Calif. newspaper article

[Oclk Dlux]

Originally Posted by Michael Beard

That being said, they are two different animals, and do not need to be compared.

Rubbish Mike. What's been everyone's favorite subject to rant about on this forum for the last two years? NHRA and fans. That's what the article is about. Let's be real shall we. NHRA gets it's money from the racers, whereas NASCAR gets theirs mainly from the fans. This explains all their TV coverage, commercials, sponsorships, etc. Fans eat that up and will pay for more.

Shoot, many NASCAR racers are even household names. For example, I asked my Mom & Dad, who are very mild race fans, if they knew any NHRA racers. They couldn't answer, so I threw out the name John Force, hoping to jog a memory. All I got was, "Didn't he advertise for Castrol?" Hey, at least they knew that. Yet, both were able to name Gordon, Johnson, Kahne, Stewart, Jarrett, and even Ken Schrader of all people! Unbelievable......

To drive the point even further, I recently purchased a "Super Six" asphalt sprint car for next year. I could never get a sponsor for my stocker (who wants to sponsor a LeBaron anyways?), yet I have people asking me if I'd like to have them sponsor my sprint car. Incredible! Well, they know that lots of fans go to their local circle track, especially on Grand Nationals night, and will patronize businesses they see advertised on cars.

NHRA doesn't cater to the fans anymore, and they're not worried. If they want a pay raise, they can simply create classes to attract more racers. More racers equals more money. So the guy who wrote the article hit the nail right on the head. However, will lack of fans be the demise of NHRA? No. If there's hundreds of cars lined up at the local drag strip's front gate prior to opening, then what are we scared of?