Pinks vs. NHRA

[Larry Munk]

From what we saw when my daughter wanted to go see them up at VMP, before they went to all out.
The parking lot was full,
They had to have extra people show up to sell tickets,
The people in the stands were having a great time, much like a local oval track race.
The line at the concession stand was too long to get a burger.

From what we've sen watching Pinks All out on TV.
Class racers show up to participate.
Mark Lewis and Hilary Sloan got more TV time by going to Pinks in '07 thank all other Class racers in Nhra.
Recently MAC or one of the other Tool companies have added a 10 grand tool box to the Kitty.
The people putting this on don't know squat about class racing and could care less about it.
The racers all seem to have a good time.
Some get a big payday for a $40 ticket.
And the real kicker is; it's on TV at least 5 times a week.

[THE LEGEND]

I went to Pinks at Rockingham. We had a blast. The entry was only $25 though. Just like any other race they will figure out a way to milk it til it dies too. Back to Pinks at Rockingham. The place was packed. More people than a national event. Cars you have never senn and probably will never see again. I'll go back.
Chip

[goinbroke2]

But, but, but, people don't want to see "family cars" puttering down the track, they only want to see fire and smoke and 300mph runs! It's not a show unless the car is pulled in a tractor trailer or three and crewed by a dozen people. The fans only want to be entertained by big dollar pro's!!

It must be true, every internet mag, paper rag and anywhere else you read about dragracing all seem to say it.

Too bad they didn't actually talk to some of the "fans". Too bad the talking heads who always seem to have all the answers are blind to the fact that many smaller more profitable venues are popping up because people actually DO like door slammers and cars they can relate to. I think pinks has evolved from the "I won because I lied" style of match racing to hand-drop-start style of bracket racing.
In spite of the multitude of pro heads-up proponents spouting off about the complexities and bland/boring action at a bracket race, when promoted properly, index racing can be fun AND entertaining.

I can only hope the exposure to 9-12 sec door slammers can change some attitudes about the "fun" and profitability of index racing. Obviously pinks (which is growing) is a testimony to that fact.
Someone said to call Rich and offer Stockers and SuperStockers as a closed show that he could promote the hell out of for his own profit. I think this would be excellent. A complete show on pinks with only S/SS cars? How professional would THAT look compared to billybobs shaggy vega with a big block?

Certainly an opportunity here in my opinion.

[Philip Saran]

I'll add my 2 cents. I enjoy watching Pinks All Out, I thought the first version of Pinks
was too hokey. Both sides trash talking each other.

My wife has only been to the drag races ONCE (Irwindale CA 1/8th mile), but watching
Pinks All Out she gets excited and roots for her favorite car (or driver).

I agree that a all Stock/SuperStock show would be great, but then I would also watch
a entire show made up of only SS/AH cars too.

[Tony Curcio]

It looks like a lot of us were having similar thoughts about how class cars could fit the Pinks All Out format and vice-versa. Hemi cars could fill a 16-car field on both coasts and in the mid-west. And they would be faster than any field they've shown to date (I think the fastest so far was Phoenix, where they had a 9.00 field that included a dragster, driven by a woman whose husband went to the final in a Firebird super-gasser).

Top Stock could probably fill a 9.90-10.00 field almost anywhere in the USA. Acccording to Nitro Joe's stats, 147 cars entered an NHRA event that were classified in either B/SA or B/FIA. Add in stick cars, and "A" or "C" entries, you get well over 350 potential entrants.

Junior Stockers are almost as numerous, but with the exception of four or five B.M.F.'s (i.e. Henry Kuntz, Evan Smith, Bruce Noland), most entries would not run quicker than 11.0's unless the race was held at Atco or Cecil County in April or October. I'm not sure if Pinks ever had a show with eleven-second cars. But there's a first time for everything, and it would be close racing and a good show.

Of course, you know the show's producer are never going to get involved with enforcing rules, so the most likely scenario is that the field would be populated by a mixture of class cars and some "run-wut yew brung" cars that happen to run within a tenth of each other. Or perhaps a once per year event in which a Hemi Shootout is featured as a Pinks Special.

These guys will notice quality cars. Larry Munk pointed out above that Mark Lewis and Hillary Sloan got exposure at the Rockingham show. Do you also recall that Rich spoke into the camera while Mark was doing his burnout, and said something like "that's a good-running old muscle car". He probably had no idea what a stocker is, but he could tell something special was happening.

[7820]

They just finished Pinks in Tucson at SIR. They selected 12.50 cars. Las Vegas was 10.50 cars. Looking at the past shows it appears that low to mid 10's is what usually gets picked.

[JEFF ESSMANN]

$40.00 for a chance at 10grand in a heartbeat if it comes close to iowa heck a points meet is 150 for 3-4 timetrials, teardowns and carb checks,for a 3grand payday if yougot the right stickers that you have to wait months for. if you dont get picked you load up and go home if you make it 4rounds and win 10grand cash in hand and no teardowns no sandbagging,and no soft combos covering you by5tenths
it sounds like a good time to me

[grateful sled]

what wally intended? lol! nhra--non-profit organization. where do you think the profits go? do you believet that most of what you see @ national and divisional events has anything to do with wally parks' vision? think about it? want to have fun; call nhra in glendora sometime and ask them what the nhra mission statement is. don't you think an organization that large and that wealthy should have one? start asking more questions. questions are the race fuel of evoltuion!

[JEFF ESSMANN]

tony where do you see the pre entry stuff ? i have been on the web site but i must of missed it
i was also under the impression that you just showed up paid the entry fee and if your lucky your in
i,m curently thinking st louis is going to be the one i go to thanks for any info you can give me

[Tony Curcio]

From Raceway Park's website

http://www.etownraceway.com/

Signups will be handled by the RACEWAY PARK Office via Email starting January 7, 2008. Any entries received prior to 01/07/08 will be deleted. E-Mail address to be listed on website in January. Only entries to this special email account will be accepted. Please check back for more information in the coming weeks.

From Norwalk's site:

PINKS Registration Starts In 5 Days!
November 28, 2007

On Monday, December 3, at 12:00PM, pre-registration will begin for PINKS: All Out! Will you be one of the 400 entries, or will you be sitting in the stands with the rest of the spectators? The clock is ticking, and we’re just 5 days away from the start of the pre-registration process. Don’t be one of those surprised few that are shut out by the end of the day on Monday. Yes, we think the 400 entries will be sold out by Monday afternoon! To pre-register for PINKS: All Out, you can go online at www.summitmotorsportspark.com, which will be the fastest way to get into the show with a Visa or Mastercard, or call the office at 419-668-5555 and take your chances. Don’t be one of the thousands sitting in the stands when the cameras roll on June 6-7, 2008