Recently, Texas Region hosted an autocross sponsored by NIRA (National
Import Racing Assn.) at Ennis, home of one of the nations finest drag
racing facilities. This was the second year in a row that we had hosted an
autocross at this event. The first year drew some interest, but very
limited, and only about a dozen drag racers decided to give autox a try.
This last attempt drew more interest, but none of the really fast drag
cars, mostly the 16, 15, and maybe a couple of 14 second cars. Our sport
appears to be perceived as interesting by this crowd, but only a few
expressed an interest in trying it. This particular event was managed by
Denver, with Roger (the famous) Johnson in attendance, working his magic on
the facilities' PA system in attempt to get both drivers and spectators
interested, but was met with little success. Even the possibility of
winning 500 bucks for low et in both venues on Toyo tires did not entice
many to try our sport. We, as a region, did manage to get a few names for
our monthly mailing, and the last Regional event did include a couple of
those folks. In my opinion, the drag race crowd is a different group, and
those with really fast cars don't mind spending the bucks to make them
fast. These same folks seem to enjoy spending money on their street cars
to make them fast on the street, where impromptu drag racing is the norm,
and bragging rights are immediate. We may attract and keep a few, but by
and large, these folks will continue to spend money to make the cars fast
in a straight line, with handling bolt-ons a "for appearances only"
issue...
BTW, Toyo Tires, Peterson Publishing, and NIRA have decided to kill the
autox portion of their events, so the NIRA event to be held in Ennis in
October will not include an autocross, at least at this point...
Phil Osborne
Jay Mitchell wrote:
I wholeheartedly agree. I don't necessarily think that the primary
source of the required new blood is going to be import drag racers,
however. Sometimes the best marketing stratgey is to improve the
marketing of existing products rather than to invent new ones.
Jay
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