Ford Leaving Professional Drag racing. Interesting read.

WOW!!!! there were other articles about this this past week but the writer is telling things that the otheres did not surmise--Dick
 
I thought from what was out there a week ago, it was Pro Stock being affected.. it now appears that Ford is pulling out of NHRA totally.. not a good thing for some BIG teams, or NHRA overall.. unless some other big time sponsors step up..
 
Perhaps Ford is not in agreement with some of the recent media "exposure" that they have been getting with NHRA.;)

All I can say is I went to Topeka one day of the Nationals, first time at an event in a few years. After paying $15 to park (glad the ticket was free!) and going in, I was shocked by the small footprint of the event. Used to be Topeka was wall to wall with cars, mfgs, etc. and now half or more of the space is unused. Bleachers were at most half full for the Pro qualifying, but you had to have a reserved seat (extra $$$) to get to the bleachers. All racer viewing areas have been removed, nowhere for them to watch either.

Wouldn't surprise me if NHRA is not around 5 years from now.
 
drag racing future.

What we've lost is the fan base at the local track. Reason? Bracket racing killed the fan base. Now, I don't care if you love bracket racing, more power to ya. But, in simple terms, it killed the local, which becomes regional, which becomes national, fan base.
 
Todd, unfortunately I don't see it taking 5 years...

Randy, are you saying that the fans don't like bracket racing, so therefore, they don't like Stock, Super Stock, and Comp because it all seems like bracket racing??.. I could understand that..

OR.. has drag racing just priced itself out of existence.. look around the pits and stands and take notice of the people you see.. the majority are all old, and if you have noticed, expiring.. racers and spectators alike.. NHRA has done nothing in my book to attract the youth of America.. TRAXXUS don't cut it either.. NHRA marketing should be revisiting "GRASS ROOTS" for a jump start.. but its the costs that are killing everyone right now.. racers can no longer afford to race, and spectators can no longer afford to come to the track..
 
Charlie, I don't think you are far off with the statement that Drag racing has priced itself out of existence.. We were talking about that on the weekend. I think specifically that is the case with the Pro's and even Comp.

And looking at the entry sheets. There is a large percentage of people racing at divisional and nationals, that list their Occupation as "RETIRED" Nothing against those lucky enough to be retired, but that ratio is not good for the sport.
 
Notice there wasn't any mention of killing the CobraJet program or Contingency.. Just Manufacturer money/support from primarily Nitro since the Ford Pro Stockers already get little to nothing.

Can't say I blame them.. The Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday is a thing of the past with the Pro ranks. Is anyone going to buy a Mustang because Force, Wilkerson or Tasca have a carbon fiber shell with stickers/paint that can only be called a mustang because of said stickers/paint and a 10,000hp Chrysler Hemi based motor? I think it's silly to think anyone would. I think it was a good showcase for the latest SUV's for tow vehicles.. But I think they do a lot better at grassroots where the cars can be made from the showroom floor if an individual were motivated enough. That's where the true Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday is now.

The thing that really ticks me off, is Ford has done more to produce better and more efficient engines in the last 5-10 years in their production models.. Then they bring them out in race trim and people bitch and moan about their progress because a guy with a $90,000 factory race car with a little massaging can run with or better than an SS/AH who probably spent at least that on just the motor. I think even Ford haters acknowledge how wicked those things are.

Case in point on the boost limits thread, $15-25,000 for 10 hp gain on a current N/A carbed SB motor. You can take that $25,000, buy a 5.4 CJ motor and a bigger blower, make 1000 reliable hp with that bigger blower and a computer tune and never have to rev it over 9,000. Talk about keeping costs down, but there isn't a class outside of the Super classes or S/SS you can use the 4v V8 engine that I know of.. Comp, the "innovators" class, included..

So if I'm Ford, I'm looking at this like "What the hell are we even doing here? We've got all this great new shit we can factory support and outside of S/SS, nobody else wants it. They want shit we haven't made in 20+ years! Funny Cars are only identifiable by the headlight and grille stickers. We've gone through hell trying to get the 2014 Mustang approved in Pro Stock while we're the 'Official Vehicle'. What are we getting out of this deal other than a little extra exposure?"

I think you can blame racers being blindly/ignorantly scared of new tech just as much as NHRA for not looking forward.
 
class racing

I don't know what the answer is, but yes, SS, and Stock are bracket racing. Comp, not so much. We, NHRA, or IHRA have got to get something at the local 1\8th, and 1\4 mile to attract younger people, that they can actually afford. The new mustangs, camaros, and challengers might be a place to start, but I still say a class for 72, and older spec head no-break-out cars would stir interest again. I know, I'm living in the past. I'm tired of hearing that shit. Go to ANY car show. Watch the old, and the young go ape over cars from the sixties, and fifties, and watch them walk right by a new camaro, or stang. If we don't do something, I can tell you one thing, it's going to die here very soon.
 
I don't know what the answer is, but yes, SS, and Stock are bracket racing. Comp, not so much. We, NHRA, or IHRA have got to get something at the local 1\8th, and 1\4 mile to attract younger people, that they can actually afford. The new mustangs, camaros, and challengers might be a place to start, but I still say a class for 72, and older spec head no-break-out cars would stir interest again. I know, I'm living in the past. I'm tired of hearing that shit. Go to ANY car show. Watch the old, and the young go ape over cars from the sixties, and fifties, and watch them walk right by a new camaro, or stang. If we don't do something, I can tell you one thing, it's going to die here very soon.

I'm not even saying you need to use the motor package in a NEW car. Put the CJ motor in a '68 and watch it run 7's. Put it in a tube frame, stripped T-bucket or altered and watch it run 6's!

People walk by the new stuff because they see it all the time on the street.. You don't see 50's,60's era cars too often anymore outside of Auctions, cruise ins or if you live off old Rt. 66 like me. But that's part of the problem with NHRA to begin with right now, because it is almost ALL classics is the S/SS platforms, I get more excited watching the new Factory hot rods because it's something different and I want to see how fast they're going to go..

Definitely not wanting to take away from the difficulty of running a dial-in or index class, because it takes a lot of skill to hit the tree and run the number.. but DAMN is it boring to watch.
 
Would people be far more interested in something if it seemed obtainable to them?

I think that's how drag racing gained popularity to begin with. It was considered an "EVERYMAN" sport, and still is to some extent. A guy tinkering in his garage can go run on the same circuit as the big spenders. Expenses have become so great that the every day guy can't afford to go run nationals between fuel, days off, hotels/motorhome, let alone the cost of parts running some of this stuff anymore.

If I had $150,000 extra to spend on something right now and I wasn't a fan of drag racing, I'd go buy an exotic car and pick up chicks.
 
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If I had $150,000 extra to spend on something right now and I wasn't a fan of drag racing, I'd go buy an exotic car and pick up chicks.[/QUOTE]

HaHa , that would definitely be fun for a while then that would get boring or you would get worn out, then back to racing again.
 
It really comes down to a once big market becoming smaller and smaller. There are not many young people that have interest in mechanical things or even performance electronics. The generation has become so "hands off" that technical things are of little interest. I currently work for a company that forges and machines hand tools and everyone in our plant has told me that we have yet to see the workload we once did. Keep in mind we manufacturer tools for most of the major brands, craftsman, armstrong, and even some military. The market is becoming increasingly smaller. That directly relates to consumers interest in purchasing those tools. The fans we want to reach right now don't really exist. Even looking at the technical industries outside of electronics, there is a significant lack of people to fill those positions because there are less people seeking work in those areas. Its a tough situation for sure.

At the end of the day, the marketing approach has to stop being so segregated. We have to bring our sport to the people and that means getting our vehicles out in front of the public eye to hopefully create enough excitement that they would like to attend a race. But, we also can't just wait on NHRA or other organizations either, we all have to carry that weight to help our sport thrive.


Another thing that would help is to somehow get more competition into the racing market. All of our current companies have a stranglehold on the price of parts and such. I really wonder as a whole if the profit margin is reasonable and fair throughout the entirety of our market or are we being significantly ripped off.
 
Try going to a "local" heads up "street" car race. There are some regional races that draw very large car and spectator counts. I would guess the average age of spectator is 18-30 years old. Average age of participant is 25-45 years old. Most cars are power adder with fuel injection that have more electronics then the space shuttle. These same racers have zero interest in the nitro bore show that NHRA has turned into. Manufacturers and sponsors and dumping money into these races since there is a return on their investment with product purchases.
If you are anywhere near Cecil County dragway over labor day weekend, check out the Yellow Bullet race. It will be worth your price of admission. The old school racers feel the grass roots nature of the competition. It is standing room only with full car counts.
NHRA has done nothing to promote sportsman or even pro racers in any class other then Nitro. Manufacturers do not make their living developing and selling parts to the .1 of 1% of racers in those 2 classes. Ford is getting no return on their investment. I have no affiliation with Ford but understand that they pulled the plug.
 
I have the cure for NHRA's problems. Fire all the bean counters and put Bill Bader in charge of EVERYTHING, Problem solved LOL. I'm dead serious about the Bill Bader thing. We talked about it on the weekend. Bill should teach a course on Track Management, and it should be a requirement for all NHRA track owners and managers.

Where else have you seen 60,000 people at a divisional?? NO WHERE
 
Notice there wasn't any mention of killing the CobraJet program or Contingency.. Just Manufacturer money/support from primarily Nitro since the Ford Pro Stockers already get little to nothing.

http://www.dragracingonline.com/burksblast/xv_7-3.html
A quote from the link above.
"My sources indicate that the cutbacks will including John Force Racing, Tasca Racing, their Cobra-Jet factory Stock/Super Stock program and their “Official” status with the NHRA"
 
drag racing future.

All decent proposals, but let's face it. Nothing is going to save drag racing. Nothing. It's just the way it is. Five years from now, there will be a once a month circus show with it. That's all that will be left. People have no money, racing no-break-out costs too much, and bracket racing is boring. End of the road.