Drag Racing Research Paper

Drag Racing
Rebeccah Morris
Colorado Technical University
Individual Project Phase 2
September 2, 2013

Abstract
For this project I chose the sport of drag racing. I could have chosen one that is so familiar to everyone, but I don’t know a lot about those. Drag racing is a sport that my entire family enjoys and you would think that we would be NASCAR fans because of it, but we’re not. They are two totally different sports. There is nothing like standing at the starting line, feeling the rumble of those powerful engines, the anticipation building as they rev their engine and the tree goes from red, orange, yellow to green, at that very second it’s like your heart stops beating and a primal roar escapes from your mouth and you are holding
(Chaucer, 1400) Henry Ford introduced the automobile to the masses with his less expensive vehicles built on an assembly line. It wasn’t long before human nature of competition began to stir in hearts. Wherever there was a place to race, heads up, you would find a group of people laying pink slips down. Dry lake beds and two lane strips of roadway were the first places to find these non-sanctioned events that were illegal, but spreading across the country. As the fan base grew, rules and regulations began developing that have led to the NHRA or National Hot Rod Association that we know today. In 1950, a man named C.J. Hart was able to open the first official drag strip for racing. Soon people saw the opportunity to race in safer and well-timed events the sport of drag racing was truly
NASCAR
Drag racing provides a better marketing platform to reach a younger, more diverse audience that is also more likely to have children and/or teenagers in the household | NASCAR fan | Drag racing fan | Index | Male | 64.2% | 75.1% | 117 | Age | 47.26 | 44.69 | 106 | Age 18-24 | 9.9% | 12.6% | 127 | Age 18-34 | 25.8% | 29.1% | 113 | African-American | 6.6% | 9.1% | 138 | Hispanic | 8.4% | 10.4% | 124 | Asian or other | 3.9% | 4.7% | 121 | Children (1 or more) | 38.3% | 39.9% | 104 | Teenager (1 or more) | 19.1% | 20.4% | 107 |

Race * A rich history of diverse fans makes drag racing the envy of other motorsports sanctioning bodies * Drag racing fans are more likely to be Hispanic or African-American than NASCAR and Indy Car fans * African-American * 38% more likely than NASCAR * 25% more likely than Indy Car * Hispanic * 24% more likely than NASCAR * 13% more likely than Indy Car * Drag racing events are contested in 7 of the 8 most populated Hispanic DMAs in the United States
Source: Scarborough Research 2010 (Fan = very or somewhat