Re: How competitive are you?
 

Still bracket racing. If they turned the clocks on, people would figure out in a hurry, and quit watching. The crowd actually believes it's heads-up. They haven't quite figured out what is going on when they disquailfy a racer for sandbagging.

Re: How competitive are you?
 

You can rent a track and put on whatever kind of race you want. That was my point to Butler. If you're going to do something, DO it. If it's a great idea, maybe people will come. As it turns out, there's an enormous amount of time, energy, money, and risk that goes into promoting an event. At some point, in the "Somebody ought to do xyz...", that somebody has to be you. (That's a global 'you', not directed at the original poster, per se)

Based on what we see from the outside, one would think that the PINKS All Out should make crazy money... so why is it gone? It may be worth noting that they also did some non-televised events called Armdrop Live, which did not fare as well. There's always a lot more to it than what we see at a glance.

Re: How competitive are you?
 

Micheal, I did that for two years and without complete program of ads, time schedule during event and more cars it was hard. Now a track ASKS for help bringing it to their schedule. I hope we can pull a few of the same racers for a start up trial event.

Any cars that can run SS/B or BA cars interested let me know so as we plan I can include you in information.

Re: How competitive are you?
 

Michael, I understand what you are saying. That is what happened at Pullin Entertainment and Speed Channel. The individual who came up with the idea and got it all started was also smart enough to have a contract. When he decided to leave to go to another type of event, by contract the event was finished. They have been discussing bring that event back in another type of format but just have not come up with something they feel everyone would support.

It would take someone with a large amount of capital to be able to put an event like that on. Hiring all of the personnel and coordination of those events had to take a lot of effort and finances. As you know NHRA tried something similar in "Unleashed" but the costs to enter their event left out a lot of racers. The fact that some of the racers who participated at Pinks All Out were some of the same racers that raced in Class at NHRA events, limited who participated at Unleashed. When we wanted to do one of the first Unleashed events the cost to enter, crew prices and all of the other costs per NHRA put us out. The Pinks All Out entry was only $60 for the week-end and $25 per crew member which for us totaled up to around $200. Unleashed with NHRA was $1000+ as I recall.

Racers will race in some format somewhere and hopefully not cost the the price of a mortgage payment. The key is to get the spectators back to help the track owners to be able to pay the expenses without having the racers paying all of the bills. Two or three hundred spectators at $10 is alot better than only 20 spectators at $25.

I, like everyone else is just brainstorming suggestions of how to keep this sport alive and thriving without going to the track each week-end and only have maybe 30 cars in the pits and the five or ten people in the grandstands being family members of the racers who came to race. You, like everyone else on this board know that this is what it is like every week-end at local tracks. Once a track has to close there is a developer standing at the gate with a bulldozer and building materials for new condos.

Re: How competitive are you?
 

I don't even pretend to know all the answers. I doubt anyone does. But I know one thing for sure, you'll never put butts in the bleachers, unless drag racing figures a way to get Bubba, and Jim Bob, who bring their family, and friends, interested in local drag racing. And that will never happen with brackets. Like I said, I don't know the answer, but the drag racing establishment damn sure missed it to.

Re: How competitive are you?
 

Your right. People will not sit there and watch people lose for going too fast. Even fewer will sit there and watch throttle stop cars.
Before I lost what was left of my mind and put together another car, I started going to national events to watch long time friend Mike Edwards run Pro Stock. Sitting in the stands, after the fuel cars run about half seats go empty for Pro Stock. More leave when the alky cars come up. When the throttle stop cars come up nearly everybody leaves. I'm surprised how few watch Comp. I love Comp, but more money than I'm willing to spend here at the end. Some come back for Comp, Stk & SS, but not many. I've seen guys post about how excited spectators get when a nine second car is chasing down a fifteen second car, but that's only in their minds. Almost nobody watches us do anything.

Re: How competitive are you?
 

Randy, I agree 110%. I attended Match races in California, and Indiana when Super Stock cars were booked in to run Heads Up and the crowd LOVED IT.
Assuming Heads up racing would have kept the crowd,The more the organization bent the class structures to allow "yes we have a class for your -----" the less the racing occurs.
Yes for the guy who loves the challenge of a 4 cylinder, V-6, 4000 lb wagon it offers a place to "enter" and PAY the organization.The choice was made to chase the entry numbers and money and it divided out the racers to limited numbers per class. Hard to have Class everywhere when only 3 cars fit the class in the USA.
Had they encouraged racers to accept the limited classes instead , all 400 serious Class racers in the USA could have populated the limited class structure and made for higher numbers per event and the spectators could have seen "racing" in classes instead of featuring the Bye Runs Friday and Dial In Sunday. Even local tracks could have continued with Heads up more easily.
Could it be fixed? Are most too old to change? If it were offered with support of cash, sponsors, featured time at the events, Treatment like TOP Sportsman. Probably but a major combined effort and time would be needed.

Re: How competitive are you?
 

There is not enough interest in motor sports from generation Y and Z to create anything. They want to sit on their *** and press their thumbs. Give it up guys and make the best of right now......this is it.......race for now and enjoy it as it is.

Re: How competitive are you?
 

Everyone's seen that happen. What I have ALSO seen is thousands upon thousands of fans stay and watch all of the sportsman classes at a national event at Norwalk. I have ALSO seen the stands empty out during the sportsman classes at a national event at Norwalk. Yet another year, I saw thousands upon thousands of fans stay and watch all of the sportsman classes at a national event at Norwalk. What was the difference? At some events, the announcer TOLD the fans: Okay, time to get up, buy a hot dog, and go back in the pits to watch the Pros work. (Thereby creating a logjam at the concession stand, restrooms, and in the pits) Other times, the announcer explained the sportsman action people were seeing, and many stayed and enjoyed it. There always a segment that wants to go eat or watch the Pros, but if you just let them go when *they* want to, the lines and congestion stay more manageable. My first year working for IHRA, I was manually posting DRC-provided results on IHRA.com from the track office, and when I had a break, I'd go sit up in the stands, watch, and more importantly, LISTEN. People were interested in what they were seeing -- they just had a lot of questions. Stuff we take for granted anymore like "What are they spinning their tires in?" Once I started answering questions, everyone within earshot was asking questions about 'how does this work?' and 'what if this?'

If you advertise a race as "Show starts at 6:00PM!", then guess what, people are going to think the show starts at 6:00PM. If you tell them there's an incredible rolling car show going on all day long and educate them about what they're seeing, a lot of people will come, watch, and enjoy. If you tell them to leave, go buy a hot dog, and watch the Pros in the pits, then that's what they're going to do. I've seen it happen both ways.

Since I was a kid, all I've heard is "there's no kids coming into the sport, it's dying". There are dozens of kids coming into the sport at any given time at podunk little Beaver Springs Dragway alone, who bothers to market to them. Then you hear say "People can't understand bracket racing." Think about that for a second. Do you know how ridiculous that is? They're called rules (and there aren't very many of them). There are a massively larger set of rules in football, baseball, basketball, hockey, etc. If people know what the rules are, this is NOT HARD TO UNDERSTAND. It just needs explained. Make someone watch any game with no knowledge of the rules and without telling them what's going on, and they're likely to get bored or frustrated.

Re: How competitive are you?
 

Dick you are talking about the "Race on Sunday, Sell on Monday days"
People are not going to come out in big numbers to watch a couple of nearly 50 year old cars race. Even if they carry the wheels clear to the finish line. Look at the lack of success in nostalgia racing. And the flop of top stock.
And you talk about those days as "the good old days" I remember some totally bogus cars being built specificaly to take out certain cars in class, only to lose to avoid a teardown.
The little guy could not compete with the factory cars back then any more that the 1st gen camaros, hemis and max wedges can compete with the new cars.
I also remember some having one legal cylinder and 7 totally bogus ones