DRO: Should AMS Staff Leasing and Dave Wood choose not to renew the sponsorship in 2005, would NHRA continue the class status quo without an outside sponsorship?

TOM COMPTON: Programs like the AMS Staff Leasing Pro Mod Exhibitions require sponsorship dollars to be successful. We have been extremely pleased with AMS Staff Leasing and the ongoing support they have provided this program. We have heard nothing but positive feedback from AMS Staff Leasing regarding their participation and return on investment in the program as it currently exists.

You don't have to read too much between the lines to understand what Tom Compton is saying. Not only does NHRA have no plans to make Pro Modified a class anytime soon, but, unlike their policy in the past, if a title rights sponsor can't be secured for the class then apparently there won't be one. Considering the disastrous season, from a financial point of view, that NHRA had in 2003, it shouldn't surprise anyone that they either are unwilling or are unable to fund the purse and television for a ten-race Pro Mod "exhibition" series.

I've done a little investigating and found that the cost of being the title rights sponsor for the NHRA Pro Mod series is a minimum of $750,000 and could easily reach a $1,000,000 per year. Dave Wood wouldn't give me an exact figure when I talked to him, but he did agree that the budget each year for his company's involvement with the NHRA Pro Mod series was in the seven-figure range. That means that NHRA will have to find a sponsor to replace him that's willing to devote that kind of funding for an "exhibition" class if there is going to be a NHRA Pro Mod class beyond 2004!

This kind of uncertainty is not healthy for the class. In fact, the statements from Compton could have devastating effects on current teams and their sponsors who have built their entire operation around the NHRA Pro Modified Series. Team owners like Dave Wood, Jim Oddy, Von Smith's owner Tommy Lipar, team owner/driver Mike Ashley, Roy Hill, Scotty Cannon/Jim Jennard and veteran NHRA racer, manufacturer and team owner Brad Anderson have made major financial commitments and attracted major sponsorship for their race teams based upon racing with the NHRA and the current Pro Mod television package.

So, the question for those Pro Mod teams and sponsors who have been supporting NHRA exclusively is, what should their long-range plans be? Should they continue to support the NHRA Pro Mod series with its superior television coverage and hope that someone steps up to the plate in 2005? Or should they start hedging their bets by supporting the IHRA even with its poor television package hoping the sanctioning body gets a better television package that will support their sponsors. Some have already planned steps back to IHRA. Owner/driver Mike Ashley, Tommy Lipar and Dave Wood and others have confirmed that they will begin competing at IHRA events this year.

So, what is the future of NHRA Pro Modified? The crystal ball is cloudy at best. The NHRA has a year to find a replacement for Dave Wood and AMS Staff Leasing for the Pro Mod class.

Jim Jennard's company, Oakley, has been rumored to be interested and there is no doubt that Mr. Jennard could afford to write a check and become the series sponsor. The fact that his friend Scotty Cannon is back in a Pro Modified and plans to run both NHRA and IHRA could be a factor. However, you have to wonder if it makes good business sense for Oakley to have a bigger presence than they already have at NHRA, and the fact that it is an "exhibition" series may not be palatable to Mr. Jennard.

My best information is that until the Pro Stock Truck lawsuit is settled there won't ever be a new Professional class. The hard fact is that as long as Pro Modified is an official exhibition series with none of the perks that an NHRA professional class offers it will be difficult to demonstrate to a corporate sponsor the value of sponsoring the series.

The upside is that the NHRA management group has a year to find a sponsor for Pro Mod; the downside is that in reality that Pro Mod as an exhibition class doesn't have a lot of value for them to promote. As for NHRA's Pro Mod racers, they have no control of their destiny. They have a ten-race series with an excellent television package so they will be able to service the sponsors they have this year. But beyond the 2004 season no one knows for certain what is in store for NHRA Pro Modified.

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