NHRA vs. NASCAR ....There's NO COMPARISON

NHRA vs. NASCAR ....There's NO COMPARISON

It's funny, all of a sudden I'm seeing a lot of people questioning the NHRA and its policies. Not just the rank & file membership (who've always had some little bone to pick one way or another) but journalists from other publications and venues have started to scrutinize and question what's going on in Glendora. Yes, you can call out in the woods for years, and if you don't give up, eventually someone might hear you.

I had started to write a comparison of NHRA with NASCAR, with the idea that while NHRA aspires to BE NASCAR, they never will accomplish it. I went back to the roots of each sport, NASCAR springing from bootlegging and whiskey running and NHRA springing from the need to control illegal street racing. But it's more than that. NHRA promotes the idea in print and through their press releases that Drag Racing is a "Family" Sport. Well at one time I'd say that's true. Nowadays, Drag Racing is a corporate endeavor that is strictly designed to bring as much revenue into the coffers at GLENDORA as possible. It doesn't matter WHO the sponsor is, if they have the cash, they're welcome in the sport.

Several Years ago, a funny car racer brought out a car named "BIONIC BITCH". There was a great hue and cry as to the inappropriateness of the name emblazoned on the side of the car. "It's not appropriate for the children to look at that", "reduce the size of the word 'Bitch' so it's less conspicuous". Gee, someone was really thinking there! What happened? Penthouse magazine sponsoring a car? WWF Funny cars?

Pro wrestling used to be a fun thing to watch. I would sit with my son and get the pay per view specials and make a party out of it. There were good guys and bad guys and there was that little morality play that would unfold. No more, Pro wrestling has become a sex show, pure and simple. There are no more good guys, just varying degrees of evil. We have wrestlers expectorating on each other, actors (Pro wrestlers ARE actors) pretending to be creatures from the pit of hell, foul language (yes, I've been in the pits when a cylinder hydraulics) and scantily clad women hawking their "wares" to arouse the male contingency in the audience (what would that be? ummm 99.9%?). Don't get me wrong, I realize that you can't be a pro wrestler without being in some kind of amazing physical condition, but the THRUST of wrestling has changed...for the worse.

Now NHRA has taken a page from the wrestling world and begun to try to appeal to the lowest common denominator. The proof is in the fact of major mainstream sponsors running for the hills to distance themselves from Drag Racing. We're going back to the "hot rod hooligans" and "leather jacketed punks" that were the image that leaped to mind when the term "Drag Racing" was used in polite conversation.

Maybe it's a reflection of the lowering standards that have slowly crept into society over the last 20 years. There is no right or wrong, we can't make Johnny feel bad. If he can't read, pass him to the next grade and let someone else deal with it. If you cheat, it's just "creative problem solving". So as in Drag Racing, we can see the same things happening. If we can't deliver a show that will interest mainstream sponsorship, let's look for the dregs, to see if we can squeeze some cash from them so we can make our shows even LESS appealing to the people who truly love this sport.

Losing their television deal was a huge blow to the corporation. But it was inevitable. The same format week after week. The same driver interviews saying the same things over and over. The inane "What's Hot" segments profiling some multimillionaire and his horse farm. More akin to lifestyles of the rich and famous than having anything to do with Drag Racing. If you don't deliver the audience, you don't last long in TV. After several years of the same old pap, people simply got tired and moved on to more important things, like mowing the lawn or going to the beach.

Drag Racing coverage was nothing more than a gigantic commercial for the players of the week. And the players were the same week in and week out. Yes, it's nice to see the latest shop and all the neat tools and machinery that are contained therein. but I get a little tired of seeing the newest diecast collectable or T-shirt or poster. If I want to buy a toy or souvenir, I'll go to Toys 'R Us. I don't need to spend $20.00 on a $2.00 plastic dragster.

Marketing is a great part of any organization, if you need a new marketing strategy, then you look at your demographics and find out what it is that people want. From everyone that I've spoken to, what they DON'T want is wrestlers spitting and telling people "I'll Kick your Ass", and they DON'T want semi-naked women in wet T-shirts signing autographs. (and none of them could hold a candle to Linda Vaughn to begin with). What they DO want is DRAG RACING. Enough with the Top Fuel technology race. Enough with the cookie cutter funny cars. Bring a class in that has real appeal. Stop screwing around with the Pro Sportsmen, making it virtually impossible to make a living due to the ridiculous rules structure that changes from week to week.

Why are the Pro Mod's SO successful? Because they are DIFFERENT. Yes, they are expensive to build and race, but they WOW the crowd. People like to SEE them. The same with the Nostalgia cars. NHRA would have you believe that they're just an anomaly. Well, NHRA is WRONG. They are here and they are getting stronger every day. Perhaps if a nostalgia meet were promoted with half the energy of a bloated national event, you could see a show that would contain the elements that people are starving for. Noise, Smoke, thunder, excitement and really GOOD racing. But what would we do with our sleaze acts? Hey, how about junk 'em?

NHRA hasn't learned that you don't just go out and hire some high powered exec's from other industries to turn your deal around. There's nothing wrong business-wise with looking to hire the best and the brightest, but when you do, they should at least have some knowledge of what it is that your corporation is all about. Sadly, NHRA hasn't figured that out yet.

Changing the policy of the National events, to all reserved seating has made people furious. Charging admission fees that could pay for a vacation abroad hasn't endeared NHRA to the general public. The stands aren't as full as they used to be. Unless people are buying the tickets and not showing up, you don't need 20/20 vision to notice all the empty seats. The television coverage that NHRA DOES have is nothing more than a reheated leftover of results that people already know about (ever hear of the Internet?). The format of show the top four cars and then fill the rest of the time with "suck up" banter and the same old tired driver interviews has really taken its toll on the viewing public, and the SPONSORS KNOW THAT. "Highlights of the So and So Nationals brought to you by MOPAR" at 3 in the morning isn't going to make anyone in Detroit dip into the corporate till to throw more money at this TITANIC blunder.

NHRA wants to Be NASCAR, But NHRA has given up it's core belief system for money. IT worked for a while, but as the old saw goes, "you can fool some of the people some of the time....." You can't fool us anymore. You've sold out, something that NASCAR never did. NASCAR doesn't pretend that anyone can play. NASCAR presents a show that FAMILIES can go and enjoy. NHRA is playing to the wrong crowd, and eventually, the thrill will wear off, the crowd will tire of the new spectacle and move on to some other form of gratuitous nonsense.

The turns that NHRA have taken over the last couple of years are simply a symptom of a very sick and bloated organization grasping at straws to keep afloat. How about a new slogan? "With all the Bloat, it STILL won't float" Unless there is a re-awakening in Glendora, Drag Racing will not survive into the next century. It will have blazed a path across the corporate sky and plunged into the ocean like a piece of space junk.

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Addendum: July 7, 1999

Well it's as if there is a virus running all through motorsports. I see that NASCAR has jumped on the Wrestling bandwagon too. Perhaps I'm just too damn picky about what I consider to be reasonable and proper. Regardless, the idea of the "lowest common denominator" is a BAD thing for motorsports. Integrity and values seem to be concepts that have no currency in the corporate world, it's not surprising therefore, that lack of values and integrity are becoming the new standard. It's a sad state of affairs, and the view is shared by many. Perhaps somewhere down the road, people will indicate their displeasure with their wallets, which evidently is the only language the corporate structure understands. Is it too late? Has the fiber of this community and country deteriorated to the point where "anything goes"? I sure hope not.

Copyright 1999 - Jim Harvey / Harvey Racing Engines
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