Ideas to put fans in the Stands

[jwsamuel]

Wanna put more fans in the stands???

Think like a casual fan and consider all the other places they have to spend their entertainment dollars.

Jim

[randy wilson]

To actually put fans in the stands, you have to create fans first, and locally, NHRA, and IHRA have done a miserable job. No one cares. They let the mystique get away from them, and never seen it leave.

[BRIAN SEATE]

A losing battle, people today have way too much to take their time. Phones eat up most of the time along with various forms of social media. Most kids now cant afford to have a neat car/truck. A points meet is like a ghost town. Free admission is a start, at least food could be sold to spectators. I am from the Va., Carolina area of the U.S. Down here people like Pro Mod and Pro Stock. Points meets need a Quick 8 to help bring fans in. Rickie Smith and Todd Tutterow are living legends down South. I miss the IHRA that had crowded stands. My two cents, just my opinion. If I had my way we`d all race stick shift Modified Corvettes....to each his own.

[Dick Butler]

Hard to get people 15-21 interested in cars when Most cars only change the labels to look different. Mustang personality, Camaro, Corvette, Charger could be another starting point and in some ways are working again but must be "used" by the NHRA etc to get the fans. No one can work on their own cars anymore to have a little innovation in the game without adding NOS or a turbo. Those dont fit the classes to race. Only grudge racing or Brackets.

[randy wilson]

Personally, I think it's basically over. Stick a fork in us, we're done. There is no coming back. We can't turn back time.

[FED 387]

Well NHRA just had a National meet at Joliet this past weekend ---NOTHING IN THE 3 LARGEST NEWS PAPERS IN ILLINOIS---NOTHING ON THE TV OR RADIO STATIONS --- Tony Schumacher and TJ ZIZZO live not more than 2-3 miles from me see both of them all the time--- I'm at Zizzos shop at least twice a week, its less than a mile from my home---- Schumacher has been World champ how many times??? you would think that somebody would at least do an interview for TV or an article in the paper on him !!!!!--problem in the Chicago area is this is a stick & ball town---- MOTORSPORTS gets no coverage unless its NASCAR and then its buried in a 2 paragraph article in an obscure place in the paper---NHRA needs to PROMOTE by maybe buying some air time or newspaper ads or inviting the TV crews out to the track---I dunno what the answer is but if nobody knows the races are going on how does any body expect them to just show up???

[Ian Hill]

I was impressed when we went down to Numidia last year for the Combo in Hills race. Once the stock/ super stock combo and .90's nats were done....yes done!!!! the stands started filling, the daily driver street cars started coming in and everyone was generally in a great mood. They have a weekly bracket street car auto bracket race, street car stick bracket and an open comp bracket race for cars with open headers and slicks. The stands were full. i think they chage a couple bucks a head and don't allow coolers. From what i remeber the stands were packed more than i have ever seen to watch a bracket race! I enetered my stocker in the bracket race and raced against an outlaw 55 chevy, a top dragster, a crap load of supe pro cars, made it to the finals! and hade a blast. Funny thing though, the stands were empty the rest of the weekend.

Don, you were there!

Ian

[rognelson777]

Originally Posted by Ian Hill

I was impressed when we went down to Numidia last year for the Combo in Hills race. Once the stock/ super stock combo and .90's nats were done....yes done!!!! the stands started filling, the daily driver street cars started coming in and everyone was generally in a great mood. They have a weekly bracket street car auto bracket race, street car stick bracket and an open comp bracket race for cars with open headers and slicks. The stands were full. i think they chage a couple bucks a head and don't allow coolers. From what i remeber the stands were packed more than i have ever seen to watch a bracket race! I enetered my stocker in the bracket race and raced against an outlaw 55 chevy, a top dragster, a crap load of supe pro cars, made it to the finals! and hade a blast. Funny thing though, the stands were empty the rest of the weekend.

Don, you were there!
Ian

open comp is a bracket race with no breakouts at most tracks. you run time trials and then the track takes a tenth off your fastest run and that is your dial. Most tracks if you go faster than a tenth under in eliminations, you do not lose the race, you only loose another tenth, 1st to the finish line wins.

Problem with any type of dial in race where you are not allowed to breakout is fans do not want to be bothered trying to figure out why the 1st car to the finish line lost, that is why all of the popularity of the heads up outlaw classes, 1st to the finish line wins.

Want to get fans in stands, make less classes and run off all classes heads up then use indexes in later rounds and base index on fastest run in each class up to that point. The problem with this type of racing, as it was in early seventies, most money usually wins in heads up races, racers stop showing up and look for another place to race, usually bracket racing which no one wants to watch and it is full circle to where it is today, stock and super stock is bracket racing that no one wants to watch.

Do not believe me about heads up racing, Maryland international dragway gets over 10,000 fans to their race in early november, which is all heads up racing.

[randy wilson]

We ran lbs. per cube in Bethany Mo. since late 60's, early seventies, and were always 1,000 to 1,500 spectators every night. No break-out. What crippled it were the people who could afford used comp engines versus the ones with 23 degree stuff. So we went to the brodix spec stuff, and last two years we ran, the finals of cars ranging from 4lbs. per cube, to cars at 11.5lbs. per cube, were decided by a total of .0003 in two finals, with .01 handicap for every 1\2 lbs. per cube. Why did it die, you ask? I closed it because of the bull**** we took over owning it, and racing there.

[Randall Klein]

Not to be a smart @#ss, but 3 simple steps:

1. go to Walmart & buy a notebook & pen
2. go to Norwalk and take notes
3. implement

Why re-invent the wheel?