How the NHRA’s Missing the Boat
Written by Jory Elliott · May 27, 2008
What’s the one biggest difference between NASCAR and the NHRA? Well coming from my perspective, as a person of reasonable marketing knowledge, I would say that it’s the perceived lack of sex appeal that our sport has in the eye of the public and potential marketing partners. And no I don’t mean sex appeal as it normally relates to women. What I’m referring to is the lack of brash, passionate, young, talented, natural, photogenic, well-spoken drivers in our sport. As I watched the National Hot Rod Association coverage of the O’Reilly Thunder Valley Nationals in Bristol, TN, something hit me. Albeit, it didn’t hit me right then but almost a week later to the day a bell went off saying “That’s It!”
In case you missed it, the entire weekend revolved around the costs associated with running a competitive Top Fuel or Funny Car team over the course of the 24 race POWERade series. As I watched that broadcast on ESPN2 and listened to different team officials tell us how much their budgets were for the 2007 season I thought to myself, ok these guys are all in the ballpark with how much they are spending. But what I didn’t realize at the time is that the one theme that rang true through the majority of those teams was that, they all seemed content to continue spending that amount unless someone brought a boat load of cash to the table in order to drive their race car. “Nuuuuuuuh, WRONG!” That’s the difference between NASCAR and the NHRA right there.
When NASCAR was at the stage that I consider the NHRA to be at in this moment in time, the team owners weren’t driving the race cars. The idea was for them to take their money and invest in building the foundations of a winning team with a young, skilled and hungry driver to appeal to potential marketing partners. Now don’t get me wrong, there is still a place for the veterans of the sport on the marketing side of things but look at the majority of drivers in NASCAR that have the top sponsorship deals. If I had to venture a guess I would say that those drivers range anywhere from 25-35 years of age. Now take a look at the average age of the drivers in the NHRA fuel ranks. I’d say we’re talking roughly 35-55 as the majority age range in the sports top two classes. There are owners out there that get it, like Don Schumacher who has catered to his sponsors by putting appealing drivers into situations that best suit a sponsors needs. Kenny Bernstein had the right idea when he stepped aside to let a new, younger driver take the controls of his Monster Energy flopper, the only problem is, he went a little heavy on the skilled side and way too light on the young and hungry side. Now I’m not knockin Tommy Johnson Jr. here, all I’m saying is that the idea was right in theory but the application of that theory wasn’t executed exactly as it should have been.
Jim Head, who has always been one of the more outspoken competitors on the tour, said it best when he said something to the effect of, ‘As long as I’m the one with the money, I’ll be driving the car.’ By all means it is his right to see it that way since he is the one footing the bills. But I think that in some cases these owners and their short-sightedness prevent them from seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. To them I say, consider this. You are going to spend the money regardless to go racing. So why not put an appealing, young, hungry driver in your race car that can talk the talk, walk the walk and portray an energetic, youthful and flourishing racing community, rather than a bunch of old timers hangin on to what they got, just because they feel like somebody owes them something.
Well it’s clear to me that the sponsors shopping our sport don’t owe anyone anything and until those team owners realize that and start making decisions that are best for their racing future, we are going to continue to be the series complaining about how sponsors don’t want to get involved in our sport.
It’s not that they don’t want to get involved, because believe me; the value is there for them to see, plain and simple. The problem is that they don’t see the appeal that NASCAR has with a flashy, sexy product on the track.
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9 Responses to “How the NHRA’s Missing the Boat”
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The way I see it NHRA is well on their way to matching NASCAR in the next few years. These owners and drivers are paving the way for these younger and more photogenic group of drivers. The one thing I don’t want to see is these drivers being pimped out to the corp. giant. Also you take a look at these older drivers compair them to the older drivers in NASCAR, the drivers that are 40 to 50 are not winning races they are only filling the field so we see 43 drivers for a race. Some are using past championship status to get them in a race, when we could see the field set by lap time instead of feeling sorry for a driver past his prime.
I feel that NHRA is more fan friendly than NASCAR you can get close to the drivers and I really don’t like the fact that in NASCAR drivers are automatically in because of points standings or championship standings I feel that if you qualify for the race then you are in. In NHRA if they qualify then they are in. NHRA is becoming more popular and I think more corperate sponsers are jumping on the boat but if a 50 year old can get into the race then they should be in. I hope NHRA dosen’t get more “corperate” than it already is but I think the sport going that way. I know it costs a lot of money to race but they all know that going in and that is still no guarantee of racing that week even with the best corperate sponser just look at pro stock racer Dave Connolly he is a great driver and had no sponsers at the beginning of the season. The drivers of NHRA may not be the GQ cover boys that NASCAR drivers are but the point is to drive not to look pretty!
I think NHRA is getting it.
For instance,John Force racing can make up one half of the Funny Car final eight.
John has Neff,Hight and Ashley besides himself.
Surely you are not denying the marketability of John himself.
Additionally he has 2 daughters coming up through the ranks.
Ashley is probably,and I hate the term,the most marketable driver in NHRA and probably one of the best known most liked people in any motorsport.
Now,you want to see a srew-up?Keep your eyes on Formula 1.They are headed from a hero to a zero.
I don’t know much about marketing but I do know this. I hope the NHRA never gets to a point where it has a bunch of paid folks running around at the back of the pack, never doing a thing but making junk out of real expensive race machines.
Yes it would be nice to have a broader sponsorship base than currently exists but the NHRA has already taken steps down the NASCAR path with this chase format for the championships which I do not agree with at all. Hopefully the NHRA does not follow the NASCAR path any further.
No, the main differance between NHRA and NASCAR is that all of NASCAR’s winners are young white males. They had a black male make it into the field at one of last years races and it was a big deal. That hadn’t been done in fourty years. So it depends on who your marketing to.
With NHRA having women, blacks; old and young white males owning,driving and winning racing says it’s the place for sponsers to be. NHRA markering woes has to do with live TV. Over the air FREE TV is were the money is. NHRA had a great 2007 it’s to bad it’s stuck on cable.
I started drag racing NHRA in 1969 and plan to have my ashes scattered at my local track because people of ALL races, genders and age groups were always welcomed thier.
The marketing is so bad at NHRA. you go to the store & see NASCAR drivers faces everywhere. If you ask a no racing fan what NHRA is, they will tell you it’s a rifle association. It’s ridiculous!! Hopefully the new PR firm just hired by NHRA will kick some ass. If NHRA lets them do they’re job.
This article is ridiculous. Why the f*ck is everything centered around the way people look rather than the talent they have. I couldn’t care less if Connie Kalitta looks like Jabba the hut on a bad hair day. That man had a huge hand in making drag racing what it is today. Who exactly is this writer talking about? John Force will always be a draw. Robert Height, Hillary Will, Brandon Bernstein, Richard Todd, Tony Schumaker, Ashley Force, they’re all young and marketable. NHRA drag racing was always a “family” type sport with fathers and sons competing together, even at it’s smallest level of bracket racing. I would hate to see the whole sport “cheapened and cheesed up” by the media, and sponsors. Nascar used to be “real”, and family oriented, now it’s just professional wrestling on wheels. Can’t we keep ONE form of racing pure without poisoning it with MTV edits and pretty boy faces? Dammit!!!
“lack of brash, passionate, young, talented, natural, photogenic, well-spoken drivers”???? What the hell are you talking about? It’s not the drivers or the sponsors that are the problem. It’s ESPN. They televise every Powerade race, but they almost never even mention drag racing on any of their channels unless someone crashes and burns. And then it’s just a 30 second sound bite. And they sure as hell don’t have NHRA driver interviews on Sports Center. They have more coverage of poker than NHRA. Seems to me ESPN would want to promote NHRA more since they have an exclusive on the broadcasts. I think ESPN views drag racing as a second class sport and I find that insulting. They think going from A to B quickly is not as fan pleasing or as exciting as going from A to A to A to A. If you’ve ever been there, you know of what I speak.
I don’t agree that the NHRA has missed the boat. Why is it believed that if another sport has more airtime or sponsors, that it automatically is doing better? Have you watched a televised NASCAR race lately? Half of the television screen is comprised of various sponsor banners and a paltry 1/3 has the actual coverage of the race taking place - that is between the 1.30 minute commercials that are aired every 4.45 minutes. It has practically nothing to do with racing anymore, folks.
Who cares how someone else views our sport? Why do I want every Tom, Dick and Harry getting “excited” about drag racing? So they can clog the highway getting to the track? So the demand jacks ticket prices out of the galaxy? So I can miss most of the nitro action because Billy Bob is dragging his fat ass back to the grandstands halfway into the session? So I can get trampled by lard ass Tammy Sue, trying to get an “autograph” of a driver? No thanks. I prefer my sport just as it is; actually a little lighter than it is would be nice too.
We understand that in order to have great racing it takes a lot of money; tons of it these days, and the corporate sponsors are the ones that are able to foot the bill. Sometimes not being the most popular is alright; damn fine as a matter of fact. The illusion that bigger is better is a fantasy and will lead to the destruction of why NHRA has the appeal that it does; hard-working, passionate, family and God loving people, having a good time - with lots and lots of horsepower.