match racing

This is an editorial I submitted to Bill Pratt at Drag List several years ago. A half dozen years have passed, my kids are grown with kids of their own, we've added another dozen tracks, a few more states and run more "big shows", but it seems as relevant today...and I'm still waiting..and hoping...
Earth Shaking Entertainment was born from this and Jagger does a great job! but we need more..in the order of the old Coca Cola Calvalcade of Stars...Just my thoughts. Now in the words of Pink Floyd,"Is there anybody out there?"
Drag Racing Story of the Day!
Vince McMahon, Where Are You?
Funny Car Match Racing Needs a Savior
By Bill Naves
1979 New England Dragway Funny Car Nats -- Can we get back to this?
Scan by James Morgan
I have a dream. I'm in a dimly lit church basement, standing at the podium saying, "Hello, my name is Bill and I'm...a drag racer. It started innocently with a street-driven bracket car, but soon it was blowers, injectors, and eventually... a funny car." Then I wake up and think: which one is the dream? I started Funny Car racing in the '80s with Nick Boninfante. It didn't take very long to understand that if I wanted to continue racing, I would have to change from being a racer to being an entertainer.
My wife Kimberley and I have match raced with some of the best people in the Northeast. We've made countless friends up and down the coast, sometimes traveling 1,000 miles on any given weekend. We've raised four kids, raced in 15 states at over 50 different drag strips in this country and Canada. Some of them are brand new and some are now industrial parks. Some of the competitors achieved greatness and some no longer race. Some have even passed on and are missed but not forgotten.
But through the 20 years we've been doing this, some things are extremely evident to us. Drag racing is entertainment. Without spectators, there is no payout. Without a payout, this is a multimillion-dollar hobby. We compete with a lot of others for the entertainment dollars our audience has. The ticket prices keep going up, the entry keeps going up, the speeds keep going up, the risk keeps going up, and the show is getting less and less entertaining. We're in trouble, boys and girls!
Several years ago, we were doing a show in New York. Bob Metcalfe had the pre-race meeting with all the pro racers in Al Hanna's trailer, and he put it perfectly. He said, "Listen guys, I don't want to hear 'how that would have been the fastest you ever went' or 'that would have been a career best if only...' I get their attention for 2 1/2 to 3 hours, tops. Be on the starting line when you're called. Don't push your stuff to the point of breaking. And give these people what they paid for -- a good show."
Well, that had a profound effect on me. Since that day, I determine before I leave the house if the promoter wants a show or a race. Now, my boys are old enough to be a vital part of the operation and they understand we don't expect to be the quickest or fastest. We know the difference and we don't hold it against all those guys who came, ran fast, and then ran out of money. We survived.
We have always known that match racing was the only way we would be able to do this. It takes a different mindset to do match racing. Understanding that the goal is to entertain the audience and make them want to come back and see us again is different from being the fastest car on the planet no matter what the cost.
I look at it this way: the Olympic gold medal wrestler is a true athletic hero. He puts everything he has into being the best at what he does. On the other side is the WWF wrestler. He puts everything he has into entertaining the audience.
I used to scoff at them and say the matches are fixed until I realized the precision and athletic ability these guys displayed. The carefully scripted matches and drama are all intended to entertain the audience and make them want to come back again and again. They may not have gold medals, but if their careers are planned carefully, they can do what they love to do and make a very good living at it. That's why drag racing needs a Vince McMahon of Funny Car Shows. Is he out there?
Consider this: in the '70s and '80s, the touring match race funny cars were running 6.30 to 6.80 elapsed times at around 220 mph. They did two runs for around $2,000, and headliners probably got more. Most ran iron block Hemis -- basically crate motors with 6-71 blowers on 85% nitro. They ran conservatively and consistently, delivering the show sometimes three times a week. Why did this kind of entertainment take the route of the dinosaur? Individual corporate sponsors sentenced it to death.
When the racer had to develop his own income, match racing was part of the equation. In order to gross enough money to stay involved, he had to focus on delivering the show as a means of continuing. Corporate money said, "Don't waste your efforts on those small venues; focus on national status and television coverage." Now the racers coming up think they have to rotate the world to get the attention of some fairy tale golden goose so they can go to national events and spend everything the golden goose lays.
I think we may have come full circle. The time may be right to bring the show back to the smaller venues. What is needed now is someone with the credibility and personality to make it work. Maybe there is nothing wrong with drag racing, but rather with its execution.
What if a show featured long smoky burnouts, the kind the national racer types complain about. How about dry hops after the burnout -- remember them? Give the announcer a chance to talk up the match and maybe give you time to make that friendly wager with the guy next to you. Excite the crowd. Rev the motor a few times. Intimidate them, stun them, maybe even awe a few of them. Have structured autograph sessions, programs, and souvenirs. How about pre-race displays at a mall?
But most importantly of all, we need our own Vince McMahon -- a knowledgeable, tuned-in announcer to enhance every aspect of the show. Someone who will bring the excitement of a national event with between-rounds interviews in the pits, without the racers having to commit behind-the-scenes bankrupting of each other. Well "Vince," if you're out there, it's time to step up. Racers and fans, it's been a long winter.
Tell me what you think.
Bill Naves
Shooting Star TAFC
now from Salisbury,NC
and the story continues

 

its the show

excellant post. Its funny (pun intended) that 2000 miles away myself and afew others have stated similar points. the WWF approach, not saying the crew needs to fight on the starting line but it wouldnt hurt. leave the egos at home guys and race WITH each other. not against. I could careless about winning a race or title. just wanna run. a well appearing car & crew along with a complete run is the show. The coolest thing I EVER saw was in spokane at a match race. john force was going to run a single. he did a weak burnout, went to the other end of the track and turned around and came back to the starting line. coil was on the radio asking john "what the hell are you doing". they cleared the back area so he could roll completely around back to the starting line to do a HUGE burnout. the kind he is known for. the crowd went completely crazy. now thats showmanship. cant remember what he ran? who cares! for me its the show.

 

bill the sad thing is no matter how good of show you put and i put on a great show with my car and so do the cars i book with me but if the( promoter and or track owner advertising the event ) didnt do his are her job the stands are empty then they complain its getting harder and harder all the time last year i booked 10 @ 1400.00 for 3 runs this year i did only 3 shows every one kept saying how tight the money was i dont know the answer but we need some thing for sure it need to be more than 2 car shows 6 cars would be a great show but getting them to pay for is another story what about hulk hogan he is tring about every thing else

 

Fuel Funny Car Promotions

If you know what that title means, then you grew up on the east coast. Nick Boninfante and my dad Harry Hall started this group of alky f/c's back in the 70's. We toured all up and down the east, racing at some of the biggest and smallest tracks around. I can remember watching mom, dad, and our rotating crew work all week after work on the car, then drivng all weekend to race. We would sometimes race Wed nite, then Friday, Saturday then Sunday , all at different tracks. Frank and Debbie Schuster were our long time crew, and our neighbor Russ Freda with our good friend Kevin Manley made this happen. Along with me and my twin brother Ken, we lived this for many years and miss it very much.

Today, it's just not the same. It's alot more serious. Points, sponsors, the high cost of parts and travel. It is still fun, but nothing like it was back then. Now, I help Frank and Debbie with Victor Terenzio's alky f/c. I still find time to run my familys six second, two hundred mph altered. But man...do I miss the old days.

 

Great post Bill,......some real key points made.

For this to happen AGAIN, there definatly needs to be some new talent and faces to head up the program, without the in coming revenue being shelled out and hoarded to the big corporate name.
A fresh perspective with the desire to bring the masses in, and bring the show back to true nostalgia/ or match racing being ran on a regular basis, and without the bickering of competitors/cars wondering how much they will or will not be paid to run.
Who can step up to the plate, what tracks will go for it,.I dont know it just seems like the promotors and tracks look at it as a high risk scenerio when actually they control the outcome with either how much they do or dont promote it, either way the cars that run are the show, and they (the show) deserve to get paid what its worth, just like the spectators that pay $20 or $30.00 bucks to get in for a one day deal, they want to get there monies worth also. this is not a career money earning thing to make a living on, but more of an addiction to have fun, run or cars, and keep it alive and entertain.
It can be done, and there are too many of us that want to see it get done for it not to happen. The more it is discussed the closer it can be a
reality AGAIN.
So who can pick up the torch and run with it ?????
that is the question.

Vic Miller