I recently attended my first drag race. I have attended a number of Nascar races and some short track car races but this was my first drag race at a track only doing that. I understand the race from the drivers point of view just fine and how you win and all that. Here is what I don’t understand–the spectators.
I go in and the only place to sit is near the STARTING gate. Yes it is some fun to see them rev up and take off BUT no one seems to care or want to see the FINISH line of this race, nor is there any big screen TV showing the finish, just some guy comes on the PA system and tells us who won! WTF???
I can’t imagine going to a car race or a horse race and not caring to see the finish line crossed. All people would want to see is the pace car start the NASCAR race and then just let some guy on a speaker tell you who won??? Imagine doing the Kentucky Derby like that too, in fact I have been to horse races where you cannot even see the starting gate, it’s on the far side of the track, and no one seems to care.
But I do care to see the FINISH line, please. Why is this done, why is it accepted, and are there drag tracks where you can properly view the finish line? I started looking at U-tube and I seem to see many videos of only the start of the drag race and the end is invisible. Why don’t spectators want to see the finish line??? Or at least have bleachers on each end so one could choose?
I think it has to do with the race being decided at the start. The finish just confirms it, and it really isn’t that far away. The start is where you get the loudest noises and most burning rubber. The finish line gets a pretty parachute.
It’s the feeling that one gets from the 9,000 horsepower, unmuffled engines as they launch that tiny vehicle down the track. You need ear protection and full body armor. If you’ve never experienced the trauma of a dragster launching, you can’t imagine what it’s like.
Hmmm…don’t know about that, I see plenty videos where one car breaks down, or scrapes the wall, blows a tire, and on and on, and the other car then wins, regardless of who started first. Any parachutes would be after the finish line, and yes I can’t see that part now either in the present system. There could be additional excitement if a parachute did not deploy, too.
At least put a stand up near finish for those of us who do want to see the RACE part, too. I can’t imagine how that didn’t happen right from the start of drag racing, no one thought anyone would want to be at the finish line, yet they do in every other kind of racing???
Yes I get that the start is indeed interesting to watch, I’d like to be able to visit both areas in a race in fact.
You know that people go to the races to see the cars rev up and launch. Horses don’t have huge, loud rockets strapped to their saddles that shoot them out of the gate. What more are you looking for?
I’m pretty sure it’s more dangerous to be at the finish line too. At the start the cars are normally OK going in a straight line. After the start they can veer off due to a problem and that could mean they head towards the stands.
How much time is there between each race? At the finish line you’d sit around for a few minutes with nothing to see, Then two cars would race past you in three seconds, and then a few more minutes of nothing. At the start, you can watch the burnouts and get a good look at each car. And I think the scoreboards show the winner instantly, so the crowd at the start isn’t kept in the dark. Sometimes the races are too close to judge by eye, anyway.
The one time I went to the drags I walked down the track to near the finishing line. Having a top fuel car come past you at 300mph plus is mind boggling. I was amazed that no one at all besides me tried it, out of a crowd of thousands. I can understand that most of the action is at the start but it did surprise me that no one else checked out the fast end, at all.
Well Robot, that is exactly what happens at Charlotte, cars race past really fast and you don’t see them again for a while, and the fans seem to keep coming back.
Princhester, thank you, there do exist people who want to see the actual race, me too.
I don’t want to remove the bleacher at the start, just add one at the end and I bet it would get very popular quickly. Does anyone know if any drag strip was indeed smart enough to do that already? Why at least are there no big screen TV’s showing the finish line, that really never occurs to anyone running a race? That is what seems so incredible to me. Like no one has ever thought anyone cares or wants to see who wins??
Hmmm. I’ve been to a couple of NHRA events at Pomona, California, and always sat near the start line. However, I thought I remembered there being a grandstand down near the finish line.
The current Google Maps photo of the place appears to have been taken during an NHRA event, coincidentally - the grandstands appear full and there is clearly something going on. However, the grandstand near the finish line seems to be empty, in fact filled with Auto Club sponsorship banners covering the seats.
(Recall that there are two “finish lines” in modern NHRA racing: The nitromethane burning cars race to 1,000 feet while everybody else still goes a quarter mile.)
Brad, thanks, yes there is a well designed track here where one can view what ever part of the race they like, and as for the banners, obviously they reserved those seats and did those before the race not during. Also for the banners to be seen they would not put them where no one would be, proof they expect people at the finish area of this well designed track so they would see these banners.
There’s nothing wrong with being mid-track either and watching both parts pretty well, but I could not even do that where I was. We were allowed only to see the start without even a TV picture of the finish line, that is just crazy. If I want someone just telling me who won, I will listen on the radio. If I attend, I want to see!
I’ve never been to drag race without having a pit pass. I’ve never had to choose an assigned seat. I usually spend most of my time at around the 1/2 way point, but I spend a fair bit of time at the starting point. The feeling of the cars going by alone is worth the price of admission.
The finish line just isn’t as exciting. And if there’s going to be a crash, I don’t want to be there anyway. But then not having assigned seats we were usually standing up against the fence that divided the spectators from the race track.
Our regular racetrack had pretty decent seating, I think for the spectators. I believe they could see the whole track. It’s been a while since I’ve gone. I miss it. I need to take my kid.
You know one other thing I like at regular races is a scanner and hearing the drivers and issues, do drag racers have radios and use them? I was far enough away I could not see antennas and didn’t bring scanner thinking they don’t since the race is so short. Anyone know?