In the past two weeks, the sport of drag racing has received more mass media attention because of a high profile explosion and a high profile wreck than it has in probably the last five years (or more) combined. Matt Hagan’s epic nuclear level explosion at zMax Raceway during the NHRA Four Wide Nationals has been covered by almost every major web and television media source in the world. This wasn’t just on ESPN, it was on Good Morning America, evening news broadcasts across the country and world, as well as the sports networks you would normally expect to cover it. Lizzy Musi’s crash at the Bristol ADRL race has also been covered with similar scope, to the points that Musi appeared on the FOX News channel’s morning show today to talk about it.
The old expression of, “you can’t pay for this type of publicity” is certainly true for the ADRL, NHRA, tracks involved, and drag racing as a whole. The underlying question though is whether or not this type of publicity is what the sport needs or wants to aid in growing spectator counts and interest to people who otherwise would not see drag racing at all. Dan Wheldon’s death last year certainly turned the spotlight onto IndyCar racing hot and heavy but for none of the reasons that series would have wanted. Thankfully neither Hagan or Musi were injured during their respective incidents.
So the question of the day is this: Is Drag Racing’s Recent Mass Media Exposure Because of Explosions and Wrecks Good or Bad?
Well my heart says no , all this crash related NHRA exposure is bad and should not be the focus of the general medias attention
But ……. well ……. my head ( that businessman phantom that lurks ominously beneath the artistic surface ) says ;
” The only ‘ Bad’ publicity is No Publicity ”
So I guess I’m conflicted on this question and will take a by
On one hand, attention that labels a sport as unsafe isn’t all that welcome and often tends to lead to hysterical calls for bans or just brings out the NIMBY namby pambies wanting to shut down their local dragstrip.
On the other hand, the videos also highlight that drag racing takes safety seriously. When Hagan gets out of the dragster, his body language doesn’t even look like, “Did I just break any bones?” It’s more like, “I just had my car explode in a huge fireball again? I HATE it when that happens.”
Wrecks and explosions are SOP for drag racing. If they garner more exposure for the sport, how can that be bad (as long as no one is hurt of course)?
Does any really think that fans go to a NASCAR race with the hopes there won’t be any wrecks?
On the other hand I really believe that drag racing fans do not want to see wrecks or explosions . . . they stop the racing for too long.
In these cases I think it’s good. Especially since the wrecks look horrific, yet the drivers emerge virtually unscathed. Shows that while it is a freakin dangerous sport, driver safety is a high priority for the sanctioning bodies.
Besides, it makes my friends think I drive a Pro Mod.
As I read story after story of racetracks being closed down due to noise regulations, and any mention of a new track being fought harder than a pedophile group home, I have to say it’s bad publicity. Any new butts that get into the seats will pale in comparison to those it will reach that have no idea about the sport, do not care to know about the sport, and just want it shut down equating it to the pimple faced teenager in a fart can p.o.s. they see on the roads.
Good or bad? That’s not the issue. How, with today’s information technology, would you ever keep a crash from being seen? As for the MSM, they’re only gawkers at explosions and fireballs. Otherwise they couldn’t care less.
If it helps attendance, therefore keeping tracks open and avoids track closures, I’m all for fireballs. Line ’em up, wind ’em up, and light the wick.
They show all the wrecks when they cover NASCAR too.
I agree that in the case of drag racing, any publicity at this point is a good thing. problem is that when people tune into watch an event on tv, the coverage is so dumb and painful that it’s not enjoyable to watch (maybe boring even). When you watch F1 they don’t talk about how much horsepower all the cars are added up (did anybody notice how many times they said 32000 hp during the four wide commentary?). They talk about design differences between cars and how the teams are having tire life issues with track conditions and why etc. It’s not like dragracing is so simple there isn’t anything to talk about… – rant over-