Make Divisionals Great Again

[Justin Graham]

Originally Posted by Bobby Fazio

How do we do it? Why don't tracks want them? Why is there little to no crowd at 90% of them? I would like to have a few track owners/managers on my Tuesday show to educate us. Maybe someone from NHRA could do the same. There are many questions.

Returning to the original question. How about this angle.

Is combining Divisionals with a Swap meet and a Car show possible?

Incorporate Class Elimins in the program so there's no need to explain the handicap part to new or uninitiated spectators. Then come Sat evening and Sun, run it as a natural Divisional that we know it to be. The car show and swap meet crowd could linger, watch, or move along with drag racing as background music. The In N Out corporate 75th birthday event at Pomona was a huge success and it included drag racing. If the goal is spectators in the stands, there has got to more to catch the interest of people. They're out there, they're just budgeting their money.

[1320racer]

they're not out there

[Mark Yacavone]

Originally Posted by 1320racer

they're not out there

Ed, I disagree with them not being out there, as I pointed out in my SEGA post.
The problem is that spectators don't want to watch what we do.It's boring to them.

First of all , there isn't enough time for a booked in show , with the current structure.
It's going to take a total re-design, and you guys are not gonna like it, when it's done.

Some ideas:
Single Divs only. Start qualifying on Thursday.
32 car fields on Saturday. Start elims mid day

.90 cars ..Closest to dot 90 qualifiers
(You will lose very few, because most can run .90 , either if they're lucky or good)

S/SS..You could do 32 fastest, but you'll lose guys at the bottom. Supposedly what lowering indexes will do. So that leaves RT's, just like the shootouts.

Top this'n that ? You tell me.

Alcohol ..Four remaining pairs, two of each categories, under the lights. The good guys don't usually blow up and cause a bunch of down time.

Now you've got some time Saturday for a booked in show..
Bring in a couple of the Street Criminals. Whodaddy or Daddy Dong .. whoever they are. Spectators will be out in droves, buying T-shirts, drinking beer, etc.

So far, we haven't lost many of of our current paying race entrants.

See, I told you you weren't gonna like it. ;-)

[Nick Heath]

So just writing out thoughts here...

What problem are we trying to solve?

Is the problem that Divisionals are not profitable to the track owners and so we need more spectators? If so, then your answer is pretty simple. Partner with a "sideshow" or two (meant in the most respectful way possible) that gets people in the door and gets them to spend money. Who cares if it's street outlaws, jet cars, pro match races (like the 2 Elite PS cars at Rock Falls in D5 this year), etc.

Or is the problem that we need spectators to grow S/SS racing and grow the winning purses, etc.? If so, I think Ed has a valid point. It'll be quite hard if not impossible - for a variety of reasons.

Ultimately maybe Mark has the best point here. No matter the outcome, the hard-core class racers and fans won't like it. It's either the classes get overshadowed by the money making show and people get upset, or the classes will get restructured so badly and people will get upset.

[Mike Gray]

One other way, it came to mind remembering a T&T I went to at Bakersfield. There were a drove of imports making passes with plenty of their friends watching. Maybe add one more category of quickest 16 imports. It will bring quite a few of the younger generation into the mix.

[Steve Stasko]

Originally Posted by Mike Gray

One other way, it came to mind remembering a T&T I went to at Bakersfield. There were a drove of imports making passes with plenty of their friends watching. Maybe add one more category of quickest 16 imports. It will bring quite a few of the younger generation into the mix.

I like this. Street legal, Tagged/Insured, and a DOT tire. I'd go to the fence and watch that. The only debate would be the driveline...The FWD guys won't come out if the AWD (Subaru) or RWD (Supra) cars are running with them. I'd rather see it a FWD only class.

[Mike Jones]

Originally Posted by Mike Gray

Maybe add one more category of quickest 16 imports. It will bring quite a few of the younger generation into the mix..

That sounds like a great idea. Are they going to be made the show? If
not and they are already popular, why would they put up with NHRA, who they don`t really need.