More Sportsman coverage in National Dragster

[Jim Kaekel]

I just hope they deliver. Maybe they'll quit trying to make National Dragster a fan magazine. I know I'm sick and tired of the pro driver stories. I'm surprised they didn't add Robin Leach from "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" as a feature writer for that garbage.

[Lyn Smith]

Dragster used to be a cash cow for NHRA.The classifieds,and Sponsor directory brought in alot of income.Maybe now they are starting to realize that it was the Sportsmen racers that spent the cash that kept that going.

[Bill Grubbs]

I think everyone needs to re-read the quote from NHRA..."editorial".

"Editorial" not "feature"...how much of the Dragster is editorial anyway? Twenty, 30, 60 column inches? Most of the Dragster would be considered feature articles.

I also agree with Lyn on who the advertising dollar is targeting.

[racerhead]

Bill, I believe in their lingo, 'editorial' is most everything, not just like the editorial section of a newspaper. This change is driven by the input from advertisers, who see that racers themselves are the ones who primarily purchase their race parts. More interested racers and hard core fans, more advertising effectiveness. I'm optimistic. I'm also biased as I still write for ND and I advertise.

Bruce Deveau

[MR DERBY CITY]

Could they include any less ?? Geez....I have read enough of the Force girls to last me a lifetime. How bout an article about Randi Lynn Shipp jumping off the Stratosphere (spelling) while competing at Las Vegas. Now, that's entertainment. M.J.

[Tim H]

Great news, maybe I will renew after all ... too bad there is no more free T-shirt !

[Kevin McKenna]

It is true. The focus of National Dragster will be shifting in the coming weeks and months as we continue to pursue the proper balance of editorial content that appeals to our subscribers, readers, and advertisers. To that end, we plan on adding much more sportsman-related content.

Over the past couple of years, some of you have no doubt noticed that we’ve included at least one sportsman feature in every issue. Some of the prominent class racers that have been featured include Austin Williams, the Teuton family, PB and Brett Candies, Bo Butner, and others. We certainly plan to do more of that going forward.

We are also planning a return of Dan Fletcher's very popular "Route 2015" column for what we hope will be six issues this year. As most of you know, Dan's writing it top notch and he's very honest and forthcoming about his life on tour.

As for race coverage, we began including an extra photo page with each sportsman story last year and that was very well received so we’re going to continue that as well.

From time to time we do surveys and one of the things that seems to always be at or near the top of the list is tech features. To that end, Mike Galimi will continue to contribute with his regular tech columns and we’re also going to roll out a new feature that I believe will be very popular. We’ve taken some of the most successful and best-known NHRA sportsman drivers and asked them to reveal some of their best-kept secrets for success. We’ve asked them to sound off on a wide variety of topics including car prep, record keeping, dial-in selection, and the finer points of finish line driving. It’s our hope that this will provide useful info that can actually help make you improve your program.

If you’ve got comments, suggestions I can always be reached at kmckenna@NHRA.com

Kevin McKenna
Sr. Editor
National Dragster

[Jim Kaekel]

Good to hear.

[Ed Fernandez]

Originally Posted by Kevin McKenna

It is true. The focus of National Dragster will be shifting in the coming weeks and months as we continue to pursue the proper balance of editorial content that appeals to our subscribers, readers, and advertisers. To that end, we plan on adding much more sportsman-related content.

Over the past couple of years, some of you have no doubt noticed that we’ve included at least one sportsman feature in every issue. Some of the prominent class racers that have been featured include Austin Williams, the Teuton family, PB and Brett Candies, Bo Butner, and others. We certainly plan to do more of that going forward.

We are also planning a return of Dan Fletcher's very popular "Route 2015" column for what we hope will be six issues this year. As most of you know, Dan's writing it top notch and he's very honest and forthcoming about his life on tour.

As for race coverage, we began including an extra photo page with each sportsman story last year and that was very well received so we’re going to continue that as well.

From time to time we do surveys and one of the things that seems to always be at or near the top of the list is tech features. To that end, Mike Galimi will continue to contribute with his regular tech columns and we’re also going to roll out a new feature that I believe will be very popular. We’ve taken some of the most successful and best-known NHRA sportsman drivers and asked them to reveal some of their best-kept secrets for success. We’ve asked them to sound off on a wide variety of topics including car prep, record keeping, dial-in selection, and the finer points of finish line driving. It’s our hope that this will provide useful info that can actually help make you improve your program.

If you’ve got comments, suggestions I can always be reached at kmckenna@NHRA.com

Kevin McKenna
Sr. Editor
National Dragster

Kevin for starters bring back Evan Smith. His articles were very interesting and tech wise. Also you said you 'll do more sportsman feature articles. How about articles on
lower classed racers ( i.e. Mike Koski,Billy Nees, and slower cars in comp,and the super categories)? I could go on and on but that's just for starters.

[Jim Wahl]

This is good news! Thanks Kevin. Jim

.