Drag racing is a lot more about being interested in wrenching than it is
driving, and the setup for drag cars beyond bone stock is significantly
different than it is for autox.
KeS
(No, I did *not* say that drag racers are not good drivers!)
> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-autox@autox.team.net [mailto:owner-autox@autox.team.net]On
> Behalf Of Phil Osborne
> Sent: Thursday, July 01, 1999 06:06
> To: 'Jay Mitchell'; Joshua Hadler
> Cc: Eric Linnhoff; autox@autox.team.net; Deanne;
> dg50@daimlerchrysler.com
> Subject: RE: PROPOSAL: Super Street Touring Class
>
>
>
> 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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