WOULDN'T IT BE NICE

I've spent most of this week trying to recover from my trip to the recently concluded St. Louis NHRA race. Heck, I used to be back to 100% by Monday morning, but it just aint thata way anymore! Maybe it was the record level rains, or the standard issue high humidity that comes with the swamp territory. More likely, I'm just getting older!

And try as I might, I just haven't been able to come up with an overall theme for thismonth's column. I've got plenty of random thoughts, to be sure. So I guess I'll take that route, and call it "Wouldn't it be nice…."

Wouldn't it be nice…if IHRA would quit ragging on the blower cars in Pro Mod? I mean, read your own stats, guys! They hardly dominate the win category (although the Hahn/Oddy duo is on a nice little roll right now). They pay to race their hot rods. And most importantly, they put butts in the bleachers! All of which rank as positives, in most people's eyes. For real. WHAT is the real story here? We at DRO await a reasoned reply.

Wouldn't it be nice…if race fans had a place to go when Mother Nature gets nasty? The one thing that lingers in my mind from the St. Louis event was how fortunate we all were that the really severe weather that blew through the area was at its worst just to the north of the track. Saturday night's nitro show was rivaled in intensity by a lightning storm worthy of "This Savage Earth" coverage on The Discovery Channel. With a slight shift to the south, it could have gotten ugly in a big way.

Wouldn't it be nice…if hot weather races (June through August) had NO daytime nitro qualifying sessions? The two daytime sessions in St. Louis were not good entertainment, by most anyone's standards. They don't even make for good TV! Don't hand me no excuses, boys, just see the light and do it all in the dark!

Wouldn't it be nice…if all the racers had as good a time as Joe Amato, Gary Scelzi and John Force seem to be. True, their moods might be influenced by their budgets, but at least they have the presence of mind to react to the fans on the way back down the return road. SMILE, SMILE, SMILE, fellas - even if all is not coming up roses. You might even make a few new fans and/or sell a few more t-shirts!

Wouldn't it be nice…if the alcohol racers had more of a reason to show up at national events? These guys run as hard as anyone going, and their show is a good one. But the entry numbers are dwindling and that's not a good thing. Sixteen to eight to zero --Think it can't happen? Just remember, concerned citizen/racers - NHRA calls you all sportsman, never mind your professional level financial outlay.

Wouldn't it be nice…if we all knew more about NHRA's plan for the future? In all honesty, where IS this sport going? Every time I go to a race I've got less of a clue on that issue than ever. The visible evidence (TV commercials, event staging, the NHRA TV show, etc.) is not all that encouraging. Sometimes I think the sport will forever operate on the W.C. Fields theory - you know, that "another Sucker every minute" thing. Drag racing has a lot going for it. I would like to believe that everybody involved in the sport REALLY DOES have the sport's best interest at heart. With any luck, the sport will prove strong enough to survive those who don't.

Later!!

racer4339@aol.com

photo by Jeff Burk

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