jason DB8

I kinda disliked how one part of the bikini contest was during the Sportsman qualifying rounds in Phoenix. Not sure if that's standard procedure, but it bothered me

PNG

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by MadnessRacing &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">why NDRA have no more events here in cali? is it because of not many spectators? i think that the more events you have around the better to atract more people..or am i wrong?</TD></TR></TABLE>

It's too hard to get somebody with a day job to haul a trailer 2500 miles each way for a west coast event. You end up with one or two pros per class, and a bunch of locals to (hopefully) fill out the field. To have a successful series, you have to make traveling to all the events (or at least a majority of them) practical for people who can't take a week off and drive all the way across the country.

ExospeedAMcrx

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by NDRATECH &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> Also, on a side note, the NDRA averages 180-200 Sportsman or grass roots level racers per event.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

I commend NDRA for putting up a great event in AZ, but I honestly didnt see 180-200 sportsman class cars. There were about 25-30 T4 and Comp4 cars at AZ, plus another 30-40 cars in the rest of the STREET classes. I didnt see any bracket cars at all. Were there even any bracket racers at the event?

Slapshotnerd

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by NDRATECH &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I was'nt going to chime in on this, but rather sit back and see what is said.
Unfortunately, I can't sit back and let everyone voice thier opionions, with out knowing what the motive is.

We have tried all forms of advertising. Internet, Magazines, Flyers, Radio, mass mailings, Open houses, T.V.. No matter how much you advertise, if the people don't come, you have no control over it.
We have teamed up with several shops this year and several manufacturers on doing open houses and mailing out flyers with thier shipments. The guys at Hahn, and the guys at FullRace have done an awesome job with everything they have helped us with.

I guess what I am saying is that we have promoted at the grass roots level, mainstream level, mass media level, and on the corporate level. What more can we do, other than allow everyone in for free?
Yes we run the car show, swimsuit competition, stereo competition, and live stage acts at all of our drag racing events. We know that it is not everyones cup of tea, but you have to appeal to the people who care nothing about racing of any form.
You also have to remember that we are trying to make these guys into race fans, not the racers into car show fans.
Do just what those people do, don't pay attention to the stuff you care nothing about.
We can't as a legal sanctioning body, and with a clear conscience, go to a street race and hang out and pass out flyers when we go to these cities. We are trying to keep all the racing on the track, not just for the weekend we are in town. We feel that by being there is condoning it.

As far as taking care of the grass roots racers, who else out there has given the Sportsman racers 9 classes to choose from? (including brackets and motorcycles)
Who has allowed the Sportsman to compete for a National Championship?
Who, besides the NDRA, has made up trading cards for any of thier drivers, including the Sportsman racers?

I understand that everybody wants, tons of spectators, lots of sponsors, a class for everyone to race in and be competitive. Unfortunately we have no control over two of these three things. The third thing we do have control over and that is why we have the ability to run 18 classes including the exhibition dragster class. Who else offers this many classes for thier racers on one weekend?

Also, on a side note, the NDRA averages 180-200 Sportsman or grass roots level racers per event.

Thats just my input on the situation, please don't take offense, as this is not directed at anyone in particular.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I think you guys have done the BEST job OVERALL of pulling in spectators. Grassroots racers will always vary by event and region, but you have done a fairly good job of this as well. You guys are the newcomers when it comes to drag racing sanctioning bodies, and have come up very quickly to fulfill your niche.

Is there more that EVERY sanctioning body can do? sure. Do I have the magical answer? not necessarily.

Innovation

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by NDRATECH &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">NDRA</TD></TR></TABLE>

I would like to see the NDRA make frequent stops on the west coast. We need more grassroots based sanctioning bodies making stops out west

Bloodline

Lisa's article is pretty good about the racers becoming disconnected. Maybe this applies to the spectators as well. http://www.urbanracer.com/arti...&z=28

jeff

ExospeedAMcrx

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Innovation &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

I would like to see the NDRA make frequent stops on the west coast. We need more grassroots based sanctioning bodies making stops out west </TD></TR></TABLE>

thats why IDRC is around. those guys are really for the racers(grassroots especially)

there's plenty of talk but when it comes down to the event. many of you out there dont even show up.

NOPIDRAGS

Exactly, when it comes time for the event, no one shows up.

Even though everyone you talk to says they will be there, racing or spectating, about half show up. We roll into events and hear from the tracks, we have had thousands of phone calls about the event, how do we know if this translates into spectators or racers?
We don't, we just have to assume that it is.

Yes we did have bracket racers, NOPI CHIC'S, and open session people that bolster that count, but like you stated, Turbo 4 is by far the largest class we have anywhere we go.
That is why we have the Turbo 4 9 second club, a yearend Points Championship for Sportsman racers, and do trading cards for the Sportsman racers.
They boost the gate, put butts in the stands, and offer very competitive racing on the track, along with putting on a good show for the spectators.

For those of you who made it to VA. last year you know what I am talking about.
The 2nd round of Turbo 4 qualifying had the stands packed, and the fans saw 4 cars go into the 9's for the first time in a Sportsman class. Jason Hunt, Brian Ballard, Matt Keller, Ali Afshar

Vince, thank you for the kind words. We try to treat everyone like family, unfortunately we can't get around to talk to everyone at the events, but we try.
My theory is, Don't **** off any of the racers, or thier families.
If this happens what do you have left? Do you have anything left?

Slapshot Nerd, thank you very much. We work our butts off day in and day out to try and promote these events. We actually have a staff that does nothing but try and orginize media, advertising for the events, open houses, and work with vendors and shops on promotions. After we get all of that done, we get the pleasure of working at the events and seeing what all the hard effort has accomplished.

Not sure if alot of you guys know or not, but I took the Tech Director position because I truely care about the racers and the racing. The rest of my staff is filled with guys and girls that feel the same way, and if you talk to any of them you will see. I have done this for 4 years now, first as Tech Director, and have yet to see a swimsuit competition, or the night party. I hope this let's you guys know what my favorite part of a race weekend is. The Racers and the Racing.
Like I said in my original post, if you don't care for what else is going on, just avoid it or ignore it like I do.

Also, if anyone does have the magic formula or figures it out, please let me know, we will utilize it to the fullest.

Arturbo

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by NDRATECH &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

For those of you who made it to VA. last year you know what I am talking about.
The 2nd round of Turbo 4 qualifying had the stands packed, and the fans saw 4 cars go into the 9's for the first time in a Sportsman class. Jason Hunt, Brian Ballard, Matt Keller, Ali Afshar </TD></TR></TABLE>
I can vouch for that. That is why I am going back to VMP!

0Full-Race Motorsports

I can only speak from personal experience and this is just a suggestion based on events here in Arizona that might be of use in other parts of the country.

Here in Arizona we have two local event promoters, SCO (Sport Compact Only) and After9events. They each put on 3-4 events a year here. They market themselves very well on minimal dollars. They get all the local shops involved and depending on the time of year( its Africa hot here in Summer ) they get 4k-7k people per event and 300+ racecars of mostly the grassroots level. If the sanctioning bodies could get together with these types of promoters and for example if NOPI came back here next year, have the local guys tie into there events a points race for the various types of classes and have the finals or a major point event at the NOPI event. All sides win. The little guys get help and more exposure from the big guys and the big guys get help from the little guys with drawing the local crowd to the events. This has a big appeal here in AZ as we then would draw the crowd from New Mexico, Colorado, Utah and California. Other states have local promotors as well and this could be applied there as well. Just a suggestion.

DIRep972

iTrader: (1)

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by jason tC &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I kinda disliked how one part of the bikini contest was during the Sportsman qualifying rounds in Phoenix. Not sure if that's standard procedure, but it bothered me </TD></TR></TABLE>

That bothered me too, the bikini contest was also run during the semi finals of sportsman eliminations and then they had the booty shaking contest thing during the finals.

I don't really think the problem is with the sanctioning bodies, it is more a problem of the racers/spectators themselves not being dedicated. The buzz from the early days has worn off and the attention span of the masses is short; right now is a time of seperating the diehards from the trendies. The sport will grow and mature as the fan base grows and matures.

jason DB8

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by DIRep972 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">That bothered me too, the bikini contest was also run during the semi finals of sportsman eliminations and then they had the booty shaking contest thing during the finals.

I don't really think the problem is with the sanctioning bodies, it is more a problem of the racers/spectators themselves not being dedicated. The buzz from the early days has worn off and the attention span of the masses is short; right now is a time of seperating the diehards from the trendies. The sport will grow and mature as the fan base grows and matures. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Well my gripe with that is that it hurts media bodies that only have one photographer out at the event (like me). It was either shoot the bikini contest or the booty shaking contest or sportsman racers. **** and *** sells on the stands, but die hard racers wanna see the sportsman.

I know where I was during that time, but where were the rest of the media? Ryan and I were literally the only guys standing there with cameras during 2/3 of those qualifying rounds - I know that for a fact, and even the online coverage shows it.

Whether people like to believe it or not, media coverage sometimes helps make or break a deal ... if Sportsman classes aren't getting covered, they aren't getting the recognization/credit they deserve.

ExospeedAMcrx

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by jason tC &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
if Sportsman classes aren't getting covered, they aren't getting the recognization/credit they deserve.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Even bracket cars. I remember back in mid 90s, when we used to bracket race. It was encouraging to see some cars that looked like ours in some magazines and not just the same PRO cars that we always see. We have beginning racers that race the bracket class and when they see pictures of them in the online mags like Modified.com or Urban Racer.com, it brightens up their day and encourages them to race more often and get into the sport even more.

DIRep972

iTrader: (1)

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by jason tC &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Well my gripe with that is that it hurts media bodies that only have one photographer out at the event (like me). It was either shoot the bikini contest or the booty shaking contest or sportsman racers. **** and *** sells on the stands, but die hard racers wanna see the sportsman.

I know where I was during that time, but where were the rest of the media? Ryan and I were literally the only guys standing there with cameras during 2/3 of those qualifying rounds - I know that for a fact, and even the online coverage shows it.

Whether people like to believe it or not, media coverage sometimes helps make or break a deal ... if Sportsman classes aren't getting covered, they aren't getting the recognization/credit they deserve.</TD></TR></TABLE>

damn, hadn't thought about the media coverage point of view. That really hurt's racers chances of sponsorship if no one is able to cover the racing.

jason DB8

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by exospeedAMcrx &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Even bracket cars. I remember back in mid 90s, when we used to bracket race. It was encouraging to see some cars that looked like ours in some magazines and not just the same PRO cars that we always see. We have beginning racers that race the bracket class and when they see pictures of them in the online mags like Modified.com or Urban Racer.com, it brightens up their day and encourages them to race more often and get into the sport even more. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Exactly. We've all been there before - post events we scour the web and look forward to all the magazine coverage hoping our car will be in one of those. I personally try my best to do that, that's why I hang around for all the racing and hope each and every person at least gets to link a photo of their car the Monday afterwards.

There's about 30 different angles and ways we can view this entire topic. Unfortunately it's hard to keep everyone happy - and I'm sure there's a reason for the structure behind the events and how they are conducted. I love attending the NOPI events and I just put into the schedule a few more that I'd love to travel too since I'm on the west coast and will miss the rest of the season. I go because I love everyone that's in attendance, shooting the shots and getting the feedback the week after... unfortunately however I probably get more people asking me "where's the bikini shots?? where's the pics of the girls??" then those asking "where's the sportsman classes" to the other people.

Hell I get girl shots, it's whatever random girl is on the track

S13Sean

This is a good thread indeed. A lot of good thoughts being posted here.

You really have to seperate the growth into two categories - racers and events/sanctioning bodies.

Racers

I don't think that the sport has grown too fast but rather the teams are learning more about the technology involved in making fast consistent cars. As more knowledge is passed down from more knowledgeable sources we will continue to see an elevated level of performance from the competitors and it will eventually filter down to the grassroots level.

There are alot of people complaining about the money that's being thrown around on programs that are competeting and while it does suck to some degree there are teams with less money that are giving them a run for the money and winning at times. Imagine what these small budget teams that are competitive could do with some real sponsorship dollars, there is some great talent on these smaller teams and it's hard to put a price on that. That being said, there is increased pressure on the teams competing now and everyone is trying to keep their cards close to their chest while being friendly to each other. I can imagine that it's difficult to do.

On that note, acquiring sponsorship is becoming more difficult due to a shrinking market and everyone that makes a living in this industry is aware of it but it's nothing new. Every few years this happens when the shady or unethical businesses and individuals that are in to make a quick buck are cleansed from the industry. The same thing happened in the car audio industry 7 years ago, yeah it's car audio but there's a lot of money in that industry.
Nobody is ballin' and anyone that says they are is full of it.


Sanctioning Bodies

While they don't always make the best decisions all the time you have to give them some credit as they all work their asses off to make things happen. However, I do strongly agree that the regional marketing of the events suck. Having radio spots running a day or two before the event isn't going to bring spectators out in droves. There has to be someone to come up with an aggressive regional marketing program for venues that will get the fans to come out. Simple things like sending prominent tuner shops in the area posters and schedules maybe even a couple discount cards off the gate admission, to some five bucks makes a difference. Have a popular radio station run a some 30-second spots throughout the week prior to the event. Don't understimate the power of radio, advertise something that will make people want to come to the event. Our sanctioning bodies aren't NASCAR or NHRA Powerade meaning that fans of those series know what their going to get when the venue comes to town and they are willing to be there both days.

I've seen comparisons of say Texas events or Phoenix events to Atco and E-town and it's like comparing apples to oranges. Fans and racers at NJ events are die hard and looking forward to sport compact drag racing. The PR racers and fans are dynamite and they really bring alot of energy to the event. You also have to realize that those events pull from PA, NY, OH, and even Ontario. We used to drive 6 hours just to watch the races. Other venues don't seem to have that sort of pull for whatever reason. Texas, CO, and Arizona always seem to have low spectator numbers but that's where the sanctioning bodies should be investing more resources in those markets or why bother holding an event there? There has to be a decent market there someone has to figure out how to crack it - think outside the box. Have a contest or something where someone wins "crew chief for a day" or something, get the fans involved.

This year should be a good one for racing and everyone is going to have to just hang on until this depression runs it's course, but if you feel that you can make the sport better somehow, get involved.

JP@NOPI

"Having radio spots running a day or two before the event isn't going to bring spectators out in droves. There has to be someone to come up with an aggressive regional marketing program for venues that will get the fans to come out. Simple things like sending prominent tuner shops in the area posters and schedules maybe even a couple discount cards off the gate admission, to some five bucks makes a difference."

We usually advertise a week ahead of time with the more popular stations. And a big question here is, how do you identify the more "prominent" tuner shops in the area?

PNG

I know what you're saying, Jason. I'm usually the only shooter from OverRev at the events we cover, and since I haven't perfected my bi-location skilz, sometimes it comes down to a decision to skip the early rounds of the sportsman and bracket racing to cover some other "lifestyle" thing, shoot a feature, or just get pit shots.

We try really hard to do the non-pro classes justice. We run ladders and try to include photos of the winners in the sportsman classes whenever possible, but I typically have just 6 pages available for a race feature, which makes it hard to cram everything in. I know it's fun to see your car in the magazine, but one thing I absolutely won't do is run a full page stuffed with nothing but a captionless 6x10 matrix of tiny car pictures. That doesn't do anyone any good.

The other thing that makes serious coverage of sportsman racing hard for me is the fact that it's often difficult to identify and contact winners after the race. I usually don't have time to run around and interview everybody after the final round, and while I can track down, say, Matt Hartford or Gary Gardella by phone the following Tuesday, it's a lot more difficult for me to do the same for a Comp 4 winner or bracket racer.

I would suggest two things that will absolutely help sportsman and bracket racers get more coverage in my book. First, put your name on your car. This makes it 100 times easier to identify it in the 2500+ frames I bring back from each race. Second, make it easy for me to get in touch with you. If you won on Sunday, send me an email on Monday morning with your contact information so that I can get a quote or two from you. It also helps if you say something interesting, too.

jason DB8

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by JP@NOPI &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">"Having radio spots running a day or two before the event isn't going to bring spectators out in droves. There has to be someone to come up with an aggressive regional marketing program for venues that will get the fans to come out. Simple things like sending prominent tuner shops in the area posters and schedules maybe even a couple discount cards off the gate admission, to some five bucks makes a difference."

We usually advertise a week ahead of time with the more popular stations. And a big question here is, how do you identify the more "prominent" tuner shops in the area?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Work with all of them if you can - pinpoint someone within each local area that is willing to help promote. I know HIN uses this venue of marketing and it seems to has worked for them... they send out flyers to everyday people (me being one of them a while back) and we go around to all the shops that we know and ask them to keep it on their counters, etc.

Each flyer is also a coupon - I'm not sure how much this costs, or how cost-effective it really is... but I know HIN sends out A LOT of flyers to people to help promote.

JP@NOPI

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by jason tC &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Work with all of them if you can - pinpoint someone within each local area that is willing to help promote. I know HIN uses this venue of marketing and it seems to has worked for them... they send out flyers to everyday people (me being one of them a while back) and we go around to all the shops that we know and ask them to keep it on their counters, etc.

Each flyer is also a coupon - I'm not sure how much this costs, or how cost-effective it really is... but I know HIN sends out A LOT of flyers to people to help promote.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Most of what you suggest is already being done. Finding shops and individuals that will work with us is the thing. Anybody willing to help is ALWAYS welcome to email me at johnp@nopi.com.

*Boostwerks*

If you guys came out to CO, We would be more than willing to help...

Drag Race Inc

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Bryson &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">If you guys came out to CO, We would be more than willing to help... </TD></TR></TABLE>

NOPI is not welcome at Bandimere and I don't think that anyone want to race in Pueblo.

JP@NOPI

Though we aren't scheduled for Bandimere, any particular reason we're not welcome?

S13Sean

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by JP@NOPI &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">"Having radio spots running a day or two before the event isn't going to bring spectators out in droves. There has to be someone to come up with an aggressive regional marketing program for venues that will get the fans to come out. Simple things like sending prominent tuner shops in the area posters and schedules maybe even a couple discount cards off the gate admission, to some five bucks makes a difference."

We usually advertise a week ahead of time with the more popular stations. And a big question here is, how do you identify the more "prominent" tuner shops in the area?</TD></TR></TABLE>

You have to do what everyone else does when looking for information - call around, speak to people on local forums such as HT was well as shops that you are aware of already. It's not a hard thing to do but it would help spread awareness. If you guys had 2000 rave cards that were handed to locals who in turn would hand them out and do the leg work for you and all you did for them was to give them free passes for them and a couple friends it would be money well spent.

Why isn't NOPI welcome at Bandimere? It would be nice if there some events other than BOTI in the Northwest. Seattle has to be one of the most ignored markets.

*Boostwerks*

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by CDR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

NOPI is not welcome at Bandimere and I don't think that anyone want to race in Pueblo.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yeah, I'd like to know as well. I Heard of some "gang" fighting in the pits a couple years ago, but I thought that was IDRC?