A new idea for the Super Stock GT Class

[Don Kennedy]

I kind of agree with a lot of people but what future does the people that don't like my idea have about the Future of GT racing in Super Stock ?.
Any new ideas?
What is going to happen if there are no more car companies in racing any more?
What car companies will be in racing? Where will the "new" sponsors be from for racers or NHRA?
It seems to me that if there is no new influx of new racers when I go beyond Super Stock racing will be gone?
I may even be over board in my feelings(neg) about the import thing, but who will be around racing in the future is a valid question for sure and must be addressed .
Some of the racers can't handle any discussions about any new idea which I understand and so they get personal .,
By the way The amount of my e-mails favoring some of my ideas is 10 to one , as usual most racers won't post just lurk.

By the way This idea has absoutely nothing to do to stock.or bracket racing on sat night or being bo's running mate( don't insult me on the bo thingLOL) .BPotts what Car do you run in Super stock?

Hey I may think it would be cool racing an import for a whole bunch of reasons,as a lot of racers know why

[X-TECH MAN]

If Stock and S/S is on its "DEATH BED" maybe its time to unload your equipment before you get stuck with an expensive "flower pot" and find a new hobby such as street rodding, riding Harleys, Golf, bird watching, making moma happy, etc.???

[Alan Roehrich]

What makes anyone so naive as to believe that any auto manufacturer is going to spend any REAL money on NHRA (or IHRA for that matter) Super Stock drag racing? Toyota and Honda are suddenly going to become sponsors because you can put a 327-250 in a Civic or a Camry? And this is going to bring in new owners and drivers, because suddenly people who don't like the rules and the style of racing are going to be irresistibly lured by the siren song of import car bodies? Are you going to allow big fart can mufflers, top fool wings, and genuine "fast and furious" body kits too?

[Don Kennedy]

Terry Said"If Stock and S/S is on its "DEATH BED" maybe its time to unload your equipment before you get stuck with an expensive "flower pot" and find a new hobby such as street rodding, riding Harleys, Golf, bird watching, making moma happy, etc.??? "

Don Said I have never implied Super Stock racing was on its death bed but others have said NHRA racing is on a down hill spiral.
and I say a temporary slow down may be in the future so we should be active with new ideas before we have an issue .

I do know for sure if anyone wants to compete with NHRA it will take a whole lot of money like in the millions to even come close to this company that we call NHRA, heck the national points system, the 25 National events etc the purses the rules enforcement .NHRA still is the best deal out there on a continuing bases in my opinion . I just hope all understands the magnitude of operations it takes to run a company like NHRA .

Alan I am not sure but I may or may not be "naive" LOL at me

I am just wondering about any positive changes to Super Stock racing that could e made to "enhance' the Future of Super Stock racing in the future in any way some racers may have

[Ron Middleton]

Don,
While your initial post is interesting I feel that we would be just adding a lot more classes without really adding any substance to Stock or Superstock racing. The economy is having an effect on everybody from racers to sponsors to sanctioning bodies. This is something I think will affect us through this season and probably next season to. Hopefully during this time we(racers and sanctioning bodies) can find a way to insure the health of our sport for years to come. Just like anything else, our sport has evolved into what it is today and will face many changes in the future if it is to survive.

While there have been definite signs of a turndown in NHRA, IHRA, NASCAR and other events there are some series that are still growing in this poor economic climate. Maybe we should look at what it is going on over there and see if there are ideas we can incorporate in Stock and Superstock to insure our future.

The ADRL(American Drag Racing League) has seen tremendous growth the last couple of years and at the last race of 2008(Houston Raceway Park), the first two this year(Texas Motorplex and South Georgia Motorsports Park) record fields and crowds have turned out for all three of these events. Series sponsorships seem to be healthy and growing in a time when other sanctioning bodies are having trouble retaining and attracting new sponsors. I crew on a Pro Nitrous team so I have seen this personally. I think there are those who think that Kenny Knowling and the ADRL are directly competing with NHRA and IHRA but I don’t think that is case per say. Kenny seems to have his finger on the pulse of the American drag racing events market and is doing who heck of a job.

It’s not to say that NHRA/IHRA sportsman racing is broken but we definitely need to assess the direction we are heading in and look to make positive changes before it’s too late. I don’t think adding cars and/or classes is a fix. We already have a hard to understand (from a spectator and newbie standpoint) and it will be hard to entice fresh blood without some changes (possibly major). Without being too self-serving we should look at what the spectators want as we all know that sponsors are looking for maximum exposure for minimal cost. Sportsman racing as we know it today is very hard to understand for the new spectator.

Spectators enjoy seeing good looking and/or fast cars but the idea of dialing in, throttle stops, etc. just goes against most everyone’s perception of what racing is all about. I think most get the idea that a car with a smaller engine or heavier weight cannot compete on an equal basis without a handicap. The idea of running “too fast” just doesn’t work in a persons mind. I think most spectators comprehend Comp Eliminator but not Stock, Superstock or the .90 classes. The idea of a throttlestop really makes for a poor spectator event and if we want to bring in spectators we need racing that is more appealing.
During the early days 60’s, 70’s and early 80’s divisional races included today’s Pro categories and drew large crowds(in most cases) but since the 90’s most divisionals have had weak or poor spectator attendance.

How do we change our current situation? I’m not sure I know the all the answers but I think there are enough great minds in our sport that we should be able to find a way to insure our future. We all know people who excel in our sport from track owners to racers to promoters to potential sponsors. We need to find a way to build our spectator base and make it a show for them. Putting fans in the stands will give us something to sell potential sponsors. Corporate America needs viable marketing avenues and we need to find one that includes our sport. I personally think that reducing classes and having more heads-up runs is a starting place. I know there are many who oppose this and many racers look for ways to avoid this but this is racing and we need to look at it as an investment in our future. I also think that Kenny Knowling has a great idea for getting fans in the stands. Almost anyone can get free tickets to an ADRL race(in fact I got hundreds to give away for the May 22-23 Memphis race if you want any) because he has worked it into the series sponsors package. In today’s economic climate it’s a great way to get fans in the stands(far more economical for a family of four than a night at the movies, etc.). I’m not sure how he has worked the economics out to make this work but he has done a wonderful job of growing the series and making it viable.

I am sure there are many great ideas out there we just need a way to organize them and put these ideas in place. JMT.

[Dick Butler]

The concept of a foreign body in S or SS only runs counter to OLD GUYS(being one) Purity of the Sport and all that jazz. Will it add Fans? I doubt it. Will it add MONEY I doubt it. Again good someone is offering thoughts about the future BUT.....
Maybe it is our mechanisms are flawed.( MY OPINION)
Bracket racing Mentality has become dominant in S and SS as stated for MANY reasons. Ours and NHRA.
Break outs, Sand bagging, HP falsehoods, Tech laxity and bending based on politics.Delay boxes in .90s, Throttle stops. Bitching in general about real issues. MAXIMUM cost for all the bells and whistles to run 1.40 under and stroke our egos.
Bring two real looking cars(NOT PRO STOCK) late models or older and race them heads up on a THURSDAY night locally and people love it. The winner got there first. THE crowd knows it. They ran all out to get there, the crowd sees it.
Enter S and SS racing and no such thing occurs 90% of the time and people wonder WHY NO SPECTATORS? Wonder why not support from Sponsors, or NHRA. We are being ALLOWED to enter and play at the same track NHRA has races, not needed for entertainment. We draw Sponsor money to NHRA but not beyond that.
Want to improve it? Consider Modified class type rules to do away with factors.
Consider Spec motors to set cost levels.
Want later cars, kids to watch consider better entry level for adults not just Jr.Dragster.
Fewer classes with Heads up everywhere we run and everyone can have more fun and more people might be attracted to try it if basic car can be defined for entry level.

[Don Kennedy]

Dick :

Some good points but in my opinion a heads race format will and did kill Super Stock racing in the past and the future would do the same thing.

[Ron Middleton]

Don,
Dick has very good points and while I understand your concerns just look around and you will see headsup racing is where it's at. There has to be a logical way to get to that point as I am afriad that we will not see anything but the same old until it becomes a show again. Super Modified, the econo classes, and Top Stock started out as well conceived ideas and evolved into where they are today it should be possible to bring about headsup racing without driving most if not all of the current participants out. It seems we often get stuck with that idea that all changes will cost us lots of money and take away our competitive edge. JMT.

[Dick Butler]

TOO many Classes = No competition only bracket racing.
TOO sophisticated motors= No new racers TOO much money to enter.
TOO many things to understand as a spectator=no interest
No spectators, no potential buyers in the stands=no sponsors for S and SS.
No heads up of bogus combinations = no true factoring.
If only Specs no need for factoring at the degree it is lacking today.
Even with this compression of ALL racers to 10 ,15 or 1 class at least Drag Racing can continue. The way it is it is its own worst enemy for the above reason.

[Ron Middleton]

Dick,
We're on the same page now how to fix it? Got any ideas?