ESPN/NHRA drop the ball again!

[Jason]

They might have dropped the ball on Sportsman coverage but they sure caught Forrest Lucas mouthing..."Son-of-a-b***h"... when Morgan blew up the engine in his TF on race day.

That should have never been shown especially since it is a taped show. The idiots who produce the show probably thought it was funny to show a man of his stature cussing on National TV. Sure he should not have done it with a camera in his face but that bit of tape should have hit the cutting room floor.

Or is this the beginning of a new format? Let's call it NHRA SMACKDOWN.

[goinbroke2]

Originally Posted by Jason

They might have dropped the ball on Sportsman coverage but they sure caught Forrest Lucas mouthing..."Son-of-a-b***h"... when Morgan blew up the engine in his TF on race day.

That should have never been shown especially since it is a taped show. The idiots who produce the show probably thought it was funny to show a man of his stature cussing on National TV. Sure he should not have done it with a camera in his face but that bit of tape should have hit the cutting room floor.

Or is this the beginning of a new format? Let's call it NHRA SMACKDOWN.

I agree it should of been snipped, but no doubt somebody was going for the "reality tv" angle that is so prevalent now. It has been going this way for years but now it's getting too obvious that it's perceived as just another form of "entertainment" and has nothing to do with competition. The winner in any class mean no more to people than the winner of a reality show..and the reality winners get more money. I think even the Force's would make more impact on "dancing with the stars" or whatever the hell it's called.

We don't get espn in Canada and I haven't watched dragracing on tv in many, many, years. The closest I get is "Pass Time" or a rerun of "Pinks all out".

[BBF67]

What a way to honor the man who just signed a huge multi-year sponsorship contract with NHRA. Way to go ESPN for coverage above and beyond decency.

http://sportsman.nhra.com/content/divnews.asp?articleid=49003&zoneid=12

[Bobby Fazio]

I agree with you. Now let's do something about it. Put together a petition, maybe a facebook page that you can get thousands of people to join and send it into NHRA or ESPN. I'll do it if you want. Complaining on here doesn't get ***** done, gotta do something. NHRA will probably want to see proof that it will be watched so we will need some kind of data.. At most we could ask for the last 3 rounds or so of each sportsman category. Also, a couple key "class elimination" showdowns in stock or super stock since it's heads up racing.

I like how they let Lewis Bloom announce the class finals because he knows what he is talking about and can offer some information to viewers. It should be like that all the time, either Bloom or Alan Reinhart. I am pretty sure the other ESPN commentators don't even understand our classes, except for Bob Frey.

[skills]

Its amazing that nhra and espn doesn't understand that there is already a gulf in audience for a sportsmen show. I don't understand since even not natgeo I believe has shows about street racing on. One of the shows follows these street racers in LA that are trying to go legal and race on the track. They showed them got to the track and make fours runs and all. I would love to see maybe the last three rounds of sportsmen on tv. If you get good announcing and go into the pits show some of the different cars and drivers it could work. People can relate more to the guy racing on the weekend and being a plumber on Monday thanx they can with Morgan Lucas. Also maybe the factories would get some more exposure for their cars and also their parts divisions.