Watch what the Baders do

Jeff:  Concerning your last editorial, fans will come out to watch sportsman racing. Just throw in a couple of jet cars and top fuel Harleys like they did at Norwalk. They ran Stock and Super Stock under the lights as well.  The Baders know how do it. They've done it for last several years with bigger fan turnouts than the National event at the same facility. Thanks.

Jim Kaekel, Jr.
Waterviliet, Michigan

So what you are saying is that fans will watch sportsman racing if it is combined with other entertainment. In other words sportsman cars alone won’t sell tickets, which was the point of the Blast.  – Jeff Burk

Basic promotion

There is really just one problem: 99% of the time at sportsman-only division races they compete in front of no paying fans. But yet you report that Norwalk has a capacity crowd at the Division 3 LODRS. What is the disconnect? I think you know what it is. It's called promotion!

Bob Kowal
Michigan

K.I.S.S.

Burk, I just don’t get why nobody gets it. Making sportsman drag racing a spectator sport again should be the focus of every sanctioning body, not just one. One thing I know for sure is if it isn’t simple, it won’t work.

I question whether we are way over center with technology to ever make it simple again. Let me define simple. Both cars leave the starting line at the same time and it is wide open to near the finish line where the boys will have to drive it just like we do now. Until that happens fans just won’t warm up to it. Have you ever seen a fan that didn’t like a heads up race?

If I was running a sportsman division of a sanctioning body, I would be jumping for joy since I have the perfect instrument sitting right in front of me to revive this whole thing. Like you have mentioned many times, why doesn’t someone take advantage of the big three factory race cars coming out and build a sportsman series around them as the marquee attraction? Heads up, first guy to the finish line wins, simple, fun to watch. It worked in the ‘60s and you can’t tell me it won’t work again. Just look around with all the competition between trucks and who drives what truck. The Camaro, Mustang, and Challenger are ripe for picking. Back that up with heads up sportsman index racing and you have a show that will be portable all across generations. Keep the indexes simple, start at 7 or 6.5 and have them bump every half second. Bring your car and trans brake, let’s see if you can run the number boys.

Trust me, this will work. I don’t get why nobody has the cojones to try it.

Earl Helm
Salt Lake City, Utah