The "Real Pros" are closer to the "Professional Sportsmen" in my opinion. Let's take a look at Jeg Coughlin again. I don't claim to have secret information or a visionary insight on his team, but let's look at their Pro-Stock team. They have probably three to five full-time crew guys, and I think they are building their own engines so you have that equipment and personnel. Add in a tricked out semi and trailer, a couple of diesel pusher motorhomes, a couple of state-of-the-art pro stock cars and I suppose you have spent about $2.0 million to get started and about half a million year to keep both cars on the road for the entire season. I think all the Coughlin boys work at the Jeg's warehouse so racing is a hobby, per say. The race team cannot possibly win enough money to support itself. This is a good example of the "Professional Sportsman" in my opinion. They operate like professionals in every sense of the word but the prize money is so low it can't support the class. Can anyone on the NHRA or IHRA circuit sustain their operation on prize money and endorsements? I doubt it. Most of the teams are comprised of an extremely rich "friend" or family member and a lot of hard work to get it done. Unlike NASCAR, where the drivers and team owners bring in millions of dollars in prize money as well as sponsor dollars, the drag racing community has a couple teams I would call "Real Pros" from the financial point of view. Think about it, how many teams would there even be in the Fuel classes if it wasn't for extremely wealthy owners? Hey, don't get me wrong, I love to watch the Pro Nitro classes, I just wish they actually had to qualify to be in the show. But as long as only 16 or 18 teams can afford to race those classes, that is a reality.

Enough about the Pros. You either like their classes or you don't. I happen to be someone who can watch every IHRA and NHRA event they televise and enjoy it even though each race really looks like every other race. Why not a 1/8 mile national event? Change the qualifying ladder sometimes. Prepare the track differently sometimes and let's see who can really set up their car to win. This might give the smaller teams a chance to land a better sponsor. Then again, is that what NHRA and IHRA really want?

NHRA has made a decision to drop one sportsman class at every national event in 2004. It is a bold move and may bite them in the butt as far as support from the "fringe racers". By that I mean the racers, basically like me, who put up with the overflow conditions at divisional races in order to go maybe one national event that was closest to them. Now you have to pre-enter these events months in advance and entries are accepted in an order starting with those racers that have the most "grade points" from the prior year. You get "grade points" by attending divisional races (nice gimmick to make you race at events you don't want to go to). Actually, that rule change probably saved me about $2000 in expenses to go to four divisional races for the "privilege" to pay $250 months ahead of time to "maybe" be accepted to a national event. Thanks to the powers at NHRA I can use that money and do a lot more racing and lot less sitting around the overcrowded pit areas of NHRA divisional and national events.

Watch for "Inner-View" here on DRO for an interview with Len Imbrogno of NHRA for some insight to why NHRA made that decision and what they think will come of it. Hopefully it will be posted in a few days when we both have time to do the interview the right way.

I'm returning to where I started, bracket racing in 2004. After three years of putting up with overcrowded divisional points races, terrible payouts and high entry fees I am looking forward to 2004. We are planning to give a real effort to a local track points championship in two classes. We are going to try some IHRA Top Dragster and hopefully can get to eight or 10 big buck bracket races in our area. The Tenn-Tuck Series is about 12 hours away, the Memphis Mega-10s is about 11 hours and hopefully St. Louis will have a couple as they are about six hours away. I know these races have first and sometimes second round buy-backs, so what? You know it before you go and you sure as heck don't have to use them. I just want to do MORE RACING and LESS SITTING AROUND talking about racing. Bracket racing fills that void for me and I know the divisional races are more to other racer's likings.

I am also starting to do the "Project 4-Link" and "Back-2-Basics" tech series on a more regular basis. Hopefully we can get an article in twice a month on each car. I hope you will check in and see what is up with the "Project Cars" and stay up-to-date on everything in the drag racing world with www.dragracingonline.com

Have a great Holiday and enjoy your time with your family and friends.

Jok and Barb Nicholson

nicholson@dragracingonline.com