Fans at New England Dragway share their signs supporting Drag Race Bracket Bonanza. (Photo: Courtesy Elon Werner)
By Terrill Covey
KENT, Wash. — The NHRA season kicks back into gear after a two week hiatus this weekend with the Northwest Nationals, and with it the Drag Race Bracket Bonanza will also return as fans look to compete against one another for prizes in the NHRA fantasy game that is taking the sport by storm in its first full season.
Bracket Bonanza creator Elon Werner said what started as an idea in the back of his mind has grown into a competitive fantasy game has not only given NHRA fans a fun way to engage more deeply with the sport, but also given non-fans a fun way to get into the sport.
“It’s an idea I’ve had for a couple of years now, but finally got started last year at Indy,” Warner said. “We’ve seen growth race over race. We’ve had winners from all over the country, British Columbia, Germany. We have players playing all over the world, so that’s been wild to see the growth all over the world, and at the race track, where I try to go out and talk to fans about it, and more and more people are saying, ‘Oh, I’ve heard of that.’ Or “I’m already playing!’”
The way the Drag Race Bracket Bonanza is set up, after Saturday qualifying every race weekend, fans can go onto their account and fill out brackets for whatever pro classes are competing during the weekend (it will be Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle this weekend at Pacific Raceways.) There are winners for each category, as well as an overall winner each race weekend, and the event winners sign a plaque and is awarded to those winners – a special, one of a kind award, Werner said sets the Drag Racing Bracket Bonanza apart from other fantasy sports.
“One of the interesting parts has been getting it into people’s mindset that this is part of the race weekend,” Werner said. “We have a pretty tight window between when qualifying ends on Saturday night and racing starts on Sunday morning.”
Bracket idea stems from March Madness
Werner said the idea came from seeing people’s passion for filling out NCAA basketball brackets during March Madness every year. He worried, however, players might get “bracket fatigue” over the course of the 21 race season. So he found some creative ways to allow players to compete for the entire season, or just for select events.
“We are giving a big prize for the person who does it 21 times and wins, but we also are chopping it up some,” he said. “We did a 4-wide challenge for the Four Wide races, and we did some trophies for that. We still have one going on right now that is for the majors, which are the Gator Nationals, The Winter Nationals and the upcoming US Nationals. We’ll combine those points and have a winner. And we still have the countdown, which is the last six races of the season. We do championship belts for the top three finishers, and prizes. We want to encourage people to play in short bursts, or the whole season.”
The response from fans has been overwhelmingly positive, but fans are not alone in engaging with Drag Racing Bracket Bonanza. Drivers have also supported it, whether by publicly engaging, signing the plaques for winners, or jumping on to play themselves. Even sponsors have jumped into the game, with Peak supporting the Chicago race, and Summit on board at Norwalk, to add to the prizes.
“We are doing some fun things at the track, and the drivers have been great. Participating and interacting on social media,” Werner said. “That’s been the biggest driving force, I think. We post pictures of the winners, and we do bracket busters when there is an upset. You’ll see drivers online saying, ‘Sorry I busted your bracket,’ and things like that.”
Fans pose with signs celebrating the Drag Race Bracket Bonanza NHRA fantasy sports game. (Photo: Werner Games + Entertainment)
Bracket Bonanza part of NHRA’s gaming evolution
Werner said he is thrilled with the response so far, but he is not satisfied, and wants to keep growing and improving the game.
“It’s been a great deal for our fans,” he said. “It’s something the NHRA needed. Now that we have playNHRA and gaming is coming in to drag racing, it will be a nice 1-2 punch with the fantasy element and with the gaming (that started) in Bristol. We’re going to keep making it better, and keep adding stats. All year we’re going to keep improving. And we are going to try to make it even better in 2025.”
How have they made it better so far? By listening to fan feedback. Last year’s trial run, which ran from the US Nationals in Indianapolis, through the end of the season, allowed fans to get acclimated to the game, and Werner said there was a poll sent out to participants asking for feedback.
The feedback resulted in several changes for this season, including having driver photos on the ladders, having a “randomizer” option where if a player isn’t sure who to pick, they can just randomize and the bracket will be filled out randomly, statistics and inside information to support players making their picks and several other additions. Most importantly, according to Werner, was the addition of leagues where people can play with family or friends.
“(Leagues were) one of the biggest things when we polled players,” he said. “They wanted leagues. That’s something that fans can do themselves and they can crown a league champion. That’s been cool to see how those have come together. But again, it gives people the opportunity to engage however they want to.”
Of course a fun game is great for fans of the sport, but Werner points out that it has also been a boon to the NHRA, as many people have either become more engaged fans, or have found the NHRA through filling out brackets with friends.
“That was the biggest thing for me,” he said. “I always want it to be free, and we wanted it to help people who are hardcore fans introduce the sport to non-hardcore fans. People who were casual fans are becoming bigger fans, and people who were never fans are becoming fans.”
For all of his excitement about Drag Race Bracket Bonanza, Werner admits that he has not had the best of luck filling out his brackets. This just shows how unpredictable the NRHA ladders are on any given weekend, which is part of the fun, he says.
“It’s funny, but I am terrible at it,” Werner said. “I’m just as bad as I am at the college basketball (brackets). I consistently finish 700th or 800th. Every now and then I’ll crack the top 300. I’m just not good. But I love doing it, and I love hearing people talk about it.”
Austin Tasca, son of Funny Car driver Bob Tasca poses with Drag Race Bracket Bonanza founder Elon Werner and the trophy he won for finishing third in the 4-wide race competition. (Photo: Werner Games + Entertainment)
Buzz is growing as more fans engage with Bracket Bonanza
People are talking about it more and more. As we approach the one year anniversary of Drag Race Bracket Bonanza in Indianapolis, Werner said he hopes to see it grow, and maybe even be picked up by one of the big online gambling platforms like Draft Kings, MGM Grand or Fan Duel. For now, however, he is thrilled with the growth and engagement, and he said he believes it is giving fans a fun outlet, while also helping to grow drag racing.
“Seeing the fans get involved and be excited about it, is really great,” he said. “You’ll have some people come up and say, ‘Hey, I play with my dad.’ Or ‘Our family has a league.’ So, seeing it bring people together around drag racing and the NHRA is really cool. People now have more skin in the game, they are even more invested. They are watching on TV. They are tracking their brackets, and they care about every race in every round. It makes it so much more fun and so much more engaging.”
