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 I
GOT THEM OL' NON-ELECTED, END OF SEASON, NO NITRO ACTION, WINTERTIME,
BAD KARMA BLUES
The first season of the new millennium is over and done with - that's
a good thing isn't it? But it's also a bad thing too, isn't it? Good,
because we can now get on with making things better for the rest of
the millennium, but bad because there is now no action to rehash (on-track
action, that is).
No matter how bent out of shape we all get during the heat of a given
drag racing season, as soon as it's over we can't wait for it to start
anew. Even the political maneuverings take on a certain attractiveness
- probably the chill factor outside. And it is always fun to learn of
the various teams' plans, whether it be new cars, new talent combos
or whatever. Yup, there ain't nothin' like the good old hot stove league!
But I can't quite let go of my notion concerning the proliferation
of the two car teams in the professional ranks. You just are not gonna
get me to say anything good about it! When I talk to my various contacts,
most of whom have campaigned pro level cars at one time or another,
they always point out one overriding problem with the two-car team scene.
Well, they actually point out a number of problems. But the biggie has
to do with the loss of opportunity. Like the opportunity to be a part
of the show.
Virtually every racer I have ever spoken to asks only one thing of
their sport: to have a chance to compete. That is, to have at least
an outside chance of qualifying, even if it's on a severely tilted playing
field. Squint out at the onrushing season, and tell me honestly what
you see in store for the independent nitro racer. If you see anything
other than gloom and doom, crumbs and leftovers, you need to hire out
to the political parties. They could use your particular brand of myopic
optimism. NHRA and the bigger money teams may well succeed in cutting
the little guy out of the picture in the second millennium, and the
multi-car team will be the means by which it happens.
I can just imagine what a few of you are saying out there. "So what?"
Am I right? Well, so what THIS! Look back at the year past and tell
me what the two big stories were in nitro funny car. Force versus the
'Rasslers, right? OK, it was interesting for a while, but how about
next year? Don't ya get a little sick of the same guys beating the same
guys for 48 issue of National Dragster?
My original mentor in the drag racing press, Steve Collison, espoused
that very same complaint whenever I would press him to cover more races.
Do ya really think more big money outfits is a good substitute for a
story like "Kosty Ivanov goes to the finals at Indy", or "Bobby Baldwin
does Dallas (almost)?" Not in my book, pal! My all-time favorite single
round of drag racing remains when Tom "Main Attraction" Hovland took
out Don Prudhomme's Pepsi Challenger about half an eon ago at an AHRA
Grand Am stop at St. Louis. Why? Because it was unexpected, not a foregone
conclusion.
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| Tom Hovland photo by Jeff Burk |
There is another aspect of the two-car tango that is under-discussed,
at best. That would be, how does drag racing expect the outside world
to take the sport seriously when some of the races are predetermined?
Some racers are open about it, some of the time. Some deny it could
be so. (What would our sponsors say?!) Most dismiss it as the way things
must be.
Put your love of the sport aside for a moment, and the provincial,
protectionist mindset that may go along with it, and consider this.
Where would the NFL be today if the public thought things were not on
the up and up? I will garan-damn-tee ya they wouldn't be on every national
network and their players wouldn't be making the money they make. They
even have rules aimed at making sure teams are giving an honest effort
at winning. What a concept! Maybe drag racing could give that one a
try!
Maybe it's the fever talking, but I think drag racing is entering a
phase a lot like the late 1970s when the sport appeared to be pricing
itself right out of existence. If you want to look for early warning
signs, check out the entry lists about Topeka time in 2001. That would
be in late May. I hope it's just the fever talking, but I don't think
so!
Have a nice holiday!!
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