National Hot Rod Association marks 50th year
2.2 million spectators watch sanctioned drag races each year, making NHRA the world's largest motorsports organization
by James M. Flammang
OAKBROOK TERRACE, ILLINOIS - The idea is simple enough. Two vehicles sit side by side, engines loping at a rapid idle, drivers waiting patiently for their "go" signal. As the starting lights begin their beckoning dance, illuminating in sequence one by one, each driver is ready to hit the throttle and send his (or her) car hurtling forward - headed for the finish line a mere quarter-mile away, dead-ahead.
To the uninitiated - or the uninterested - a drag race might be seen as absurd, hardly ranking as a sporting event at all. No turns, no maneuvers, no alterations in course. Just a rocket-like blast toward victory, performed in a dead-straight line.
To the sport's fans and participants, that very same drag race is sublime. They love the throbbing sounds, the colorful visions, the heart-stopping thrill. That dead-straight trajectory from a standstill to breathtaking final velocities is an exquisite element of motorsports - comparable to what the line between a pitcher's mound and home plate is to baseball.
In principle it's no different from the impromptu one-on-one races staged on city streets and rural byways since the early days of the automobile. But nowadays, it's become an organized sport, with much of the same hoopla and commercial elements as any athletic event.
Founded by Wally Parks (now 86 years old), the National Hot Road Association had a simple goal, according to general manager Tom Compton: "to get kids off the street." With more than 85,000 members, NHRA now ranks as the world's largest motorsports organization. More than half (45,000) of those members are licensed participants in the sport of drag racing.
Compton was bringing the facts about drag racing to an audience of Chicago-area auto journalists, on the occasion of the NHRA's half-century birthday. Some 5,000 NHRA events take place each year, consisting of a million and a half side-by-side jousts. Races are held at 140 member tracks, in seven geographic divisions. About 2.2 million spectators watch sanctioned drag races annually, giving the NHRA attendance figures far beyond those of many other sporting events.
Nitro-burning cars produce up to 6,000 horsepower and can reach 330 miles per hour at the end of that quarter-mile. Compton calls these machines "the most compelling, most exciting cars on earth." To put the speeds into perspective, a high-performance "street" automobile might be able to accelerate from zero to 60 mph in 6 seconds, or perhaps 5 seconds. Top dragsters can travel from a standstill to 100 mph in less than one second. In Compton's view, drag races cover the realm of "atmospherics," encompassing the senses of sight, sound, feel, smell, and taste.
Unlike many sports events, where the participants behave like prima donnas, unavailable to spectators, drag racers mingle with the crowds. "All of our fans are VIPs," Compton explained. "Everyone's admitted to the locker room."
"We're deeply rooted in American culture," Compton advised. At the same time, "we think we're a diamond in the rough." The NHRA recently hired a huge public relations agency, Hill & Knowlton, to try and get the word out. "We need to focus on the stars now," not just the high-tech cars. "It's actually a fairly complicated sport." Compton's primary objective is to "mainstream" the sport, and increase participation.
Compton does not hesitate to applaud the NHRA's commercial aspects - which some observers might deem excessive. Drag races attract "young, active, proven consumers," he explained, eager not only to watch the races but to wander down the "manufacturer's midway." This is a "large, loyal, upscale audience," and NHRA events are billed as "the quickest way to get noticed," offering "unprecedented marketing impact."
A promotional video advised that an NHRA "event format promotes all-day fan/sponsor interaction." That's because these races are no short-term occurrences. At the national races, fans attend for four days, for 10 to 12 hours each day. In Compton's words, exposure of this magnitude can "maximize the amount of brand-name conditioning the audience receives." About 91 percent of fans are 14 to 49 years old - a demographic group most sought-after by advertisers. Some 52 percent have a household income between $30,000 and $75,000.
Reaching back toward its roots in the 1950s, the NHRA sponsors a Street Legal Program. "Literally," Compton advised, you can "take your car out of the garage and drive it on the track."
There's also a Junior Drag Racing League - essentially a "little league" for youngsters 8 to 17 years old. This group has 4,000 participants, driving mini top-fuel dragsters. Junior Drag Racing "exposes these youngsters to effective brand-name conditioning in their formative years," Compton noted.
Compton also was promoting this year's opening of Route 66 Dragway, a new facility in Joliet, Illinois, described as more like an NFL stadium than an auto-racing venue.
As another measure of the sport's popularity, the NHRA web site claims 4.5 million "hits" a week, said to translate to 1 million page views per week.
© All contents copyright 1999 by Tirekicking Today
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National Hot Rod Association marks 50th year
2.2 million spectators watch sanctioned drag races each year, making NHRA the world's largest motorsports organization
by James M. Flammang
OAKBROOK TERRACE, ILLINOIS - The idea is simple enough. Two vehicles sit side by side, engines loping at a rapid idle, drivers waiting patiently for their "go" signal. As the starting lights begin their beckoning dance, illuminating in sequence one by one, each driver is ready to hit the throttle and send his (or her) car hurtling forward - headed for the finish line a mere quarter-mile away, dead-ahead.
To the uninitiated - or the uninterested - a drag race might be seen as absurd, hardly ranking as a sporting event at all. No turns, no maneuvers, no alterations in course. Just a rocket-like blast toward victory, performed in a dead-straight line.
To the sport's fans and participants, that very same drag race is sublime. They love the throbbing sounds, the colorful visions, the heart-stopping thrill. That dead-straight trajectory from a standstill to breathtaking final velocities is an exquisite element of motorsports - comparable to what the line between a pitcher's mound and home plate is to baseball.
In principle it's no different from the impromptu one-on-one races staged on city streets and rural byways since the early days of the automobile. But nowadays, it's become an organized sport, with much of the same hoopla and commercial elements as any athletic event.
Founded by Wally Parks (now 86 years old), the National Hot Road Association had a simple goal, according to general manager Tom Compton: "to get kids off the street." With more than 85,000 members, NHRA now ranks as the world's largest motorsports organization. More than half (45,000) of those members are licensed participants in the sport of drag racing.
Compton was bringing the facts about drag racing to an audience of Chicago-area auto journalists, on the occasion of the NHRA's half-century birthday. Some 5,000 NHRA events take place each year, consisting of a million and a half side-by-side jousts. Races are held at 140 member tracks, in seven geographic divisions. About 2.2 million spectators watch sanctioned drag races annually, giving the NHRA attendance figures far beyond those of many other sporting events.
Nitro-burning cars produce up to 6,000 horsepower and can reach 330 miles per hour at the end of that quarter-mile. Compton calls these machines "the most compelling, most exciting cars on earth." To put the speeds into perspective, a high-performance "street" automobile might be able to accelerate from zero to 60 mph in 6 seconds, or perhaps 5 seconds. Top dragsters can travel from a standstill to 100 mph in less than one second. In Compton's view, drag races cover the realm of "atmospherics," encompassing the senses of sight, sound, feel, smell, and taste.
Unlike many sports events, where the participants behave like prima donnas, unavailable to spectators, drag racers mingle with the crowds. "All of our fans are VIPs," Compton explained. "Everyone's admitted to the locker room."
"We're deeply rooted in American culture," Compton advised. At the same time, "we think we're a diamond in the rough." The NHRA recently hired a huge public relations agency, Hill & Knowlton, to try and get the word out. "We need to focus on the stars now," not just the high-tech cars. "It's actually a fairly complicated sport." Compton's primary objective is to "mainstream" the sport, and increase participation.
Compton does not hesitate to applaud the NHRA's commercial aspects - which some observers might deem excessive. Drag races attract "young, active, proven consumers," he explained, eager not only to watch the races but to wander down the "manufacturer's midway." This is a "large, loyal, upscale audience," and NHRA events are billed as "the quickest way to get noticed," offering "unprecedented marketing impact."
A promotional video advised that an NHRA "event format promotes all-day fan/sponsor interaction." That's because these races are no short-term occurrences. At the national races, fans attend for four days, for 10 to 12 hours each day. In Compton's words, exposure of this magnitude can "maximize the amount of brand-name conditioning the audience receives." About 91 percent of fans are 14 to 49 years old - a demographic group most sought-after by advertisers. Some 52 percent have a household income between $30,000 and $75,000.
Reaching back toward its roots in the 1950s, the NHRA sponsors a Street Legal Program. "Literally," Compton advised, you can "take your car out of the garage and drive it on the track."
There's also a Junior Drag Racing League - essentially a "little league" for youngsters 8 to 17 years old. This group has 4,000 participants, driving mini top-fuel dragsters. Junior Drag Racing "exposes these youngsters to effective brand-name conditioning in their formative years," Compton noted.
Compton also was promoting this year's opening of Route 66 Dragway, a new facility in Joliet, Illinois, described as more like an NFL stadium than an auto-racing venue.
As another measure of the sport's popularity, the NHRA web site claims 4.5 million "hits" a week, said to translate to 1 million page views per week.