WHEN YOU'RE HOT, YOU'RE HOT

Although we may occasionally decry the television ratings for drag racing, the Agent wants to put things in perspective. Seems as though the current National Hockey League strike (What! You hadn't noticed?) has caused ESPN and ESPN2 to air World Series of Poker reruns -- and they have higher ratings (0.6) than the live NHL games did last year (0.4).

Luckily, DRO's goalie, Ian Tocher, hasn't figured out the strategy for Texas Hold'Em, but if the NHL strike goes on much longer, he could be trouble at the DRO Saturday night poker games. [11-5-2004]

NEWS AND NOTES FROM THE AMS PRO MOD BANQUET

While there was a decided lack of official news concerning the proposed 2005 AMS/Tommy Lipar Racing Pro Mod exhibition series at the 2004 Championship banquet held in Las Vegas, there were some very interesting "unofficial" statements that came from the podium and the series’ frontman, Kenny Nowling. Perhaps most interesting was that, should the series actually happen, the points champion would get a $50,000 bonus at the end of the year but that in order to get that money the winner would probably run a 16-race schedule that would include 10 races at NHRA national rvents, four 1/8th mile races that would be sanctioned by Kenny Nowling’s new American Drag Racing League, and a couple at NHRA sportsman races.

It was also made clear that the proposed new rules would penalize any cars with Pro Stock-style bodies, would give some of the supercharged combinations a 100-lb. weight break and all supercharged cars additional  overdrive. It was also made clear that nitrous

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cars could run any motor combination they wanted. The proposed rule changes didn’t sit well with the nitrous racers at the event and one nitrous racer actually got up and left the room after hearing about the rule changes.

With racers still anxiously awaiting official word that an agreement has been reached so they know what changes need to be made to their cars for next year, the situation with the Pro Mod exhibition series and the NHRA may be resolved as soon as today. Supposedly, the big hurdle is that NHRA is loathe to have the Pro Mods look in anyway like a new professional class, which may be the reason that four races at tracks that may or may not have an NHRA sanction supposedly are being added to the schedule. If the Pro Mod "exhibition" series is being held on non-NHRA sanctioned tracks then it couldn’t be a new NHRA class, could it? [11-3-2004]

MORE SPORTSNATIONALS RACES FOR NHRA IN 2005?

The Agent talked to several NHRA sources that indicated that the sanctioning body was trying very hard to add a second "Sportsnationals" style race to the 2005 schedule. The Agent confirmed that the race at Louisiana’s No Problem Raceway would return and that a second "National event" for sportsman was being sought with possible locations including Bowling Green, Kentucky or even Indianapolis Raceway Park.

One interesting item the Agent heard from several reliable sources was that if or when NHRA signs the Pro Mod deal, two of the races on the schedule would be run at the Sportsman National events. [11-3-2004]