S/SS alternatives

[Mark Yacavone]

Ed, As I said in a previous post, there are some people that are just addicted to Wallys.

Nothing else works for them....That is, maybe until they become completely unavailable. Maybe then...

A couple months ago , I put out a feeler for a western class nationals type event later this year. ( I still have the date available ,right before the Nats here)
>>> Result : NO calls. NO responses .None

I'm not giving up on S/SS combos , but if I had to depend on them to eat, I'd starve.

Like Billy says, It's like trying to herd cats.

[tj310]

Only one properly teched race a year, heads up races , records set, horse power adjusted. When they threw out half the class winners at Indy a couple of years ago it became obvious to me rules interpretation was a joke....... Thanx Trevor

[Alan Roehrich]

The idea that Stock and Super Stock are too complicated for the spectators is completely bogus.

If you had announcers like Allen, Bob, Leo, and a couple of others, and allowed them to talk about the cars and the classes, instead of playing that gawd aweful racket they call music, and having what's his name hawking parts, the spectators would have an opportunity to learn about the classes and the cars. NHRA has chosen to promote the pro classes exclusively, and put on a dog and pony circus side show, instead of a real drag race.

Stock Eliminator and Super Stock provide good racing, and a good car show, all rolled into one. The fact that no one promotes that, and educates the spectators, is not the fault of the spectators, nor is it a reflection on the intelligence of the spectators. It's a reflection on how far NHRA has strayed from what made it such a success.

[Mark Yacavone]

Originally Posted by Alan Roehrich

The idea that Stock and Super Stock are too complicated for the spectators is completely bogus.

If you had announcers like Allen, Bob, Leo, and a couple of others, and allowed them to talk about the cars and the classes, instead of playing that gawd aweful racket they call music, and having what's his name hawking parts, the spectators would have an opportunity to learn about the classes and the cars. NHRA has chosen to promote the pro classes exclusively, and put on a dog and pony circus side show, instead of a real drag race.

Stock Eliminator and Super Stock provide good racing, and a good car show, all rolled into one. The fact that no one promotes that, and educates the spectators, is not the fault of the spectators, nor is it a reflection on the intelligence of the spectators. It's a reflection on how far NHRA has strayed from what made it such a success.

Ain't that the truth...

The uniqueness and appeal of S/SS is completely lost on what few spectators remain in the stands for it...


Instead of:

" Next out is Joe Mocci's 69 Camaro .This one is equipped with the basic 350/ 2bbl package, but JOE'S car runs way down in the low 12 second range"

You get Pro announcers spouting things like "neat car" , "cool car"... "I'd love to have one in my garage"

In other words, no specifics at all.

You'll never promote S/SS this way

[Alan Roehrich]

Exactly Mark. When Bob, Leo, and Allen are announcing, if they're given the reins, you hear them say things like "here comes Kevin Cradduck's big orange 69 Camaro with a 427, this thing is way cool, watch for the big wheelie". I've heard Bob, Allen, and Leo say that about our stuff several times, and it gets the spectators attention, but a lot of times, the announcers they have don't do that. That's just one example, but it is what we really need. But it isn't what we get all that often. And we need it at the LODRS races, too.

If they'd talk up some good matches, and tell the spectators what they're looking at, the spectators would care enough that they'd learn how our racing works. Then, if NHRA didn't feel the need to take a huge cut of everything, we could do things such as have some t-shirts made with the class cars on them, and sell them at a decent price. That sort of thing really makes a difference with spectators, it turns them into real fans. But then, I'm not sure they actually want us to have real fans.

[John Quinn]

Originally Posted by Alan Roehrich

That sort of thing really makes a difference with spectators, it turns them into real fans. But than, I'm not sure they actually want us to have real fans.

I think these are words of wisdom. NHRA has been trying to diminish the sportsman fan interest since they decided that guys who run nitro are "PRO's" while everyone is merely a "sportsman". I am old enough to remember the days before NHRA made that distinction. We were all just racers trying to conquer our respective eliminators. It seemed to me like the races were more fun then and everyone was treated better.

I believe Modofied eliminator was eliminated because it was too popular with fans, it drew some fans away from PRO worship.

[Marvin Robinson]

Originally Posted by John Quinn

I think these are words of wisdom. NHRA has been trying to diminish the sportsman fan interest since they decided that guys who run nitro are "PRO's" while everyone is merely a "sportsman". I am old enough to remember the days before NHRA made that distinction. We were all just racers trying to conquer our respective eliminators. It seemed to me like the races were more fun then and everyone was treated better.

I believe Modified eliminator was eliminated because it was too popular with fans, it drew some fans away from PRO worship.

Interesting observation... I remember the days of the fans cheering for the local racers, and identifying with a car like the one they owned. A lot more information was given to them about what was going on, because the PROS and Sportsman racers were being treated with the same enthusiasm by the tracks/sanctioning bodies.