Is Drag Racing Due For An Overhaul?

Maybe it’s time to start looking at what is actually working and what isn’t working anymore. Maybe, just maybe, the time has come for some sort of overhaul in drag racing.

I’m not one for change, but the simple fact of the matter is that what we were doing five, ten, twenty years ago isn’t attracting the fans like it was. It seems like I am always hearing about tracks closing, leases not being renewed, land for sale, issues with the community, and the online pundits telling us all how they can do better, yet they offer no legitimate suggestions or solutions to the problems we are facing.

If you were to look at every other major sport in the world, whether it be NASCAR, MLB, NFL, NBA, F1, etc. they have all taken to doing different things to create and engage the audience. While I certainly don’t like pitch clocks and extra inning rules in MLB, it has provided the fans with less time invested. I don’t particularly like the new NFL kickoffs, but a lot of fans seem to. NASCAR stage formats are something I have a great amount of disdain for, but it seems to keep fans interested now.

No longer are we in a time and place with sports where you can keep doing the same thing and expect that fans will spend their money or stay engaged with the product. We live in a time where the attention span is shrinking and if you don’t keep them engaged they will move on to the next thing that gets the fans high.

All of sports relies on social media presence to make a difference in their product, but you are also competing with social media. Your content has to be something that people will continue to engage with. If it becomes stale, they will find something else to hold their interest. It’s the opportunity cost principle. Opportunity Cost is defined as: In economics and decision-making, the opportunity cost of choosing to spend your time doing one thing is the value or benefit you give up by not doing the alternative you chose not to do. For example, if you spend an hour exercising, the opportunity cost is the hour of work or relaxation you could have had instead.

With that explained, we as an industry must look at opportunity cost and figure out how it is that we get people to decide that they would rather spend time consuming drag racing versus consuming other brands of entertainment. Whether that being online content or in-person content. This seems to be something that we are not doing a great job at.

We in drag racing seem to forget that we are not only in the business of motorsports but we are in the business of entertainment as well. Why would fans come to the track to watch two cars just drive in a straight line? The only way they are doing that is if they are hardcore fans or have a vested interest in the people competing with each other. A primary reason that NHRA has continued to survive, not thrive but survive is because of the nitro classes. Nitro classes are pure entertainment!! The same can be said for other classes like radial racing, pro mods, grudge racing, N/T racing, and some others.

I’m not in any way saying that we need fireworks or concerts at every event, but you have to make it worth the consumer’s time and honestly their wallet for them to come to the track and sit all day watching racing. The drivers are just as big a role in that as the promoters, track owners, and media also. I have harped for years that drivers need hero cars to hand out. They are the face of the entertainment. People aren’t coming to the track to see me standing next to the wall capturing images. They aren’t coming to the track to see the promoter hype up each car. They are coming to see the drivers and the cars!!

Drag racing is one of the most fan friendly sports on the planet. It appeals to both men and women. It doesn’t age discriminate. Drag racing doesn’t care what church you go to or what your orientation is. Drag racing is for everyone, yet too many times at bigger races I see a complete disconnect between drivers and fans. Drivers want the lap of luxury by spending all their time in the toter or RV instead of being the face, out there interacting with the fans. Now that isn’t all drivers, but it certainly isn’t a 50/50 split.

This will upset plenty of track owners, but who really believes that fans want to pay $15-$20 to sit around and watch T&T on a Friday night? First you have to get the fan out of the house, get them to drive to the track, and then on top of that, you want them to drop a twenty spot just to watch for maybe 5-6 hours? Where is the value in that? I’m more then well aware of what it cost to operate a track, and everything that goes into that, but the fact remains that we need to get people off their asses and to the track. Racers would much rather go down the track in front of 500 people than they would in front of 50 people.

I don’t claim to have all the answers, but I certainly have no problem starting the discussion regarding changes that need to be made for our sport to survive and even thrive in the decades to come. What are some realistic changes or additions that you would like to see in our sport to help it grow and move to the next level?