Drag Illustrated Issue 111, July 2016 | Page 76

I STATE OF DRAG ★★★★★ magine a time when millions of Americans are tuned into a major television network to watch live coverage of the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series – a sport once relegated to 1AM timeslots and the occasional primetime billing on a sporting network’s secondary channel. Now, think of an eighth-mile drag race in rural Georgia where a standing-room-only crowd numbering in the tens-of-thousands has gathered to witness drivers of radial tire-equipped cars dip well into the three-second zone at over 200mph while competing for a $50,000 winner’s purse. Finally, picture a group of underground street racers from the Midw est as the hottest stars in reality television. Such notions would be laughed at as recently as the turn of the decade, but they are all just a glimpse at the current state of drag racing in 2016. The NHRA “Western Swing” and prestigious U.S. Nationals were broadcast live on FOX this summer for the first time in history – a monumental achievement for the sanctioning body under the direction of new president Peter Clifford. Promoter Donald “Duck” Long literally shut down major highways with his Lights Out 7 event at South Georgia Motorsports Park in February, where about 450 on-the-edge, small-tired race cars battled for prize money that was previously unheard of in the drag radial world. Now in production for its eighth season, Discovery’s Street Outlaws show and its stars have created controversy and attracted legions of fans as they undoubtedly leave their mark on the industry. Top Fuel dragsters and Funny Cars are eclipsing speed records that were set when the nitro-gulping machines were still racing to 1,320-feet, and eighth-mile Pro Mods are now capable of performances in the 3.4-second, 230 mile per hour range. It’s truly a captivating and important time for the sport. Through a series of face-to-face interviews, Drag Illustrated gathered opinions from five of professional drag racing’s most powerful, prominent and popular figures to get a look at the state of drag racing from the inside. The panelists represent several different backgrounds and disciplines – from Alan Johnson’s reserved stance as an elite Top Fuel crew chief and manufacturer to the driven nature of Leah Pritchett during her ongoing quest to find a major backer. Pro Nitrous superstar driver and owner Steve “Stevie Fast” Jackson tackles the topics with the signature tellit-like-it-is, no-punches-pulled style of a proven 76 | D r a g I l l u s t r a t e d | DragIllustrated.com grudge racer. As an original outlaw Pro Mod heavyweight and quiet co-founder-slash-owner of the Professional Drag Racers Association (PDRA), Jason Scruggs comments on the series’ tumultuous season and what they’re doing to improve in the future. Finally, NHRA Funny Car pilot Ron Capps provides insight from his standpoint as one of the sport’s few textbook “professional drag racers”, revealing how his corporate sponsors feel about the future of NHRA drag racing. While there are always issues facing the sport of drag racing at any given time, here at the midway point of the season a large majority of racers, promoters and fans seem to be in high spirits. Where do you stand on the “We have to figure out a way to market this stuff to younger kids. I want to watch drag racing when I’m old and retired, so I still want it to be doing good,” Jackson said. health and wellness of drag racing heading into the heat of summer in 2016? Alan Johnson: Well, I think our sport’s always been strong. Even during the recession we maintained a good presence; we didn’t lose nearly as much as some other sports did. We have a great product – a product that kind of sells itself to some extent. This year with our improved television package with FOX, our viewership is way up. And, over time, the more people that are exposed to drag racing the more people are going to love it. I haven’t had many instances where someone came out to the track for the first time and said, ‘ Well, turns out I can’t stand drag racing.’ They’re always, ‘Well, I love this! This is great! I didn’t even know this existed!’ Right? Ron Capps: It’s been unbelievable. The changes that Peter Clifford and his team have made have really raised some eyebrows – especially with sponsors – and not just the deal with FOX. I know with NAPA they were a little unsure about what all was happening – this was the first year we didn’t shoot a new commercial. But I know talking to the guys at corporate – they’re already working on 2017 based on what they’ve seen from the new TV show and the viewership numbers thus far. They’re more than pleased. We’ve had several sellouts this year, and you never heard about that before this year. FOX Sports 1 has re-aired a lot of our races during the week, and I’m regularly getting calls and texts from people wondering why I’m racing in the middle of the week and I have to explain that it’s a replay. But, to them, it’s up on the TV at the bar or grill or whatever, and, man, that is huge. I can’t stress it enough. We recently had the preliminary bouts of the biggest mixed martial arts event in history – UFC 200 – lead into NHRA Championship Drag Racing. It’s unbelievable, and it’s incredible to think of how many new people were introduced to our sport in that instance alone. Leah Pritchett: I believe it’s growing exponentially due to a lot of factors. I’m not sure that it was entirely purposeful that it’s all coming together at the same time, but I think there are a lot of different positive forces that are helping move the sport in the right direction. On the NHRA side of things, FOX has been a huge contributing factor, as well as the upper management at NHRA finally being open to input from racers, team owners and fans. Honestly, from a general health and interest perspective, I think you have to give the show Street Outlaws some credit for getting people excited about fast cars and racing as a whole. I think the show has done a lot to attract a new fan base for drag racing. Like I said, intentional or not, drag racing’s status in the sporting world is elevating right now, and it’s a good thing. Jason Scruggs: I think things are looking good right now, overall. Without question, the Street Outlaws program is bringing a lot of new people into drag racing, and a lot of people back that may Issue 111