Why cant Sportsman Racing be like this on TV these days???

[Ed Carpenter]

Originally Posted by Ed Wright

The alky cars get some time now. I think just Comp, SS and Stock would make a good show if done right.

You mean leakers

[Ed Wright]

Originally Posted by deuces wild

You mean leakers

Yep. Track oilers and dusters.

[Jeff Kempton]

The "Lucas Oil - On The Edge" series features a wide variety of motorsports-themed stuff; anything from schoolbus demolition derbies to snowmobiles racing on ponds. These are all fringe type events that certainly can't afford to pay the full cost of getting on that show, yet there they are on national TV. What do all these events have in common? Simplicity! None of them have a bunch of rules to figure out, and each "race" has an obvious winner.

It's frustrating to see these oddball activities getting such great exposure, while what in our opinion is the greatest show on earth is totally ignored. The only way we have a chance of getting similar coverage is to find a way to make our program simple enough for the non-enthusiast to understand.

Dial-ins are a challenge but can be successfully explained by the right announcer. Break-outs are the real tough sell. A typical non-racer simply cannot grasp why the first car to the finish line did not win. It would take a lot of careful preparation and a very knowledgeable announcer such as Alan Reinhart to successfully explain this in the brief time available. Emphasizing the "David versus Goliath" nature of many of the matchups should be something that could build some interest, and a big wheelstand from the faster car as he gives chase would add further to that. Even with all this in mind, putting a successful TV package together wouldn't come easily, or cheaply.

[Ed Fernandez]

Originally Posted by X-TECH MAN

I know this post will go over like a fart in church but here goes. The AVERAGE person who watch TV sports will never understand handicap racing. They are NOT car people to begin with. It just the nature of the beast. I have tried over the years to explain stock and super stock racing to my neighbors, friends, co workers, etc. to no avail. If your not into sportsman class racing to begin with its almost impossable to get someone who isnt already into it to understand or be interested. Yes a few might understand and even become a fan or want to compete but the numbers are very very very small. The class legal racers in stock and S/S racing are a very very small part of the population. Sure we get it but its something we have been involved with for a very long time or most of our lives. We as a group would love TV exposure but WE (class racers) are not represenative of the masses. Without heads up racing of some kind such as Pro Stock, Class runs, or even a Top Stock/Top S/S program the majority will never get it or look a second time. The class racers here could NEVER afford a heads up program if that is all there was. Compared to what you spend the NASCAR races and heads up programs such as Top Fuel, Pro Stock etc. spend and others are enough to keep you guys racing for a life time The average person would rather watch NASCAR (all they know is a car number) even though they know NOTHING about cars or racing because there is ONE winner. ONE Champion at the end of the year. Its a no brainer with them. Its an up hill battle because its to difficult for the masses to understand. We are a drop in the bucket compared to other venues and the number of people who turn on the TV to be entertained. Face facts and just enjoy what you do until its gone. Its might be possable for something like is on TV now on the speed channels but who would do it? I wish I was wrong but Im afraid it is what it is.

Terry,you seem to be the only one who gets it.All the other explainations are wishful thinking.I've said all along that the car wise spectator at national events are looooong gone.All they want now is to stand next to the cars during warm up and get their eye balls
watered up and watch and wait for pyrotechnics from the fuel cars.And oh yeah,a John/Ashley autogragh.

[Jim Bailey]

First thing I noticed was how much easier to understand and how much more exciting it was to watch without the cars, starting over again at 300' from the starting line. JB.

[Jeff Goss]

I didn't realize Paul Page had previous experience in Drag Racing.

Boy, do I miss Steve Evans.

[Dallas Kelly]

I didn't realize Paul Page had "ANY" experience in drag racing!

[Bret Kepner]

Since I've been mentioned a few times in this thread, I'm going to offer a few observations. I'm not picking on any individual but I am going to address the many misconceptions posted herein.

Originally Posted by Curmudgeon

Perhaps the way to go would be having an independent producer film, edit and package for sale to Speed, FSCR or ESPN coverage of one or more of the Stock/Super Stock association combo events.

Originally Posted by Nitro Joe Jackson

We need a independent firm to do it with experienced ex-racers more or less directing what to do.

Originally Posted by Stephen & Horace Johnson

Why doesnt NHRA sign a deal with Speed channel and get more TV exposure!

One of these days, you folks will understand how television works in the twenty-first century. Networks do not pay for shows about drag racing. It works the other way around. Everybody, from NHRA's Full Throttle series and the IHRA's Nitro Jam events to the weekly Inside Drag Racing show, pays the network for the airtime. To the network, a drag racing show is just an infomercial.

How much does it cost? Using rough but accurate numbers, it costs any production company $1,000 per minute of air time to shoot, edit and package the event and the "slot" of airtime costs $1,000 per minute to puchase. In other words, if you'd like to put a thirty-minute sportsman show on television on any major channel, be prepared to spend a minimum of $60,000. Using this equation for an average NHRA National Event weekend which includes five hours of coverage, you'll see why the NHRA pays approximately $8,000,000 per year for their ESPN schedule.

How do I know this? This is how I've made my living for twenty-seven years.

Originally Posted by Greg Hill

There has been, in the last 25 or so years, a complete lack of promotion for sportsman racing unless you include alcohol cars as sportsmen.

Originally Posted by dynomo

It is sad that sportsman racing never got any kind of shot at TV.

...unless you count the 137 sportsman-only IHRA shows, (by my count, which is pretty accurate), which we, (including myself as a contractor), produced and aired on ESPN between 1985 and 1996. However, I'm going to guess you think those don't count. Because of this, I probably shouldn't mention the dozens of sportsman-only shows aired on Inside Drag Racing, (for which I'm a contractor), for the past twenty-one years including everything from Alex Denysenko's Class Nationals at Byron (IL) to IDR's exclusive coverage of SS/AA eliminations at the NHRA U.S. Nationals for seven years straight.

In all seriousness, I could take these comments quite personally; we, (as a production company and as fans), poured our souls into those shows to make them the best possible representations of sportsman drag racing. However, I'm old enough that my feelings won't be hurt.

Originally Posted by Greg Hill

I can remember back to the late 60's and early 70's going to Indy to watch and there were huge crowds the days of class with people hanging off the fence.

I'm going to presume you don't remember why all those people were hanging on the fence to watch class racing back then but here is the real reason. In the 1960s and 1970s, there were no "days of class" racing as they are currently presented. At that time, there were no Professional Qualifying Sessions. In any given hour, fans would watch every class from Stock to Top Fuel running a few pairs at a time. The reason the grandstands were so full was because the fans saw every class during every hour of a ten-hour (or longer) day. Those fans weren't there just to see sportsman cars.

Originally Posted by FED 387

Hell, if he (Lucas) or the other companies want to buy advertising, ya dont think the TV guys are gonna say no do ya?

Yes. As a matter of fact, they will. The majority of the advertising money for the current shows goes to the production company...not the network. The production company has already paid for the airtime so the network has no stake in the advertising. In fact, the network could care less who advertises on these programs; it's not their show. As a somewhat humorous sidenote to your comment, this is the very reason Forrest Lucas recently started his own television network, (MAVTV), for which I'm a contractor.

Originally Posted by Curmudgeon

A reasonably smart marketing man could still sell S/SS racing as a viable niche program.

If this were true, it would be done on a regular basis. It's not done at all. Don't think for a minute it hasn't been analyzed or tried; any racing association will do anything which proves successful and makes money. Stock and Super Stock are not marketable on their own will only be televised if the airtime is purchased from the network.

Furthermore, your concept of the "niche market" system is askew. The sport of professional drag racing is the "niche market". Sportsman competition is a miniscule niche within that niche which, as a separate entity, has extremely limited appeal. Many people see the television ratings for professional drag racing and ask, "Why are the numbers so low?". The incredibly simple answer is, "Drag racing just isn't that big of deal...period".

Originally Posted by Jeff Kempton

The "Lucas Oil/On The Edge" series features a wide variety of motorsports-themed stuff; anything from schoolbus demolition derbies to snowmobiles racing on ponds. These are all fringe type events that certainly can't afford to pay the full cost of getting on that show yet there they are on national TV.

You're dead wrong. These shows are only on television because they paid the production company and bought the airtime to be on television at the rates mentioned above. How do I know this? I'm a contractor for the Lucas Oil/On the Edge television show.

Originally Posted by Jeff Kempton

What do all these events have in common? Simplicity!

Very true; they all include the simplicity of writing a check to get on television.

Originally Posted by dynomo

Bret Kepner was one guy that could have done the sportsman racer well...sad that no one capitalized on his talent.

Originally Posted by Toby Lang

Yep, Kepner used to be good back in the day.

I appreciate the prepared obituaries but, in 2011, I still make my living as a televised drag racing commentator. I've been lucky enough to hold the same job since 1985 and my schedule is still full every year. I guess I was the guy who capitalized on my talent but the companies with whom I've worked as a contractor have made out pretty well on the deal, too. However, I truly appreciate the compliments....even if they are in the past tense!

[Michael Beard]

Great, informative post, Bret. Thanks for taking the time to write it.

[danny waters sr]

Bret was (is ) a fun guy to be around .Back in the day (early 90's )... Never forget at Carolina Dragway when Bret got pulled for speeding on the way to the track and has his Sonny's Automotive 200 MPH club jacket on.....(funny right there ))) Also the LARGE smokey burnout at the Holiday Inn under the check-in shelter and moments later the cops were all over the place looking for ????? checking almost every car in the parking lot to see if engines were still warm and then knocking on room doors asking about the burn-out bandit.....Just a couple of the stories that come to mind about Bret. My favorite was when he interviewed me after a H/R win at New York International Raceway (91 ) ,and it made it on ESPN....Hats off to the legendary Bret Kepner!!!!!!!!!