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I enjoy many facets of racing, and last night I went to a drag race in Martin, Michigan hosted by the ADRL. Hear me out on this, as I think they have it figured out. The cost to get into the event..FREE. Parking was $10.00. Friday night was qualifying only, and there was at least 15,000 people there. Seriously. Concessions were fairly high, a hamburger was $4.00 and a water was $3.50. But the place was packed and they were selling a boat load of concessions. They do pay the races very well, and here is a copy of the payouts.
Pro Extreme:
16 Car Qualified Field
Winner - $7,000.00
Runner Up - $3,000.00
Semi Finalist - $2,000.00
Quarter Finalist - $1,500.00
Qualifier - $1,250.00
Low Qualifier Bonus - $1,000.00
Pro Nitrous:
16 Car Qualified Field
Winner - $7,000.00
Runner Up - $3,000.00
Semi Finalist - $2,000.00
Quarter Finalist - $1,500.00
Qualifier - $1,250.00
Low Qualifier Bonus - $1,000.00
Extreme 10.5:
16 Car Qualified Field
Winner - $6,000.00
Runner Up - $2,000.00
Semi Finalist - $1,250.00
Quarter Finalist - $1,000.00
Qualifier - $750.00
Low Qualifier Bonus - $500.00
Pro Extreme Motorcycle:
16 Bike Qualified Field
Winner - $5,000.00
Runner Up - $1,000.00
Semi Finalist - $750.00
Quarter Finalist - $500.00
Qualifier - $250.00
Low Qualifier Bonus - $250.00
Extreme Pro Stock:
16 Car Qualified Field
Winner - $7,000.00
Runner Up - $3,000.00
Semi Finalist - $2,000.00
Quarter Finalist - $1,500.00
Qualifier - $1,250.00
Low Qualifier Bonus - $1,000.00
The car count was good, every class had at least 16 cars. Yes, more people can relate to drag racing, as they are familiar with the cars being raced. I do think that some of their ideas could be implemented to get more butts in the stands, which would make it easier to pay more money. We have seen in the past that big money payouts does not always equate to higher car counts, most recently seen by the poor attendance at the midget races in Knoxville.
Promoters need to promote...drag racing has historically had more risk takers than circle track racing. Some thoughts are bringing in a freestyle motocross show...get the kids interested. We all know how hard it is to say no to your kids. Bring a jet car in to burn a car to shreds, a monster truck deal (I am not a fan either, but kids love them) Kids are the future of the sport..we need to get them involved.
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