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As more and more national events came along they took on more and more importance as the small match race tracks wanted the cars their spectators had seen on TV. If you ran national events and won all of them you would go further in the hole at each event, BUT with the TV coverage you now had marketing value for major companies where before you had very little.

Soon the ability to gain sponsors/marketing partners became MUCH MORE IMPORTANT THAN KNOWING HOW TO RACE-- hell you could easily hire people who knew how to race because at this point most were either leaving the sport or starving to death. If you don’t believe this just think of how many of your racing heroes who once owned and ran their own cars are now employees of some businessman.

The few who made the switch from match racing to procuring sponsors in order to run all the national events used the sponsor money for new and better parts in order to keep winning, and before long it required so much money to run a Nitro FC that no small track could show a profit by hiring them. I am not saying this was right or wrong, merely explaining how it happened.

Will we ever see Nitro FCs at our local tracks again? Certainly not like the first time as that is over and gone but with all the interest in Nostalgia (I hate that term) or Classic Nitro Funny Cars there is probably a window of opportunity IF it was done right.

The very things that were the basis of making the Nitro Funny Cars the most POPULAR CLASS IN DRAG RACING HISTORY are still valid today. They were called NITRO FCs for a reason--it’s all about the “SHOW” and the show is NITRO.

At the birth of match racing the fans were calling the tracks demanding NITRO FCs because they wanted to hear and see Nitro—later they also wanted to see 1000 foot burnouts—a couple of dry hops and fire over the roof of BODIES THEY COULD IDENTIFY WITH and they knew these cars by name--why doesn’t some one do this today you ask?

If I told you why you would tell me I sound like a grumpy old man but I will chance that and give you my opinion. The US over the years has become a “MOMMIE MAY I” society and racing in general has become the same way.

Everything I have seen or read leads me to think most people believe in order to succeed with Classic Nitro FCs we first need a few thousand rules (nothing could be further from the truth), several classes (there are no classes-- you either have a Nitro FC or you don’t), some association to bless what you are doing, some kind of points system and worst of all more than half want to try to do this running alcohol (they're called Nitro FC’s for a reason).

That ain’t going to work, as that is exactly opposite of what needs to happen for this movement to have any chance to succeed. All you really need to make this start to happen is about four people who own cars that look and sound like a real NITRO FC and know how to put on a show the fans will pay to see. This show would include bodies people can recognize, lLong Smokey burnouts, dry hops, fire over the roof and the sounds of 90-95 percent Nitro—all proven ideas that could cause history to repeat itself on a smaller scale.

When you have four cars that can do this –PICK UP THE PHONE and start calling tracks to find one that will work with you. If you give the track owner the show you promise the rest will come.