With Terry Blount eager to listen, learn, and improve NHRA drag racing's image throughout various media platforms in his newly appointed role as the sanctioning body's Vice President of Public Relations and Communications, the sport already is refreshed and strengthened.

Part of his challenge is inheriting not just a task neglected but a public that needs some direction, as well.

As Top Fuel veteran Larry Dixon pointed out, "The three sports that were the most popular in our country at one time were bowling, horse racing, and boxing. They're not the top three anymore. People's lives change. Things are different. And I think it’s our responsibility as a sport to stay up to date."

When Wally Parks organized the NHRA in postwar Southern California, America's car culture, its hot-rod culture, was at its zenith. Paradigms have changed, and an automobile isn't necessarily a teenager's signature or identity like it was in the 1950s.

Since at least 2010, articles have popped up in USA Today, the Washington Post, and other credible publications, reporting an increasing number of teens are delaying obtaining their drivers licenses. Evidently they no longer consider that a rite of passage into adulthood. They cite a variety of reasons, including inability to afford a car or insurance, being too busy, biking or walking most places, and riding with others. Whatever the factors, it's a fact.

However, Dixon said he still thinks a strong core of potential fans is ripe for the inviting.

"Maybe it doesn’t cross over as much as it once did. But there are people who care about cars and racing. Look at all the car shows on Discovery network, and they're viewed. They've got ratings. So there's people interested in cars. It's about attracting those people," he said.

The $64,000 question, he said, is simple: "What do we have to do?"

He didn’t draw up a list of suggestions, rather shared some of his observations.

"I'm not involved on the marketing and the promotion side of things, but there are people who are interested in cars that move the needle. So what do we need to do to ride that wave? What do we have to do?

"I don’t know what that is. In my little world, I'm trying to do the best job that I can."

Referring to his airborne accident this March at Gainesville, Fla., that was so frightening it attracted the attention of every major news outlet, Dixon indicated he had the unplanned chance to serve as the sport's ambassador.

"Unfortunately I got an opportunity to speak to a lot of people this year on a lot of different shows. And you’re trying to let people know that no, I'm not a thrill-seeker, that this is a sport, and when done properly, you can go through an accident like I did and step out of the car and be OK and have the right mindset to get back in the car because the car's going to take care of you," he said.

"So I don’t know what to do to help the popularity any more than that," Dixon said, "but I know there's people out there that would love our sport and love our show if they were shown it, introduced to it."

He said he understands wrecks happen and that, for psychological reasons well beyond his ability to explain, some individuals are drawn to the possibility of a spectacular crash.

"It happens. There are some people who come to see that. There are some people who come to the race to see if I'm going to fly again. I hope I don’t, but I hope they have a good time while they're here – while I'm not flying," Dixon said.

Newspapers (which are undergoing their own set of survival crises) and other media outlets have cut back considerably on their coverage of Mello Yello Drag Racing Series events. Recapturing that attention is an especially complex task. Convincing decision-makers who never gave the NHRA any attention anyway remains even more difficult.

For example, New Jersey's Newark Star-Ledger, which faithfully had given the Englishtown national event an incredibly strong presence every year for more than a decade, at least, waived coverage this June. The "new" sports editor, a former advocate of coverage, cited online viewer metrics, none of which he shared. On the West Coast, the sports editor of a major metropolitan daily newspaper was less than thrilled at an invitation to attend a national event, replying with a telling "Eeeeuu!" Even the Indianapolis Star, hometown newspaper for the historic U.S. Nationals, has given less than proper attention to the NHRA's marquee event in the past 30 years.   

So Blount has his work cut out for him, and he knows that. He also has a forceful and persuasive case ready to share with open-minded editors.   

Dixon said the on-board media are in the same position as racers chasing sponsorship. During his idle time from a full-year driving assignment, he learned to ask questions when his proposal was rejected. He would respond with "Are you not interested because it’s me and what I've done in my career? Or are you not interested in motorsports? Or are you not interested in our sport? I need that information so I know, so I'm further educated so when I go to try and sell I try to do a better job of selling."

Drag-racing fans hope Blount won’t have to ask that question too often.

Dixon, speaking long before Peter Clifford replaced Tom Compton as NHRA President and Blount was hired to reach out to the media, raised a relevant point regarding some NHRA decisions and the impact they've had on attendance and television ratings. The two items he chose were the Countdown and the Four-Wide Nationals.

"When they changed the format so you have a playoff and bunch everybody up – because other championship runs, whether it was mine or [Tony] Schumacher's or somebody else's, made it boring. Well, that's not my fault," he said. "I'm being rewarded for that, for being a great racer. That's what I'm supposed to do, try to win every event. And you try to do that, and people say it’s boring. [Then, taking on a generic NHRA official's role, he said,] 'So I'm going to take all your points away and stack you all up tight.' That's fine, but don't say I've made it boring. That's the greatest compliment you could give me for a championship, that we went out there and dominated. That's not my fault."

Not offering any statistics to push one viewpoint or another, Dixon suggested that the NHRA (like any corporation making profound changes) needs to assess if the move was effective.

"You have to look after three or four years: Did that increase attendance and TV ratings? You have to look at the data on that," Dixon said. "It's no different than racing four-wide.  Did that race double the attendance and double ratings and double the sponsorship? It should if it's a successful idea. If it’s not, then it's like, 'You know what? It didn’t work. We've got to do something else. We've got to try something else.' "

But Dixon – and his fellow racers – are not responsible for putting fans in the grandstands. That isn’t what they are paid to do.

"I'm not steering the ship. I'm just one of the oars in the water," Dixon said. "I can just row as fast as the guy's steering."