Drag Race Car Display

[chris3racing]

Okay, everyone who don't usually want to hear these opinions well get ready to unload on me. We, Chris Racing, were invited again to display our drag race car in the classic car display as part of the NC Car Dealers International Auto Exo in Raleigh. This year I asked Mr. Eugene Coard and the Ronald Lyles Pro Sock Duster to join me. We spent 19 hours talking to hundreds of people about drag racing, the good old days and present day. The show was advertised every hour on multiple radio stations. At the end of the show today people were lined up from Dorton Arena to the Jim Graham building waiting to get in.

Again this weekend we hat multiple people ask where we race and yes some people do not know that we drag race in NC or how to find out when tracks are racing. This is a HUGE problem. This show was battled by snow, ice, high wind and rain and any track would have loved to have all the people who attended this display in the stands at a track.

Now young people, we had so many young people stop to talk about the cars and racing. I think the one that impressed Eugene and I was a family with a 12 year old girl who said she watched drag racing on TV but had a question of how you made the car sit still and smoke the tires. We put her in our car and showed her all of the steps of bunouts. Then explained the staging process, using the display tree. She had seen some TV races where everybody left the same and the she says some shows all oh the bulbs flash different and one leaves first. Then Eugene antd I showed the different bulbs on the tree. Dad says thanks now the whole family can enjoy the TV races because we know more. The fun for the weekend was the seat belt challenge. The object was the young folks got in the race car and tried to buckle and then unbuckle a 5 point harness one who completed the challenge got a read dot sticker on their shirt. It was fun to walk around the show and see all the young people wearing the stickers proudly.

Come on folks we have got to get busy and save this while we all have a chance

[Larry Sullivan]

Thanks.

[Dwight Southerland]

Chris - Great post in my opinion. There are so many positives to doing a little PR that it should be everybody's #2 activity behind racing. How do you think John Force got to where he is? It's our responsibility to fill the stands at the races. How can people get excited about an activity they don't understand?

[Joe Toller]

Fantastic. It always amazes me how many folks are interested, yet unable to learn about what we racers do, because few take the time to explain it. Good job. We should all strive to be better ambassadors to our sport.

[D.Johns]

^^^
What they said

[BRIAN SEATE]

I teach middle schoolers in a shop class. Some are very interested in my racing. Quite a few have been to the track and are aware of the difference between heads up and time racing as they call it. I showed them the Sportsnationals video from 1978. They really liked the runs that went to the wire. I explained to them that its all math related and somewhat like golf. They understand the handicap system in golf, many of them play. My principal let us put a Porta Tree in the room to help promote math skills. We run a ladder system once a week depending on behavior. The students have to do writing or math related work in order to qualify for race days. They are pretty good, though some are better than others. They also like bye runs...don't we all. My- 2 cents, children need a positive outlet.