A Christmas surprise 12/19/05
A couple of “Blasts” back I wrote a paragraph relating to information I got from one of my sources that indicated the NHRA was going to invest upwards of four million dollars next year on improvements to the tracks that they owned. After that item ran, an NHRA source told us off the record that my source’s info was all wrong. Then, just a few days ago this magazine heard from a new source inside the NHRA, who requested anonymity because the source felt he/she could be fired by the NHRA if the source's name was revealed, told DRO that he/she had personally seen drawings and proposals from the NHRA for improvements to NHRA tracks that would take place during the 2006 season. I--and many other NHRA members and racers--have voiced our opinions that the tracks that NHRA owns could use some improvements, such as taking the bumps out of some tracks and paving pit areas. I would certainly support NHRA spending part of my NHRA membership dues to upgrade those tracks. In fact, I believe a majority of NHRA racers wouldn’t mind if the NHRA made some decisions that not only benefited them but didn’t cost the racers money. Doing that would be a great Christmas present from the NHRA to its racers. With that in mind, I asked the source what kind of improvements the management team was proposing. The answer I got shouldn’t have been a shock, but it was. According to our source, the suits at NHRA are contemplating adding some luxury boxes--similar to those they added at Indy a couple of years back--at Pomona and Gainesville. Our source says Gainesville would probably get the boxes first and then they would start on the Pomona boxes right after the Winternationals. More seating, more luxury boxes? Are these guys serious? If any of us had any illusions left that the current management of the NHRA is tasked with anything other than making more profits and paying themselves higher and higher salaries, this should dispel those thoughts. If any of you still believes NHRA’s current management is dedicated to improving the sport for their racers (and, based upon some of the e-mail I get, some of you do), this information, if true, should finally convince you otherwise. We should have gotten the clue when NHRA installed those luxury boxes at Indy instead of paving that disgraceful cow pasture and gravel pit that many racers, including some of the Pros, have to park on. Indy is supposed to be NHRA’s "crown jewel" and showcase track, yet the pits and parking remain seriously bush league. But, they do have more box seats that generate more ticket revenue. Now they are apparently serious about adding more luxury boxes at two more of their tracks. Gainesville desperately needs more paved pits since every time they have a really big rain the pits and part of the parking area turns into a quagmire. As a result of the poor pit parking conditions they even have had to postpone the race in the past! Maybe the NHRA management team has earmarked the revenue generated from additional Luxury boxes for track improvements that will benefit their fan base and racers. I certainly hope so. If, on the other hand, the millions of dollars they might generate from luxury box seats are just going to make sure that the executives they keep adding to the Board keep getting those raises, on top of the substantial salaries they already get, then that just reinforces my opinion that despite their not-for-profit status the NHRA and the corporate executives running it are motivated by profit and not a love of the sport. The question I have is: does any of this really matter to NHRA’s rank and file of racers and fans? The millionaire hobbyists/racers that dominate the sport's professional categories gripe a lot but seemingly will do nothing to rock the boat. The PRO may as well be a part of the NHRA itself, in my opinion. The professional sportsman racers are just like their professional brethren and are seemingly content with their lot. As long as they can get enough grade points to get an entry, they seem happy to pay whatever it takes to participate. So, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised when the current NHRA administration continues to have budget cuts for the track crews, race support staff, and every other division of the organization (or at least that is what I told by people that work in those areas), but seemingly don’t have problems awarding themselves raises yearly and spending millions of dollars installing luxury boxes at their tracks.
The warm and fuzzy, racer-friendly NHRA the baby boomers of the sport remember probably never existed and never will. From the day the great Wally Parks and his cohorts discovered that racers and fans would pay to get into the track, NHRA drag racing became about making money. The non-racer businessmen currently running the NHRA have just refined Mr. Parks' business model. No one should ever again be surprised that all decisions concerning the sport are driven by how it affects the bottom line. Look for more luxury boxes being built before more pits get paved or purses get increased. While they found just $1,000,000 to add to the professional racers purse, that is divided up between four classes and 24 races. Evidently they aren’t having any problem coming up with (depending on who you believe) upwards of $4,000,000 for luxury boxes. Personally, I’d rather see them take that money and buy some prime time from ABC TV and broadcast part of the U.S. Nationals live! Despite all of that, in most peoples' minds NHRA remains the most successful and best drag racing sanctioning body in the world. They have the largest purses, the best insurance program, the best safety program, and the best tracks. But they also currently have no real competition to be measured against. So, I suppose it shouldn’t be such a big surprise when the NHRA management team, who answer to no one but themselves, make decisions that possibly could benefit only themselves. The real Christmas surprise for me would be if the NHRA changed the way it does business. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
