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Photos by Zak Hawthorne
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Darr
Hawthorne has over 20 years of experience
in the entertainment business and
television commercial industry as
a marketing representative, executive
producer, commercial producer, and
film editor. As a producer and editor
he won many national and international
advertising awards.
Darr
acquired his addiction to drag racing
in 1964 when he toured to the U.S.
Nationals with Wild Bill Shrewsberry
and Jack Chrisman. He also worked
on Division 7 Sportsman crews in
the 1970s & early '80s. He's been
a freelance motorsports journalist
covering NHRA, nostalgia drags,
NASCAR, and IRL. He's been a Touring
Professional Spectator, and is currently
helping his son build a '64 Chevy
II Funny Car.
He
will contribute his thoughts to
DRO as the mood strikes him. He
is from California, after all.
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Well it's here again, that time of the year
when I crave anything with open headers. With
predictions from the TV weathermen that El Niņo
is coming back, the left coast may be very wet
this winter. So with the holidays over I'm feeling
like I should reflect on 2002.
2002 was a year of growth, transition, and maturity for drag racing, not just the NHRA variety, but in many ways a turning point for drag racing.
NHRA would crown the first POWERade Champions. Didn't it just sound weird last December when the big announcement party was held at the ESPNZone in Anaheim? POWERade Drag Racing -- what was Tom Compton thinking? How would drag racing survive without Winston? It sure did. Watch as POWERade grows into their "big shoes" in 2003.
ESPN has given credibility to drag racing by having a consistent place to find the weekend's festivities. By the way, ESPN, is there some good reason that you're not running your marquis motor sport, NHRA POWERade Drag Racing during the winter? All the motor-oriented shows on the satellite dish are way into reruns. As I recall there were a good 23 shows created with same-day coverage by ESPN; how about rerunning Indy, Englishtown, Gainesville, Dallas, or the Pomona Finals? Just rerun the "Shootouts!" None of the participants are due any residual payments or additional contingency payments for their performances, so why isn't ESPN, ESPN2, or ESPN Classic showing us some drag racing action during the off-season?
I'd be lying if I said that it wasn't a thrill to see Larry Dixon take the first POWERade title over Kenny Bernstein. Dixon was a Valley-boy just like a bunch of us, it couldn't have happened to a nicer, more genuine guy with a fine, second generation drag racing pedigree. Dixon used to hang out down the street from my house with his Chevy II and the high school buddies he grew up with. Hell, his buddieswere rumored to have dumped bags of fresh grass clippings into the open sunroof of my brand new BMW in 1982, although I could never prove it.
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