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New NHRA program may just work
8/31/06
The NHRA’s new championship points “Chase” is a good move.
Okay, all of you who say I never write anything that doesn’t rip the NHRA, this column is for you. I really like the NHRA management’s new points program especially after I’ve had a day to think about it.
There is no question that drag racing as a motor sport gets little respect from the mainstream media. So, if our sport has to “borrow” something from NASCAR that might make the stick and ball sports editors who only pay attention to the NASCAR chase equate the NHRA Championship to the Nextel Cup, that would be a very good thing. Let’s face it, drag racing had perhaps its most compelling points race in history last year with the winner in Funny Car not being determined until almost the very last lap, yet that dramatic finish didn’t get the attention nationally that it warranted. Maybe, hopefully, the new points chase being similar to NASCAR’s will make NHRA drag racing more attractive to the press. I can tell you this with some certainty: it couldn’t hurt.
As to whether this new system will help or hurt the racers and their aspirations for a championship I don’t see where it will have any adverse effect at all. Actually, if you think about it, the new points chase will probably be a benefit for racers and teams that have had a hard time in the past getting their teams and sponsors air time and favorable ink.
In the past most reporting by all the media, and I’m ashamed to say that includes DRO, has been weighted towards the teams with the highest profile drivers and the biggest sponsors. Those teams usually can be found at the very top of the points from the start of the season to the end. With the new points program when they narrow the field to the top eight in points after 17 races, we will be forced to devote coverage to all eight of those drivers and teams because all eight of them will have a real chance to win the title in their respective classes.
From strictly a journalistic point of view that is a good thing. Fans will naturally have more interest in a very close championship points race. I’m also of the opinion that it will probably result in better TV ratings for the races that are broadcast after the field is trimmed to eight. Maybe we won’t have so much “filler” in the broadcasts if the points leader and the eighth place team are separated by just 80 points. The TV crews and fans at home will be forced to pay attention to more than just the sport’s “stars” and that will be a very good thing.
As for the racers themselves, for the first 17 races of the season nothing will change much. In all probability the same teams that have been in the Top Ten in the past will continue to do so. But there will be a lot more motivation for those teams that in the past sort of coasted when they were in the 7-10 spot in the points with virtually no chance for a championship or significantly moving up the chart. I think one result of the new system will be better and more intense racing. And points deductions for oil downs will have more significance and impact than ever.
I think there is the distinct possibility that teams that make the elite eight could possibly pick up sponsors late in the season just because sponsors know those racers are going to get more TV and media exposure. I think that will repeat when the field is narrowed to four. I believe that this points deal could bring in sponsors that haven’t been involved in drag racing before.
The way I see it, this is the first decision that the NHRA has made in a long time that actually didn’t benefit the mega teams and ultimately punish the lesser-funded teams. The ultimate benefactors of this new chase, from the racers point of view, will be those teams without the big budgets and that is a good thing.
If there is a down side for the mega-teams it might be that just like their NASCAR counterparts some of those team’s sponsors will probably be writing contracts that include penalties if they don’t make the eight-car cut after 17 races.
I also think that so-called “team orders” or diving will rear its ugly head, so I’m going to make one suggestion for the NHRA. Limit teams to just two cars in the elite eight for each professional category. If Schumacher, Force, Kalitta or whoever has three or more cars in the top eight in points after 17 races let them keep two in and then add one or two more teams that didn’t make the elite eight into the program. I know some of my pals on the mega-teams won’t like my suggestion, but I look at it as a way to keep some diversity in the program and keep the teams with basically unlimited budgets from dominating.
So, kudos from the Burkster to NHRA pres Tom Compton and his team for taking a proactive move that at least has a chance to make NHRA drag racing more exciting.
As long as I’m on a roll, I also want to say that the new schedule just released is a great example of Tom and his team trying to make life easier for the racers and fans that support the NHRA series. I don’t know if the “Chase” will prove to be as exciting as we all would hope, but at least it will be different and in these days of restricted performance I think that is a very good thing indeed. 
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