NHRA on ESPN is more effective than sleeping pills.
That's what NASCAR does to me. I actually like watching the NHRA.
NASCAR works even faster when I really need to get to sleep.
If the NHRA telecast filled more of it's 3 hours with tech stuff as opposed to fluff, it would be far more watchable. After all.....the vast majority of viewers are "car" people.
And therein lies the problem, there are not enough "car people" to make the show worth airing. It HAS to appeal to an average guy who might be flipping channels. You want to rely strictly on "car guys" to get you ratings.....don't bother. You think the millions who watch NASCAR are "car guys"........hell no. It has to be entertaining to get casual viewers. You think the "fluff is a waste of time, but if it was nothing but cars going down the track, nobody will watch it.
Street Outlaws is a prime example. Like it or hate it, doesn't matter, the FACT is that it was the number one rated show on cable TV on Monday night a couple weeks ago. The show is watchable even for the average person, because of some of the "fluff" and has enough racing to keep "car guys" watching. Expect Fox to do something similar. If you think the show should just be pair after pair lining up and going down the track, you are going to be sorely disappointed
Monte
I think NASCAR, due to it's marketing of drivers and nature of it's racing, is a different entity altogether. I know a number people, including females who follow NASCAR yet they have little knowledge of the actual cars, nor do they care. It's almost as if the cars are just a prop. It's popularity has little to do with performance, as proven by the short tracks, where speeds sometimes are less than what folks do on public highways. These same people have zero interest in watching the NHRA on ESPN. At least this has been my experience.
Drag racings key factors revolve more around performance and technological advancements, resulting in quicker ETs and higher MPHs........along with the occasional driver "personality". The fact that there aren't enough "car people" to knock the ratings up is the issue. If a production company was able to come up with a way to create story lines like Street Outlaws, perhaps viewership from the casual observer would climb. Right now, NHRA has managed to bore too many car people AND the channel flipper.
We have a 3 hour telecast on ESPN. How much of that 3 hours is a pair of cars making a run??? Very little. The rest is filled with fluff. Now, I'm not against fluff in general since I realize you can't simply show 2 cars making runs (not that I want to see that either)......but it's the KIND of fluff. I DVR the telecast and spend much of the time on the FF button. If more time was dedicated to the inner working of the cars, I'd be paying attention.
There is also the fact that TV has a difficult time translating the violence of drag racing.....especially in the loud classes. The casual viewer has NO idea what's really up with these machines as far as the acceleration aspect. On the other hand, while most people have no idea what it's like to travel at 180 for for lenght of time, many do know what it feels like to drive well over 100, so NASCAR on TV seems to translate better to the less than serious car fan.
Like most problems, I think NHRA's issues with TV popularity are multifaceted.
