I see several benefits that APBA (and other national or world associations across the globe) bring to this sport. One is standardization and the other is continuity. Establishing a nation-wide set of classes gives greater chance for growth over a larger region - new racers then feel secure in purchasing equipment.
In contrast, when you have multiple organizations making their own rules, you are going to see that wider interest dissolve. I've seen it happen with OB drag racing and other classes that became "regionalized".
But to me, the most important thing a large organization produces is the pooling of safety information. When 100 experienced heads gather to analyze safety, the progress toward safety is accelerated. Being progressive is these areas the only way to see a sport survive in the long term, especially in our modern times where dying while participating in a sport is no longer as accepted as it used to be.
The other tasks that a national organization can produce are taking care of the organizational and administrational duties to produce a real "National" tally.
Marketing the event is a whole other matter. Each race promoter has to attack the marketing job on their own.
Some races need fans. Other races could not care less.
And each race has to decide what kind of race they want: #1 Do they want an income producing event so they can pay their officials some cash and thus, run a tight (and often not-so-fun-for-the-racers) show? #2 Or do they want to focus on the comfort of the racers, and not primarily the comfort (enjoyment) of the fans, and rely on volunteers? Either type of event is fine, and you will find plenty of both type of racers - as long as you have the volunteer resources to continue to produce an event like #2.
I think each racer has to decide what kind of racer he wants to be- or what kind of sport he wants to join. The people conducting the races need to choose what the goals of the events are. Then, each race committee needs to make sure the racers know what kind of performance they are expected to give -- long BEFORE the action begins.
Too often I've seen racers go into shock after they've been fined for holding up the show. They become furious, but only because they don't see the reasoning behind the rules. They don't hear the negative reaction from the crowd - or perhaps don't see it as detrimental to the sport. They are being shortsighted, but still this can cause animosity among their peers.
But if the committee or series has racers sign a contract with all the details about what is what is expected, they should be prepared for some "tough love". That way, if they don't agree with the goals from the start, they can move on and go compete in a different kind of racing.
Anyway - that's just my opinion, and comes from the years involved in this sport, and the years volunteering for "both" kinds of racing.
Just something to think about.
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