HOW TO DO IT RIGHT
Jeff...you are absolutely correct. One note, though: Media will cover drag racing if (a) the track offers information that is professionally written, (b) accompanied by (good quality) photos, and (c) delivered consistently.
We do a media update for our local daily paper every week...it doesn't always get it, but we always send it.
Media relations is a skill more track operators need to either acquire or hire.
Hank Schmitt
Montgomery, AL
DOING IT RIGHT
Good column, Jeff. I'm lucky in that Craig Boone at London (KY) Dragway has called on me to help with his PR because of my background and my contacts in the area media, and I'm happy to say that the coverage has improved. I personally put a lot of emphasis on the hometowns of bracket winners and getting their winner's circle photos to those hometown newspapers.
John Potts
London, KY
IN THE DESERT
Again, you hit the nail on the head with your "answers". (Not that your questions are bad.) Here in Phoenix where we have a national event every year, we sometimes get a "final result" recap. And about every other year we get what is (I believe) a race team PR release with a picture of their car. Not the best coverage….
Fred Bourque
Phoenix, AZ
POKER FACE
Jeff, Great piece! We need to sell drag racing to the public as something other than a bunch of people who pull up to the line and stab the throttle. The announcers only talk about the personalities (actually that is better than it used to be!) and a little bit about what various racing terms mean.
The best announcing I recall seeing about drag racing was the piece where Force had trouble warming his car up in the pits. He went ahead and staged a "hurt" car on the line in the hopes that Tony Pedregon would not know he was hurt and make a mistake. And he did! That showed there is something going on behind the scenes that is interesting.
John R. Martin
Nixa, MO
POINT TO THE POINTS
I often wondered why more tracks did not advertise their points races. Royce Miller did at Budd’s Creek, Maryland, on the local radio and would have 5,000-8000 fans at NHRA Div 1 points meets, and would draw 15,000 on a Monday night for Pro Mod and Pro Stock shows. He advertised on urban radio too and said he could not make the money he did without the urban dollars. Ask any Div 1 racers who remember when Budd’s Creek was NHRA and they will verify what I am saying.
Mike Sanders
St. Louis
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ON THE SHOALS?
Tipping point? Or tearing open the hull on a submerged rock? Seems to me they have really poohed the screwch (sic). They get ZERO respect from the programming people. The shows always suck hind t** to whatever the heck else is on. They "fit us in." We NEVER push anybody else off their turf. (But on the other hand, if you look at the screaming abortion that was this year's Wimbledon coverage . . . I guess the only people who can almost count on preference are those buying ads.)
Now with less backing and, unless they really change things, a smaller viewership physically at the drags and on TV, the sport is going to a "new level." Or next level? The next level can be up or down. Just ask the big three. When I was in high school (1966-70) a very strong argument could be made that our entire economy revolved around the auto industry. That can damn sure not be said any longer. Nothing lasts forever, homeses. Things will change, and not necessarily for the good.
I'm just glad I got to see (for instance: the North-South Funny Car Challenge at Sears Point in Nov. ’69) 50 nitro burning funny cars goin’ at it ALL DAY LONG! Flames out the end of every pipe, every time a plug fired, all day and into the evening. Super Bitchin’! Dropped cylinders? HUH? Clutch management miscues? AS if! Red rags taped over the breathers, yeah. Half track, full throttle burnouts? HELL yeah! Great, simple, even frenzied racing. They were much slower, but much cooler. G-1 '92s, iron '26s yeah, a few. Even some Chevies and Fords vainly trying to make power and still live, on Nitro. They looked like (almost) real cars.
Fred Goeske's road runner ( I was driving one, then), crashed at the 1000 foot mark 3rd time down if memory serves, but it was COOL, main, COOL. The Frantic Ford, The ‘67 Firebird "Brutus," The Hawaiian ‘68 charger. MAN! You can't even begin to feature something like that happening now. Even if a lot of cars burning gas without a blower will make a quicker pass now, they were still super cool. Golden years, indeed. Gone, and more's the pity.
The sale means change. For good or ill. The place we were headed was not good. Whether this will be better or worse still remains to be seen. We aren't alone. Look what they're planning to do to F-1. Halving the engine size, etc. You never know.