Contingency Payments: Our biggest response ever!

Editor's Note: To read all of the letters we have received on the subject, go to Contingency Letters on the Table of Contents.

I thought I might have touched on a very interesting and sensitive subject when I started looking into the entire NHRA & IHRA contingency awards program. The response from racers who have won regional and national events and from a few manufacturers has been tremendous. We definitely hit a nerve with this subject and I think the end result will be better prepared racers, more responsive NHRA and IHRA officials and, hopefully, improvement of the entire system of claiming and collecting contingency awards. I feel we will see nothing but positive results from this communication.

I thought this month I would respond to the many letters and ideas we received about contingencies in general. I think keeping this subject out in the open will enhance how racers, sponsors and sanctioning body officials look at the whole process. The very first response I received was from Tracy Winters at J. W> Performance Transmissions. She was upset that her company was mentioned as a slow payer. She also explained that construction on their new building got way behind schedule and so did a lot of their administrative duties. I felt the best part of her letter was that she said she would personally look into the way they pay racers and see if there is a way to improve on it. I commend her on her sincerity and taking the time to write to me about the contingency column I wrote. Thanks Tracy...you are the first manufacturer we heard from that said they would look into fixing what may be an internal problem.

The next response was from Rick Sparks at Comp Cams. He was "shocked" his company was even on the list, let alone they were a non-paying contingency company on my car. He said he checked with his marketing department and they had not received a letter, e-mail phone call or any other correspondence from me. Well, I am here to tell you I did send them two letters and the second one was with photos of the car showing the decals and a copy of the cam spec card with serial number. I know IHRA sent them a copy of the Quick Rod contingency sheet from the Cedar Falls Raceway event and my two letters make three. He did admit there must have been a communication breakdown and he wanted to find the problem. The end result was that I got an e-mail last week from Comp Cams saying they could pay me once they had my social security number. I hope they found their problem and have straightened it out for all racers who might be waiting for a Comp Cams check. Thanks to Rick Sparks for taking the time to respond to my article and set things straight.

In the month since the first article was released here in "Dead-On" I have received letters from Karen Raffa, IHRA Contingency Manager, and Scott Forthmann, Director of NHRA Contingency services. Their departments were very surprised to see an article written about this subject. I truly believe they DID NOT KNOW there was a problem. The racers are probably a little hesitant to complain too much and be labeled a "whiner" and the companies are no doubt telling the sanctioning bodies that everything is just fine. Both Karen and Scott claimed that if a problem exists they want it fixed. The problem is I don't think they are aware there IS a problem.

One of them tells me that if they know a company has not paid in 45 days they will drop them from the contingency program and a few sentences later tells me they know a lot of companies take 60 days to pay! Which is it? Pay in 45 days or 60 days or 90 days? How would they even know if the company EVER paid?

Well, I am here to tell you it is an exceptionally good paying company that gets you a check in 45 days. Most take between 60 and 90 days. I know this because of personal experiences and from the dozens of racers I talked to who have waited and waited for their contingency checks. I also appreciated some of their ideas to make the entire process more efficient and less prone for errors.

Here are a few things racers NEED TO DO to make collecting their contingency checks easier.

1. Check NHRA's National Dragster and IHRA's Drag Review to be sure what companies are posting contingency and for EXACTLY what products.

2. Contact the companies by regular mail or e-mail and get your own decals and ask if there any releases or forms you need to sign BEFORE the season starts. DO NOT rely on NHRA and IHRA having what you and 500 other racers need for decals.

3. Make yourself an accurate list of the decals you have on the car and the products. If you can make copies of cam cards, SFI numbers or anything else I suggest you get them in an envelope and put it in your trailer.

4. DO NOT wait until the end of the event to start worrying about this, it is worth thousands of dollars and deserves your attention before the event.

5. If you have your decals, your list of who is posting for the event and are prepared, then YOU HAVE EARNED THE MONEY. If you have not heard back from a company within 45 days I would start writing letters and making calls until they pay. Keep a copy of any letter you send and make notes about any phone call (date, who you talked with, etc.) NHRA and IHRA should also be sent copies of any letters you write so they stay informed on who pays and who does NOT.

Several racers who have won National and Regional IHRA and NHRA races sent letters explaining their problems. There was one from Tony and Alex Denysenko, who races IHRA/NHRA events and is the promoter behind the very successful Class Nationals held at Byron Dragway. His opinion is that 60 to 90 days is tolerable. Some companies are over six months behind. He mentioned a major problem with Powermaster but also said they had contacted him and were trying get caught up by this month. He has had major problems with two companies that were listed in the first article. He said he is still waiting on Manley (Me too!) and Holley. He said between Wins, Runner- ups and class wins Holley owes him close to $3,000!

Most of the letters I received were pretty much the same in content: They win a regional or national event and then it is so disappointing and time consuming to go through all the B.S. trying to get paid for the products you have. It is NOT ALL-NEGATIVE NEWS. The majority of companies pay what they agreed to pay and they pay it in a timely fashion!

I think the general consensus of the racers was that it took away from the win and the effort it took to get that big win. They felt like they had to beg for the money they earned. I am sure things go better for some racers than it does others.

I have my own short list of HOW TO FIX IT:

1. Do the things I listed earlier in the article.

2. NHRA and IHRA should have a system in place where racers can turn in their contingency sheets and have the decals verified at tech inspection. This needs to be done only one time per season and if anything changes the racer has the responsibility to notify tech and change the list.

3. Companies should consider paying the racers who qualify for contingency awards AT THE EVENT. In most cases the reps are there or an independent representative could handle this. That way you leave the event with possibly 75% of the money you earned.

4. Any company not paying verified contingency claims within 120 days should be "fined" by NHRA/IHRA and the check should come from NHRA/IHRA offices and they do the collecting.

I feel this is a subject that will always be talked about among racers. I do hope this little adventure into contingency payments might help some companies look at procedures they use and how to better serve their customers, the racers using their products. I also hope the racers learn to be more organized and ready for that "elusive" big win. I decided not to get too personal with the responses to individual letter but I do want to thank all of you who took the time to send me your thoughts and stories.

One last thing I want to mention again. The MAJORITY OF THE COMPANIES PAY IN A TIMELY FASHION...I applaud their efforts and dedication and thank them. In the end "Racing IS about the money" when you win a big race. It is what racers dream of when working on their cars and ordering parts from contingency sponsors. NHRA and IHRA have done a great job getting so many companies to post contingency awards. I think they have a way to go in enforcing payments but they say they are working on it.

Bottom Line: If you have earned contingency money and are not getting paid, let the IHRA/NHRA contingency director know about it and contact the company who owes you the money. Until then, Good Luck at the races and get those decals put on BEFORE first round!

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