NOT SO THIRSTY AFTER ALL
At the Vegas national events (NHRA), bottles of water are
$5. Guy sitting behind me sees the beer vendor coming towards
us and says "You got any water?" Vendor replies
"Sure do, nice and cold, five bucks." Customer
says "No, I only want one, not a six pack." Hard
to believe. Crown & Coke in a plastic cup $14--Yikes!
See ya at the Races; bring MONEY.
Bob
P.S. Good thing they only come here twice each year, I
couldn't afford any more fun.
NASCAR ENVY?
I completely agree with (Darr Hawthorne's) assertion that
NHRA needs to do a better job of improving accessibility
to and interaction with the media to promote the sport,
but I (along with many, many others, I hope) vehemently
oppose a culture shift to "idolize" drivers.
The massive strength of NHRA racing is its grass roots
base –- the ability of fans to participate in the
sport. This includes not only the ability to race at local
or regional level in any of numerous classes according to
each individual’s financial ability, but also to directly
interact with the drivers and teams at the professional
levels. I don’t believe that NASCAR hands out pit
passes free with each ticket it sells.
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Media
exposure and the inevitable influx of money that accompanies
it are tantalizing and, in my opinion, a necessary evil
to foster growth. At the same time, it tends to direct the
professional classes away from the fan base that supports
them. Look at the current trends – multi-car teams;
the extreme case is the Schumacher juggernaut. Not only
does his organization field a multi-car team in one professional
class, but in EVERY professional class (just about)!
I attended the races at Indianapolis and Las Vegas last
season. At Indianapolis, Schumacher had more courtesy tent
space for the sponsors than workspace for the cars/bikes.
Compare this with NASCAR: Roush Racing, Yates, DEI, etc.
Multi-car teams have been established to increase competitive
advantage. My opinion is that the advantage is not achieved
primarily through knowledge, experience, ingenuity, and
ability, but through a bigger wallet.
Along with this trend is the ever-increasing service to
the corporate sponsors of these teams rather than direct
interaction with the fans. Older, experienced drivers are
being pushed out in favor of younger "poster boys"
and "poster girls" that offer greater returns
in advertising dollars to the most desirable consumer demographics.
Force is retooling his team to enhance current/future sponsorship
deals. Snake has hired Melanie Troxel for the same reason.
(Please note that I believe that she is a deserving candidate
and that I am happy to see the driver ranks opening to women.
The point is that other teams are following in Team Schumacher’s
footsteps).
The first words out of a driver’s mouth at the conclusion
of a race are to thank sponsors A, B, C, D, E for their
support. When was the last time that you heard a driver
speak his mind openly and honestly at the conclusion of
a race? The most memorable that I recall was Jr.’s
response of "It don’t mean s**t!" following
his 5th win at Talladega. NASCAR’s response: fine
and loss of points! Apparently, this honest emotion could
potentially offend someone and jeopardize precious sponsors/sponsor
dollars.
I don’t begrudge any driver their opportunities as
long as they have talent, but half the fun is wondering
what Force or Scelzi or Bazemore will say in the heat of
the moment. I sincerely hope that Skuza returns soon.
Please tell me that there are ways to grow the sport of
drag racing without making it a carbon copy of NASCAR, or
God forbid, turn it into the fiasco that is F1 (the most
elitist debacle in motorsports). I like the opportunity
to root for the charismatic driver and to show support for
the underdog. Slavery to the corporate sponsor makes being
a fan as much fun as watching commercials.
Thank you for the opportunity to express my opinions.
Sincerely,
Lou Pappademos
Fort Wayne, IN
