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MORE INFORMATION THAN WE
REALLY NEEDED, JIM
Wes Tarkington's view about the" future of
sportsman racing" is right on the money. My
family and I attend the races at E-town and
Atco raceway. It has gotten so that we only
go to see the big race at E-town or what I
call a specialty show like the jets and things.
I was brought up at the track in the early
60's and really long for the good old days
of flat out racing to the finish line. I just
don't even try to explain to my friends why
the cars slow down after the start or why
they feather the throttle just before the
finish line. I don't mind paying the prices
I have to when I attend a big meet, but I've
always felt that I'm only getting half a race
for my money. I only watch the heads up classes
and when the sportsman classes are up it's
off for a hot dog, autograph or to move my
bowels. The Sportsman classes are a great
time to move your bowels.
Please thank Mr. Tarkington for his forward
thinking.
Jim Holovacs
SPORTSMAN #1
Jeff, You could not be farther off base.
First as a fan...make that a BIG FAN of Sportsmen
Racing, I was shocked and angry that the sportsman
racers were pushed away from the Gators. I
had planned to attend the '03 Gators, I am
glad a did not, and I will scratch '04 from
my list.
I think NHRA has over looked the marketing
power of sportsmen racing. But the Marketing
V.P.'s at NHRA have never understood what
race fans want. I cite Indy 2002...enough
said. Second, NHRA and the track owners know
it rains in Florida, they should have prepared
the pits better, i.e. raise the level of the
pits, put in drainage, move the pits, or set
up an off site pit.
The upside, next year nobody will show up,
problem solved.
Cheers.
Ron from Indy
SPORTSMAN #2
You must be on the take with NHRA. I too
am a racer, if you can't see what they are
doing to the sportsman racer then you need
new glasses. I guess you weren't sitting with
us at a WalMart parking lot in Dallas for
2 days. I can't even start to imagine the
Gainesville deal.
David Moon
SPORTSMAN #3
I appreciate the points you made concerning
the dilemma that NHRA faced in the situation
at the Gatornationals, however, the fact that
everyone seems to be missing here is the lack
of effort (past and present) expended by NHRA
to provide even rudimentarily paved pit areas
for sportsmen racers at National events. This
is not an issue that has come up overnight
or one that is limited to this particular
race. The fact of the matter is that the pros
are taking ever expanding amounts of the limited
paved space at the track, continually pushing
the only edge of the envelope that is ever
asked (nee demanded) to give, the sportsmen
racers, further into the nether regions of
the usually muddy and usually hard to access
back areas of the race facility. When coupled
with the growing proliferation of Motorhome
and Toterhome rigs and stacker trailers in
the sportsmen ranks, just shuffling us into
the mud or at best, dirty grass, is no longer
a viable solution.
I am not advocating that NHRA overnight develop
new large areas of asphalt at every track
on the tour, but a little bit each year would
be a nice start. Another idea might be a parking
staff that would be a little receptive to
the ideas of racers that actually have to
inhabit the pit spaces that they give us.
The continuing insistence of said staff to
force perpendicular(to the road) parking on
everyone, when the option of angle-in parking
would result in a much easier row to hoe for
the racer trying to get his (or her) 25 foot
long dragster out onto a 12 foot wide driveway.
The loss of actual parking spaces would be
minimal if there was such a loss at all (owing
to the usually odd layout of available pit
space allocated to sportsmen at most facilities).
It is a small example of the problem that
is so endemic to the hierarchy of the NHRA...
they do not listen well.
One of the things that IHRA has going for
it is the accessibility of its leadership
to the average racer and their apparent willingness
to listen when a problem situation arises.
When they do listen, they do not always agree,
but they DO LISTEN! Such an attitude, when
attempted by NHRA usually comes off as the
half-hearted attempt at PR that it usually
is.
Kudos to Tom Compton for venturing into the
lion's den at Orlando to address the racers
face to face instead of sending one of his
VPs (like the laughable Graham Light).
That is the current end of my soapbox sermon,
but I look forward to your upcoming columns
and when warranted (in my humble opinion)
my response.
Thanks for the forum.
John Garner
