Regardless of what the show is, it is entertainment. Us Fire guys did the same thing to Chicago Fire when it came out. It is what it is. On the plus side, it has my little guys attention, as well as my friends kids. My 11 year old is asking questions, interested in watching, and coming out to the garage to see what is going on. That is worth it.
I agree. It helps the next generation get interested. Even my 3 yr old daughter seems to like it. Saying "cool cars like daddy's" .
I like that Big Chief runs a Pontiac motor rather than Chevy. With new Buick block there is no reason a Buick powered car couldn't compete. Also don't forget there were 7sec GNs that roamed the streets. Actually probably good for street racing due to lightweigt motor and not as hard an initial hit off the line.
When Chief was planning out the turbo for the crow http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=681229&highlight=brandx I found the tom guy quite informative but I'm only on page 2
Thanks for posting that, it was a neat read. And I think the crow looks pretty slick with its new paint job! (Although I'm not sure the nickname fits anymore)
i think big chief and some of them will be racing in Memphis Tennessee march the 26 - 28th at the Memphis motorsport park I might just have to go and check I out:bglasses:
[h=1]NHRA Sent this letter to the Street Outlaws: Street Outlaws Big Chief & Murder Nova Talk Notorious NHRA Letter[/h]By Wes Buck | <time class="post-date" itemprop="datePublished" datetime="2015-02-19" pubdate="" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline;">February 19, 2015</time> [COLOR=#777777 !important]3[/COLOR] If nothing else, its proof that street racing will always have consequences, says Justin Big Chief Shearer, star of Discovery Channels highly popular and equally controversial reality show Street Outlaws, in response to a letter several cast members received from the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) notifying them that any further participation in a show that glorifies illegal street racing a direct violation of NHRAs member code of conduct and overall mission would result in the revocation of their respective competition licenses.Shearer, finding some validation in the letter, which actually was sent to his close friend and co-star Shawn Murder Nova Ellington, as he isnt personally a NHRA competition license holder or member, quickly snapped a photo and posted it to his personal Facebook profile page. The reaction from friends and fans was explosive to say the least. Comments and messages in support of the celebrity street racer quickly escalated into an all-out assault on NHRAwithin 12 hours innumerable memes had circulated social media networks, along with the creation of an NHRA Sucks Facebook fan page (with 3,200 members at the moment).It wasnt necessarily the reaction Shearer was looking for, but he certainly wasnt surprised by the outrage.When I posted the letter on the Internet it wasnt a shot at the NHRA, he explains. I didnt talk any smack on them; I didnt have anything negative to say about them in my post. All I was doing was warning guysmainly the ones begging to be on the show, trying to get on the show or have already been on the show that dont street race and wont street race illegallythat street racing has consequences. No matter if its on our show, in real life, in the middle of the night, in front of your houseit doesnt matterstreet racing will always have consequences and you have to be okay with that to do it.The point of my post was to let people that are trying to cross overtrying to get some publicity or because they think its easyknow that once you do it; you might not be able to go back.For Shearer, the idea that he and the shows other cast members could be banned from NHRA competition and NHRA-sanctioned tracks is abundantly bothersome, but not reason enough to throw in the towel on a television series in the midst of filming its fifth season that has thrust him and his admittedly blue-collar friends into bona fide stardom.So be it, Ellington says. Im not about to allow NHRA to tell me what I can do, where I can race or where I cant. I dont let my wife tell me where I can race, so Im sure as hell not going to let NHRA tell me.Shearer shares the sentiment, but doesnt gloss over the reality of the situation and the repercussions of moving forward in the face of NHRAs obvious disapproval.Man, honestly, its hard for us, the Mustang, Oklahoma, native says. I dont really know how to put it. I can respect whats in the letter, and I understand whats in the letter. I understand their position against what were doing. Id say theres probably three-million people that feel the same way NHRA doesthey tell us about it all the time on the Internetbut theyre not trying to prevent us from making money or racing at certain places. NHRA is not only voicing their opinion, theyre issuing an ultimatum. I have a feeling that its only going to get worse, and theyre going to do things that are irreversible.So many of the Street Outlaws guys are trying to pay their bills and make a living by visiting NHRA tracks, selling merchandise, meeting fans and doing this whole deal because, truth be told, its not like the show pays that well, Shearer continues. Now, NHRA is going to strip us and several of these track owners the opportunity to take advantage of the buzz and excitement the show has created and pack a place full of people, tracks that have never seen six or seven-thousand people. Thats the fallout; thats the part that people might not understand.The fanfare of Street Outlaws cannot be ignored. Shearer and Ellington readily admit that given adequate weather they could easily book appearances at tracks and events year round. According to Discovery Channel Senior Publicist Jackie Lamaj, Street Outlaws was January 2015s top cable program on Monday nights amongst males 25-54, 18-49 and 18-34 (excluding sports) and is averaging 1.7 million viewers in the 25-54 age group.Its not all bad, though, Shearer quips, letting a little of his beloved Big Chief persona shine through. This whole deal should weed out a little bit of the 900-million guys in the country who have never raced on the street, but now all of a sudden want to be on Street Outlaws so they can get some exposure and chase sponsors. Hopefully, this will curtail a little bit of that because it doesnt look like theyd be welcomed back to the tracks they were racing at before. Not to mention, next weeks episode is probably going to pull insane ratings.In reality, its that kind of brash bravado and anti-establishment attitude that has turned Street Outlaws into a legitimate hit. The same way Big Chief and Murder Nova risk life, limb and state-issued license competing for the top spot on The List, theyll happily sacrifice the right to race at NHRA-sanctioned facilities.Thats the whole reason we got the damn show, Shearer stresses. Were not like everybody else when it comes to this kind of ****. Were not some old NHRA racers that couldnt imagine life without our NHRA licenses. We dont care. Look at the response from our fans; they went crazy over this. Maybe were stupidwe probably arebut were not going to just fall into line because of a scary letter.When asked if they thought a publicly issued statement or some other course of action from NHRA could have prevented the Internet outrage, Shearer admitted he didnt think anyone really handled the situation exactly right.I dont really know what the best way to handle the deal would have been, he says. I feel like they could have done it a totally different way, but I didnt have to put the f*$%&@^# letter on Facebook, either. Personally, I dont think anyone was under the impression that NHRA was in any way endorsing what were doing, but I get it.Without question the illegal street-racing premise of Street Outlaws doesnt come remotely close to falling in line with NHRAs stated objective of keeping racers off the street and on the track, yet Shearer isnt convinced that what he and the show represents is the black eye on the sport of drag racing that some people believe it is.I dont think what we do is a black eye per se, he says. Everybody is worried that were going to corrupt the kids watching the show or whatever. Well, my kids watch the show; I know everybodys kids that I hang out with watch the show and those kids range from 3 to 10, 12, whatever, and theyre more into drag racing right now than ever. Before the show, they might have known dad had a race car, but now that its on TV and its a big deal, well, they want to go to the track every weekend, theyre into it, they care because theyve got favorites and theyve got someone they can root for.But NHRA doesnt like street racing, and thats fine, Shearer concludes with a chuckle. Like I said, street racing has consequences; always has, always will
I think its funny when the NHRA thinks they can bullie you when there is other tracks they can attend I personally think its about time that the NHRA gets hit in the nuts, damn, just think about this for a second, which is cheaper ? Three days at a NMCA EVENT OR A SINGLE DAY AT NHRA WITHOUT PIT PASSES? Here is a news flash for you, NHRA event cost roughly $45-55 without pit pass for one day, now the NMCA cost me $45.00 for three days and I could go any where i wanted to. I know this because back in 1995 I went to the NMCA world finals in memphis and not even a month later we tried to go to a NHRA event at mid-michigan but for the price, screw that.. I rather go to Norwalk, ohio for Halloween fest and stay there and have a blas for a week Sincerely Gary M.
Gary, You and I dont agree on many things around here lately, but I do agree with you on that point. I too personally enjoy NMCA racing much more, and these guys seem well suited for it. And it is a better "bang for the buck" in my opinion. NHRA is struggling right now with attendance and ratings, they've said so themselves. Heck, Ford and Castrol, who have been sponsors of the biggest star in the sport for years just pulled out. Whats that say? I completely understand them not being happy with the glorification of street racing, and taking a stand is very responsible on their part. BUT people need to get past the made for tv hype and realize these races are taking place on a closed road. There are always ambulances/medics on sight. This isnt your typical "anytown USA" streetrace. Does it promote that type of racing? I suppose it does. Not so different than one could argue Breaking Bad promoted making meth, Sons of Anarchy promoted violent biker gangs, and UFC promotes fighting. Its meant as made for tv entertainment. Have we, as a population, gotten so dense we cant differentiate from that? Come on, its common sense. IMHO, the best thing they can do is try to use it as a positive spin. These guys will bring people to the tracks, and the NHRA isnt gonna have many tracks to sanction when they fold. I say find a way to use it to an advantage instead of trying to throw there (diminishing) weight around without making people want to go out and race on every back road in the county. Would that be difficult to do? Probably. Is it do-able? Probably. We seen bigger PR stunts work, just gotta get creative. Just my 2 cents. Not advocating street racing by any means, but Im not so sure the NHRA is going about it right either. Perhaps there really is no easy solution. o No:
Probably not helping themselves buy charging an arm and a leg. I think to get into the Summer Nationals here at Englishtowns RaceWay Park is like 90 bucks a head!!!* That's insane!!!!*
I agree with this on ALL entertainment levels. By entertainment I mean racing, pro sports of all kinds, TV, movies, etc., etc. It's getting out of hand what some of them earn and the cost for us to view these "events". Look at the super bowl. I heard somewhere that AVERAGE ticket prices this year were around $3000 and UP! Some reported average prices as high as $9000! PER TICKET! That's INSANE in my opinion. Are we that starved for entertainment?.......... I'm not. I've been a proud member of the NHRA for decades, but lately they've gone over the edge with some things...... cost being one of them. Plus they certainly don't make things easy for members. For me to hold my TS license I need a physical with a printed out EKG and of course the money to go along with it. That's all after taking the drivers test, the blindfold test, and making passes while being observed. That's the easy part.... then comes getting my car certified. The closest place for me to go is Chicago to have it certified. That's if I can ever get in touch with the guy doing the certifying. Then make an appointment only to have them cancel at the last minute! It goes on and on. I'm just saying.... the way they conduct business is not user friendly..... which it could be. Once I sell my car I'll not continue my affiliation with NHRA. If I keep racing I'll run something slower to avoid all the "Hoopla". (and COST) Steve
I just went to Ducks race in Cecil. Lights Out radial event. Met the SO guys there. Cool dudes. Show may be staged but the cars are bad assed race cars that will hook and go on the street. They have them scienced out for sure.
Oh, and Lights Out was absolutely packed with cars and spectators. Scotty G was there too. This was tit for tat for fun with the Gators, though admittedly the cars are impressive but not Top Fuel impressive.
If NHRA is going to ban anyone who street races, then there are a lot of guys who will get banned. If NHRA wants to fill the bleachers, they need to get more racers to the track. Payouts need to be better and, on then other end, they need to make coming to the track affordable for families-----not just wealthy families. They can charge 10 people $50 each or 50 people $10 each. Which one do you think will be the best for concessions, T-shirts, etc.? And I agree that the price of admission to sporting events has kept way too many families away. Then, at most venues, you have to pay to park your car. And, I'm sure the price of that goes up come event days/nights.
Just think now guys, Milan and so many more tracks are holding No ET races and a lot of them are holding grudge matches too. I just looked in youtube for grudge racing and seen some races was at $30G for a single drag race, man even at milan no et, every driver can make $500 or more depending on your gamble. That's better then NHRA and being eliminated in the first round A friend of mine made over $10g at the no et events ( ten g made through out the yr not everytime at the track.) and he is a 9 second street car I know several Buick's in here with exhaust out back can really upset some of the cars there
