PHOTO: NHRA / NATIONAL DRAGSTER
have lost interest over time. It’s also bringing a
younger generation, and that’s critical. Over time,
I think that’s going to help all of us – from the
NHRA to the PDRA to all the other organizations
and tracks in drag racing. It’s already contributed
to the growth of drag radial racing. Of course, I
don’t run NHRA, but I do believe the new management team is a little more open-minded than
that of years past, and they’re willing to try new
things instead of remaining stagnant like they
have been for the last 15- or 20-years. All in all, I
think our focus needs to remain on attracting the
younger generation because the guys who grew up
hot rodding in the ‘60s and ‘70s – they’re dying
off. We have to go after this cell phone generation.
Stevie Jackson: Drag racing is healthy and
growing, but I think it’s high time we get a little
more creative in how we market our sport and
what we’re doing to bring new people in. One
thing that you can see across motorsports that
scares me is – I kind of own my own team and
run my own stuff – is the fact that there are not a
lot of new team owners coming in. That’s something we have to figure out – a way to make our
July 2016
STANDING ROOM ONLY
Several NHRA national events have announced
sell-out crowds in 2016, with most other races
seeing at least a dramatic increase in attendance
from previous years. The rising fan participation
has been attributed to anything from the new FOX
television package, the Street Outlaws popularity,
and even something as simple as good weather.
advertising product more attractive. What that
will require, I think, is to get back to the drag
racing’s grassroots. Create and build rivalries,
encourage trash-talking, focus on personalities,
name race cars, and get away from the political
correctness. The same thing that is killing our
country is hurting racing. Nobody wants to hear
the same thing over and over again in any sports
venue – you gotta’ mix it up. Our fan base is good.
The people who come to watch drag racing are a
hardcore, loyal group of folks, but we have to get
more 16- to 20-year-old kids into it. When I was
16 – and still now – all I ever wanted to do was
race. We’ve gotta’ figure out a way to hook them
at an early age. Talking about ET and speed is
not the way to do it. 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.
The people we’ve assembled for our 2016
State of Drag roundtable all come from different backgrounds and segments of the racing
industry, but it’s undeniable that the NHRA
is the face of our sport and the organization’s
new president, Peter Clifford, has a full year
under his belt with considerable praise and
admiration. What are your thoughts on Clifford’s first year in office and the future of our
sport in his hands?
AJ: I respect Peter and I really applaud his
aggressive approach to making the changes they
have felt are needed. He has invested a lot of
energy into this, and I think his vision is good.
We’ve created a new relationship between the professional racers and NHRA – partly us reaching
out to them – but they’re open to us. Now, they’re
to be transparent with us because we’re all in this
thing together. We have three partners: NHRA,
DragIllustrated.com
| D r a g I l l u s t r a t e d | 77