What fan or reporter wouldn’t be interested in watching five-second, 250-mph, evil-handling doorslammers or watch eight-second wheelstanding heads-up Super Stockers? Maybe if you let fans know those classes were part of the Big Go some might buy a ticket to see ‘em. Does the NHRA management actually think that the executives at Coca-Cola don’t want to see the mention of Pro Mod or SS/AH in connection with the race? I guarantee you they want all of the attention the race can muster and I’d bet they don’t care if the class is under the Full Throttle umbrella or not. I know the fans and press don’t.

There can be no doubt that, like all of us in business, the fans are more careful than ever how they spend their entertainment dollar. Almost everyone except some of the pro racers are cognizant of that. Just because there are a lot of people in the pits and the stands look full from the starting line doesn’t change the fact that every track owner and, more importantly, many vendors say their gross sales are down and operating costs are rising.

The NHRA’s traveling circus needs some new acts. We’ve all seen the old acts too many times. The current NHRA engine they depend on to sell tickets remains the nitro-burning Top Fuel and Funny Cars. Every other class -- and I do mean every other class -- is just support a class for the nitro cars. That point was slammed home at the Nationals this week when as the last pair of Funny Cars in the first round on Monday were pulling off the track you could see on TV the crowd leaving the stands en mass. That’s not an opinion, it is a fact.

The NHRA needs more nitro classes and variety to get more fans to buy tickets. Nitro bikes at Indy and the Winternationals only are a very obvious option and some kind of factory-stock, factory-supported heads-up doorslammer class that allows brands from every country to participate couldn’t hurt.

Like it or not the price of attending an event is an issue. Fans in major markets may be willing to pay more to see drag racing than a professional stick-and-ball sport if everything is perfect, but if they think they will be sitting in the blazing sun for six or more hours or more drinking a $10 beer or a $6 water or Coke, they will think twice about spending that money. I’ll give the NHRA management credit for allowing kids under 12 free and military in free at Indy.

I know that sponsorship program are tied to the current TV package but the sport is over-exposed with too much free TV and free Internet. The NFL - a league with a similar number of events - won’t allow TV in a market unless all of the spectator seats are sold. The NHRA needs a similar program.

I’m not saying that the NHRA drag racing series is in jeopardy. I believe that it is simply too big and generates too much cash flow to go out of business. But it isn’t the exciting sport it once was before technology, greed and lawsuits turned the professional classes into some kind of club for millionaire hobby racers and made it too expensive for new fans to even consider racing at an NHRA national event.

There are a lot of people that work for the NHRA that I like and even admire, and I’m not suggesting (as one of my peers once did) that they all resign, but I am suggesting – AGAIN - that it’s time for some serious changes in management philosophy. The drop in the number of ticket buyers for NHRA premier events is a real sign of that.