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It took him a while, but he's wondering
again
12/16/04
 Just
Wondering . . . Am I the only one who can't understand the
concept of a 250-inch dragster with a 615 engine between the rails
that's capable of seven-flat elapsed times competing in 8.90 bracket
classes? What next, fuel cars with throttle stops running at the
B&M Series?
Just Wondering . . . How former
drivers like Don Prudhomme, Connie Kalitta, Raymond Beadle, Bob
Glidden, Bill Jenkins, Richard Tharp, and others would have reacted
in their day if they were subjected to the political correctness
and sanitized behavior that some teams and the current NHRA administration
require from today's drivers? I'll bet their responses wouldn't
have been politically correct or even printable by today's uptight
standards. Brother, there are times when I really do miss the "good
ol' days."
Just Wondering . . . Instead of
having 8.90/9.90/10.90 brackets at NHRA and IHRA, which were originally
designed to promote heads-up classes and have degenerated into something
no average National event race fan relates to or understands, isn't
it time that NHRA and IHRA developed new classes for those racers?
Send me your suggestions.
Just Wondering . . . Is it just
a matter of time before NHRA starts having National events without
any Sportsman classes below Alky Funny and Alky Dragster invited?
I think the return of the Sportsnationals and especially the rumored
Sportsnationals race at Columbus on the same weekend as the Sonoma
race is a sign of what's coming.
Just Wondering . . . Since NHRA
seems dead-set against making any new professional classes and since
NHRA is going to have Pro Mods as the
marquee attraction at two "Sportsnationals" races in 2005,
could NHRA be thinking of adding heads-up Pro Mods as a new Sportsman
class to
complement the Alky Funny and Alky Dragster classes?
Just Wondering . . . Do race fans
really relate to and connect with
squeaky-clean, "Ken and Barbie" politically correct drivers/spokesmen
or are they looking for someone they can relate to and would got
to the corner bar and have a beer with?
Just Wondering . . . Am I the
only one who thinks 16-car fields in NHRA and IHRA competition are
way overrated? I for one am tired of even the occasional meaningless
qualifying session for NHRA fuel classes where just tripping the
beams gets a car qualified. As a racer and fan I enjoy a good two
days of serious qualifying and bumping much more than I do watching
18 teams trying to get into 16 spots. I just have three words for
those kinds of qualifying sessions: Boring, Lame, and Predictable!
And one more thing -- having eight-car fields means no more singles
in Fuel classes on Sunday. Ever!
Just Wondering . . . Why doesn't
the Goodguys/VRA deal work well in the Midwest and East Coast? I
mean that organization offers Top Fuel, Funny
Car, Fuel Alts, AA/GS and a plenty of other racer- and fan-friendly
classes. The recent Fuel and Gas finals I attended at Bakersfield
was great entertainment. Yet east of the Mississippi that combination
just doesn't work on the level it does in the western states. Even
Indy and Bowling Green don't have really good attendance by fans
or cars.
Just Wondering . . . If George
Howard can charge bracket racers a couple grand for entry fees and
get enough entries to pay the winner of his "Million Dollar"
race over $250,000 to win, why doesn't some smart promoter in Georgia
or Florida organize a race like that for fuel cars? If they'll pay
to test, they'll pay to race! Fans, television, sponsors and the
media would jump all over a deal like this.
Just Wondering . . . How long can the sanctioning bodies
keep improving their bottom line year after year by raising the
price of tickets, food, and entry fees while by all accounts the
number of racers remains stagnant? How long will the fans and racers
just keep anteing up?
Just Wondering . . . Did you know
that NHRA had $2,000,000 less revenue from spectators ticket sales
in 2003 but improved their gross receipts by almost $3,000,000 over
the 2002 figures?
Just Wondering . . . What would happen to NHRA drag racing
if Connie Kalitta, Don Schumacher, and John Force suddenly decided
they had had enough drag racing and quit? Where will the next generation
of team owners come from? 
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