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I may be flamed for this, but I do think that the demise of match racing and the number of National events has also hurt the sport.

When I was growing up in the sixties, the biggies came to where the folks were. The biggest names in would visit the local tracks...I remember absolutely packed houses to see S&M vs Grumpy, Jungle, etc....the folks didn't have to drive 300 miles and spend $750 to see these guys. As a result, the sport, on a local level was well publicized and the interest was high.

The guy who has this all figured out is Bob McCardle at Beaver Springs. Bob George, especially Mike Beard can tell you about this...he hails from up there. The place is packed, with competitors and spectators. He has the blend of "shows" along with a good bracket program that moves along and ends at a reasonable hour. And, the place is in the middle of nowhere.

The sport will survive...the guys who love it will always do it. Someone mentioned the median age, in the 40's and 50's, but the faster classes were always older guys. They were the only ones who had any money.

I realize that all this is just an excercise in theory...it will take years of this to force a change.



In one master stroke, NHRA killed off nitro classes in the 'other' sanctioning bodies and nitro match racing, by limiting the test and tune the pros could do. Late 70's early 80's we used to see Shirley, Jeb Allen, Prudhomme, Force, and a whole slew of other nitro cars at Lebanon Valley on the match race circuit in between National events. Now the only special events you see are points races, wheel standers or jet cars, or the independent guys - I remember some mid west organization that would tour with BB floppers and the like.