I don’t know what percentage of drag racing fans also like baseball. But I do.

Sure, I realize the leisurely pace of the national pastime is an extreme opposite of the straight-line sport’s lightning speed, sound and fury. What can I tell you? Both are winners with me.  

Back in the day, during my time at the Philadelphia Daily News, I wrote about the stick-and-ball contests some (a great memory is covering part of Pete Rose’s historic 44-game hitting streak in 1978) and carried a Baseball Writers Association of America card. That granted me automatic media access to any regular-season game, anywhere. Believe me, that organization has a lot of horsepower -- we can only wish it were that way in motorsports -- even though I’m sure most members never got a whiff of nitro.

Summer, of course, is prime time on the baseball calendar. Basketball and hockey are over. Football has yet to begin. Golf remains Tiger-less. NASCAR is in the middle of its marathon. Indy and sports cars are pretty much just making laps, not waves, in terms of press and public attention.

I don’t know what percentage of drag racing fans also like baseball. But I do.

Sure, I realize the leisurely pace of the national pastime is an extreme opposite of the straight-line sport’s lightning speed, sound and fury. What can I tell you? Both are winners with me.  

Back in the day, during my time at the Philadelphia Daily News, I wrote about the stick-and-ball contests some (a great memory is covering part of Pete Rose’s historic 44-game hitting streak in 1978) and carried a Baseball Writers Association of America card. That granted me automatic media access to any regular-season game, anywhere. Believe me, that organization has a lot of horsepower -- we can only wish it were that way in motorsports -- even though I’m sure most members never got a whiff of nitro.

Summer, of course, is prime time on the baseball calendar. Basketball and hockey are over. Football has yet to begin. Golf remains Tiger-less. NASCAR is in the middle of its marathon. Indy and sports cars are pretty much just making laps, not waves, in terms of press and public attention.

Anyway, to use a baseball term, I’ve been on the DL for a few months. I’ll only be available for part-time duty for a while yet. So I’ll be the first to admit I haven’t been able to follow NHRA’s Mello Yello series as closely as usual. I know Courtney Force achieved the 100th pro victory for female racers, Harley is back on top in the motorcycle class, and Coca-Cola’s corporate marketing department still isn’t even hitting a pop-up with its series sponsorship. Honestly, though, I’m not up to speed on much else.

Which is why I’m writing this column.

I discovered being on the sidelines changed my perspective on some things and confirmed my beliefs on others. So kindly allow me to work on getting my writing groove back by sharing some things that have come to mind while I’ve been parked.

* It’s extremely difficult to find any drag racing news in the traditional media outlets. I had to be off the computer for a couple of weeks, meaning no access to CompetitionPlus.com or the press releases I receive from NHRA and many teams. I could easily get the ballgame scores from ESPN’s Baseball Tonight, Fox Sports 1, Major League Baseball’s own cable channel or quickly off the “ticker” at the bottom of the screen. But zip on the NHRA national event results.

I’ve said many times, and repeat now, that drag racing is an under-covered sport in the mainstream media. The sport’s many Big Personalities make for interesting (and easy) stories that columnists love. I blame the editors and journalists, in part, because they tend to look down on the drag scene as too “blue collar” for their upscale tastes. Or associate it with illegal and dangerous street racing.

But I also continue to point a finger at NHRA. The sanction, for decades, has not put a high-enough priority on being in the regular media on a consistent, season-long basis -- at least in the markets where it races. Leadership, manpower and financial resources haven’t been near-enough to develop the strategy and implement the tactics to effectively deal with this serious problem. I’m told NHRA has a new communications/public relations vice president, but if he’s out there pro-actively trying to develop the necessary meaningful relationships with key journos, I haven’t heard about it. Worrying because that was a failing of his predecessor.

*  More and more I find myself fast-forwarding through the ESPN race weekend coverage, especially qualifying. For a sport that sells itself as fast-paced, these shows seem to (forgive the pun) drag on. I’ve written extensively about this in the past so I won’t repeat all of that now. Before the suits tell me I don’t know what I’m talking about, yes, I understand sponsors use the Joyce Julius & Associates numbers to get the equivalent of their TV exposure batting average. As I’ve counseled clients in the past, though, it does not matter how many seconds or minutes of TV time you get if no one is watching. What really matters is the size of the audience: How many people are actually seeing the sponsor ID? It’s up to NHRA’s management to educate their corporate friends to this truth and provide leadership to a new, more dynamic -- yes, shorter -- TV format that better fits today’s time-challenged/short attention-span viewership.

* The fact that NHRA has not been successful in fixing the on-going saga of its shows (especially qualifying) being batted from the scheduled time slot to accommodate live coverage of other sports proves how weak a position Glendora is in when dealing with Bristol. And, can anyone point to one thing -- anything of substance -- that is being done to actually increase the TV audience? Sending out more press releases is not the answer.

* It hasn’t been discussed much lately, but to me, one of the most important Business of Racing stories is the on-going sponsorship absence by the beer companies. (Ditto in IndyCar.) True, the beverage industry has consolidated since the fun days of Red vs. Blue (Anheuser-Busch was bought by international brewer InBev; Miller and Coors are now one), but even a quick look at the general NHRA spectator profile would lead you to believe at least one beer would want to pour it on. It’s also clear, however, that the brewers have a sharp focus on marketing to a younger demographic group where there’s an opportunity for long-term brand loyalty. Where’s the evidence NHRA is attracting a new and younger generation of fans? NHRA sure seems far removed from the Budweiser-Bernstein/Miller-Prudhomme rivalry with Bud also paying to be the sanction’s official beer.

Finally, let me swing back to baseball, which, I must note, has many millions of beer sponsorship dollars gushing from its collective tap.

As observed above, right now is baseball’s prime time. I’ve found myself here lately wondering: Why couldn’t summer (and late spring) be the same for NHRA?

Think about it: This is when the history of Englishtown is retold. The iconic American identity “Route 66” is spoken of and written about. The Bader family serves-up $1 ice cream, lots of entertainment on-and-off the Norwalk, Ohio strip, and enjoys a reputation for being very fan friendly. There’s the visual pleasure of Bandimere Speedway’s scenic backdrop and the fascinating complexities of Mile High racing.

There’s the logistical hurdles of the Western Swing. Tuners are challenged to keep traction on hot tracks. Drivers must show their stuff by staying in the groove on slick surfaces. Fans are treated to the eyeball excitement of pedalfests. Media have fewer sports competing for their time and attention. And it all leads up to the Big Go, the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals, the biggest stage and the setting of the Countdown “playoff” field.

I tip my cap in salute to this great part of the season. Sad that more people don’t catch it. Even sadder there isn’t an organized effort to make more people stand up and take notice.

To all involved, I say, Play Ball.

Follow Michael Knight on Twitter: @SpinDoctor500