NHRA boots ESPN!

[skills]

As a fan I thought the ESPN coverage was terrible. Hopefully whomever gets the contract will make it look more like the real track action. Our sport isn't just fuel cars, and I believe the more you show the more fans you will get.

[FireSale]

Originally Posted by skills

As a fan I thought the ESPN coverage was terrible. Hopefully whomever gets the contract will make it look more like the real track action. Our sport isn't just fuel cars, and I believe the more you show the more fans you will get.

I agree with this. The fuel classes don't make for good live TV viewing. The racing is often decided by lane conditions and engine failures cause extensive delays in the action. Sportsman racing is more competitive, fast paced and has a better variety of cars to watch.

NASCAR has been able to train legions of fans to sit for hours watching kinda stock bodied cars for round and round for hours, so why can't NHRA give it a shot? At least fill the gap between fuel rounds with quarters and semis of Sportsman class eliminations? Educate viewers about the nuances of handicap and .90 racing and see what happens.

Dale

[jwsamuel]

Originally Posted by skills

As a fan I thought the ESPN coverage was terrible. Hopefully whomever gets the contract will make it look more like the real track action. Our sport isn't just fuel cars, and I believe the more you show the more fans you will get.

Do you really think that Super Gas and Super Comp with their throttle stops will attract more fans and increase TV ratings?

Jim

[goinbroke2]

You know, show the wheels in the air launches and one car catching the other, then close in on the finish line, maybe slo-mo for effect and it'd work. Pinks proved you can race 9sec or 19 sec and make an exciting show of it.

Put camera's in the chaser car

Put several close camera's to pan along the track so it visually seems faster/more exciting

Put camera's down low to watch the front wheels lift up and off the line

Get somebody who knows how to build excitement, heck if they can show soap box derby cars starting and then coasting along a hill and pump fans up why in hell can't somebody figure out how to pump up two cars jumping the front and screaming to the finish?????

[Chris1529]

Fox Sports now has FS2. That is a premium channel where I live. I think they were showing some Nascar (at least qualifying) on that channel earlier in the year.

[Glenn Briglio]

It"s all about the bucks NHRA is shelling out.Better deal on FS1.

[63corvette]

Originally Posted by jwsamuel

Do you really think that Super Gas and Super Comp with their throttle stops will attract more fans and increase TV ratings?

Jim

Jim if you show the finish line racing in the Super categories standard speed and in slow motion at the finish line it will be the closest racing at high mph.
That can be made exciting for the viewers. No difference than any of the other categories. If any of the categories are shown on tape it must be edited to show just the start and the finish line. The middle of the races no matter which category is just plain boring. The typical race viewer wants action which is the draw of the Top Fuel categories but it only lasts around 4 seconds.

I have raced Stock in the past and now race S/G and I can tell you from personal experience in the race seat it is much more exciting and much closer racing a S/G car at 160 plus MPH than my previous B/S car. The finish line racing in the Super categories is usually measured in inches and thousandths of a second at high speed.

I enjoyed the B/S car and shifting the gears but the S/G car is much more exciting and the race is at the finish line. Nothing like being planted in the seat by 1000+ HP as it comes off the stop. Everyone should experience that at least once.

We only watch the races from the end of the track at the finish line where all the action is for any of the categories.

Just My 2 Cents
Rick Cates
Canyon, TX

[Mike Pearson]

Originally Posted by goinbroke2

You know, show the wheels in the air launches and one car catching the other, then close in on the finish line, maybe slo-mo for effect and it'd work. Pinks proved you can race 9sec or 19 sec and make an exciting show of it.

Put camera's in the chaser car

Put several close camera's to pan along the track so it visually seems faster/more exciting

Put camera's down low to watch the front wheels lift up and off the line

Get somebody who knows how to build excitement, heck if they can show soap box derby cars starting and then coasting along a hill and pump fans up why in hell can't somebody figure out how to pump up two cars jumping the front and screaming to the finish?????

You hit the nail on the head. You need someone who can build the excitement. The current announcers are very boring at the national events. A really good announcer or commentator that knows the classes and their system can make all of the classes real interesting. Some of the fans like a long handicapped race between a low hp car and a big inch killer. I also think NHRA should mix up the run order. InStead or all of the pro classes then some sportsman they should be intermixed. That might keep some fans in the stands to watch sportsman. They also need to figure out how to speed up the pro classes. Takes way to long between runs and classes.

[ken robinson]

Dose this bring an end to D3TV which is great .....

[jwsamuel]

Originally Posted by goinbroke2

You know, show the wheels in the air launches and one car catching the other, then close in on the finish line, maybe slo-mo for effect and it'd work. Pinks proved you can race 9sec or 19 sec and make an exciting show of it.

Pinks was not a successful show because it showed 9 or 19 second cars. The cars were secondary.

Pinks was a successful show because of the off-track drama between the competitors. The show used off-track scenes to set up the conflict and build the tension. The cars only served as a resolution to the conflict and tension. If you cut out all the off track activities and just showed the cars running, Pinks would not have been successful.

It's all about drama, tension, conflict and resolution.

Put yourself in the shoes of a fan, or in the shoes of someone who is not a fan but happens on the race coverage while he or she is flipping

Jim