In the final year of the millennium, the Winston points competition, reputed to be the second to the last in the National Hot Rod Association’s history, provides a good case of good news/bad news for drag racing in general and NHRA in particular. Actually, "good news/be-wary news," would be more accurate.

First, the good stuff:

Your money’s pretty safe if you insist that this year’s NHRA points chase is the best in Winston Series history. With the completion of the Memphis event, Tony Schumacher in dad Don’s Exide Batteries dragster leads former five-time champ Joe Amato, 1,221 to 1,201, which amounts to a mere two rounds of racing. Not only are this pair nearly joined at the hip, but hot on their trail are defending champ Gary Scelzi (1,155) and fast-closing Doug Herbert (1,146). With three events still to go, we got us a contender for major league sports drama.

Both Scelzi and 1996 champ Kenny Bernstein raised the ante in spectacular fashion in the last two events by crashing their cars, which is the NHRA equivalent of Jeff Gordon or Mark Martin rolling down the track like eggbeaters. Throw in the fact that Schumacher has yet to win a race this season (or for that matter his career) and one runs smack dab into the middle of one of sport’s biggest cliches: it’s anybody’s race.

Historically, the 1981 NHRA points confrontation between Jeb Allen and Gary Beck and the 1987 joust between Amato and former Herbert crew chief Dick LaHaie are the only ones close to the 1999 collision.

At the 1981 Winston Finals, Allen was standing on the sidelines watching Beck run low e.t. of the meet, a 5.57, while beating Dwight Salisbury in the "Fisher’s Fever" dragster during the final. Had Beck’s mount also set top speed he would have passed Allen and won the Winston bauble. A lot of veteran viewers recall Allen yelling at the announcing deck, "What’s the speed?" fearful that he may have seen his championship develop wings. He squeaked by for the title by a record 31 points.

LaHaie won the 1987 championship at the Winston Finals when Amato sheared a blower drive in round two. By taking runner-up honors, LaHaie eked out a 42-point win.

Aside from their tightness, these three dramas have one thing in common and this is the "be wary" part of the above duality: No one outside of drag racing knew about it. Sure, the local newspapers of the race sites, the racing-oriented websites, and the Castrol hotline got the word out a little this year, but that’s been it. Drag racing news in the general print media, still the biggest game in town for the moment, has been molecular.

And I’m saying very seriously, "be wary." On Oct. 12 ,the Los Angeles Times, the second or third largest daily in the country, featured an article headlined "R.J. Reynolds Ends Sponsorship," and the last sentence in that piece, which announced the end of the NASCAR Winston Racing Series for short tracks cars, was ominous.

R.J., who is "big tobacco" in citizen vocabulary, will have to make a choice as the government escorts him to the door and 86s him from sports sponsorship. As the Times stated, "This will mean the end of Winston’s sponsoring of either the NASCAR stock car races or the National Hot Rod Asociation’s Winston Drag Racing series."

What d’ya wanna bet they go with NASCAR?

And as much as I think drag racing is infinitely more fun than NASCAR, the simple fact is that the moonshiners have shown the California boys how it’s done when it comes to getting the word out. Compared to NASCAR’s 76 trombones, NHRA’s and IHRA’s press departments pad across the carpet like a kitten.

For those of you not online, how many times have you picked up a Saturday sports section and not found a word on qualifying for an NHRA or IHRA national event, and yet a column over, you will find all you want about a NASCAR show. I can’t tell you how many times this has been the case in the L.A. Times.

True, NHRA has been fairly good about Saturday qualifying and final eliminations, but it is confined to the back page in small agate type. Nowhere in the front part of the sports section, will you find word one. Well ... maybe word 25.

As the Burkster pointed out in his "Blast," the same L.A. Times ran one sentence or three and a half, one-column lines on the U.S. Nationals. Big damn deal. Fishing tournaments get that much.

As for IHRA, zippo. Obviously, the organization is using hot rods to front for a money-laundering gambit. Just kidding, gang, but what the hell are you doing? As of Oct. 12, 1999, the Times (I live in L.A.) hasn’t run word one on any IHRA races. As they say in West Hollywood, "Come out of the closet!!"

God, I’d hate to be an IHRA champion. For all of my arduous, sacrificing efforts, I find my name spanked in a footnote. If that. Jeeezusss.

Press and promo heroes should have spots in all sports halls of fame. They play a huge roll in anyone’s becoming a sports immortal and/or household word.

Stuffy Singer was the U.S. handball champion for something like nine years and before him the late Jim Jacobs, who has the world’s largest collection of fight films, was also a multi-yeared champ. How come no one’s ever heard of them? No ink. And please no disparaging remarks about handball players; they are the athletic equals of anyone winning in the flab sports, i.e., golf, pool, fishing, etc.

The two hot rod associations had better get with it. NHRA hired a public relations firm recently, and there’s no problem with that. However, every bit as important is the press and promo people, more so given R.J. Reynolds’ recent travails.

As for IHRA, we’re checking for a pulse. GoRacing.com on the internet is fine, but you’re speaking to the converted and the hard-core.

The time is past due for NHRA and IHRA to go out amongst them to be quasi-biblical for a moment, and make some conversions. Aggressive recruitment is the order of the day.

I know it seems sacrilegious to some (it even does to me) but if drag racing doesn’t get the lead and the word out big time, auto racing will have one or two big showcase disciplines with drag racing and the cafe circuits scuffling around on the floor for the crumbs that fall off the table.

 

photo by Jeff Burk

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