PRO PRIVATEERS SHOULDN’T EXPECT TWO-DAY RACES TO BE NEW NORMAL
If the word from Jessica Hatcher, the NHRA’s senior director of public relations and communications, is any indication, independent professional racers shouldn’t get their hopes up that two-day events are under consideration for 2021 and beyond.
Six races on the revised 2020 schedule have been condensed to two days for the Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock, and Pro Stock Motorcycle classes. Racers will be idle Friday but have two qualifying sessions Saturday and eliminations Sunday at Houston, Bristol, Norwalk, Seattle, Topeka, and Reading.
The NHRA made the decision based on “a number of economic and logistical factors that have come into play as we rework the schedule.” But it never hinted that this might be a trial run for a trimmed-down schedule that could make racing at least a little more cost-effective.
The NHRA could consider having a Friday night / Saturday schedule with Sunday as a rain date. But it’s unlikely the sanctioning body will do that.
Hatcher said, “The simple answer is not at this time. We are all focused on the current situation at hand and how to make the best out of a tough situation. The sole focus when creating this schedule was to offer the most robust schedule possible while trying to incorporate some flexibility, since there are so many uncertainties right now.”
Neither Terry McMillen nor Jim Maroney, both independent Top Fuel team owners, actually thought the temporary format might become the new normal on the Mello Yello Drag Racing Series tour. But they certainly wouldn’t mind if it were. Same for Top Fuel colleague Steve Torrence and Funny Car privateer Cruz Pedregon.
“I honestly don't think two-day events would be the norm,” McMillen, of Elkhart, Ind., said. “On the other hand, if the attendance was equal to or greater than the normal event, as a business you definitely have to take a look at the two-day event. Marketing partners would be getting the same exposure. In addition, you have created a better window, should weather or other factors present themselves. Nothing really changes regarding labor and transportation. The saving to race teams would be two fewer runs a weekend, reducing the hard-parts bill and one less block of hotel rooms.”
Maroney said, “I don’t think it will be the new normal. Too much money is made on a three-day event. I don’t think track owners will want it.”
However, the Gilbert, Ariz., team owner said, “There is absolutely a cost savings to this, I would guess somewhere around $50,000 an event for the big teams. As far as the independent teams, like mine, I see it as an advantage.”
He predicted on-track results would have a different dynamic: “I think you’ll see the smaller teams qualifying higher up the ladder. A couple things will contribute to this. First, the big teams won’t be ‘swinging for the fence,’ as they will be more concerned about getting down the track. So their performance will drop off slightly. Second, you’ll see the big-team cars not qualify because of tire smoke or parts failure.”
A Friday-Saturday show with a Sunday rain date might seem smart and easy, but Maroney considered from a variety of angles and concluded it might not be as sensible as it sounds.
“That might be a viable option if there is rain in the forecast. But it would be a nightmare to handle for ticket sales. Even though the racing might get done, it will be difficult to keep fans happy. The last people we want to upset is the paying ticket fans. Without them, none of us would exist, especially the big teams. We would all end up like me, being ‘hobby racers,’” he said.
While the idea might be pie in the sky, reigning and two-time Top Fuel champ Steve Torrence would love it. His budget is bigger than those of Maroney and McMillen, but he and teammate father Billy Torrence have to be back in their office at Kilgore, Texas, by daybreak Monday morning and the extra day would help.
“I’m a fan of the two-day races and the shortened schedule,” Steve Torrence said.
Pedregon has 28 years of experience, and one of the keys to his longevity is adaptability. Could the NHRA be as flexible? Considering it changed the Top Fuel and Funny Car courses from the traditional quarter-mile to 1,000 feet, could it break with tradition again and go to a two-day format?
“I hope so,” the Brownsburg, Ind.-based owner-driver said, “I think it’s in the best interest of racers, race fans, and even the NHRA. We’re are in a different time economically, and Fridays aren’t what they used to be, so why not?”
Pedregon replied a hearty yes when asked if it such a move would save precious funding.
“Plus, as a racer,” he said, “I prefer to race in front of a packed house. So if you condense the event to two days, maybe that will happen – plus, again, the economics of it makes sense.”
Pedregon said he’s willing to drop the three-day design.
“Some regions of our country lend themselves for Friday-Saturday events as opposed to Sunday race days. So the sanctioning body has to look at each region and not treat them all the same and adjust to what works best for that particular part of the country,” he said.
As much as Virginia Motorsports Park vice-president Tyler Crossnoe said he would love to host Friday-night qualifying, he had to look at it from a business standpoint.
(And he had looked forward to Friday-night qualifying at the Dinwiddie, Va., venue. “We were extremely excited to burn the scoreboards down with nitro cars under the lights for the first time ever and use some of our very special items that are unique to our facility only,” he said. “But that just makes the wait even longer and harder until 2021, when we are back on the schedule and bring forth all of our ideas into one blockbuster NHRA event the next time we get the opportunity to do so.”)
He said, “I truly believe that for the NHRA national event to show maximum profitability for the host facility, you need to have all three days of ticket sales, especially without a title and/or presenting sponsor attached to the event.
“For the racers, this could be a cost-saving measure in many ways – parts, racing fuel, tires, salaries, hotel rooms, F&B [food and beverages], apparel/uniforms and more. On the other hand,” Crossnoe said, “this would bring one less day of apparel sales to each team’s souvenir trailer, removing funds from the teams. From a driver/celebrity standpoint, two-day events will be very tough to make all of their VIP experiences and sponsor responsibilities along with driving the car, signing autographs for general admission fans, and dealing with the pit-reporting side of the events for the television cameras.
“With a condensed racing schedule, a condensed driver schedule comes with it, and with that it will begin to create a distance between the fans and the drivers – the last thing that needs to happen at the professional level.
“Now, I will say – three sessions of pro qualifying on Friday with the last one in prime-time conditions at night, then four rounds of eliminations with the finals under the lights and nitro flames billowing near the height of the wings on Top Fuel and nitrous oxide flames coming out of the zoomies on Pro Modified entries blasting down the quarter-mile in hopes to hoist an NHRA Wally in the winner’s circle – yeah, that makes the hair stand up on your neck,” he said.
No matter what, Crossnoe understands the costs of racing need to scale back.
“Figure out a way to make it cheaper on the host facility, figure out a way to make it cheaper on the race fan buying the ticket, [and] the racers in the pits will have an easier time finding corporate companies to jump back into the sport of drag racing and give those companies more avenues to spend more money helping events with more title sponsors and more signage programs at the facilities year-round,” he said.
“When the ticket is more affordable for the casual fan, the grandstands fill back up for the entire event (not just one day) and more facilities are successful across the board, and then the upgrades/updates that everyone loves become easier on the facility to make. It’s all a domino effect. And when the first domino falls in the right direction – hang on for the ride – drag racing will be back on the upswing after this pandemic and soon return to the top of the motorsports ladder.”
And that would be a scenario everyone would agree on.