Nevertheless, for the last 14 years she has given her heart and soul to drag racing. She's worked 16-hour days and seven-day weeks. Not only that. For the last four years, without major sponsorship, she largely has funded a front line Funny Car, out of pocket. She and Al.

So what thanks do the Hofmanns get for all that? Well, (1) they get sued by Casey Powell for removing his daughter, Cristen, from the cockpit, and (2) they get screwed over by the NHRA in the latest chapter in the Englishtown rainout fiasco.

You remember the Matco Tools Spring-Turns-Into-Fall-SuperNationals, don't you? It began in May but wasn't completed until last week, the longest postponement in NHRA drag racing history.

In its initial incarnation, the High Sheriffs didn't know what they wanted to do. The plan changed hour-to-hour, sometimes minute-to-minute.

One minute, they're going to qualify pro cars on a marginal track with marginal tires. Next minute, they're not. One minute, "we're adding a session on Sunday." Next minute, "no, we're not adding a session on Sunday.

"There will be two qualifying sessions when we return in September." Whoops. No there won't. Who's on first. What's on second.

It seems, however, that the NHRA would have gotten its act together in the three month interim between the start of the race and the end of it. But, noooooo!

Helen Hofmann left Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in May sure that she could count on at least first round loser money once the race was completed. After all, Powell had qualified the Hofmann Racing Pontiac 13th in a field which didn't include several prominent drivers including Tony Pedregon, Bruce Sarver and Bob Gilbertson.

However, in the interim, Powell was gone, replaced by Tommy Johnson Jr. Sensing a potential problem, Hofmann attempted to get a clarification from the NHRA, but to no avail. She even cornered NHRA President Tom Compton at Indy. No help.

Upon her arrival at Englishtown, though, she was told that her Pontiac wouldn't be in the show. Powell would instead occupy the 13th position at the wheel of her new ride, the NitroFish Camaro owned by Whit Bazemore. Furthermore, Hofmann was told that, no, she wasn't entitled to any purse money.

Hmmm. Let's see. Hofmann filed an entry, signed by both herself and Powell and subsequently accepted by the NHRA Competition Department which stated that purse money was to be paid to Hofmann Racing, Inc. She paid a crew to prepare her car for the Englishtown race. She paid Powell to qualify it. And she paid all the expenses.

At the conclusion of the Englishtown preliminaries, she had rightfully expected to recoup some of that expense as one of the 16 Funny Car qualifiers.

She asked for help in pleading her case from the PRO but, since she wasn't a PRO member, well…. Finally, common sense apparently reared its ugly head and Hofmann was granted a token $3,000, hardly enough to cover travel expenses, hotels, etc. Hush money, I'd call it.

For its part, the NHRA apparently believes that it was well within its legal rights throughout the episode and that it certainly was not obligated to give Hofmann Racing ANY money. Officials self-righteously cite the rule that all the benefits accrue to the driver. It always has been that way with the Winston points, yes. But when the entry form stipulates that money is to be paid to a specific party, how can NHRA, legally or ethically, do otherwise? After all, there's a difference between what's legal and what's right.

But for sake of argument, let's forget all of that right now.

Let's just look at the common sense issues here. Yes, this was an unusual situation because of the time frame between the start of the event and its conclusion - 110 days. However, wouldn't it seem logical for NHRA to anticipate such an eventuality and enact regulations to cover it?

Who would have thought that two drivers (Powell and Todd Paton) would be fired from their rides before an event for which they qualified was completed? However, if there was even the slightest chance of such a situation occurring, there should have been a rule to cover it.

And for those so fond of saying that we journalists point out the problems but never offer a solution, let me take the high road here.

If such a situation occurs in the future, how about requiring that the car and driver combination that began the event must finish it. Put the onus on the car owner and driver. If they can come to some agreement, then they can race. Otherwise, both are out and their opponent gets a bye.

To encourage a temporary alliance, stipulate that if the two parties can't reach an agreement, the first round loser money they would have earned will be cut in half.

The bottom line is this. There HAS to be a rule. We can't continue to just make it up as we go along. That's embarrassing, not just for the NHRA but for everyone in the sport.

Dave Densmore, a paid columnist for DRO, also works for John Force.

Photo by Jeff Burk

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