Drag Illustrated Issue 111, July 2016 | Page 44

FOX SPORTS & NHRA series to another than others. “There is a lot of respect between the participants of NHRA, NASCAR, Supercross, and some of the others where you see them at each other’s events,” explains Arneson. “You see some of them sharing sponsors since obviously, some of the sponsors are in different series. I think right now, FOX Sports has a great blend of complimentary motorsports partners.” And complimentary drivers as well. Robert Hight, the 2009 NHRA Funny Car champion was at the Daytona 500 and the recent MLB All-Star game. Two-time and defending Top Fuel champion Antron Brown and Alexis DeJoria have gone to Supercross races while Ron Capps has been to NASCAR races cheering on his NAPA teammate Chase Elliott. The cross-promotion between NHRA and the other motorsports properties has been welcomed by fans and racers who have felt they’ve taken a backseat to other networks’ bigger shows. “I think the universal response is that there is an immense amount of respect and a total disbelief in what they do,” Arneson says with a laugh. “It’s the one car you don’t see everyone say, ‘Yeah, I want to get in there and do that.’ It kinda crosses a threshold with these guys that, they are already rock stars in their own sport, and when they get asked if they want to get into a Nitro Funny Car or Top Fuel car, there’s a true respect for that car and what these guys do every day in the NHRA. It’s totally respected and totally beyond their comfort zone and you can see that when those audiences collide.” Now having said all that, of course there’s controversy because there has to be. It came when Mike Dunn, a former NHRA Nationals winner in both Top Fuel and Funny Car, wasn’t given the invite to make the move. While Dunn landed on his feet as the president of the IHRA, fans on social media voiced their displeasure from the moment the announcement was made. That, too, has begun to fade as Dunn’s replace- FOX Sports’ Vice President of Media Relations Erik Arneson ment, two-time Funny Car champion Tony Pedregon, has increased both his confidence and television persona as the season has crossed the halfway point. “Tony is just getting better and better and more comfortable every week,” Blount says. “If you went back and looked at the telecast from Pomona and then looked at the telecast from Topeka, the difference is unbelievable. He’s so much more comfortable now.” Arneson agrees. “I’m not surprised at the quick support for Tony,” he says. “I think people respect people who are obviously working hard to do something. If he had come in and just kind of lived off of ‘Here’s how I used to do it, here’s stories from my past’ and did a broadcast reliving his own history, that would be one thing. It’s been obvious from the beginning that Tony has been working very hard to be a very good broadcaster.” With success coming far quicker than anticipated, both FOX and NHRA can now begin the fine-tuning process that started with NHRA controlling the production and the direction of the telecasts. It also provides FOX’s staff with the education needed to provide the kind of show longtime NHRA fans can appreciate. “I think it’s a huge opportunity to do the Western Swing and the U.S. Nationals on broadcast television and introduce the sport to a new audience,” Arneson says. “I think obviously there have been some fantastic storylines to follow this year and we’re not even at the point of the season where we’re setting up the playoffs. Right now, it’s getting everything how we like it and next year will be a fine tuning. I think it’s obvious the success is there. “We are certainly benefitting from making it a priority on the network where it wasn’t a priority at the previous network.” DI DI DI DI DI DI DI DI DI DI Custom designs to fit your needs...fast! 303.243.3340 Visit: GibtecPistons.com 333 West 48th Ave. Denver, Colorado 80216 44 | D r a g I l l u s t r a t e d | DragIllustrated.com Issue 111 PHOTOS: NHRA / NATIONAL DRAGSTER Dirt