Klossy2000
03.02.2006, 00:03
Von meinem Bruder endeckt auf der NHRA.com Seite wurde dieser interessanter Bericht, das interessante kommt ganz unten (habs in fett markiert):
http://nhra.com/counter.asp
vom NHRA.com Senior Editor Rob Geiger
vom 1/25/2006
The key to growth, here and abroad
All of us involved with drag racing -- members of the NHRA staff, crew personnel, and fans -- have experienced the phenomenon of taking someone new to the drags. Maybe it's an in-law or a neighbor or that guy at work who thinks a Funny Car is the one that 15 clowns spill out of at the circus.
You know the drill, they start muttering things like "I didn't realize this many people came to these things" when you pull into the parking lot. Then they get inside and see a Super Stock car rumble by in the staging lanes and say something like, "I think my dad had a car like that." You get into the stands and they hear a Top Alcohol Funny Car do a burnout and their eyes are bugging out of their head. "Wow, that's loud."
You just smile and nod because you know the big boys (and girls) are just around the corner. "Just wait," you say. "You ain't seen nothin' yet."
Then the first pair of Top Fuel dragsters pull out from under the tower and patiently wait as the Safety Safari cleans the track. You covertly slip in a pair of earplugs when you see the crew prepare to start the car and you keep one eye on your buddy just for laughs.
Then it happens: the car sputters to life and the driver executes a burnout. The fans all around you are on their feet, cheering at the top of their lungs, and your buddy who didn't know a thing about drag racing an hour ago is right there with them. Two machines line up and stage and you brace yourself for the most visceral experience in sports.
In a cloud of eye-stinging nitro and a flash of amber and green bulbs, the dragsters tear down the strip. The noise is equal to a sustained explosion and the concussion felt from the bottom of the stands to the top row shakes everyone to their core. Four-point-five seconds later the chutes are out and another pair is on the line ready to go.
You buddy has now been baptized in nitro. From this point forward he will routinely spout off things about drag racing to everyone he meets. The experience is forever embedded in his head and his excitement is at such a pitch that he can't help but tell everyone he knows how cool it was to be there.
A fan has been born. All that guy needed was to actually see what it was all about and he's hooked.
During my recent trip to England I spoke to numerous journalists attending the Autosport International 2006 show, the Euro version of our PRI and SEMA shows. After encountering so much positive feedback on the technological marvels of drag racing throughout the numerous tours I had through Formula 1 shops, Rally racing headquarters, wind tunnel facilities, and engine building shops, I couldn't figure out why drag racing is so low on the radar screen overseas.
After picking the brains of my brother journalists, it finally dawned on me -- drag racing hasn't caught on like other motorsports because people simply haven't been exposed to it over there. I determined that if the European track owners could get people to attend a race then they'd have a real good chance of getting some repeat business. The same story could be said here. We just happen to be further along in the process because drag racing was born in the good ol' U.S. of A.
Drag racing is unbelievably fun and exciting; we just need to get more people to realize that fact. And in Europe, the drivers need to do all they can to help. One journo told me that the usual response he receives from drag racers when he calls for an interview is, "why do you want to talk to me? No one cares about drag racing." This self-defeatist attitude must be overcome for the sport to grow.
We all talk about NASCAR's popularity and how much we in the NHRA would love to close the gap in the ratings. We're No. 2 and that's great, but it's always a good goal to try and improve our standing. In Europe, they need to raise their status from bottom-feeders to more mainstream coverage and popularity.
The over-simplistic answer for both of us to achieve our goals is for those of us in the sport to bring our buddies with us the next time we attend a race. The more nitro baptisms we can conduct, the healthier our sport will become, on both sides of the ocean.
http://nhra.com/counter.asp
vom NHRA.com Senior Editor Rob Geiger
vom 1/25/2006
The key to growth, here and abroad
All of us involved with drag racing -- members of the NHRA staff, crew personnel, and fans -- have experienced the phenomenon of taking someone new to the drags. Maybe it's an in-law or a neighbor or that guy at work who thinks a Funny Car is the one that 15 clowns spill out of at the circus.
You know the drill, they start muttering things like "I didn't realize this many people came to these things" when you pull into the parking lot. Then they get inside and see a Super Stock car rumble by in the staging lanes and say something like, "I think my dad had a car like that." You get into the stands and they hear a Top Alcohol Funny Car do a burnout and their eyes are bugging out of their head. "Wow, that's loud."
You just smile and nod because you know the big boys (and girls) are just around the corner. "Just wait," you say. "You ain't seen nothin' yet."
Then the first pair of Top Fuel dragsters pull out from under the tower and patiently wait as the Safety Safari cleans the track. You covertly slip in a pair of earplugs when you see the crew prepare to start the car and you keep one eye on your buddy just for laughs.
Then it happens: the car sputters to life and the driver executes a burnout. The fans all around you are on their feet, cheering at the top of their lungs, and your buddy who didn't know a thing about drag racing an hour ago is right there with them. Two machines line up and stage and you brace yourself for the most visceral experience in sports.
In a cloud of eye-stinging nitro and a flash of amber and green bulbs, the dragsters tear down the strip. The noise is equal to a sustained explosion and the concussion felt from the bottom of the stands to the top row shakes everyone to their core. Four-point-five seconds later the chutes are out and another pair is on the line ready to go.
You buddy has now been baptized in nitro. From this point forward he will routinely spout off things about drag racing to everyone he meets. The experience is forever embedded in his head and his excitement is at such a pitch that he can't help but tell everyone he knows how cool it was to be there.
A fan has been born. All that guy needed was to actually see what it was all about and he's hooked.
During my recent trip to England I spoke to numerous journalists attending the Autosport International 2006 show, the Euro version of our PRI and SEMA shows. After encountering so much positive feedback on the technological marvels of drag racing throughout the numerous tours I had through Formula 1 shops, Rally racing headquarters, wind tunnel facilities, and engine building shops, I couldn't figure out why drag racing is so low on the radar screen overseas.
After picking the brains of my brother journalists, it finally dawned on me -- drag racing hasn't caught on like other motorsports because people simply haven't been exposed to it over there. I determined that if the European track owners could get people to attend a race then they'd have a real good chance of getting some repeat business. The same story could be said here. We just happen to be further along in the process because drag racing was born in the good ol' U.S. of A.
Drag racing is unbelievably fun and exciting; we just need to get more people to realize that fact. And in Europe, the drivers need to do all they can to help. One journo told me that the usual response he receives from drag racers when he calls for an interview is, "why do you want to talk to me? No one cares about drag racing." This self-defeatist attitude must be overcome for the sport to grow.
We all talk about NASCAR's popularity and how much we in the NHRA would love to close the gap in the ratings. We're No. 2 and that's great, but it's always a good goal to try and improve our standing. In Europe, they need to raise their status from bottom-feeders to more mainstream coverage and popularity.
The over-simplistic answer for both of us to achieve our goals is for those of us in the sport to bring our buddies with us the next time we attend a race. The more nitro baptisms we can conduct, the healthier our sport will become, on both sides of the ocean.