What would U change @ IHRA

Eric Merryfield · 10-15-2008, 10:00 AM

If I were employed by Feld:

I would crosspromote the IHRA at all the other Feld events.....Monster Jam, rodeo, arena, even the shows and disney on ice......I would also improve the gate draw at the national, and maybe pro-am events would be even better with exibitions from monster trucks, arena, rodeo, etc.......

I don't know about you, but anything that puts more seats in the stands will be good for all. Not all fans will invest their time and money for just drag racing. I wouldn't mind watching Gravedigger do a jump or two either. Perfect fan retainer during track prep, and oildown etc.

Yes more of a circus, but a what a entertainment bang for your buck!

And you would only be able to find it at the IHRA....

Since I would have more money coming in, I would entice the Sportsman crowd by doubling all the payoffs, at both national and pro-am events. Make it easier to choose the IHRA event over the NHRA if scheduling conflicts arise. I would give a discount to racers who make multiple events..maybe $10 per.and I would also discount the fee that racers who pay for all the national events pre-season....

I would bring back online registration.

I would move heaven and earth to not schedule events on the same weekends as the NHRA.

On the racing specific side:

second the quoting of the #'s. I don't know how much effort it would take to mimic what the NHRA does online , but it certainly would greatly cut down on phone calls, and assist guys building cars for specific classes.

I miss the paper rulebook. If asked I would pay extra for the hardcopy. Its nice to have it online, and on cd, but its even better in paper.

Eric Merryfield

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris1529

at the doubles, they get in too big a hurry on Sunday. They rush through the time trials and race because everyone is thinking about getting home and what they have to do for the week.

By having the races on Fri/Sat, you spend all week getting pumped up about the races and are really ready to go. Then you can have the option to head home sat night, or stay till sun morning and get and take a relaxed trip home. Like Chip said, it also leaves you a rain date. The track could also have a free or low cost bracket race for those that choose to stay on Sunday as well as for the locals if they want to bring their cars.

At the single races, they do need a time trial Sunday, but that goes back to my original arguement about getting in a hurry on Sunday.

I think they also have an emerging market at Pittsburgh Raceway Park, but I would like to see that divisional or sportsnational moved to October. The weekend before the Dutch Classis would seem to be ideal. They need to get the Pittsburgh races away from the heat of the summer. They could then market the race to racers heading east to the Dutch.

IHRA also needs to find an inroad into the northeast. I don't know about you guys, but Epping NH is a bit far for the majority of IHRA racers. The same could be said for Tulsa and Alberta.

I also think they need to publish the s/ss factors they use. That may encourage some more NHRA racers to come to some of the events, but they may not if they can't readily find what hp their car is rated at and what weight they have to race at. I know someone else said IHRA needs their own classes, but we must also realize that there are a limited number of class cars out there especially in some areas.