WONDER NO MORE

Dear Mr. Burk,

How many tickets would NHRA sell to National Events if only the Sportsman classes ran? That's easy to answer. The NHRA already does this - they call them Divisional Events. At the last Divisional Event I went to, I think I was one of three people in the bleachers. We had the nachos and beer all to ourselves though.

I also do not understand the mind-boggling numbers of classes in Comp, Super Stock, and Stock. The fans don't have a clue what it going on. Plus some of the rules are so convoluted if not downright bizarre (Super Stock GT classes - need I say more). Hmmm, I think I'll build a car to run in the Super Stock GT Modified Super Automatic Modified Stock class, if for no other reason than it would look cool to have SSGT/MSAMS on my windows. Sorry, but I think it would be more interesting to just take all the sportsman cars and have one big ol' "Gambler Race" at national events.

Here is my national event line-up: 1. Top Fuel Dragster; 2. Funny Car; 3. Top Fuel Harley; 4. Pro Modified; 5. Top Alcohol/Injected Nitro Dragster; 6. Injected Nitro Funny Car; 7. Some sort of Summit pro-front wheel drive Sport Compact class; 8. Pro Stock Bike with equal numbers of Japanese bikes and Harley's; 9. Alternate between having nostalgia dragsters, super chevy style fuel coupes, nostalgia super stockers, fuel altereds, whatever.

Each class is a 16-entry field. All classes head-up. No breakout racing to be found anywhere. This line up I think has something for everyone. It brings together all segments of the drag racing world. Something old and something new. It is what a national event

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should be - not just a race, but an event, a happening, the pinnacle of drag racing. A showcase of wild and varied machines.

It has the two classes we all know and love: Top Fuel and Funny Car. Top Fuel Harley's would be very popular and a lot more people would build them if the purse/sponsors/tv exposure was there. Pro Stock is not in my line up. Pro Stock's time has come and gone. Their performance is impressive. Their teams are hard working. Their show is boring. Pro Modified definitely makes the line-up and the class would continue to offer two combinations: nitrous monster motors and blown alky motors. The NHRA would continue to make completely arbitrary and irrational decisions about the combinations to favor one or the other to ensure that the drag racing press continues to raise a stink about the class and because, quite frankly, fans love controversy.

Top Alcohol dragster is probably NHRA's best kept secret. Very cool class, yet NHRA seems intent on making sure they drive the cool right out of it. I'd structure the class to three combinations: blown alky hemi motors, injected nitro motors, and bring back the blown alky small blocks. I like your injected nitro funny car class idea. I make 'em run small block motors (<400cu). You'd have 30 of them show up and they'd put on hell of a show. To round out the "something for everyone" idea and get some of the young 'uns in their Hondas to show up, I'd run one of the pro-fwd Sport Compact classes. Pro Stock Bike soldiers on, but I would tweak the class a little (well OK, a lot) to get the Japanese drag bikes to look more like their street going brethren AND change the rules to get Harley based pro-stockers more competitive (other than just the V&H bikes). Harley vs. Japan is always good for business. You'd have 30 pro-stock bikes show up every time.

Joe Axberg