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If the joint ever gets built out there next to Banning Airport, I'm sure the current "promoters" won't invite me. I'll always cherish those glowing pie-in-the-sky memories of reaping $35,000,000 yearly for the local economy from a mere 10,000-seat facility. It never added up.
I can only hope every investor and advertiser in Drag-City who's plunked down as much as a dime starts demanding some tangible, substantive results and bonded completion dates from the "promoter", regardless of the addition of Tom Searles, a new developer who's come into the project. It¹s time to hold their feet to the fire instead of accepting lofty platitudes in place of burning rubber. This is beyond embarrassing for the sport of drag racing.
Left Coast Winter Drag Fest
Maybe I'm just more aware of the resurgence of drag racing on the left coast, but down to the season-end wire there's a Division 7 Final at Las Vegas, the Goodguys Finals at Famoso, the NHRA Finals at Pomona, a "Big-Buck" Street Car Super Nationals at Vegas, a rescheduled PSCA event at Fontana. Then there's the SEMA Show in Vegas, the PRI Trade Show in Orlando, FL and my favorite; the USAC Turkey Night Race at Irwindale, in which Ron Capps and Gary Scelzi and Tony Stewart will be racing.
There¹s also an IDRC sport compact event, an American Nostalgia Racing Association Finals at LACR in Palmdale and the Street Warriorz series at Fontana. All this through October and November, then LACR rekindles the popular Hangover Nationals on New Years weekend. So it ain't over until the local dragstrips hang up their Christmas Trees for the year-- just some of the reasons I live out here in Hollywood. Oh and there's not much chance we'll have any snow again this winter. No shows have yet been scheduled for the Drag-City location.
Nitro Pit Crew Challenge
My TIVO caught the 2005 NASCAR Pit Crew Challenge on SPEED-TV sponsored by Tyson Chicken, chicken you say? Though it's not very well publicized, there¹s a Pit Crew Challenge at the NHRA Career Opportunities Fair at the Pomona Finals. How about moving the Pit Crew Challenge for nitro crews to Las Vegas during the 5th Annual Nitro
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Blast-Off on January 20, 21 & 22, 2006? What a natural with the low-key atmosphere of the new-year test sessions, and with the current Coca Cola Full Throttle sponsorship could attract our nearby people in uniform to a sparsely attended venue.
The big pro teams will already be there rested and ready for the new season of competition and the single car teams will want to show up just to strut their stuff on one of the best left coast tracks prepped by a crew as good as or better than the official NHRA crew. Competition could also include a wild card All-Star team of current freelance crewmen and a crew chief looking for a job. Bring on organized betting and handicapping by Micah Roberts; Director of the Race and Sports book at the Vegas Palace Station and this pre-season event could be the hottest venue for testing and an early year vacation destination.It might be a wacky idea, but centering on a competition like this could help to do away with costly multiple off-season test locations. A centralized test would draw the very best teams and help build spectators to these unique Winter Nitro Games at one of our best dragstrips. How about it SPEED TV, you in? 
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