Moving on

I have to say I’m at the point where the net/FB stuff isn't even worth typing about NHRA. Anybody over the age of 40 knows what the deal is: crappy TV, crappy fields, UNLIMITED John Forced muting, Zero doorslammer love. It is such a broken record.

I will be going to my second Payso Production grudge race of the year this weekend at Milan $20. No Nitro burners like Norwalk right up the highway, but worth the hour and a half drive for some awesome racing. Surely know nobody likes doorslammers.

Street Outlaw finale fake as hell races got 2.5 million viewers last night... LOL ‪#‎Nhradopes would kill for 300,000 on a good day.

Rick Rzepka
Clinton Township, Michigan

Creative seating arrangements are called for

I agree with (Burk’s) take about ticket prices.  I attend the two Pomona national events every year.  Parking is not cheap, and I normally purchase general admission tickets.  On the pit side of the racetrack, that gets you seats at the 1000-foot finish line.   On the tower side the seats are closer to the starting line, just before half track.  Since I am sitting directly across from the reserved seats, I can see the vacancies.  This is very obvious right around the starting line seat areas.  The ticket price for these seats prohibits them selling out. 
I would like to see NHRA lower ticket prices, and have less reserved seat areas.  Based on what I am seeing, the reserved seat areas are not selling out anyway.  It would also look better for television if the seats in the background camera shots were filled.
Thanks again for your online magazine, and RIP your mother.

Bill Sampson
NHRA member since 1970

The true ‘reality’ has hit drag racing 

Without hard numbers we are all just speculating on our own observations and opinions but it appears fairly obvious NHRA is shrinking and the trend isn’t looking to get any better. Other Motorsports have similar problems.  Racing became corporatized entertainment years ago and along came the irrational corporate expectations that growth is forever in terms of facilities, spectator and TV numbers, sponsor dollars, team spending, concession prices, ticket prices, gate revenue etc. Then reality hit, the numbers of teams have shrunk mostly due to escalating costs, new facilities were overbuilt that would never be filled, ticket prices, combined with parking and concession costs reached a point that discouraged many from attending.

Just some of my thoughts and opinions…

Casual Spectator… Nitro brings them and many tracks do well, others suffer, locally Bandimere fills pretty well but many facilities are considerably below previous years in terms of attendance. Number one is total cost, by the time a local family of 4 gets tickets, parking and absolute minimal drinks and snacks they are easily out $300. As has been discussed there are many other options for the entertainment dollar and the premium price for sub premium entertainment will lose out with many people. NHRA and track owners don’t want to cut ticket costs to “Cheapen the product” but the continuing decline of attendance figures and loss of fans of the sport is eventually going to outrun the cheapening by drastically cutting their revenues.

Casual fan, car buffs, motorheads… I know many people like this, into other forms of motorsports, love cars and some have some familiarity with drag racing, the general opinion….NHRA is a traveling circus of the same teams, every race pretty much the same, little to no variety, irrelevant, cars bear no resemblance to cars they know, short straight races with lackluster filler material between rounds. Some I used to know in a former town and life who would go to NHRA nationals have stopped going and all cite the reason it is stale, predictable and not nearly as exciting as it once was.