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NHRA
GEIGER: Wow, Finally
I'm really proud of the NHRA for doing the right thing in these trying economic times and letting kids in free at this year's U.S. Nationals.
Kids will get to see the legends of the sport in action for free. (NHRA)
I'm really proud of the NHRA for doing the right thing in these trying economic times and letting kids in free at this year's Mac Tools U.S. Nationals presented by Lucas Oil. It's easy to bash on a sanctioning body that has more than 80,000 members to please, and I've certainly taken my shots over the years, but it's important to recognize the good things that happen as well.
I hope they take it a step further and do something similar for military personnel. And not just at the U.S. Nationals, but at every race on tour. To me, anyone fighting for our freedoms should qualify for steeply discounted seats for themselves and their families.
And while we're on the subject of filling the stands, I wish track owners would do something about the practice of selling starting line seats at a premium price. Nothing looks worse on TV and/or photographs than empty seats, especially around the starting line where most of the camera work is done. Empty seats tell the viewers that nothing exciting is going on and that they're not missing a thing. Imagine an NBA game with all the courtside seats sitting empty. You would immediately assume it's two of the worst teams in the league playing ball that night. It just sucks the life out of an event.
I understand that money needs to be made and that starting line seats are primo, but when it gets down to an hour or so before Round 1, why not gather up a group of hard-core fans and tell them, "Congrats folks, you get to go watch the next round from the starting line," and have them fill in the open spots? Who knows, they might like the view so much that they purchase those seats outright the next time through. At least they'd be excited to be up there and a "packed house" of fired-up fans would translate well to the viewers at home.
When you watch an event and see wall-to-wall people, you always think, "I need to be there!" That's much better than, "Wow, look at all the empty seats. I wonder what's wrong?"
Letting kids in free is an idea that should really take hold. I wish they'd do it everywhere. Certainly, reaching out to new people in a sport with a rapidly aging fan base is a smart move. Secondly, as anyone with kids will tell you, it's impossible to keep children interested in something that lasts all day. If you can make it somewhere for a couple of hours with kids you're doing good so it stinks to have to pay full fare for half of the action.
This year's 60th anniversary celebration has been very cool. Having the legends of the sport out to the races for the fans to visit with has been a huge hit. Shirley Muldowney and "Big Daddy" Don Garlits have been very well received everywhere we've been.
I also liked the salute to the late Jeff Byrd in Bristol. Byrd was a long-time executive at R.J. Reynolds who was instrumental in the tobacco giant supporting the NHRA way back when. The association with R.J. Reynolds lifted the NHRA from a little known entity into a big-time sports league. Byrd went on to run Bristol Dragway and made it one of the premier stops on tour. People like Jeff Byrd are the reason drag racing has made it 60 years. There are lots of people like him we should be recognizing alongside the wonderful drivers everyone already knows about.
Although TV numbers continue to sag, fans of the sport are enjoying a great year of racing action. All of the pro categories are interesting to watch at the moment and there hasn't been too many races this year where you can say any one driver is an overwhelming favorite.
Times are good, and if the NHRA keeps taking the proper steps towards making it better for the fans, then things should continue to improve.
The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEED.com, FOX, NewsCorp, or SPEED
I hope they take it a step further and do something similar for military personnel. And not just at the U.S. Nationals, but at every race on tour. To me, anyone fighting for our freedoms should qualify for steeply discounted seats for themselves and their families.
And while we're on the subject of filling the stands, I wish track owners would do something about the practice of selling starting line seats at a premium price. Nothing looks worse on TV and/or photographs than empty seats, especially around the starting line where most of the camera work is done. Empty seats tell the viewers that nothing exciting is going on and that they're not missing a thing. Imagine an NBA game with all the courtside seats sitting empty. You would immediately assume it's two of the worst teams in the league playing ball that night. It just sucks the life out of an event.
I understand that money needs to be made and that starting line seats are primo, but when it gets down to an hour or so before Round 1, why not gather up a group of hard-core fans and tell them, "Congrats folks, you get to go watch the next round from the starting line," and have them fill in the open spots? Who knows, they might like the view so much that they purchase those seats outright the next time through. At least they'd be excited to be up there and a "packed house" of fired-up fans would translate well to the viewers at home.
When you watch an event and see wall-to-wall people, you always think, "I need to be there!" That's much better than, "Wow, look at all the empty seats. I wonder what's wrong?"
Letting kids in free is an idea that should really take hold. I wish they'd do it everywhere. Certainly, reaching out to new people in a sport with a rapidly aging fan base is a smart move. Secondly, as anyone with kids will tell you, it's impossible to keep children interested in something that lasts all day. If you can make it somewhere for a couple of hours with kids you're doing good so it stinks to have to pay full fare for half of the action.
This year's 60th anniversary celebration has been very cool. Having the legends of the sport out to the races for the fans to visit with has been a huge hit. Shirley Muldowney and "Big Daddy" Don Garlits have been very well received everywhere we've been.
I also liked the salute to the late Jeff Byrd in Bristol. Byrd was a long-time executive at R.J. Reynolds who was instrumental in the tobacco giant supporting the NHRA way back when. The association with R.J. Reynolds lifted the NHRA from a little known entity into a big-time sports league. Byrd went on to run Bristol Dragway and made it one of the premier stops on tour. People like Jeff Byrd are the reason drag racing has made it 60 years. There are lots of people like him we should be recognizing alongside the wonderful drivers everyone already knows about.
Although TV numbers continue to sag, fans of the sport are enjoying a great year of racing action. All of the pro categories are interesting to watch at the moment and there hasn't been too many races this year where you can say any one driver is an overwhelming favorite.
Times are good, and if the NHRA keeps taking the proper steps towards making it better for the fans, then things should continue to improve.
The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEED.com, FOX, NewsCorp, or SPEED
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