Drag Racers really cutting back on racing?

[Budnicks]

You know what sux? Last weekend in mile high Bandimere raceway it was all mopar and mopar was the star, this weekend mopar had a presence somewhat, but instead of celebrating all they wanted to do was highlight the force family, sad really so much Mopar to see and love and have to hear interviews and stage crap from Brittany force sad.

Last Weekend they had The CEO doing burnouts in the hellcat, they had Richard Rawlins drag racing the hellcat, they had the big M flying high all over mile high mopar sponsored event, here in NorCal we got nadda squat a booth of three trying to get us to sign up for email alerts about when we might buy our next new car, no ******* hellcat!!! I was pissed didn't even go back today for the finals too pissed off.


Had just about enough force family stuff for a lifetime, was a fan at one time and have a lot of respect for their team but man this was a rip off for mopar addicts like me

I'm no newbie to Mopars I've & my family has had them my whole life, not just recently found the love...

I'm a long time drag racer & whole heartedly love the sport, not just a brand sponsor or who they plug...

Not sure who sponsors the Sonoma Nationals now, maybe the Tourism board or City of Sonoma now...

It has been known as the "Autolite Nationals" for many years {FORD's, Blue Oval Service, sponsored},
It's not the NHRA fault, it's Dodge // & SRT brands fault, for not showing up, to represent the brands,
for their followers, there's nothing to keep them from bringing product & displaying them....

Traxxas was a big sponsor there, this year too, big part of the "Force" contingent, on all three JFR cars...
Then both Britteny & Courtney Force cars qualified #1 in T/F & F/C,
Courtney Force won F/C at a sponsors event...
They have been all "gung ho" on the women racers this year too, 100th woman wins {Courtney Force earlier this season} & highlighting the women in drag racing...
I hate to say it, "they picked the right horse to ride, in that particular race/event"...

It's all about the $$$$, they promote whom ever gives them the most $$$$... PERIOD
I'm sure you know that already too...

Last race weekend in Bandimere/Denver area, it was a Mopar sponsored event, they highly touted Mopar & Dodge // brands constantly...

This week it will be O'Reilly sponsor plugs constantly, up in Kent/Seattle area...
JFR will probably capitalize on that too, he knows how to plug the sponsors, he'll/they'll get air time, probably because of it too...

As much as I like seeing all Mopar all the time too, it's not how it works,
they have to cater to the title & event sponsors 1st, it's also smart business if they want to keep them sponsors...
I'm pretty sure you already know that too...

I by far don't hate the JFR/Forces either, Johns probably the best unfiltered interview in all of sports
& big part of the NHRA shows & drawing a crowd, that now is getting more & more scares at every race lately..
Cars & spectators are all down in #'s, every event now... Any promotions are good...

My take on it anyway....

If you hated it now wait there's 3 more AAA {Robert Hight's title sponsor & JFR John, Courtney & Brittney's assoc. deals} sponsored races left this season, you can bet that, it will be the "all JFR/Forces all day show again"...

 

[383man]

I agree everything cost to much money today and most like me dont have enough of it. Myself I like and prefer the Nostalgic Superstock racing better then going to an NHRA event. And even the NSS racing is costing more. Last year in Oct when I ran in a NSS type race it cost me $35. to get in the track and another $75. to run with the NSS club. But I loved it and had a great time. But cost is the reason I built a street/strip car as I knew I could not afford to race much but I can throw $20 dollars of gas in it on the weekend and do a little cruisin and have fun.

I knew with me now living on disabilty I would not be able to race much but I have to live within my budget and I am just happy to have my car which is the Mopar I have always liked the best and be able to drive it some. My buddy wont drive his cars right now as he complains the pump gas is to much and I told him no matter what pump gas cost if I can afford to put some in my car I will drive it and hopefully race it sometimes. Honestly though most of the time I go racing I go to the $35 dollar test & tune as I like to just run the car and make a few passes and have a few grudge races with my buddies if they go. I built my 63 to run on pump and right now around here 92 & 93 pump is almost $4 dollars a gallon and race gas it about $10 dollars a gallon or more so thats one reason I built mine to run on pump and to be able to get gas anywhere. Ron

 

[Endangered Species]

John Force is not to blame... (trust me I'm as sick of him as everyone else). I do blame NHRA for not sowing the seeds for the future of the sport.
First off lets look at the gate. in 1986 it was $60.00 per person for a week long pass that's Thursday - Sunday. Now a Sunday ticket $60.00, and that is the standing only ticket because NHRA made all seats reserved.
You use to be able to walk right up to every trailer and watch close up what the teams were doing. Now they have so damn many motorhomes and trucks all you can see is one end.
Yha Funny Cars and Top Fuel make a lot of noise and are exciting to watch run. But NHRA needs to promote classes that the young can relate to. They started to do that with Pro Stock Truck but two years into it they dumped it, and pissed a bunch of racers off because they had hundreds of thousands of dollars of equipment that wasn't worth squat after the class was dropped.
They need to play up the S/S and Stock Challenger, Camaro and Mustang wars on TV. People can relate to it.
Also, they banned all match racing with the pro teams. This was a bad move. Match racing is advertising man. What they need is a match race circuit with smaller underfunded teams to get people out to these tracks and see the excitement.

I don't know if our hobby is dead I think it has changed. Yes there are the turner cars, but the other thing that is huge around here are the trucks. There is a place called Yankee Lake near by who has what they call Truck Night every Friday night in the summer. It's a bunch of red necks mud bogging, truck tug of war, etc etc. and let me tell you they pack them in.

These sanctioning bodies and promoters better get there heads out of there Azzez and start getting the younger generation to the tracks or they won't be in business much longer.

 

[Crizila]

Yep! I'll be firing up 70 this year. Down to 8-10 races a year. The younger generation just isn't interested - even if they could afford it - and they can't.

 

[383man]

Yep! I'll be firing up 70 this year. Down to 8-10 races a year. The younger generation just isn't interested - even if they could afford it - and they can't. View attachment 202152

It seems like the younger generation are more into modern supercharged and turbocharged mostly. Not all but alot as I am into the older 60's and 70's NA muscle cars. Guess thats why I am not into the Yellow Bullet forum or most of the cars they use. Most are not my cup of tea and its nothing against the younger generation for what they like as I guess they are liking what they grow up with just like me. Ron

By the way thats a cool 64 !

 

[Bigal75]

Everything costs too much. That's why I built a street car and even then it costs an arm and a leg. Our local track is crooked as a dogs' hind leg; overcharges for entrance fees, parking and don't try to buy food or booze there -you'll need to finance it. Times are changing.

 

[Polara Pat]

In B.C. we have two huge nostalgia events every Summer, one at Mission and the other at a place called Ashcroft. Mission had some concrete laying catastrophe this Spring so will only be firing up this weekend. Ashcroft is a fairly long drive from Vancouver but people were chomping at the bit to see some quality old school racing. At one point on Saturday there was nearly a mile long line-up of cars waiting to get in. I have never seen a spectator turn out so big. So maybe there is still hope. We followed that race up with a "Wild West Nostalgia" race at Pacific raceway near Seattle and the turn out was pathetic and accompanied by a poorly run program. I think race tracks need to really work a little harder to bring people back to the track. Radio ads and track promotions with give-aways and car shows or whatever. You can't just assume that people will come to your track because you posted a schedule on your web site. The other thing that seems to be big is the Friday night street drags. They bring a lot of tuners which is annoying but at least they also bring their wallets.

 

[sleepar]

The difference is old cars to them are the front wheel drive stuff... that turned off the next generation to motor sports... there into camber and bling stuff we can't understand...

 

[Budnicks]

Is it just me our where I live ??
What ever happened to all the Promo spots & Radio & TV even newspapers advert./spots ??,
advertising races & especially local races...
Seem track managers/owners & Sanction Body promoters are all a bunch of cheapskates,
most of them are not, promoting their races anymore, select races only... :angryfire:
Sunday !! Sunday !! Sunday !!

- - - Updated - - -

John Force is not to blame... (trust me I'm as sick of him as everyone else). I do blame NHRA for not sowing the seeds for the future of the sport.
First off lets look at the gate. in 1986 it was $60.00 per person for a week long pass that's Thursday - Sunday. Now a Sunday ticket $60.00, and that is the standing only ticket because NHRA made all seats reserved.
You use to be able to walk right up to every trailer and watch close up what the teams were doing. Now they have so damn many motorhomes and trucks all you can see is one end.
Yha Funny Cars and Top Fuel make a lot of noise and are exciting to watch run. But NHRA needs to promote classes that the young can relate to. They started to do that with Pro Stock Truck but two years into it they dumped it, and pissed a bunch of racers off because they had hundreds of thousands of dollars of equipment that wasn't worth squat after the class was dropped.
They need to play up the S/S and Stock Challenger, Camaro and Mustang wars on TV. People can relate to it.
Also, they banned all match racing with the pro teams. This was a bad move. Match racing is advertising man. What they need is a match race circuit with smaller underfunded teams to get people out to these tracks and see the excitement.

I don't know if our hobby is dead I think it has changed. Yes there are the turner cars, but the other thing that is huge around here are the trucks. There is a place called Yankee Lake near by who has what they call Truck Night every Friday night in the summer. It's a bunch of red necks mud bogging, truck tug of war, etc etc. and let me tell you they pack them in.

These sanctioning bodies and promoters better get there heads out of there Azzez and start getting the younger generation to the tracks or they won't be in business much longer.

Exactly the match races & testing between races too, {now only select &/or very limited testing} especially between or to & from races, made up for many of the lower small operation guys, not getting the big corporate, multi-million $$$$$ super teams & contracts, able to compete & make some cash on the side, they would get tow money just to show up & a good per run $$$ for some exhibition or match races...

NHRA has become a big over powering dictatorship type monopoly , they don't want any competition, even from little tracks or small sanctioning bodies, competing for what they believe is "their $$$", when actually, it probably made them even more $$$, IMHFO it even stimulated more interest in the sport/hobby of drag racing...

the Fuel classes T/F & F/C shortened to 1000ft from traditional 1/4 mile 1320ft
{knee jerk reaction to the wrongful death of Scott Kalitta's, all for safety sake allegedly, to cover their own asses,
they are just blowing them up 320ft earlier now, plenty of tracks that could still run full 1/4 mile races in the fuel classes}
I'm sure that didn't help much at all either...
allot of people I know hate the fuel classes now...
that's their big crowd draw...

I wish they'd show a bunch more of the class sportsman races Stock, Super Stock & Comp Eliminator, even my favorite Pro-Mod, doesn't get air time...
Alcohol & Fuel classes get all the attention...

I personally hate seeing all the 10.90 S/S, 9.90 S/G, 8.90 S/C with electronic everything crap, with delay box & killing all power right after the launches, with throttle stop "bracket races" we have today...
Sorry to those that love it, just my take on it, no offense intended, just boring to watch...
It's only fun for the racers, not the crowd/spectators, unless you know someone, in one of the lanes maybe...

But the sportsman classes, they are who support the racing sanctioning bodies, they are treated like dirt...

I'm pretty sure, I'm not the only one that thinks it sucks...

 

[cbodybob]

Is it just me our where I live ??
What ever happened to all the Promo spots & Radio & TV even newspapers advert./spots ??,
advertising races & especially local races...
Seem track managers/owners & Sanction Body promoters are all a bunch of cheapskates,
most of them are not, promoting their races anymore, select races only... :angryfire:
Sunday !! Sunday !! Sunday !!

I completely understand what you are saying. Around here we had these mini track papers. As recent as the mid to late 90's. I'm sure they had those all over the country. I guess that all went when the fans quite comming. I still have some of those old track papers. Times have changed. The younger generation is not into the muscle cars. And that unfortunate. I see quite a few of them spending way more money on these "rice rockets" than I have in my old bracket car. I just dont see the value.

 

[bobtile]

Is it just me our where I live ??
What ever happened to all the Promo spots & Radio & TV even newspapers advert./spots ??,
advertising races & especially local races...
Seem track managers/owners & Sanction Body promoters are all a bunch of cheapskates,
most of them are not, promoting their races anymore, select races only... :angryfire:
Sunday !! Sunday !! Sunday !!

- - - Updated - - -



Exactly the match races & testing between races too, {now only select &/or very limited testing} especially between or to & from races, made up for many of the lower small operation guys, not getting the big corporate, multi-million $$$$$ super teams & contracts, able to compete & make some cash on the side, they would get tow money just to show up & a good per run $$$ for some exhibition or match races...

NHRA has become a big over powering dictatorship type monopoly , they don't want any competition, even from little tracks or small sanctioning bodies, competing for what they believe is "their $$$", when actually, it probably made them even more $$$, IMHFO it even stimulated more interest in the sport/hobby of drag racing...

the Fuel classes T/F & F/C shortened to 1000ft from traditional 1/4 mile 1320ft
{knee jerk reaction to the wrongful death of Scott Kalitta's, all for safety sake allegedly, to cover their own asses,
they are just blowing them up 320ft earlier now, plenty of tracks that could still run full 1/4 mile races in the fuel classes}
I'm sure that didn't help much at all either...
allot of people I know hate the fuel classes now...
that's their big crowd draw...

I wish they'd show a bunch more of the class sportsman races Stock, Super Stock & Comp Eliminator, even my favorite Pro-Mod, doesn't get air time...
Alcohol & Fuel classes get all the attention...

I personally hate seeing all the 10.90 S/S, 9.90 S/G, 8.90 S/C with electronic everything crap, with delay box & killing all power right after the launches, with throttle stop "bracket races" we have today...
Sorry to those that love it, just my take on it, no offense intended, just boring to watch...
It's only fun for the racers, not the crowd/spectators, unless you know someone, in one of the lanes maybe...

But the sportsman classes, they are who support the racing sanctioning bodies, they are treated like dirt...

I'm pretty sure, I'm not the only one that thinks it sucks...

I agree 100% with you Budnicks. The classes they should be showing, like super stock, Pro mod Etc. don't get any attention. I'm kind of tired of the fuel classes myself. Seems like they are in the same bed as Nascar. The cars all look the same and are built identical, except that Force and Schumacher have the money for r and d . ( add alanabi to the money mix as well. ) I still hear Englishtown advertising some events on tv and radio. Not too much though. I see the smaller tracks do alot of advertising on Facebook and Twitter. That would likely be why the people at the tracks are a younger crowd.

 

[gearheadbill]

It is Money deal for sure,NHRA is into promoting top Fuel and funny Cars,that is it,how many Haulers do these big teams bring to the track ? They have ,one for the car one for the tech center one least for Hospitality,give me a break ,Pro Stock is a after thought,although it cost's these guys almost as much as the Fuel cars,their pay out do not even cover the exspenses,it turns my stomach the direction the sport has gone to,I am done giving NHRA my money !

 

[383man]

Is it just me our where I live ??
What ever happened to all the Promo spots & Radio & TV even newspapers advert./spots ??,
advertising races & especially local races...
Seem track managers/owners & Sanction Body promoters are all a bunch of cheapskates,
most of them are not, promoting their races anymore, select races only... :angryfire:
Sunday !! Sunday !! Sunday !!

- - - Updated - - -



Exactly the match races & testing between races too, {now only select &/or very limited testing} especially between or to & from races, made up for many of the lower small operation guys, not getting the big corporate, multi-million $$$$$ super teams & contracts, able to compete & make some cash on the side, they would get tow money just to show up & a good per run $$$ for some exhibition or match races...

NHRA has become a big over powering dictatorship type monopoly , they don't want any competition, even from little tracks or small sanctioning bodies, competing for what they believe is "their $$$", when actually, it probably made them even more $$$, IMHFO it even stimulated more interest in the sport/hobby of drag racing...

the Fuel classes T/F & F/C shortened to 1000ft from traditional 1/4 mile 1320ft
{knee jerk reaction to the wrongful death of Scott Kalitta's, all for safety sake allegedly, to cover their own asses,
they are just blowing them up 320ft earlier now, plenty of tracks that could still run full 1/4 mile races in the fuel classes}
I'm sure that didn't help much at all either...
allot of people I know hate the fuel classes now...
that's their big crowd draw...

I wish they'd show a bunch more of the class sportsman races Stock, Super Stock & Comp Eliminator, even my favorite Pro-Mod, doesn't get air time...
Alcohol & Fuel classes get all the attention...

I personally hate seeing all the 10.90 S/S, 9.90 S/G, 8.90 S/C with electronic everything crap, with delay box & killing all power right after the launches, with throttle stop "bracket races" we have today...
Sorry to those that love it, just my take on it, no offense intended, just boring to watch...
It's only fun for the racers, not the crowd/spectators, unless you know someone, in one of the lanes maybe...

But the sportsman classes, they are who support the racing sanctioning bodies, they are treated like dirt...

I'm pretty sure, I'm not the only one that thinks it sucks...

Boy do I agree with that ! I really miss the radio anouncements from the local tracks and I loved them days of match racing and Pro racers running the circuits. Thats when you could see the Pro's come to your local track as I would see Pro Stockers and Funny cars right at my local track. Man were they the good old days. Today I love the NSS racing the best as I can actually tell what kind of cars they are. Ron

 

[68 HEMI GTS]

one of the things are really dislike anymore are the lack of classes. when i first started drag racing the track had several classes for everyone. Street 14.0 and slower, heavy 13.99-12.0, pro 11.99-10.50, super pro 10.50- faster. now its box or no box. guess you have sportsman but at monster mopar last year there were 9 sec cars in sportsman???!! its a little frustrating with the big discrepancy in ET's. i found it alot funner to race cars that are close to your ET. going side by side most of the way down the track is more exciting for everyone.

 

[fwi]

Yep! I'll be firing up 70 this year. Down to 8-10 races a year. The younger generation just isn't interested - even if they could afford it - and they can't. View attachment 202152

Nice looking 64 Dodge

 

[383man]

one of the things are really dislike anymore are the lack of classes. when i first started drag racing the track had several classes for everyone. Street 14.0 and slower, heavy 13.99-12.0, pro 11.99-10.50, super pro 10.50- faster. now its box or no box. guess you have sportsman but at monster mopar last year there were 9 sec cars in sportsman???!! its a little frustrating with the big discrepancy in ET's. i found it alot funner to race cars that are close to your ET. going side by side most of the way down the track is more exciting for everyone.

Thats is right as when I ran a 340 Dart and bracket raced back in the late 70's and early 80's we had these classes:

Street - 14.0 and slower
Heavy - 12.0 to 13.99
Pro - 11.0 to 11.99
Super Pro - 10.99 and faster.

That was it back then as I ran Heavy and Pro with my 4 speed 340 Dart as it ran a best of 11.94 and on good days was running 11.90's to 12.0's as I would run Pro and hot days when it ran 12.10 to 12.20 I ran Heavy. One night my best was a 12.08 time run and I dailled 11.99 and ran Pro anyway. And won the first round running 12.06 on the 11.99 dail as the other guy ran out ! I did have fun bracket racing with a 4-speed. Ron

 

[Challenger340]

I just don't think Drag Racing at Tracks is affordable anymore ? and certainly if it is, at least for some monied enough to still do it.... it has to compete with many other things that seem to make far more sense vrs $$ spent ?

 

[cbodybob]

I just don't think Drag Racing at Tracks is affordable anymore ? and certainly if it is, at least for some monied enough to still do it.... it has to compete with many other things that seem to make far more sense vrs $$ spent ?

Hard to argue with that.