Make Divisionals Great Again

[Lenny5160_v2]

Originally Posted by Mike Pearson

I think you are misinterpreting my post. SC is for sure the most boring of the 3 classes. most people if you ask dont like the cars that leave the line and shut down like the .90 cars. One way to eliminate that is to outlaw the throttle stop. That is not going to happen. Another way is to lower the indexes to reduce the amount of time the cars are on the stop. Spectators come to a race to be entertained and not bored to tears. The indexes in the .90 classes have been the same since they were formed about 40 years ago. The .90 classes are the only ones that can improve drastically with the turn of a thumb wheel. I have friends that race in the .90 classes all of them are killing at least a second with the stop. This thread has mostly been about how to make our events more interesting to attract a larger spectator count. By doing that the tracks will make more money and keep the gates open and if we are real lucky maybe the purse could get raised a bit.
Those are just a couple of ideas that i have. Do you have any ideas or just leave things as they are?

I understood your post just fine. If people don't like throttle stops, a reduction in the amount of time on the stop isn't going to make the difference between spectators coming or staying home. Both of my cars are on the stop for 1.5-2 seconds, which is much less than most. My cars are just as boring to watch as the others.

As to what casual spectators want to watch - if I have both of my cars out in my driveway or at a car show, the dragster gets WAY more attention from the everyday person. It's an actual race car. As racers, we know that dragsters are boring but don't assume the everyday common folk also think it.

As for how to attract spectators to a divisional - it's going to require a show. They aren't coming to watch us race, nor should they feel compelled to. It's not a spectator sport.

[1320racer]

Originally Posted by lenny5160_v2

as for how to attract spectators to a divisional - it's going to require a show. They aren't coming to watch us race, nor should they feel compelled to. It's not a spectator sport.

exactly!!

[Keith 944]

Why are we concerned about bringing in spectators???? We pay a good amount to race. If nhra and track’s want more than what we pay then they need to step up and promote. They are laughing their asses off reading our divided arguments and personal agendas

[Alan Roehrich]

Originally Posted by Keith 944

Why are we concerned about bringing in spectators???? We pay a good amount to race. If nhra and track’s want more than what we pay then they need to step up and promote. They are laughing their asses off reading our divided arguments and personal agendas

Large crowds of spectators are where the money is, unless you have serious title sponsor money. Or serious vendor sponsor money.


Your membership dues license fees, and entry fees are a pittance compared to what they want for profit.

[David Lee]

if e can get the tracks to reduce the entry fees or allow for spectators attend for free. Do not allow any outside food or drink. They could make more of food sales. We could contact local car clubs and high schools. We should not sit on our touches and expect the local tracks lose money on holding divisionals.

[CMcAllister]

This conversation has been coming up fairly regularly for at least the past 40 years.

I know, even from talking to guys who are local street car, drag radial, cash days, radial tire, heads up, bracket guys, most people look at you like you're speaking a foreign language when you start talking about classes, rules, weight breaks, horsepower ratings, classifications, combinations, penalties for going too fast, or throttle stops and how .90 racing works.

They don't get it. Even the people who are far from "casual fan".

You want spectators and excitement for the masses? Heads up, big motor, drag radial, door slammers, fast street car, no prep, funny car burnouts, and/or blowers, turbos or nitrous on every car in the place. Throw in a car or two into the wall.

Or nitro.

Just how it is.

Some kind of booked in show, match race, Quick 8 or other attraction is probably the best bet to get butts in the seats.

I remember wrestling matches in a ring set up in front of the grandstands. Now that was entertainment.

[Bobby Fazio]

Originally Posted by Keith 944

Why are we concerned about bringing in spectators???? We pay a good amount to race.

Because without them we'll have to keep paying gooder amounts of money to race while the tracks, contingency money, track/title sponsors, midway will continue to disappear- while operation costs will continue to rise. The fact that racers don't recognize this kind of scares me.

Originally Posted by Keith 944

If nhra and track’s want more than what we pay then they need to step up and promote.

There seems to be a real disconnect between tracks and NHRA when it comes to these divisionals. I don't think NHRA is inclined to promote the event and may be content getting their cut and operating certain aspects of the race. Their business model might be working just fine on their end. All tracks have slightly different deals with NHRA and it is up to their negotiation skills. Some may have a bad deal in place, or maybe an old deal. It is probably safe to say that the more they take in at a divisional, the more they shell over to NHRA and they may not feel it is even worth gambling on promotions/entertainment and would rather play it safe so as not to lose any money if it flops.

Originally Posted by Keith 944

They are laughing their asses off reading our divided arguments and personal agendas

Anyone reading 1320's post is either laughing their asses off or is confused as all hell. Yes there are a lot of wasted keystrokes on this thread by people offering nothing aside from "nothing will ever be good and that is never was."

[1320racer]

you can count on it!

"nothing will ever be good and that is never was" and specifically Divisionals will never be great again if your definition of great is spectators in the stands and a manufacturer's midway and Bobby fyi, I was with a racer yesterday that you have previously interview who has been reading this thread and he was laughing at YOU and agreed with me 100% that spectators ain't ever coming and divisionals will never be great again according to your definition.

[Steve Stasko]

Originally Posted by Bobby Fazio

Because without them we'll have to keep paying gooder amounts of money to race while the tracks, contingency money, track/title sponsors, midway will continue to disappear- while operation costs will continue to rise. The fact that racers don't recognize this kind of scares me.



There seems to be a real disconnect between tracks and NHRA when it comes to these divisionals. I don't think NHRA is inclined to promote the event and may be content getting their cut and operating certain aspects of the race. Their business model might be working just fine on their end. All tracks have slightly different deals with NHRA and it is up to their negotiation skills. Some may have a bad deal in place, or maybe an old deal. It is probably safe to say that the more they take in at a divisional, the more they shell over to NHRA and they may not feel it is even worth gambling on promotions/entertainment and would rather play it safe so as not to lose any money if it flops.

So do we want spectators or not? In the first paragraph you're trying to sell us on the need for spectators to offset costs. In the second, you're trying to tell us that the tracks don't want spectators because of increased cost.

[1320racer]

forget the spectators that aren't ever coming our concern should be if we keep losing tracks, there's less tracks willing to lose money to host divisionals and entries will continue to increase while payouts remain stuck in the 90s and contingency sponsors continue to leave the program. Take D1, the very real possibility exist that we could lose 2 tracks over the next 10 years.