Drag Illustrated Issue 153, February 2020 | Page 73

than everybody else in this particular category
at this particular time. Anybody next to you can
win and you just have to be as close to perfect as
you can be every time down the racetrack.
TC: There’s a lot of big changes that went on
between Pro Nitrous and Pro Boost. We got a
couple guys who used to run for championships
and have championships in Pro Nitrous who
are swapping over to Pro Boost. That will be
interesting to see how drivers who are used to
the nitrous entry swap over and jump behind the
boosted car. I’m very interested to see how those
drivers do in Pro Boost.
The sport saw great momentum and growth
last season. How do we keep that up in 2020?
CM: I think the racing being so close is huge. I
think people like that. I think the other thing
is drag racing is so hot right now on television.
Call it the “Street Outlaws Effect,” whatever you
want to call it, but I think it has affected all of us.
I think FS1 has helped. Yes, you can get on there
and see keyboard warriors that don’t like this or
that about the show, but I think the consistency
of it being on television has been big because
people know, OK, it says it’s going to be on at this
time and when you turn it on it’s not badminton
or whatever. I think that’s been huge because it
gives people some consistency.
I think the momentum will carry because, like I
said, drag racing is hot. People seeing all this drag
racing on TV, it’s resulting in a lot of those people
who’ve never been to the track, they’re starting
to come out. I guess that is a Street Outlaws/No
Prep Kings effect because drag racing is “cool”
all of a sudden.
CG: I really think you’ve got to step back and
look at the big picture of what makes drag racing
work. You have four perspectives in my eyes:
one is a racer, one is a promoter, one is a track
owner and one is a fan. You have to figure out
the fine line of juggling those four perspectives to
find the right equation to suit everyone’s desires.
Fans want to attend a race because they want a
good show. Track owners need the fans there to
help pay the bills. The racers want the crowd
there instead of racing in front of nobody. The
promoters want to work with the track owners to
make the track happy and the racers happy and
the fans happy. It’s a fine line of trying to figure
out how to make all that work.
DK: Oh man, that’s the question right there. If
I had the answer to that, I’d be doing more than
just driving, that’s for sure. I think we’re trending
in the right direction. All I can say is I’m super
excited to see everyone who’s coming out and
hopefully get a chance to go up against everybody
and the best this year and for years to come.
TC: I’ll agree, 2019 was a good year for drag rac-
ing. Not only across the country or in a certain
region, but all across the world, I feel like peo-
ple know what drag racing is, whether it’s the
Street Outlaws programs that’ve gained so much
traction, but it all ties back to two cars going in
a straight line to see who gets to the finish line
first. At the end of the day, that’s drag racing and
that’s what we’re all trying to promote.
The biggest thing that we’ve all struggled with,
and even in meetings with big-time tracks that
are bigger than Virginia, the whole question that’s
sitting on everybody’s desk is how do you get
the younger crowd involved? We’re going after a
certain little market this year. We’re trying to do
some Thursday night events here that are strictly
drive-in shows. You pay one fee to get in and you
can do drag racing, drifting – anything you want
to do, we’ll have it set up here on Thursday night
for street cars. It just shows that you can bring
your everyday driver out to the track and you can
have a good time and not spend a fortune and
do it safely and do it with your friends. We feel
like that’s where we can start getting the younger
crowd involved.
If you can get them used to coming to the track
for an event like that, you can get them back.
That’s our main goal in 2020 is to build the rela-
tionships, let them have a good time while they’re
here and build on that to get them to return for
NHRA, PDRA, the Shakedown, big events that
rely on big crowds.
What are your biggest goals for the sport this
year? What do you want to see out of drag
racing?
CM: More sellout races. That’s toward the top
of my list. I would also like to see the television
ratings continue to go up and see that trend con-
tinue. I don’t want to see it become stagnant. The
momentum we talked about earlier, I want to see
that continue all the way across the board. The
One of the biggest challenges facing
promoters like Tyler Crossnoe, whose
projects include his own Outlaw Street
Car Reunion, is finding new ways to attract
younger fans and participants.
February 2020
DragIllustrated.com
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