Clearing out the Burkster’s 2005 notebook 1/5/06
SIX-FIGURE PAYDAYS BECOMING COMMON IN
BRACKET RACING If bracket racing wasn’t already getting pushed aside in mainstream racing by the increasing numbers of heads-up and index heads-up classes and races, it’s my opinion that elitist bracket races limited to those racers who can afford multiple entries costing anywhere from $1,000 to $10,000 are squeezing the rank and file bracket racers out. If that isn't bad enough, they are even limiting the number of racers who can compete -- even if they have the price of admission! In my opinion these high dollar bracket races only encourage professional multi-car teams to participate and discourage the participation of the weekend warriors. Already many tracks are cutting back on weekly bracket events due to lack of participation. Special events like Norwalk’s Halloween special, and George Howard’s Million Dollar race attract 500 or more entries, but many others are having problems attracting 200 entries. There is already a de facto circuit for big money bracket racers with big entry fees and paydays. I can see the time where a couple of hundred hardcore bracket racers would support a circuit of sorts, a giant traveling crap game for professional bracket racers that give track promoters a big payday once-a-year just like any other circuit except without spectators. BLOGORRHEA Second, publishing a hero driver’s supposedly personal diary, in my opinion, strips away the mystique that makes that person larger than life and a hero driver. As a fan and a journalist I really don’t care what (fill in the blank here) had for breakfast, where he or she shops, what music they listen to, who they vote for, whether they are getting cosmetic surgery, liposuction, or having a boil on their ass lanced. Driver blogs have become the new way to get PR and even this publication ran one last year. Not again! So unless Conrad Kalitta, Jerry Toliver, or either Paul Romine or Paul Smith start a blog that I know for sure they’re writing themselves, one of my 2006 New Year resolutions will be that you’ll never read another blog in DRO! Consequently blogs are on the same banned-by-the-Burkster list as chatroom-orrhea, bulletin boardorrhea, Podcastorrhea and realityshoworrhea.
Occasionally DRO runs a feature, column, or 1320 note about a race, racer or sanctioning body that isn’t a glowing endorsement of that race, racer or sanctioning body, and as a result we’ll occasionally get an e-mail or phone call regarding that feature, column, or note decrying the “negative” press it contains. It’s as if the recipient of the “negative” press believes DRO is in the business of promoting them or their project. Wrong, wrong, wrong. DRO is in the business of providing its readers with an overview of everything about the sport of drag racing. The fact is that almost every racer or sanctioning body has their own newspaper, magazine or website dedicated to promoting themselves. Even today’s mainstream paper and ink drag racing magazines are loath to print anything “negative” about the sport for fear of hurting someone’s feelings. Now I’m not saying that’s a bad policy, I’m just saying that DRO and a few other publications have a slightly different policy. There are a few editors (myself, Competition Plus’s Bobby Bennett, and Todd Silvey at Drag News Magazine come to mind) who strive to bring their readers the whole story, positive or negative, and let the readers decide what they want to read or know. Besides and a great PR man once said, “The only bad press is no press!” Or was it, “I don’t care what they say in the newspapers as long as they spell my name right!”
NHRA NOT FOR PROFIT? NOT ON YOUR LIFE!
So, another resolution I’m making this year is to not rant so much about the way NHRA -- the most successful and largest sanctioning body in drag racing history -- conducts its business. However, I will continue to inform DRO’s readers what they are doing good or bad. LOOKING FORWARD | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
