Top 10 Things Killing Bracket Racing
-- DISCLAIMER: This is just my personal opinion from observations and conversations with racers and track managements. Please take no offense. None was intended.
Top 10 Things Killing Bracket Racing
10. Division Director
Two decisions by the division director.
a. Dropping bracket racing from division races caused bracket racing to lose exposure.
b. Making it easier for racers to make the bracket finals without supporting a track.
9. Motor Homes
For the most part, this is strictly a perception deal, but if you're not outside when newcomers are walking by, wanting to inquire about your operation or racing in general. This loses the best marketing tool we have, which is word of mouth.
8. Junior Dragsters
Although we had some junior dragster racers move up, not near as many that have been participants made the move up to bracket racing. This is a theory my mothers had that anyone serious about their hobby usually only sticks with it for 10 years and in this case, those years are being used up in junior dragster.
7. Loss of Time Trials
In the golden olden days, you could hotlap your car and get your money's worth in time trials. Let me let you guys in on a little secret: some guys actually like driving their cars, and the current trend of two time trials or maybe one, then you have to buy a time trial, or run for the money, or whatever that want to call it, leaves you with little chance to test and tune your car, because you are worried more about consistency, due to the lack of time trials.
6. Organizations
a. NHRA
In the beginning, things they did really helped the local tracks, bringing in super gas and super comp really helped jump up the local car counts. But then they started going after the local racer by bringing in super street, and now they are going after the quick racers, top dragster, and top sportsman by dangling out gold cards for the champions. Thus hurting the tracks by them having to eat the gold cards and the loss of car counts.
b. IHRA
The IHRA went directly after the sportsman, which is their job, as they've seen a market for it, but it is something else for racers to chase, and once they get hung in a points battle, they will hardly run their local tracks.
c. Independent Series
I don't know why tracks let these independent series in their gates, because they're there for one thing, and that's to convert the racers at the track to chase his series, thus more loss of revenue for the local track once the circus goes to the next town.
5. Track Owners and Management
a. Owners
Racers didn't create the need for you to hire full-time staff. You have to hire a full-time staff because of all the nights you are open that are not bracket racing. A lot of tracks are open three and four nights a week. You're not going to hit a home run on every night. And if you're leaving bracket racing out of your special programs, you're not going to get any growth either. There was a time when most track owners wore all the hats. Chief Cook and bottle washer type thing, we felt we were part of the track. But now they all have management and we hardly ever see the owners.
b. Management
This **** of ?I wanted to do this or that,? but the owner wouldn't let me has got to end. Quit trying to play the racers off of ownership. Make only promises you can keep, and never tell the racers something's written in stone, until it is in writing. A lot of racers have spent money, or changed their plans for the next season, based upon your word. Make sure your word counts.
When designing a race, be realistic. If something needs 100 cars to make the payout, and you normally only draw 20 to 30, you might want to reevaluate your thinking. If racers are constantly splitting the payout, remember you need to evaluate your pay scale.
4. Marketing
We're just not getting any exposure. Something needs to be done to get spectators in, because those are our future racers. If we don't get more people watching, it will be the end.
The total abuse of the word ?guaranteed.? It is so unrealistic for the marketing department of a track or promoter to put the word ?guaranteed? on a program that there's no way they can reach the numbers. It leaves a sour taste in the racer's mouth, and they sure as hell won't want to help a track after that.
3. Multiple Entries
The beauty of bracket racing is it's one-on-one, and when all 4 staging lights are on, it doesn't matter how much money you have in your pocket. But when somebody can bring multiple cars, or buy multiple tech cars, this is another perception is reality. And I'd like to give a great example of this in action. Back when Bill had Green Valley, and Super Pro was still a small class, the tracks in this area allowed you to race two cars in the same class, as long as they were different cars. At the end of the season on a Sunday one year, when me and my opponent when to the tower to pick up our checks, Bill pulled us over for a little chat, explaining to us how he wasn't going to let us drive multiple cars the next year. (Between us and a few other racers, that would of cost him almost 10 tech cars.) When we asked why, and how he was going to make up for the loss of entries, he explained how he thought what we were doing wasn't fair to the racers that couldn't afford to being two cars. And he would make up the money with an increased car count he would get by giving the perception everybody had one shot. We laughed at that one as we left the tower, but he got the last laugh as car counts shot through the moon, after Bill made this bold move. Funny how history repeats itself. Buybacks and multi-entries are doing the same thing to bracket racing today that bring bringing multiple cars did back then.
2. Buybacks
a. In it's original concept, buybacks may have been okay. Tracks using them to make up for low car counts to help save the track. That is the most important thing. But that's not what they're being used for now, in most cases. The use of buybacks in most cases is to create a payout artificially to help a track keep up with the Jones', or make exuberant profits.
b. Since the inception of buybacks, how many tracks have actually outgrown? In fact, the opposite has happened. Tracks have started going to multiple buybacks, and multiple tech cards. And I hear some tracks are even going to third round buybacks. It's kinda like a cocaine addict. They start taking more and more, not realizing they are getting worse and worse. Buybacks are truly stunning the growth of bracket racing.
c. Listen to some of the comments the owners have: ?No one's twisting your arm to buyback, or a lot of my racers love it.? Well, the answer to the first: ?If you went to a Vegas tournament, and play slot machines against an opponent, and you were only going to spend $20, and the tournament allowed your opponent to spend $20,000, you probably wouldn't go back to that tournament.? To the second part, buybacks increase entry fee, thus increasing cost, thus running off more racers. And besides, when you look around the country, the most successful tracks don't use them. The rest of this buyback thing I could go on about, but it's obvious some owners are hard-headed and don't want to market their track. The first thought on their mind when laying out a race is how many buybacks and entries I allow. Sorry to be so tough.
1. The number one reason is: YOU
a. That's right, you. And I'm not talking about the whining crybabies. We all know what they're doing, because of all the enclosed trailers, 8ft privacy fences, bracket racing gets zero free advertising. And yes, I'm talking about you. How many times have you been in a restaurant and you see someone looking at your hat or shirt, and say ?Dear God, I hope he doesn't come over here wanting to talk about racing.?
b. The at***ude at the track. How many times have you been standing along the fence, hearing people say how great the ownership is, but the management sucks, not walk 10 feet away, and hear how great the management is, but ownership sucks? Other people hear this too, and the talk along the fence is way worse than anything I've heard on the Internet.
c. As bracket racers, we need to be WILLING to let the tracks incorporate us in part or as a whole with their special programs, I.E. Pro Mods, Back Halves, etc., etc. This is how we get exposure. People come out to watch the pro mods, and they realize pretty quick that they wouldn't be able to afford to do that, it would be nice if there was a class there running that would look more affordable to them.
IN THE END, IT WILL BE UP TO YOU TO SAVE BRACKET RACING! IT'S THE WAY IT'S ALWAYS BEEN, AND THE WAY IT WILL ALWAYS BE!
Thank you very much for your time,
Johnny Claridge
www.voy.com/96963/