It's a real shame that mangement and media alike are continuing to overlook a very important (many would say THE most important aspect) of the sport, which is the various levels of sportsman competition in drag racing. Although the fuel cars & Pro Stocks dominate any media coverage, sportsman racing, from the TS and TD classes to the Stock eliminator & heads-up classes can and do provide exceptional racing action as well, and there IS a lot of interest in these areas of the sport which is a fact seemingly continually missed by the powers that be. By limiting media coverage to the professional ranks, and it's various "celebrities", a real diservice is being done to the sport as a whole. Many years ago when ABC's Wide World of Sports covered some NHRA events, they also included Sportsman class Final Eliminations, and it was a great balance to the hoopla of the pro-show. Drag racing has been, and will for the most part always be the everymans motor-sport. By trying to over-professionalize the sport, it will eventually mark it's demise as we now know it. It also seems each succeeding season that new ways are developed to further drive the cost of racing out of hand, almost as though there is a complete disconnect from reality by those at the helm. I'm old enough to remember attending events where thirty or forty competitors would vie for spots in sixteen car fields, and the qualifying sessions were as hectic & exciting as the race itself. With the "big dollar" racing of today's sport, qualifying sessions are basically a shuffling procedure to determine where the sixteen cars which turn up at each event line up on the qualifying ladder. By pulling back some of the costs, the fields would be expanded, the manufacturers would have a broader base to peddle their wares, and we would see a better, more competitive show with less wallet-racing. As a final note to this rant, why not bite the bullet with Pro Stock, and get rid of the "stockish" caricatures that line up on the starting line each Sunday. Having vehicles which by their own description should represent a "stock" configuration looking as they now do is laughable. Allowing stock appearing bodies with some aerodynamic add-ons to equalize the field a bit would certainly provide a bit of an incentive for manufacturers to look more closely at the sport as a viable promotional tool. I've found myself the last few years attending nostalgia events moreso than major national events because I find that they more accurately convey what's good about the sport, and I've not walked away from any of them feeling disappointed. In my humble opinion, some of the racing gods in the ivory towers of NHRA had better get their heads out of their collective a**es if their is any hope of salvaging what is left of our great sport.
Byron McElfresh - 8 years ago
Get rid of the year restriction on bodies in Pro Stock and make them run a FACTORY body. Min 7" tall all the way to the windshield hood scoop. Make the engines stock bore spacing and deck height !!! The bubbles on wheels who can tell the difference ? And make top fuel run a full 1/4 ! Oh, I understand the efi in Pro Stock vs. cost of the trick dominator based carbs. But it is more impressive with carbs ! And get rid of the no way to see the track from the pits design of most tracks. Not worth going to race and never see 1 !
Greg - 8 years ago
1st would be go back and take away Hagan's trophy away for his team cheating.
Next target the grass roots guys, they are the guys/gals who sacrifice the most just to be there..
do away with pro stock or make them go back to a real factory car.
bring back the 1/4 mile
big teams only have 2 cars in each class
without John Force and Shumacher NHRA is dead
lower ticket prices
let the announcers call it like it is. Especially, when there is cheating and it's obvious!!!!!!
More info and show and tell about the cars, people like to see what it takes to be a team
make it fun for a "family" to attend. Most people cannot go due to high prices to park,
entry, food and drinks. That's not counting any T shirts or extra items.
Let every racer that wins get an interview after the run. They are IMPORTANT!
Bob Cardoza - 8 years ago
RUN THE 1/4 MILE , FUEL CARS....... 320feet......BETTER BRAKES......BIGGER CHUTES........?????????
David Bradley - 8 years ago
Drag racing , has got away from its roots to much on the Forces , boring. Pro stock is died you have got to revive that how ever u do it . Pro modds need to be in the fore front of racing not on back burners when it come to tv . The same with top sportsman .. Street Outlaws need to be gone , not real , to many F'd u personalities and emphasize on personalities . More minority drivers and car White guys aren't the only people that race or know anything about CARS.. The world has changed and drag racing culture hasn't and it will DIE . also MORE import racing ..
John Lewis - 8 years ago
In the past, drag racing was a family sport. You didn't need to be rich to participate. I was a street racer and decided to take it to the track. I was met with a lot of unnecessary rules and regulations that were not only expensive but soon sent me back to street racing. Street Outlaws is bogus. Real street racing is done with street legal cars. The tracks should relax some of their requirements so that street racers will actually take it to the track without a lot of bullcrap rules. Most SFI certified parts are unnecessary. I know it's for safety you say but I don't run everything SFI on the street, I use common sense. SFI stickers just mean more $. That sticker takes the price up 30-50%. I've never had a scatter shield go bad, but it has to be recertified after 2 years or buy a new one, give me a break. Get us off the streets without getting so deep in our pockets.
terry lucas - 8 years ago
great people
Dan - 8 years ago
To many teams in the same class. With teams comes team orders on which one wins and which one doesn't. Need to try real hard and find a way to cut the cost for both the racers and the fans. Hope that Fox does a heck of a lot better on showing what drag racing is all about. Good luck in 2016 I will be watching and hoping for a great year.
Dan - 8 years ago
NHRA has let teams build cars that push the limits. Pro stock has become boring. It used to be bodies in white, stock block cubic inch to weight.there would be 40 +cars trying to qualify. Now it is just a down sized pro mod....the same faces every week with bazillion dollar backers. Get back to stock bodied cars. Funny cars are the same way.....go back NHRA!!! single mags, 6-71's 8-71's at the most....no air controllers, triple clutches....and 32 car fields same with top fuel. New faces would race....what are yo going to do when JFR racing quits...DSR racing..?? It's boring!!! The neatest cars to watch were the super stock hemi's...now they have as much chassis tubing as the pro stocks. Fuel injection in pro stock??? no hood scoops???? no wheelie bars??? How boring can you be??? Stock body, stock block, no electric shocks, no computers, no one piece front ends....the only thing they got right was to have the fans be able to see the engine......go back to the basics NHRA!!!!
Charles May - 8 years ago
Drag racing has got point to were only 8 or 10 teams are the only ones who have a shot at winning
the every day racer can not win it take major sponsor to be run a season in the NHRA the guys who run on local tracks are the ones who are the true racers.
Jim Stash - 8 years ago
Thank God for the new ownership and for Fox taking over the TV partnership. Fox will do the viewers right. Not like espn playing late at night. Thank you Fox.
I like racing or watching nhra sportsmen racing ( super gas, super stock and top sportsmen racing) at points races and nationals event. don't care to watch the pros any more. this year is 55 years of going to the drag races. and 40 years of having drag race car (super stock and super gas car).
phil harnden
jess clifton - 8 years ago
tv progaming sucks they show racing so late normaiiy no one sees it they do as they wish killing the sport nhra at fault for allowing it
Michael R Pantoja - 8 years ago
I am so glad that you did not cancel the Topeka race. So happy that new owners stepped up to do the right thing. Hope the new station Fox Sports does a good job on covering all the events. Thanks
Kenneth Barker - 8 years ago
ESPN's coverage on tv was very poor to say the least. Do not need Stat Man. Do not need to interview every driver after every run. Do not need constant gab gab gab. Do not need to be on tv at 2 or 3 or laterr in the am. Need to show more burnouts as that's what really turns the fans on especially the new ones. Do need more looks and talks about the cars.
It's a real shame that mangement and media alike are continuing to overlook a very important (many would say THE most important aspect) of the sport, which is the various levels of sportsman competition in drag racing. Although the fuel cars & Pro Stocks dominate any media coverage, sportsman racing, from the TS and TD classes to the Stock eliminator & heads-up classes can and do provide exceptional racing action as well, and there IS a lot of interest in these areas of the sport which is a fact seemingly continually missed by the powers that be. By limiting media coverage to the professional ranks, and it's various "celebrities", a real diservice is being done to the sport as a whole. Many years ago when ABC's Wide World of Sports covered some NHRA events, they also included Sportsman class Final Eliminations, and it was a great balance to the hoopla of the pro-show. Drag racing has been, and will for the most part always be the everymans motor-sport. By trying to over-professionalize the sport, it will eventually mark it's demise as we now know it. It also seems each succeeding season that new ways are developed to further drive the cost of racing out of hand, almost as though there is a complete disconnect from reality by those at the helm. I'm old enough to remember attending events where thirty or forty competitors would vie for spots in sixteen car fields, and the qualifying sessions were as hectic & exciting as the race itself. With the "big dollar" racing of today's sport, qualifying sessions are basically a shuffling procedure to determine where the sixteen cars which turn up at each event line up on the qualifying ladder. By pulling back some of the costs, the fields would be expanded, the manufacturers would have a broader base to peddle their wares, and we would see a better, more competitive show with less wallet-racing. As a final note to this rant, why not bite the bullet with Pro Stock, and get rid of the "stockish" caricatures that line up on the starting line each Sunday. Having vehicles which by their own description should represent a "stock" configuration looking as they now do is laughable. Allowing stock appearing bodies with some aerodynamic add-ons to equalize the field a bit would certainly provide a bit of an incentive for manufacturers to look more closely at the sport as a viable promotional tool. I've found myself the last few years attending nostalgia events moreso than major national events because I find that they more accurately convey what's good about the sport, and I've not walked away from any of them feeling disappointed. In my humble opinion, some of the racing gods in the ivory towers of NHRA had better get their heads out of their collective a**es if their is any hope of salvaging what is left of our great sport.
Get rid of the year restriction on bodies in Pro Stock and make them run a FACTORY body. Min 7" tall all the way to the windshield hood scoop. Make the engines stock bore spacing and deck height !!! The bubbles on wheels who can tell the difference ? And make top fuel run a full 1/4 ! Oh, I understand the efi in Pro Stock vs. cost of the trick dominator based carbs. But it is more impressive with carbs ! And get rid of the no way to see the track from the pits design of most tracks. Not worth going to race and never see 1 !
1st would be go back and take away Hagan's trophy away for his team cheating.
Next target the grass roots guys, they are the guys/gals who sacrifice the most just to be there..
do away with pro stock or make them go back to a real factory car.
bring back the 1/4 mile
big teams only have 2 cars in each class
without John Force and Shumacher NHRA is dead
lower ticket prices
let the announcers call it like it is. Especially, when there is cheating and it's obvious!!!!!!
More info and show and tell about the cars, people like to see what it takes to be a team
make it fun for a "family" to attend. Most people cannot go due to high prices to park,
entry, food and drinks. That's not counting any T shirts or extra items.
Let every racer that wins get an interview after the run. They are IMPORTANT!
RUN THE 1/4 MILE , FUEL CARS....... 320feet......BETTER BRAKES......BIGGER CHUTES........?????????
Drag racing , has got away from its roots to much on the Forces , boring. Pro stock is died you have got to revive that how ever u do it . Pro modds need to be in the fore front of racing not on back burners when it come to tv . The same with top sportsman .. Street Outlaws need to be gone , not real , to many F'd u personalities and emphasize on personalities . More minority drivers and car White guys aren't the only people that race or know anything about CARS.. The world has changed and drag racing culture hasn't and it will DIE . also MORE import racing ..
In the past, drag racing was a family sport. You didn't need to be rich to participate. I was a street racer and decided to take it to the track. I was met with a lot of unnecessary rules and regulations that were not only expensive but soon sent me back to street racing. Street Outlaws is bogus. Real street racing is done with street legal cars. The tracks should relax some of their requirements so that street racers will actually take it to the track without a lot of bullcrap rules. Most SFI certified parts are unnecessary. I know it's for safety you say but I don't run everything SFI on the street, I use common sense. SFI stickers just mean more $. That sticker takes the price up 30-50%. I've never had a scatter shield go bad, but it has to be recertified after 2 years or buy a new one, give me a break. Get us off the streets without getting so deep in our pockets.
great people
To many teams in the same class. With teams comes team orders on which one wins and which one doesn't. Need to try real hard and find a way to cut the cost for both the racers and the fans. Hope that Fox does a heck of a lot better on showing what drag racing is all about. Good luck in 2016 I will be watching and hoping for a great year.
NHRA has let teams build cars that push the limits. Pro stock has become boring. It used to be bodies in white, stock block cubic inch to weight.there would be 40 +cars trying to qualify. Now it is just a down sized pro mod....the same faces every week with bazillion dollar backers. Get back to stock bodied cars. Funny cars are the same way.....go back NHRA!!! single mags, 6-71's 8-71's at the most....no air controllers, triple clutches....and 32 car fields same with top fuel. New faces would race....what are yo going to do when JFR racing quits...DSR racing..?? It's boring!!! The neatest cars to watch were the super stock hemi's...now they have as much chassis tubing as the pro stocks. Fuel injection in pro stock??? no hood scoops???? no wheelie bars??? How boring can you be??? Stock body, stock block, no electric shocks, no computers, no one piece front ends....the only thing they got right was to have the fans be able to see the engine......go back to the basics NHRA!!!!
Drag racing has got point to were only 8 or 10 teams are the only ones who have a shot at winning
the every day racer can not win it take major sponsor to be run a season in the NHRA the guys who run on local tracks are the ones who are the true racers.
Thank God for the new ownership and for Fox taking over the TV partnership. Fox will do the viewers right. Not like espn playing late at night. Thank you Fox.
I like racing or watching nhra sportsmen racing ( super gas, super stock and top sportsmen racing) at points races and nationals event. don't care to watch the pros any more. this year is 55 years of going to the drag races. and 40 years of having drag race car (super stock and super gas car).
phil harnden
tv progaming sucks they show racing so late normaiiy no one sees it they do as they wish killing the sport nhra at fault for allowing it
I am so glad that you did not cancel the Topeka race. So happy that new owners stepped up to do the right thing. Hope the new station Fox Sports does a good job on covering all the events. Thanks
ESPN's coverage on tv was very poor to say the least. Do not need Stat Man. Do not need to interview every driver after every run. Do not need constant gab gab gab. Do not need to be on tv at 2 or 3 or laterr in the am. Need to show more burnouts as that's what really turns the fans on especially the new ones. Do need more looks and talks about the cars.