Crowds
In stark opposition to the worn-out rumor that bracket racers are a dying breed, drivers continue to pack the pits at various events nationwide. Over the last calendar year, record crowds have been recorded at the 28th Million Dollar Drag Race at World Wide Technology Raceway (774 entries), the World Footbrake Challenge XVII at Bristol Dragway (713 entries), and back-to-back sellouts for the Fall Fling events with all entries claimed in mere minutes.
[Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared in DI #190, the State of Drag Issue, in September/ October of 2024.]
To meet the growing demand, the bracket racing market has witnessed established promoters adding events to their schedules, the development of new organizations, and racetracks adjusting race payouts or prizes to attract the attention of traveling racers.
Reflecting on his involvement as a racer and Spring Fling Bracket Races promoter, Peter Biondo shares his insight on the state of bracket racing and how the sport continues to flourish.
“One reason bracket racing is growing is because competition is great for any industry,” Biondo explains. “Unless you do your job well and treat people right, you’re not going to stay in business. The bar has been raised because of a lot of great promoters and racetracks are trying harder than ever to keep up with how things have changed. [Bracket racing] has turned into a competitive industry, and that’s really good for the customers, which are the racers. Another perk is that the coverage for bracket racing is bigger and better than ever.”
Thanks to increased social media attention and live streaming services, interest in bracket racing also expands to those not physically in attendance. MotorManiaTV, a longtime leader of sportsman drag racing coverage across North America, boasts over 71,000 subscribers on its YouTube channel and features nearly 2,000 videos with over 40 million total views.
MotorManiaTV founder Mark Walter shared valuable insight into the popularity bracket racing has attracted on his platform. In 2023, each broadcast attracted an average of 45,000 views per event while accumulating an impressive 2.8 million total views throughout the race season. The statistics confirm that bracket racing can provide valuable entertainment even when the grandstands have a few empty seats.
Competition
One of the most attractive features of bracket racing is the equal opportunity this sector of the sport provides for all competitors. By momentarily oversimplifying the intricacies of bracket racing, the main objective focuses on consistency, which is not overshadowed by speed, wealth, family influence, vehicle models, paint schemes, ability to obtain sponsorship, etc.
Bracket racing is the most cost-effective introduction to drag racing because an interested person can start literally behind the wheel of their daily driver. Once a driver grasps the details of essentially a high-adrenaline math problem with the goal of low thousandths-of-a-second reaction times paired with an elapsed time mirroring their estimated dial-in, racers may certainly choose to upgrade their equipment, but it is not mandatory.
The level playing field increases the ante for many competitors. It is one of the many reasons people like Peter Biondo continue to enjoy bracket racing and encourage others to try it. He adds, “The ability to win a big purse for a minimal investment keeps it exciting, and it [bracket racing] can be learned; it doesn’t have to be in your genes. You don’t have to be 6’5” and 250 pounds to be a winner. You can go to somebody that has success that you trust, learn from them, and you can be as competitive as anybody if you put the work in.”
At any local racetrack, you may see race cars driven into the front gate parked next to toter homes, stacker trailers, and the best equipment money can buy – but the level of investment is completely up to the competitor. A 5-second tubbed S-10 can be eliminated as easily as the hand-me-down station wagon on drag radial tires. Ten-thousand-dollar purses can be claimed by a street-legal Plymouth Duster or six-figure paydays can be awarded to top-of-the-line dragster drivers. Within the realm of bracket racing, you can watch it all unfold or experience it for yourself.
ThisIsBracketRacing Elite founder and drag racer Luke Bogacki offered his outlook on the current condition of the sport.
“I think we’re in what we’ll look back on as a golden age of bracket racing,” Bogacki says. “We’re at a unique juncture where both the technology and knowledge to be successful in our game is readily available. The result is a previously unheard-of number and/or percentage of racers who show up to an event feeling, rightfully, that they’ve got as good a chance to win as anyone. Our sport, like any competitive endeavor or industry, goes through cycles; at this moment, we’re in a boom due to this simple (albeit difficult to create and perhaps harder to sustain) idea that by and large, any – or at least most, more than ever before – bracket entrants have a legitimate chance to win any race they attend.”
Camaraderie
If you have been around the sport for any length of time, it’s obvious that drag racing should be admired for its tight-knit community and one-of-a-kind atmosphere. As a staple at local racetracks across the globe, bracket racing usually creates the first experience behind the wheel, with some drivers starting as young as five years old. Unlike other organized sports, drag racing is something that you can never age out of, thus creating a lifelong passion for the vast majority of people involved. A unique bond develops between racers who grow up at the racetrack as many continue raising generation after generation centered around the high-horsepower environment.
The on-track tension is undeniable as everyone understands there are no friendships from the burnout until the finish line, but the camaraderie between competitors, crew, racetrack staff, sanctioning body employees, and even media affiliates is just as intense. No one comprehends the passion and drive behind every ambition the way a fellow racer does, just as no one else can truly empathize with the heartbreak of defeat.
When a member of the racing community is injured or ill, the entire organization bands together to ease their burdens – financially, by acts of service, or prayer. True sportsmanship is abundant, especially in the bracket racing ranks, as drivers often wait for their opponents to fix a minor issue instead of taking a competition-break win or find themselves surrounded with people willing to help change a motor, transmission, or rear-end in their pit area in between rounds of racing.
Drag racing provides a pathway for people of all ages, ethnicities, genders, skills, backgrounds, locations, social statuses, careers, and personalities to connect through a common love for the sport. If you spend enough time at racetracks, your life will certainly be enriched by the people you encounter in the driver’s seat, control towers, concession stands, starting lines, press boxes, pit crews, staging lanes, rescue squad, front gate, winner’s circle, and grandstands worldwide.
The energy is electric, and the competition is fierce, but the people you meet and become lifelong friends with are what truly make drag racing the best sport, in my opinion. And that is more than enough reason to be excited about the current state of drag racing.
This story was originally published on November 11, 2024. 
The post 25 Reasons to Be Excited About Drag Racing: No. 22 – Bracket Racing Continues to Offer Crowds, Competition and Camaraderie first appeared on Drag Illustrated.