DRR Elite
| I'm not sure I understand why the objection to having empty stands in the background. Nor the inclination to make it look any different. It is what it is. Trying to disguise it or make it look different doesn't change what it is. Frankly, (and I know I sound like a broken record) bracket racing is not a spectator sport. It was never the intention. The ideas behind bracket racing were to: 1. Find a way to utilize the facility to bring in revenue in different ways other than shows. 2. Introduce a source of new racers into our sport that is affordable to a greater amount of people. Nowhere in there was anything about spectators. Bracket racing is exciting to participate in. But unless you are somehow connected to the race or the racers, it's not worth a hoot to watch. So why try to dress it up?
Foxtrot Juliet Bravo
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DRR Top Comp

| Hang out with Todd Dziadosz. He'll make you tired just watching him, as he's frequently on the move, getting different shots. I'm nowhere close to being a photographer, but even I move around a lot, looking for a unique shot. I remember a photographer standing on his ladder taking the same shot of every car, while I checked the dial-ins to see which car was leaving first, and hustling to a different spot along the wall for each pair to capture the story unfolding in the first few moments. I think that's a lot of what is missing. The vast majority of photography I see in bracket racing focuses on a single car burnout or launch, when the whole excitement of the race is the chase.
__ Michael Beard - staginglight@gmail.com Staging Light Graphic Design, Printing & Event Marketing
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| Posts: 5795 | Location: Columbus, OH | Registered: December 15, 1999 |  
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DRR Sportsman
| From watching the million on the computer Im noticing the same phenomenon there also. May be a trend?
Lynn Ellison
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| Posts: 133 | Location: The Boat! | Registered: November 29, 2008 |  
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DRR Elite
| quote: Originally posted by Ron Ciglar: It doesn't matter what the perception, only drag racers look at those pics and we're used to empty stands, it's a clear indicator of where the sport is heading. Just remember, it's just a show their putting on and I've seen that show a thousand times. In the Pro category's it's the big money that's the main characters and the little guy that shows up usually makes a fool of himself and don't last very long, if John Force had no kids NHRA would be F**cked!! I got into drag racing as a participant, not a spectator, from the spectators point of view it's actually pretty boring, no wonder the lack of attendance.
Ron, I agree. However, to use the amount of spectators in the stands during a bracket race, or the filler between nitro cars as a barometer for where our sport is heading, then it would have been dead and gone decades ago. I don't recall filled stands at ANY bracket race 25 years ago. Like you said....it's boring to watch. It always has been. But as you said, nobody but drag racers would ever look at these photos anyhow. The empty stands aren't a bad thing. They are an expected thing.
Foxtrot Juliet Bravo
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DRR S/Pro

| There's more to that article than just the empty stands issue. The mandate that photographers kneel, which I'm guessing is to prevent them from blocking the spectators view and the TV cameras, is interesting. Today we're lucky enough to have all of the photos from the great drag race photographers that were only restricted by their creativity. granted we'll have more video to see but there is nothing like a great photo. The running of only the finals for Sportsman classes on Sunday makes a lot of sense for the Sportsman racers. But for the big show it might be a problem as they will need fillers or time burners of some sort to prevent down time. It's obvious that the vast majority of people that pay to come on Sunday are not interested in watching slow car bracket racing which is what the Sportsman classes are in the final rounds. Now the empty stands deal. Photos and TV video that show the empty stands are reality. Changing the angles and painting the seats to change perception is fake news. Many will tell you how motorsports is dying and that's to blame. Then you look up the pictures and video of Bristol when the OK Outlaws came there and it might change your mind. Go to see a Southeast Gassers show. Motorsports isn't dying, but boring is boring. John Force knew how to work it and make it exciting. Now John is old and there isn't anyone to take his place, it's the Dale Earnhardt syndrome that NASCAR has gone through. |
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DRR S/Pro

| quote: Originally posted by Eman: There's more to that article than just the empty stands issue. The mandate that photographers kneel, which I'm guessing is to prevent them from blocking the spectators view and the TV cameras, is interesting. Today we're lucky enough to have all of the photos from the great drag race photographers that were only restricted by their creativity. granted we'll have more video to see but there is nothing like a great photo. The running of only the finals for Sportsman classes on Sunday makes a lot of sense for the Sportsman racers. But for the big show it might be a problem as they will need fillers or time burners of some sort to prevent down time. It's obvious that the vast majority of people that pay to come on Sunday are not interested in watching slow car bracket racing which is what the Sportsman classes are in the final rounds. Now the empty stands deal. Photos and TV video that show the empty stands are reality. Changing the angles and painting the seats to change perception is fake news. Many will tell you how motorsports is dying and that's to blame. Then you look up the pictures and video of Bristol when the OK Outlaws came there and it might change your mind. Go to see a Southeast Gassers show. Motorsports isn't dying, but boring is boring. John Force knew how to work it and make it exciting. Now John is old and there isn't anyone to take his place, it's the Dale Earnhardt syndrome that NASCAR has gone through. Once the powers that be try too hard to create something the people see through it and have no interest in it.
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