NHRA Marketing Strategy, or Lack Thereof..

[Chris "drooze" Wertman]

Tell me about it....

NOS....uggghhhh.....then again its gotta be safter than the "ether" injection I tried on my Rupp when I was 8, even had a pinball flipper solenoid to open it from the "kill" switch, hey it was a switch why not use it.... The old man took one look and said....yeah .... no......

But youre right, the problem isnt JUST that they only see it on TV, its that the whole concept of experiecing things in person is different.

Take 20 kids to a Nostalgia Drag, let em sit in a running Nitro car like I did when I was 8, then see how much interest they have.....

My son...coulda cared less....until he saw them run....then he was pumped...then we got him a Jr....blah...wasnt a TF car...then we put him behind the wheel. NOW he has interest.

But the problem is there should be NO suits in racing....Bring out the SHOWMEN !!!! Guys to hold LOCAL Nitro Match Races again....The Stockers in between and locals....

Someone was talkng about the ADRA .... I remeber those events at 42 and GrandNationals....FUN.....not GatorNationals....MORE fun....for us...

Bring BACK personalities, not just 1 overbearing guy........ehhmmm force...ehmmm...

The rest of the guys have about as much flair as a bait salesman.

We all know the old charachters...the over the top people, the rivalry, the , well....It wasnt STERILE....now like Nascar....its STERILE...it Corporate.....hence STERILE and DEVOID of Originality or personality for the most part.

A Leauge/Sanctioning body that is more of a "Confederation" of Smaller leagues may have a chance....

The NHRA Marketing, well they dont "GET" it anymore....thats one of the things we hope to bring back to our little corner of the pits...free dogs and soda for the little ones....TIME asking them and making it interesting for them, including letting them sit in the car while its running....unless I get the Kibosh on this from the Track....rev it up....build that interest.....

I sat in aTF Dragster the same way.....I cant offer that to the "youth" but there are things I can offer...weve also taken all the "bits" of the car and are having em sealed in clear platic capsule keychain thingies with "A Part of Drag Pak #24" Kids love shiny new things.......holding their interest is the key.

BUT. BUT, BUT It requires PARENTS or Someone who BRINGS the Kids to the Track.

What the NHRA SHOULD Do to ensure its future, is arrange FREE trips for say 100-200 kids to every national event for the next 5 years....make SURE to have a Jr Event at each one...., have a contest, free food etc. Maybe some BS about the school system with the most improvment, etc...dosent matter. After about 2 years of that, a)You have a whole slew of new blood for 10 years down the road who would have never seen a race elsewise. AND You have the built in "Ive got to go to Mom..pppplllllleleeeeeaaaaaasssseee" So you let in 100 kids free and gain 300 who have to do what the others do.....

Plus all the parents who will get their kids into Jr.s

You have to GET the people to the track to get them interested...

An NHRA...scouts...thingy ? Running NHRA owned Jr's as a start for a fee....all slated to RT only...I dono be creative.

Cmon apparently they never read a marketing book......

Originally Posted by hemidup

Quote from S Stock 1373. "I have not one single friend from high school or college that knows anything about drag racing aside from what was portrayed in the Fast and the Furious."

Tell me about it....I have 12 grandchildren and the older ones know more about the make and models of ricer's than I'll ever care to think about. One time I brought one of my grandsons down to the shop when we were restoring one of Dick Landy's 68 Dart stick cars. I tried to give him a history lesson of the car and the driver, but afterwards he asked..."Grandpa, that car looks cool. Are you gonna put NOS in it?" I had to shake my head.

Whether it be NHRA or even a grass roots car club, we must get the younger generation involved in drag racing if the sport is to survive.

When I was young, we had Revell 1/32 scale models to build, Rat Fink T shirts, Hot Wheel collectable cars, home town heroe's and a school teacher who volunteered his time on Saturdays to bring a small group of us kids to watch the races at Minnesota Dragways.

[BKSG1198]

I do have to agree with the original post on here. There is not very much marketing towards the youth of America with getting into Drag Racing. Now I'm one of the "Younger" racers out there and I must tell you the future looks bleak. I mean ever since I was born I was at the racetrack with my Dad (Not that many people knew he had a son) working on the car and going to the track with him so when I finally took over the controls of the car I knew a thing or two about how to operate the car and trust me if I did something "Stupid" I got a mouthfull from my Father when I got back to the trailer (For those on the East Coast who know my Dad he can be very loud and doesn't hold alot back).
Sadly with the invention of Junior Dragsters all the youth of America get's use to a Dragster. I mean by the way they look out of the cockpit to how they see the tree to even turning around to look for the other driver it's in a Dragster so when they get to that age of time for a "Big Car" it's a Dragster they end up trading or selling their Juniors for. They are cheap, the kids are used to it and way easier to maintain rather then a door car in which you have to take half the car apart to get to the motor or the tranny. I mean if it wasn't for my Dad putting me in his car I would prob. be driving a dragster or not racing at all. I mean I think A LOT of the reason why the youth shy's away from racing is the cost. I mean 30 years ago you could go buy a competitive Vega or Monza Bodied car for like 10,000 turn key and take it to the strip and go, all you would need is an open trailer and a pick up truck and you were set. Now things are soo blown up with cost it makes it hard for someone just out of college or with a family to get into racing. You go to a NHRA D-1 or a local Saturday Bracket race and it's like a mini-city with the stacker trailers, giant motorhomes, 2 or 3 race cars and I sit there with my 92 Coachman Motorhome and 26 year old trailer and go "How does someone my age do it?".
One person on here said "Why don't they make up a class explanation and hand them out to everybody at the track". They actually do a explanation in the "Fan Guide" you get with your 1st Dragster every year but thats the only time you get to see it. I think it would be a smart idea to try to market the sportsman guys so it's not like someone yelled "Free Hot Dogs and Soda at John Force's Trailer" when the Super Gas, Super Comp or Stockers come up to the line but even the marketing they do with the "Sportsman" guys are the TAD and TAFC so to the Average fan when they see the ESPN coverage of the Lucas Oil Sportsman show and all they see is TAFC and TAD and IF they are lucky the finals of the OTHER CLASSES. So when they go to a race they are like "What are these other cars that are racing here and why do they stop and start again or what is this Index crap?"
I mean in my own respect even though I was born 25 to 15 years after these cars were out but, I still would rather gawk over a 68 Camaro or a 55 Chevy rather then a Mazda or a Eclipse that is lowered but, I am prob one of a kind in that aspect. Just my 2 cents take it as it is....

[Chris "drooze" Wertman]

I agree

1) You were Exposed to racing, hence you race...some decided its not for them and dont, but once youve got the bug its harder than gonaherpasyphilitis to get rid of.

2)Your pop had the resources and was able to field you in a car
A LOT more people WOULD race if ever given a chance, how many people you were in school with raced or their fathers raced ? Ill BET it was less than when I was in school...it was NOT at all uncommon to see a Garlits, Purdohme, or even Girl wearing a Muldowney shirt, especially a new one on Monday after the races.

3)If you dont get new people to the races and let them race, you cant get new fans OR entrants....

With every racer I figure he brings at least 5 fans to the sport just a guess...but think about it , Joe Nobody Races.....Ok, his mom and pop are built in fans following, his gal, and a buddy and maybe an aunt or uncle. They have no prior exposure to racing, NOW they do, they are at the track filling the seats. THEN You have Joes Cousin Johnny, who through Joe gets exposed, and decides he likes it, and so on so forth.

Its socially viral in its spread......to do that you need to seed it.

Seed it with a LOT of people who would have otherwise had NO exposure to racing.

You and Me were pretty much guarenteed to be and interested in racing because of our exposure, but as that dwindles the next generation of racers/fans dwindles.....

Dont start with FANS to make the Sport big, cant get a fan in something they dont understand, Get the Racers, the fans WILL follow.

Gone are the days of CATASROPHIC Explosions , Car fires, and On and On on a REGULAR basis, you KNEW when you went to a National Back in the 70's Something was going to go wrong in a BIG way....it was almost a guarentee....people LIKE seeing it, noone wants ANYONE hurt....but FANS LOVE **** going wrong.....nascar.....nuff said.....

DAMM Im getting old at 38 or inflation is worse than I thought, look at some of your dads old ND in the classifieds from 78 or so hell you could buy a TFFC for 10k a couple years old, damm near any combo you wanted for 10k....ouch..In ND from that time you see all kinds of competitive packages for 5 and sometimes under....(Im a pack rat, and so is the old man, Ive got damm near every magazine he subscribed to since 1957.....love the old rod an customs and car craft etc.) The classifeds are always one of my favorites, I saw a Coffin Nosed Cord in the one for like 6 months running for $3000......crazy...

Originally Posted by BKSG1198

I mean 30 years ago you could go buy a competitive Vega or Monza Bodied car for like 10,000 turn key and take it to the strip and go,.

[treessavoy]

All of "old" guys got into drag racing by taking our street cars to the races one Sunday and got hooked, we were surrounded by guys just like us.

Today's kids are more interested in how loud their stereo is than how fast the car is. All they are interested in is how big a muffler they have, stereo, ground effects and how low it sits. They're not interested in Drag Racing!

I spent a good deal of the summer at Gainesville on test and tune nights and there never were more than three to seven of them there to race. How are you going to sell them on drag racing when they have no interest in it?

If you made a Pure Stock front wheel drive class for them I bet you couldn't get any participation.

I don't know the answer but somethings got to be done to bring new blood to the sport.

JimR

[Dick Butler]

Jim, As I understand the Grudge race nights here in Dayton are the money makers. Hundreds of kids racing for fun with lots of girl friends. Just like when Stock and SS got their start. No one comes to Sunday to see Brackets . the car count is dropping also.
One problem is Which cars could be the basis for new appeal? Mustangs? CHargers , Camaros? Needs to be a Heads up show added that night to show real Class cars for the kids to question, understand and use as a goal to achieve... Or Show them some fast stuff and suggest a starter class for them (to be determined later)
It is a project not a quickie solution.

[B Aceves]

All the doom and gloom about the lack of young people involved in the sport has to be addressed, Have any of you looked at the average age of the racers in lets just say stock
at a large race ? use Vegas as a example if you consider the age you say is young to be under 40 to 45 then take a look at the entry sheet... A ton of drivers under 45.
I come from a family that has been racing for many years and I owe everything to them for
getting and keeping me involved over the years even when we were not racing.
How come I have not heard one person say that maybe we should as racers keep our kids involved just like you would do with Baseball,Basketball, Football, and other youth sports.
alot of the blame needs to be put on society and us as parents as to how we raise our kid's.
Yes the cost has gone up, But so has every other sport . We need the older racer's, They are who we learn from and without you
this sport will die. So why don't more of you support us the so called younger racer's and keep this sport alive and don't give up. Don't let the Divide and conquer theory NHRA has make you quit this sport or workplace for some.......

[hemidup]

Originally Posted by drooze

I agree

3)If you dont get new people to the races and let them race, you cant get new fans OR entrants....

With every racer I figure he brings at least 5 fans to the sport just a guess...but think about it , Joe Nobody Races.....Ok, his mom and pop are built in fans following, his gal, and a buddy and maybe an aunt or uncle. They have no prior exposure to racing, NOW they do, they are at the track filling the seats. THEN You have Joes Cousin Johnny, who through Joe gets exposed, and decides he likes it, and so on so forth.

Its socially viral in its spread......to do that you need to seed it.

Seed it with a LOT of people who would have otherwise had NO exposure to racing.

Dont start with FANS to make the Sport big, cant get a fan in something they dont understand, Get the Racers, the fans WILL follow.

Point well taken. A couple years ago, some friends of my sons stopped by and was talking crap about my supercharged pickup truck and telling me how their little turbocharged Civic, WRX and Camaro would kick its butt. I told them to put up or shut up..... let's take 'em to the track.

Now these little street racer's had very little track experience so I set up the meet for an NHRA Friday Nite Street Legal event about a month in advance. Off and on for the next few weeks, I helped those kids with certain items and issue's so their cars would pass tech. They all thought they had 11 second rides based off their butt dyno and I gave them crap about how slow they would be that they probably wouldn't even need a helmet. lol Those kids were on their cell phones, Facebook, etc, telling their friends to come out and watch the race. I couldn't believe how many kids and family members showed up. There was a caravan of them. Must have been at least a couple dozen and for most, it was their first time ever at a track.

A few things were achieved that night.

#1, I took their racing off the street and put them on a safe track where racing belongs.
#2, Introduced drag racing to people who've heard of it but had probably never even watched it on TV.
#3, Grudge racing is fun. The kids had a blast setting up races with other racers they met for the fisrt time and building new friendships.
#4, Sportsmanship. I told them to never under estimate your competition and don't be a sore loser cause they'll aways be someone faster than you, especially an old guy in a big yellow pickup truck.

These kids have now moved on from the Friday Nite Street Legal drags and compete in bracket racing at Rock Falls. They've broken, busted, rebuilt and repaired their cars, but are having a blast doing it with family and friends.

Maybe its time for us racers to get involved if scheduling permits it. Maybe volunteer a Saturday or Sunday once a year? Maybe go to your local school and setup a field trip? Talk with your local newspaper for some free press? Talk with your local parts stores and have them kick in a few bucks to keep the cost of the field trip down? Talk with your local track for reduced or free admission since they'll make it up at the consession stand?....Just throwing some idea's out there is all.

[Bobby Fazio]

This is perfect and my hats off to you for helping these kids out!

Originally Posted by hemidup

Point well taken. A couple years ago, some friends of my sons stopped by and was talking crap about my supercharged pickup truck and telling me how their little turbocharged Civic, WRX and Camaro would kick its butt. I told them to put up or shut up..... let's take 'em to the track.

Now these little street racer's had very little track experience so I set up the meet for an NHRA Friday Nite Street Legal event about a month in advance. Off and on for the next few weeks, I helped those kids with certain items and issue's so their cars would pass tech. They all thought they had 11 second rides based off their butt dyno and I gave them crap about how slow they would be that they probably wouldn't even need a helmet. lol Those kids were on their cell phones, Facebook, etc, telling their friends to come out and watch the race. I couldn't believe how many kids and family members showed up. There was a caravan of them. Must have been at least a couple dozen and for most, it was their first time ever at a track.

A few things were achieved that night.

#1, I took their racing off the street and put them on a safe track where racing belongs.
#2, Introduced drag racing to people who've heard of it but had probably never even watched it on TV.
#3, Grudge racing is fun. The kids had a blast setting up races with other racers they met for the fisrt time and building new friendships.
#4, Sportsmanship. I told them to never under estimate your competition and don't be a sore loser cause they'll aways be someone faster than you, especially an old guy in a big yellow pickup truck.

These kids have now moved on from the Friday Nite Street Legal drags and compete in bracket racing at Rock Falls. They've broken, busted, rebuilt and repaired their cars, but are having a blast doing it with family and friends.

Maybe its time for us racers to get involved if scheduling permits it. Maybe volunteer a Saturday or Sunday once a year? Maybe go to your local school and setup a field trip? Talk with your local newspaper for some free press? Talk with your local parts stores and have them kick in a few bucks to keep the cost of the field trip down? Talk with your local track for reduced or free admission since they'll make it up at the consession stand?....Just throwing some idea's out there is all.

[Chris "drooze" Wertman]

Originally Posted by hemidup

Maybe its time for us racers to get involved if scheduling permits it. Maybe volunteer a Saturday or Sunday once a year? Maybe go to your local school and setup a field trip? Talk with your local newspaper for some free press? Talk with your local parts stores and have them kick in a few bucks to keep the cost of the field trip down? Talk with your local track for reduced or free admission since they'll make it up at the consession stand?....Just throwing some idea's out there is all.

Lol...yuppers....It WAS Called "Safety Safari" and it helped to boon the sport to the track when street racing was becoming a menace.

Worked then, and as you see it would work now...its gonna take effort.

The other thing for FANS is they WONT, and wont bother to understand something oddly complex, the do understand first guy to the finish wins...the racers understand brackets and eliminators, but not the fans....

Let see, 5 card games, Canasta, Bridge, Pinochle,Blackjack and Poker.
All 5 are hard to play well....but 2 anyone can understand with about 5 minutes instruction, 2 are played on TV, 3 arent....not that theyre that hard, just people WONT get it, some do...but people have too short an attention span to "learn" to enjoy and understand something.

First guy to the finsih . my 3 yr old understands, try to explain bracket to her.

Thats a GREAT Idea, to go out and bring them in.....grab anyone and everyone, a "caravan" to the track, get some "Youth Evangalists" Younger guys in the know with a hot ride to hit the "hangouts" and hey follow me.......out to the track....

Great doing...is this Jerry or Don ? lol.....

[hemidup]

Drooze, Explaining bracket racing to someone is very time consuming and hard for some to grasp. Been there, done that. I found the easiest way was to start my wife and kids to watch the races from the stripe on the big end. I told them whoever got there first, chances were good that he or she had won the round. It made it alot easier for me to explain to them and for them to understand what a "dial in" was, "break out", "red light", etc afterwards. It made for some good conversation on the long 2-4 hour trips on the way back home from the track.

One of my best memories in racing just occured last year. One of my son's wishes was that one day he could race against me. All the planets must have been lined up that day cause he got his wish. It was a 3 day event, combined car show and drag racing and the class we entered in, a ladder was built based off best reaction times during time trials. I was #2 qualifier and my son, Dustin was #3 out of a 25 car field. The #1 qualifier got the bye which put me and my son up against one another in the first round on Sunday. I'll never forget the look on his face after asking me question's and looking for tips. I told him, "Don't ask me. Man up and make your own decissions cause now your my competition and I'm done helping ya." Long story short, he beat me in the first round and put me on the trailer. He went on and red lighted in the semi's, but still took home a check. Made me proud as any dad would be if it was their son. This year my son is already planning to introduce his wife, my grandkids and a few friends to this wonderful sport, plus Dustin now picked up interest in wrench time with me which brings him to the house and shop more often.