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Mike Dahl · 09-13-2014, 12:44 AM

Ya know, I think there is more than a little something to the open trailer thing. After pondering for a day or two I realized I missed the thumbs up going down the road and the occasional enthusiast that would strike up a conversation during a fuel up. As a track brat kid, it was cool to see my dad be a hero 10 or so times on the road and now as a husband and father I know what he felt. Very great times and free mobile advertisement too!

But the thread name was "part of what hurt drag racing."

It also made me think about why I haven't raced at all in the last 3 years and really in a limited fashion before my hiatus. Granted there are other personal factors but I just got tired of going to the races and not racing. Too many trips where there was a 300-500 mile tow each way and three runs over two days. The value wasn't there for me at the time, which is not to say I discount the value others experience. Maybe a self fulfilling prophecy, I don't know...

I would like to return but have a hard time getting my arms around the idea that I should spend more $$$$ to purchase a motor home to pull my enclosed trailer so the family is comfortable and "entertained" while not racing at the races. Hmmmm

Couldn't we just pack our runs into a 3 or 4 hour block per day and then call it a day to allow for some freedoms for those in our families that sacrificed their trip to Disneyland or a voyage on a cruise ship to support us? I don't hate the idea of hitting six flags in the day and arriving at the dragstrip at 4 ish and racing til 10 pm. Some might scoff a bit at some of the local Friday night drag and round track guys, but they get a whole lot of racing in with multiple divisions done in a night and are able to better capture attention for that short time than the whole weekend format. IMHO

Racers should race more at the races and the families that support them deserve more consideration. They are the ones who will make or break the thing. I don't think the class type and car type changes going on now will move the spectator / participant needle as much as we may think or hope. I hope I am wrong.

09-13-2014, 12:44 AM	#24
Mike Dahl Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Las Vegas Posts: 30 Likes: 0 Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Part of what hurt drag racing Ya know, I think there is more than a little something to the open trailer thing. After pondering for a day or two I realized I missed the thumbs up going down the road and the occasional enthusiast that would strike up a conversation during a fuel up. As a track brat kid, it was cool to see my dad be a hero 10 or so times on the road and now as a husband and father I know what he felt. Very great times and free mobile advertisement too! But the thread name was "part of what hurt drag racing." It also made me think about why I haven't raced at all in the last 3 years and really in a limited fashion before my hiatus. Granted there are other personal factors but I just got tired of going to the races and not racing. Too many trips where there was a 300-500 mile tow each way and three runs over two days. The value wasn't there for me at the time, which is not to say I discount the value others experience. Maybe a self fulfilling prophecy, I don't know... I would like to return but have a hard time getting my arms around the idea that I should spend more $$$$ to purchase a motor home to pull my enclosed trailer so the family is comfortable and "entertained" while not racing at the races. Hmmmm Couldn't we just pack our runs into a 3 or 4 hour block per day and then call it a day to allow for some freedoms for those in our families that sacrificed their trip to Disneyland or a voyage on a cruise ship to support us? I don't hate the idea of hitting six flags in the day and arriving at the dragstrip at 4 ish and racing til 10 pm. Some might scoff a bit at some of the local Friday night drag and round track guys, but they get a whole lot of racing in with multiple divisions done in a night and are able to better capture attention for that short time than the whole weekend format. IMHO Racers should race more at the races and the families that support them deserve more consideration. They are the ones who will make or break the thing. I don't think the class type and car type changes going on now will move the spectator / participant needle as much as we may think or hope. I hope I am wrong. Last edited by Mike Dahl; 09-13-2014 at 01:30 AM.