ONLY TWO WILL SURVIVE

I just attended the largest import trade show ever, the 2002 Import Auto Salon, put on by both SEMA and Vision Entertainment and I'm more convinced that this industry is on a tremendous move. A total of 16,000-plus packed the Long Beach Convention Center to view the finest display of Sports Compact/Import race cars and show cars, along with every active producer of products for the Sport Compact/Import world. It is still my opinion that four major promoters (sanctioning bodies/groups) cannot survive.

Name a sport, be it automotive oriented, football, basketball, or baseball, that has four major hitters. It just can't happen, as there are not enough participants or money in this time period. All four import groups including "Battle of the Imports", IDRC, NHRA/Summit, and NOPI, sound sincere, but they are also basically using the same markets -- California, New Jersey, Texas, and Florida -- to host their events. A lot of these events are located at the same tracks, or tracks within 100 miles of each other.

At the press conference at the Import Auto Salon, all four promotion teams were on hand trying to show why their "team" was the best to follow. I rate the performance of these teams at this conference, like this:

#1 IDRC, Michael Ferrara and Wayne Kiang, because they were very precise in their answers, like their motto, "Races by the Racer". They admit that they have only been in business since 1998, but they are really organized and have just announced a brand new sponsorship of Auto Trader Magazine.

#2 "Battle of the Imports", Frank and Mike Choi, who are the original Import group to ever run a race, as far back as 12 years ago. The Choi boys only need a major sponsorship to pick them back into "real" contention. They need to return to the LA area too, as Bakersfield is not an answer.

#3 is NOPI, with Michael Myers and Craig Leiberman. They admit to being the "new kids on the block," but to my knowledge, the NOPI Nationals in Atlanta has been around for quite some time, and these guys already have had a major producing company (Universal Studios) step-up. The backers of "The Fast and Furious" are involved and they have devolved an X-cup series.

#4 is NHRA /Summit, which have some great minds, especially the guys at Summit, which sells more products than anyone. Jim Skelley and Edwin Mangune, are great guys, but they seem to be a step behind the other players. (This is only my opinion.) On a positive side, NHRA are the first to add an 8-cylinder Pro class.

FLASH!!!!**** Matt Scranton in the awesome Turbonetics-backed Toyota claimed the $25,000 put up by Summit Racing Equipment for the first ever 200 mph run in a Sport Compact, a blast of 7.159 at 202.55 mph! Jojo Callas was the first 8 second 4 cylinder Honda at the same event. Complete results coming!

Congratulations are in order to Craig Paisley, owner of Paisley Automotive from Hempstead N.Y., on the Racer of the Year award presented by the SEMA, and sponsored by Primedia Publishing. In order to qualify for this award a racer must have raced at least five major events throughout the previous season.

Many local drag strips are running their own Import programs such as the Strip at Las Vegas, Firebird Raceway in Boise,Idaho, Irwindale, California's eighth-mile track, Sears Point, and Sacramento, California, Atco and Englishtown, NJ, plus Moroso in Florida. Along with the many racing events, you can't forget that Import people are very "car show" oriented and much time is spent preparing for events such as the Import Auto Salon, or the DDAy Dub magazine show that had over 300 cars and at least 10,000 people on hand for this lifestyle event, which usually consists of a great car show, "dress to kill" for the ladies, and live bands, too. Granted they are not racing at these types of events but performance is on all car owner's and competitor's minds. Import/compact car racing reflects a lifestyle; it's more than just the racing.

When NHRA decided to enter the Import market, there was a lot of forethought. Incorporating the well-known NIRA was a very good move, and down the road I truly feel that merging a couple of these groups might be the best result.

Who will make the first move? It's up to the promoter and the racer. Most of the racers have jobs and/or families and attending all of these events is just too much. How many is too many? Only time will tell, just stay tuned to www.dragracingonline.com, as we will be there to give you all the latest news, whatever it may be.

Speaking of great car shows and lifestyle events, I attended the D-day event put on by Dub Magazine, and the Orangeshow in San Bernardino, Ca., which was standing room only! I was there to help promote for CARE, which is a fairly new (less than a year old) organization devoted to helping kids and giving them some good directions. If you would like to check out what's going on with CARE (Children's Advancement of Racing Environments), please check out www.care4kidsracing.com. They have a great organization, and are already involved with the Boy Scouts of America, teaching young people all aspects of racing.

On a personal note, this has been a difficult time for me, as my "best friend" Bandit, my 15-year-old Dalmatian, passed on to doggie Heaven. For those of you who have lost a pet, it is really tough, but I'm truly thankful that I was blessed to have this wonderful animal and friend for 15 great years. I'll miss you, big guy!

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