How do we promote sportsman type racing?

[Rich Biebel]

Originally Posted by Dick Butler

Too many AH races or just not typical turn out? Dutch had HOW many 17?

I did not watch all of the rounds but the show I saw was not too good at the Dutch....

Hardly any decent side by side races......looked more like an import race.....One breaks or fouls and the other shuts off or makes a junk run.....

A lot of cars but about as exciting as watching paint dry....LOL

So Much for your Heads-Up racing....

You'd be way better off watching the Super classes.....at least they go down the track every run and the rounds are close....

And for Bo.....Bracket racing is alive and well....and without it tracks would suffer......Yes car counts are down but they will bounce back if the economy would turn around. Unfortunately that does not look like it's happening anytime soon...

[X-TECH MAN]

[QUOTE=Rich Biebel;

Hardly any decent side by side races......looked more like an import race.....One breaks or fouls and the other shuts off or makes a junk run.....

A lot of cars but about as exciting as watching paint dry....LOL

So Much for your Heads-Up racing....



[/QUOTE]

WOW......That sounds like Top Fuel and Fuel Ha Ha cars to me.....LOL.

[cicero819]

Lets get back to Terry's original question on "how to promote sportsman racing". I think that everyone has forgotten who really pays the freight in drag racing, it's the little guy, buying with his hard earn money parts from Summit, Jegs, Keystone and all the other manufacturers of racing and cosmetic parts, not the pros for sure. Now the question is what are you ready to do to help. Get in touch with your Division Director and see if you can help him promote his Div. events. Everything from distributing advertising pamphlets to showing your racing operation at High School to malls, you name it. These are hard times and if you want our sport to survive to you have to do something. CR

[Robbie Welch]

I've been reading this post with great interest. First back in the day there where alot less entertainment options available (internet,tv,resturants, moves, malls, ect) Secondly the price to spectate has gottin out of hand even for the weekly races, and the price for a big show (nationals) are crazy. As the ecconomy continues to stay weak these prices need to be reduced. The weekly shows need to promoted better as someone said I can remember the (SUNDAY,SUNDAY,SUNDAY) ads on the radio you rarely hear a race promoted anymore. Next to blame the demise of drag race on any one competion class is narrow minded,its the diversity in classes that make it interesting this encludes (stk,ss,comp and the .90 class's) and Mr.Gonzo 1066 if you believe that .90 racing is NOT A REAL DRAG RACE please give if it a try. I think you'll find out differently, its some of the closest racing you'll find just watch it from the finish line. Granted the throttle stops may make it a bit confusing to the casual spectator, the real race is after the stops come off.

[Festus]

From purely my spectator perspective, Stock and Super Stock are some of the most entertaining classes in drag racing. Diversity of body styles but still cars we recognize, classic cars, great paint jobs, wheelstands, etc. It's probably not as big a deal as you racers think regarding the rules and why guys are on the brakes at the finish and why the faster time sometimes loses. It's the visceral aspects that makes it great. I wouldn't pay to see headsup, street muffled cars because they wouldn't have the sensory assault factor. You just have to find a way to get people there in the first place. Maybe I'm an exception but I think the product sells itself. I agree that lowering ticket prices might help a little but an extra $5 or $10 isn't THAT big a deal. I think an angle of more of a "show" than a "race" would intrigue potential spectators more.

And since it's been mentioned, I'm not the biggest fan of the 0.90 classes. While I can appreciate the technical challenges, watching a 2 second throttle stop and only having the scoreboard tell me who won doesn't really do it. I can't really see the finish line from the starting line so any jockeying that's happening down there gets lost. I remember the first time I saw Super Comp without knowing about the stop, I was thinking how weird it was for the guys to let off the gas after they launch. That didn't seem like real racing to me.

As I mentioned in my first post earlier in this thread, after watching many hundreds of passes, I STILL don't know exactly how Stock and Super Stock works. Maybe someone can explain it to me. Maybe a handout at the track would be useful explaining all the classes. But having that last little piece of knowledge wouldn't change the enjoyment factor for me at all since I'm there for the sights and sounds and not really for the technical aspects. I'd imagine most casual fans would feel the same way.

[Mike Pearson]

Originally Posted by Festus

From purely my spectator perspective, Stock and Super Stock are some of the most entertaining classes in drag racing. Diversity of body styles but still cars we recognize, classic cars, great paint jobs, wheelstands, etc. It's probably not as big a deal as you racers think regarding the rules and why guys are on the brakes at the finish and why the faster time sometimes loses. It's the visceral aspects that makes it great. I wouldn't pay to see headsup, street muffled cars because they wouldn't have the sensory assault factor. You just have to find a way to get people there in the first place. Maybe I'm an exception but I think the product sells itself. I agree that lowering ticket prices might help a little but an extra $5 or $10 isn't THAT big a deal. I think an angle of more of a "show" than a "race" would intrigue potential spectators more.

And since it's been mentioned, I'm not the biggest fan of the 0.90 classes. While I can appreciate the technical challenges, watching a 2 second throttle stop and only having the scoreboard tell me who won doesn't really do it. I can't really see the finish line from the starting line so any jockeying that's happening down there gets lost. I remember the first time I saw Super Comp without knowing about the stop, I was thinking how weird it was for the guys to let off the gas after they launch. That didn't seem like real racing to me.

As I mentioned in my first post earlier in this thread, after watching many hundreds of passes, I STILL don't know exactly how Stock and Super Stock works. Maybe someone can explain it to me. Maybe a handout at the track would be useful explaining all the classes. But having that last little piece of knowledge wouldn't change the enjoyment factor for me at all since I'm there for the sights and sounds and not really for the technical aspects. I'd imagine most casual fans would feel the same way.

Thats one of the great things about this forum. If you have a question about any of the classes on this site all you have to do is join up and start a thread on your subject. The vast majority of the racers on this site will be happy to answer any questions that you have about how the class races and the rules involved.

[Mike Carr]

Originally Posted by Festus

As I mentioned in my first post earlier in this thread, after watching many hundreds of passes, I STILL don't know exactly how Stock and Super Stock works. Maybe someone can explain it to me. Maybe a handout at the track would be useful explaining all the classes. But having that last little piece of knowledge wouldn't change the enjoyment factor for me at all since I'm there for the sights and sounds and not really for the technical aspects. I'd imagine most casual fans would feel the same way.

Here are some articles I wrote a few years back. Only the first page (or two) have the really important stuff. Take some time to read it, it should be a big help to any novice fans of NHRA/IHRA Sportsan racing.

http://forum.competitionplus.com/showthread.php?t=7224

[gonzo1066]

Originally Posted by Robbie Welch

I've been reading this post with great interest. First back in the day there where alot less entertainment options available (internet,tv,resturants, moves, malls, ect) Next to blame the demise of drag race on any one competion class is narrow minded,its the diversity in classes that make it interesting this encludes (stk,ss,comp and the .90 class's) and Mr.Gonzo 1066 if you believe that .90 racing is NOT A REAL DRAG RACE please give if it a try. I think you'll find out differently, its some of the closest racing you'll find just watch it from the finish line. Granted the throttle stops may make it a bit confusing to the casual spectator, the real race is after the stops come off.

Sorry to ruffle feathers, I am sure that the throttle stoppers ALL take the races they run just as serious as the Pro Class racers do. I assume that driving skill is just as important as setting the computer. I was trying to point out that FROM THE STANDS (at least to this old timer) electronic racing is hard to watch.

[Robbie Welch]

No ruffled feathers here (well maybe a little). I understand .90 and class racing in general can be confusing to spectators. I've explained how and why t-stops are used to spectators in the stands before. Try watching .90 or any class from the finish line there's alot going on down there.

[cicero819]

Robbie, I have to say that I'm an old school 90's but have come to enjoy watching top end strategies people employ. I'm glad that Rock Haas told me to look at the big picture and stop looking at the past. Racing is racing. CR