remembers the surfer commercial in particular. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRPbWBd_vZE and the Lebron James spot: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnxIITeNftE among others.

Powerade branded a limited-time NHRA flavor and bottle:
http://www.nhra.com/2003/news/June/062703.html

Have they done much for drag racing since? No. Should they do more? From a marketing perspective, I think so. But it's not exactly fair to say they've never done anything.

And his line: ?Well, Tom, money is the only thing that does count. It won?t matter if this extension is through 2050 if it doesn?t bring drag racing a million dollar winner.?

While everyone from the Pros to Sportsman probably merit a purse increase, I still don't get why some members of the media continue to think that the rest of the world is going to sit up and give a d*mn if some drag racer gets a million dollars. Most people probably don't even know what it pays to win the Nextel Cup championship. If they got nothing extra but the trophy, people wouldn't stop watching it.

The co-branding is going to do drag racing a lot more good. A lot of times promotions are put together in the local market. Several years ago, 2-liter Coca-Cola bottles in the Grand Bend, Ontario market had 'bottle hangers' on every bottle with discount tickets for the national event there. McDonald's is a local sponsor at US131 in Michigan. I saw flyers for the national event hanging in the drive-through windows of area restaurants. I even saw flyers in the window of convenience stores around Milan for the *Pro-Am* race each year! Hooters was a very good partner when they were IHRA's series sponsor, with a very visible! presence both on and off the track. A few years ago, I was in one of the restaurants in Ohio, and a waitress came up to me with one of their "HootersSports" magazines, pointed to a group picture of all the IHRA champs from that year and said, "Hey, is this you?" That floored me.

Re: intresting reading
 

"Powerade does nothing for the Sportsman"....well, that's correct because they are connected to the Pro portion ONLY as I remember....Lucas Oil is the Sportsman's Sponsor; I believe there was a disconnect as well with Winston, as didn't Grace/TRW/Federal-Mogul/et al cover the Sportsman's section?

Regardless, I do take vicarious pleasure in the Pro's angst; I've always thought it was bad PR for Powerade to see Pro's barely sip out of the provided top end bottle if at all..I think I saw, once, as the camera panned away, a drive spit it out.

NHRA seems a directionless mess, but it's the only real game in town for 80% of the country.

Sad

Re: intresting reading
 

>> In the case of O?Reilly?s, it?s time NHRA either enforced their own widely discussed ?rule,? or just gave them an ultimatum: Either provide major sponsorship for a professional race team, or take a hike.

Riiiiiight. Like NHRA is going to tell O'Reilly to go anywhere. LOL They've got their money. Why would the push for more to risk losing everything?<<< Quote Beard

OK, my.02 or as Len says: my uninformed opinion,
I don't think NHRA will ever enforce the rules about team sponsorship with O'Reilly. It goes much deeper than O'Reilly being a team sponsor or NHRA having their money. Just check out the list of the HD partners. How is NHRA going to require a Partner to sponsor a team? Wouldn't that be real close to ownership or major support of a team by the owners of NHRA? Woops, look again at the Partners.. there are drivers & team owners... What a mess.

It would be nice to have a series sponsor that is not looking in your cooler to see what drinks you bring to the track. Or was looking in coolers just another paranoid move by the NHRA? It would be more customer friendly, and much more appropriate, if NHRA/Powerade gave product to put in the coolers. Google Powerade & see how many times NHRA is mentioned..

Re: intresting reading
 

Randall I fully realize That Powerade is the supporting sponsor for the pros but just think about when we as sportsman go to register for a national event we do it through the POWERADE EVENT REGISTRATION , so as I see it at a national event we as sportsman should be given a little respect or maybe just a bottle of powerade and told to go sit in the corner.

Re: intresting reading
 

Adger,

If Viagraid is the new sponsor, then what would they be looking at? At least they would stay out of my cooler! ;):)

Lynn

Re: intresting reading
 

Im glad to see people getting the jist of what the hell is happening with big buisness and their even bigger lack of caring about sport or more yet how to run a buisness. We want Winston Back Please..Thank you...they atleast treated the sport well and cared about the overall experience at national events..the national event experience sucks. I went to st louis and about died at the overall experience ...it sucked thanks for nothing poweraid and nhra

Re: intresting reading
 

knowbody ever cared about hobby racers. if your not marketing a companies product so they can make money. drag racing is about selling beer you know...

Re: intresting reading
 

I'll probably sound like a neanderthal on this one, but "why doesn't Powerade do more for sportsman drag racing?" They really have no stake in it. Like Randall said, they concentrate on the pros and that's what the broader audience associates with. The people that bring their family to one or two national events a year, predominantly follow the John Force's of the world, not us. If I'm a company, why would I spend my money to promote some backyard mechanic like Earle Holt?

It's companies like PC Richard and Sons that deserve our patronage. (Also Jeg's etc. in other divisions) In D-1, PC Richards supports the whole Open Series and have a couple (a few?) nice cars that they race every weekend. Those are the kind of people I would rather associate us with. Hard-working people who do and support what we do. They understand us.

At the end of the day, companies like Powerade are going to come and go based on which way the wind blows. Who cares what they do? Gatorade tastes better anyway. Their lack of involvement doesn't bother me at all...now, I'd like to get a free sample of Lucas Oil though...

Re: intresting reading
 

Hey Jim
I do agree with you. And I still have the cooler.

Re: intresting reading
 

Hey Dennis, I knew you were with me all along! After all, look at the weird car you drive!

Oh, and I still have the Winston pants, but they shrunk a whole bunch over the years.Jim

Re: intresting reading
 

We do love those car's don't we.