And the new normal begins

[B Parker]

Maybe at some point the racers will stick together and have a say in how things are run. Did I really say that. LOL Was just joking they know we are not smart enough to figure out without all the racers there would be no nationals. It's a shame we have the power just not smart enough to use it. How many are old enough and I do forget what race it was where the funny cars stayed out at the gate to force NHRA to negotiate with them. BP

[4406mopar]

It was worse when the omitted one of the sportsman classes at each national event. Was it not? Im not saying it’s great now though.

[RKelliher]

Pistol Pete brought up the point that they have 17 categories at Gators. But it's not the number of categories,it's the car count.Gators only have 380 quota cars and no class. and 567 total cars including pros.That is not a high car count for a four day event.

[Bob Smith]

This is not a good thing. They keep pushing the sportsmen racers, the backbone, further down the ladder. They have time for match races, grudge races, dog & pony show etc and make the real racers run on Thursday; not right! Someone pays $300 for an entry and half of them are out the very first day.

Dan would they listen to you, as a seasoned veteran and our most winning racer, if you passed along the displeasure or negative feelings?

[Mike Pearson]

Also at the Gators they have the majority of the sportsman racers pitted at the road course. They need to get those rigs out of that area so they can park spectators there once the pro show starts. You do not want to be parked back there once they open that up for spectator parking.

[DailyDriverSst]

Originally Posted by RKelliher

Pistol Pete brought up the point that they have 17 categories at Gators. But it's not the number of categories,it's the car count.Gators only have 380 quota cars and no class. and 567 total cars including pros.That is not a high car count for a four day event.

Originally Posted by Mike Pearson

Also at the Gators they have the majority of the sportsman racers pitted at the road course. They need to get those rigs out of that area so they can park spectators there once the pro show starts. You do not want to be parked back there once they open that up for spectator parking.

I concur with this assessment. Maybe some of the issue is related to the parking. But that just further shows that NHRA, supposedly a "501c non-profit", only gives a damn about the money.

Have you seen the new photographer rules? Rebilas posted them, now all photogs have to kneel in the first 100 feet. Apparently they were blocking the spectator view, and it applies for sportsman and pro. Which leads to my next point...

NHRA only cares about what the fans see because they pay money to come in. They don't care about sponsors - just look at what the midway vendor fee is, and the cost of a wall sign. While kneeling photogs can't hurt, I don't see it noticably changing anything in terms of sponsor viewership. For today's cost of racing, I am amazed that any companies get ROI from sponsorship at the sportsman level much less the pro level. I'd LOVE to see some real data on that.

Realistically, many of the older fans want to see the cars that they grew up with. Hence, why Stock, SS, and S/St are still somewhat popular walking around. But this newer crowd has such a short attention span that unless they see something they like, they are bored. And honestly, I bet less than 25% of them give a damn about the heritage race in Toyotas (lol). Maybe if they had Hellcats or F/SA F/SShowdown cars it would be a little more reasonable.

Who this hurts the most is in fact the sportsman sponsors. They are spending money to be on the side of your car. Now granted only the Emmons are...on the Emmons level. But most of us sportsman are fighting tooth and nail to get any funding we can. To run first round on Thursday with no fans present is just NHRA saying "Have a finger" to the grassroots of the sports. Not only because it becomes a one day show and nobody knows you were there, but because it's virtually a rip-off to the sponsor that may have taken days to negotiate a deal with. Especially if it's a one-off sponsor for this specific event.

I thought the Pro-Stock deal was laughable. A class that struggles for sponsorship, take them off the pro show and stick them on late at night several days later during the week where nobody will see them. How's a sponsor supposed to pick up on that deal?

Well, now Sportsman are just getting shafted the same way. Except we already were getting it before, but now they've thrown the lube in the trash and moved us all up a day...

They could break Sportsman out to the weekend before the national. Do away with Quotas and just let everybody enter. Get each class down to 16 the Sat/Sun before. Then run those 16 of each class on Saturday and Sunday of pro weekend. But the counter to that is who would stay, plus staffing. Not very economical on the financial side. There has to be a middle ground.

Of course, NHRA will say "We need filler for between pro sessions on Friday"... Hmm, seems to me that what Shannon Morgan started has worked. Run a small tire/big tire 'outlaw-style' 1/8 mile race for filler.

[RKelliher]

You must remember NHRA is in the entertainment business not racing business that changed years ago when Wally Parks died and the real NHRA died with him.We are there to pay the insurance bill and other costs.I raced at my last national event at Charlotte last fall,and it was the worst run event i've seen in over 50 nationals over the years.either as a crew or driver.I'm just going to enjoy racing at the local CCRA races.

[CMcAllister]

Originally Posted by RKelliher

You must remember NHRA is in the entertainment business not racing business that changed years ago when Wally Parks died and the real NHRA died with him.We are there to pay the insurance bill and other costs.I raced at my last national event at Charlotte last fall,and it was the worst run event i've seen in over 50 nationals over the years.either as a crew or driver.I'm just going to enjoy racing at the local CCRA races.

Racers and car guys are too dumb to run anything as large and complex as NHRA. They had to hire "experts" and "professionals" to take care of the important stuff - TV and the "casual" fan. Anyone who missed the interview with G. Light in PRI magazine a few months ago should go back and read it.

[Charlie Yannetti]

NHRA ran this schedule at Maple Grove a few years back.. I was surprised that NHRA folks were't hanging from the trees.. BUT, here they are doing it again.. attempting to use the weather situation in Pomona is only an excuse to get Sportsmen guys out of their faces.. OR, they wouldn't be pulling the same nonsense again..

This will happen at EVERY National Event, and the only thing we can do about it, is NOT go.. NOT pay the entries.. and only pay the necessary licensing fees to be able to compete at local tracks..

They don't want Sportsmen racers on the property to interfere with their Pro show and side circus.. SOOOOOOOOO, except for a credit they owe me, I'll stay home.. but of course, there will be someone to jump right into my pit space, cause we're stupid that way... SAD!!

[Bob Don]

They last time I ran the Keystones, half of the pit area abutting the farm was cordoned off for VIP parking. Looking at NHRA's website, VIP parking was $25 per day. You can fit 4 cars in an average pit space, times 3 days, equals $300 for the weekend. Plus the VIPs buy concessions and souvenirs; they don't have to be teched, weighed, or fuel checked. Sad reality is your pit space is worth more to NHRA as parking. (I was in the last spot along the chain link fence next to the VIP area. The VIPs kept trying to park in my pit spot. My wife had to shoo them away when I was making a run).