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Just found your site; have put it in my list of favorites. Just wanted to drop you a note about our Front Engine "Pro Nitro" Series. One of our main objectives is to get the Top Fuel purse up. 1998 was our first year and we paid 60% higher purse than Goodguys. This year in 1999 Goodguys matched our ‘98 purse and we bumped ours another 10% in 1999. $2200 to win is still way too low for these awesome nitro gulping machines. We are working hard at building our fan base so that we can continue to increase the Top Fuel and Blown Bad Boy purse. Our final race of 1999 is Saturday, Nov. 13th at Southwestern Int’l Raceway in Tucson. Our second Pro class is called Blown Bad Boy. Blown Bad Boy runs on a 7.50 e.t. index and is open to any year front engine-type blown or unblown race car. I hope you’ll find this worthy of posting on your site. Sincerely, Jerry Hutchcroft (Promoter) Comments and Photo I love your website. You guys are real pros.
The written response was terrific. To make a long story short, NHRA is looking for a formula to buy spec engines from one or two sources with no modifications to race heads up like Comp is today, only much more affordably. NHRA recognizes division 1 and 3 are the only divisions with full fields in Comp. If the comp racers don’t get their heads out of the sand, that will be the only place they can race their high tech stuff … Both of them. I think NHRA is getting a Customer Service attitude. If they would get rid of some of the old grouchy dinosaurs in NHRA suits riding the mini-bikes at the National Events, that would be a big improvement. I loved the event format at St. Louis this year. Sportsman at day and Pros at night. That is another way to improve Sportsman vs. Pro controversy. Attached is my car’s photo. Use it as you like. My sponsors would love it. I will be a weekly reader if you have more issues as fresh as this issue. -Reed Hughes (Jasper, IN) Right On, Martin! Whatever happened to Chris Martin? Now we know. Great site and now a regular stop for me. Bookmark it, Danno. Martin’s comments in his "Martin Chronicles" column are right on the money. The sport has done remarkably well over the past several years considering the lack of attention it has got from the media. However, the less than stellar TV package combined with the lack of outside press has finally caused the sport to go into decline and the sponsors know it. Hence, the decline of new sponsors and contract extentions. NHRA needs to build up its brand similar to NASCAR and the recent WWF popularity explosion. -Rich Bailey (ProMotion Motorsports) Hmmm, Very Interesting Took my first-ever look at your new site and enjoyed all of it! As one of the "Standard 1320" list crazies, I appreciate a good read and a good source for information, news, photos, etc. As a first-time attendee at the recent CHRR, I was knocked down by the nostalgia racing thing, how popular this sideshow has become and the size and scope of the CHRR event. Maybe I missed it, but couldn’t find any mention of CHRR. Then again, today was my first exposure to your site. Noted your masthead. That’s a strong line-up of characters as well as talent! Best of luck with dragracingonline.com and I’ll continue to check you out in the future. -Jim Hill (Crane Cams) Drag Racing (Now and When) Drag Racing. Well, it’s very easy to see where the sport we all love is going. Count the number of new teams in any class at the drag strip. Watch any TV and do you after all see only the same few cars? What is becoming of the sport we all love and are a part of? One of the things which is very easy for anyone to do is sit back and complain. Everyone in the drag racing world has at one time or another been hurt by the rule changes. The reason our sport is where it is at is because of the apathy which we as racers view the racing organizations. Our sports is a reflection of America’s political arena where a few rule the many. Not exactly what our country was founded upon, is it? We as racers have allowed the racing organizations which govern us to be made up of professionals and not "motorheads." The people writing the rules are often either not qualified or self-serving. Please understand as I have matured I don’t have the answers and at times, am not even sure of the questions. I do know that in order to save this sport from becoming extinct, we must all of us, from TF to ET, be committed to making our sport what it can be. Well, here is just a start: Be positive. Be committed and let’s take this sport to new levels of enjoyment for all. -Les (Hot Rod) It’s the Money, Stupid As a brand new reader to this site, Jeff Burk’s piece hit the nail right on its head. Thanks for saying what just about everyone thinks. - Tony Webster ( Topeka, KS) No, It Isn’t I don’t see how you can blame NHRA’s problems on the money. I don’t know what kind of tickets you priced for the Pepsi 400 but I guarantee you couldn’t see squat from where they are and you definitely couldn’t meet your favorite driver or watch his crew work on the car. Yeah, I bet those general admission NASCAR tickets would also include parking and autograph sessions with pictures provided. My tickets for a full weekend of NHRA racing at Atlanta and Bristol are a much better value to me than my weekend tickets for NASCAR at Daytona and Charlotte. - E. Prisco Yes, It Is In reference to "It’s the Money Stupid" by Bill Burk: I totally agree with you. I like to believe I am a big drag racing fan. I felt really bad going to the Autolite Nationals by myself, for Saturday only, No reserved seating, and carry my own food ($4-$7 for a hot dog!!!!). I just found it hard shelling out that much money to take my wife and me and my two sons along. I justify this (at least in my own mind) that I can still take them to Sacramento raceway and see good sportsman racing. I do see a bright spot in the future for that Nitro feeling. ANRA and Goodguys Nostalgia Racing! NHRA learned something from the Detroit automakers of the seventies. How to feed your client crap and expect them to like it..... Didn’t work then. Won’t work now.... - Ben Levy Thanks, Ben. I think. - Jeff, er … Bill Yes, It Is Jeff Burk’s column on What’s wrong with drag racing is very true. The last national event I attended was the 40th anniversary of the U.S. Nationals. When I think about going to a national event I look at the price of the ticket and I think I could spend my money more wisely. I think that I’m one of the average workers out there that has a mortgage and kids going to college, etc. and paying 60 to 65 dollars for a ticket is a lot of money. Sometimes that won’t even pay for one book that my kid needs for college. The sad thing is I live 1 hour away from Route 66 Dragnet and have not attended a national event since it opened. One of my main reasons is the price of the ticket. There is one more thing that you didn’t mention and that is the ticket prices vary in price from venue to venue. Why does a ticket at Route 66 cost more than one lets say at Englishtown? My friends and I talk about this all the time and the only conclusion is: IT’S ALL ABOUT THE MONEY! I guess drag racing is meant to be done by millionaires for millionaires. I’ll get off my soap box now. Anyway I do agree with your comments. Thanks. - Al Ullo
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Copyright 1999-2001, Drag Racing Online and Racing Net Source |
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Front
Engine "Pro Nitro"
I
had a real surprisingly good note back from NHRA, too. It was about
the Spec Dragster situation. I am a SC racer wanting to move up but
I don’t have $45,000 to drop in an engine a couple times a year
to be competitive like the Stout RV team car.