 |
 THROW
OUT THE BABY (AND THE BATHWATER, TOO)!
At the recently concluded Heat Stroke Nationals, AKA the NHRA St. Louis
event, I spent a lot of time listening to people go on and on about
qualifying. The discussion touched on all facets of the gettin' in game
-- how big should the fields be, when should the sessions be held, are
there enough cars in the various fields to keep the show(s) "tight"
and I guess, meaningful.
I say it was a lot of talk devoted to a subject most paying customers
could care less about! I lack the hard data needed to say this is fact,
beyond a doubt, but just let me say this. Every time I talk about drag
racing with anyone who is not an ardent fan--and a few fans for that
matter--they eventually get around to asking me why it takes two or
three days of preliminaries to get ready for the actual race. I make
the usual explanations (skipping the part about separating the populace
from their wallets) but after all that, they most often want to know
what time eliminations start on Sunday, and where can they buy a ticket
to see the action.
The hubbub over qualifying is, I think, a forest for the trees kind
of thing. You know. . .cain't see it! As in, cain't see the bigger picture.
The way present-day national events are conducted leads to an unending
squabble over share of the purse, television time, and who gets to be
at the dance. Throw sponsor acquisition into the pot and you've got
something with all the ambiance of a Crips and Bloods turf war! It's
just about that ugly, and here's the real issue: It does nothing to
move the sport forward. Whether it's Pro Stock Trucks, Pro Mods, Imports
of whatever stripe, it's still drag racing, it still takes all weekend
to come up with the first winner, and there is still just so much time
for anybody to get on TV!
I mean, NOBODY takes this long to get ready to get it on! Really, it
becomes an issue of proper use of time and lost opportunity. I think
the powers that be should just do away with the whole qualifying scene,
at least for the pro classes. Those being Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock,
and Pro Modified.
Don't swallow your tongues just yet. I have a second part to this bit
of madness. I have a theory on why it is so difficult to get new sponsorship
blood into the sport. Under the current setup, a racer cannot truthfully
say it is a certainty he will be racing before the TV cameras on Sunday.
And, he cannot say he will be on for more than a brief first-round loss
appearance.
Contrast that, if you will, with the NASCAR model. While no guarantees
can be made, there are usually 150 to 200 laps, or more to pile up on-
camera time for your sponsor. For now, that looks like a pretty fair
come bet for the folks who sponsor race cars. And that is the big edge
NASCAR has over NHRA.
If you throw out qualifying, that means everybody runs on Sunday! If
22 Top Fuelers enter, 22 answer the opening bell. And let's not stop
there, oh no! I say, if X number of guys can screw together a pro level
operation, they all ought to get to go three rounds on the TV show!
Think about it. What a superior deal it would be to be able to walk
into a board meeting -- or whatever kind of meeting with a potential
sponsor - - and say, with honesty, "Your company will get three shots
at the limelight, win, lose or draw.²
If that doesn't sound like a good scenario, well, I guess I did fry
my brain in St. Louis!
Problems and changes abound, should this come to pass. None of them
are insurmountable. New thinking and thinkers will be needed. A change
in format, start to finish would be a certainty. There is not enough
room here to go into all the changes that would have to happen.
Just let me leave you with this little teaser for next month's column,
wherein I give my thoughts on how drag racing 2003 should play out.
Think of it: three national events in three days! After all, the crowd
will be there. Ya might as well give 'em a spectacular three days instead
of one!
Later!
racer4339@aol.com
photo by Jeff Burk
|
