Make Divisionals Great Again

[Steve Stasko]

Originally Posted by Bobby Fazio

Because without them we'll have to keep paying gooder amounts of money to race while the tracks, contingency money, track/title sponsors, midway will continue to disappear- while operation costs will continue to rise. The fact that racers don't recognize this kind of scares me.



There seems to be a real disconnect between tracks and NHRA when it comes to these divisionals. I don't think NHRA is inclined to promote the event and may be content getting their cut and operating certain aspects of the race. Their business model might be working just fine on their end. All tracks have slightly different deals with NHRA and it is up to their negotiation skills. Some may have a bad deal in place, or maybe an old deal. It is probably safe to say that the more they take in at a divisional, the more they shell over to NHRA and they may not feel it is even worth gambling on promotions/entertainment and would rather play it safe so as not to lose any money if it flops.

So do we want spectators or not? In the first paragraph you're trying to sell us on the need for spectators to offset costs. In the second, you're trying to tell us that the tracks don't want spectators because of increased cost.

[1320racer]

forget the spectators that aren't ever coming our concern should be if we keep losing tracks, there's less tracks willing to lose money to host divisionals and entries will continue to increase while payouts remain stuck in the 90s and contingency sponsors continue to leave the program. Take D1, the very real possibility exist that we could lose 2 tracks over the next 10 years.

[Billy Nees]

Originally Posted by Bobby Fazio

There seems to be a real disconnect between tracks and NHRA when it comes to these divisionals. I don't think NHRA is inclined to promote the event and may be content getting their cut and operating certain aspects of the race. Their business model might be working just fine on their end. All tracks have slightly different deals with NHRA and it is up to their negotiation skills. Some may have a bad deal in place, or maybe an old deal. It is probably safe to say that the more they take in at a divisional, the more they shell over to NHRA and they may not feel it is even worth gambling on promotions/entertainment and would rather play it safe so as not to lose any money if it flops.

^^^^This^^^^ is another issue that must be looked at if Divisionals are ever going to be "great again". I live 10 miles away from my local track. Plenty of racers over there every weekend. When I go to a Divisional, the following week I get asked by dozens of them where I was last week. In the case of the 'Grove, we're talking about less than a 2 hour drive and nobody knows about it. Even worse, they don't even know when the Keystones are. Back in the good-old-days, the old track owner would close for the Keystones. Now? Nobody even knows when these races are.
It's almost as if the NHRA just assumes that they're the only show in town and every Racer should just "know".

[Steve Stickel]

"Back in the good-old-days, the old track owner would close for the Keystones. Now? Nobody even knows when these races are."

Connecticut Dragway schedule 1983, weekend of July 17th, Closed for Summernationals at Englishtown.. Those were the days, Going to the "Summers" was like being at the East Coast "Indy"