"WE CAN'T HAVE TRACTION CONTROL,
THE FANS WANT TO SEE THE DRIVERS DRIVE!"
Give me a bleeping break! Drag fans go to the
races to see exotic, otherworldly mechanical
freaks go fast and blow up. Not go fast or blow
up, go fast AND blow up. This doesn't make them
bad people -- hey, they paid to get in!
I believe most fans properly recognize the
courage it takes to drive a nitro car and aren't
all that wrapped up in how the job gets done.
I think it's time for those in "control" of
the tech side of the sport to get real and legalize
IT and work towards seeing every racer that
wants IT gets the same IT.
And traction control may just be a way to cut
down on breakage. When you think on it a bit,
many a blown engine starts out as a spinning
tire. Off the cuff, TC looks like a cheaper
deal than blown up motors, fires and all that
other chaos. I could be wrong, but I think most
crew chiefs like the idea of TC, as long as
everybody gets the same weapon. Besides, I hear
it's already here.
"DRAG RACING IS A GREAT VALUE
FOR CORPORATE AMERICA!"
If this one were true, Jeff Leonard Motorsports
would actually exist. Whilst shopping around
a nitro proposal last summer, I found Corporate
America to be convinced that drag racing did
not offer the level of exposure they were looking
for. It wasn't me, it wasn't the class (Top
Fuel); it was all about the on-camera, in-focus
logo exposure accumulated time that they weren't
seeing on a given drag race telecast.
Rather than lay that issue at the feet of the
TV producers, as so many are so quick to do,
let me offer an alternative theory. I think
the problem is in the format -- you know, round-by-round
eliminations. I say it's time for a drastic
change in how events are contested. I've said
it before, I'll say it again. If 24 Funny cars
enter an event, 24 Funny cars should answer
the bell for the first round on Sunday. Everybody
gets on the TV show, no matter how they do or
who they get matched up with. Keep everybody
in play for two rounds, then cut to the accepted
semifinal-final round format.
Pay points for wins. Pay points for ET rankings.
Pay points for MPH rankings. Hell, pay points
for reaction times! In short, do whatever it
takes to make Sunday at the drags less predictable,
and more entertaining for the paying spectator.
Would such a change be chaotic? Hell, yes!
Would it throw 50 years of tradition on the
trash heap? Change is good! Would it benefit
the sport in general and the racers in particular?
I think it would, and here's how. If every racer
in the nitro ranks could go to a prospective
sponsor and honestly say, "I'll be on TV for
two runs on Sunday at the U.S. Nationals," don't
you think that would be an effective bargaining
chip? Call me a cock-eyed optimist, but I would
like to have a seat at that poker game.
In all seriousness, drag racing must increase
the real, quantifiable exposures it can provide
to Corporate America if it expects CA to get
involved with more drag racing teams.
"THE TELEVISION SHOW IS AWFUL!"
I think that to properly comment on this issue,
one would have to have seen some truly awful
televised drag racing. Let me close my eyes,
drift into the Wide World of Sports Zone, and
there before me I see Keith Jackson and Reggie
Jackson standing on the starting line at Pomona,
circa 1970 or so. An hour passes and the drag
fans have witnessed a couple of runs, augmented
by KJ's legendary talents, and RJ's nonexistent
input. Awful, awful, awful! I gotta say, I'm
glad I lived long enough to see today's "awful"
drag racing TV.
I think we all need to take a deep breath and
achieve some perspective, if that's possible.
Could the show be better? Of course it could.
Is it likely to happen? I can't even rate that
one as a live longshot. There is a lot they
could improve on, but the present show is not
that bad, especially considering what used to
pass for televised drag racing. Hey, if we could
all just work together, maybe we can get NHRA
and IHRA to make some incremental changes in
their TV shows. Remember, "That SUCKS" is not
a constructive statement. 
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