THAT'S 'TOTALLY' AWESOME

Just wanted to tell you that story about NHRA was AWSOME. You hit it right on the head. I look forward to read more of your stories. Keep up the good work.

Thanks.

Gary Jacobson

WRITE ON!

Jeff- Great editorial. I hope the powers that be are listening!

Bob Don
former writer SS&DI

NOT SO SPORTING

You know sometimes I agree with the editorial and sometimes I don't. But as a sportsman racer, I've felt that NHRA is getting more and more...ah..."ignorant" I guess is the word, towards the sportsman racers and S/SS in particular. But the last line, "NHRA has become in 2004 where the bottom line is more important than the finish line." summed it up exactly!

I guess I'm getting sick and tired of "suits" who have no interest in racing, trying to squeeze every penny out of guys and gals who love dragracing and couldn't stop if they wanted to. My Mustang is parked for the winter with a brand new, never-raced engine sitting in it...and I'm building a Bronco to go mudbogging. Next season? I don't know; if I can't stand not racing, I'll go to a local IHRA track, but NHRA isn't getting my money anymore. I've had enough and the editorial just clearly put into words what I was thinking but trying to deny.

It's no different than some big corporate guy taking over a company and running it into the ground while padding his own pockets, and when the company folds, laughs and retires a millionaire. He could have squashed a toothpaste factory/retail store/drag racing association; he doesn't care. And neither do the clowns in charge of the NHRA right now.

Jim Miller

THE GOOD OLD DAYS

I have been involved with drag racing starting as a young, easily influenced kid in early '60s, then becoming a competitor in 1968. Jeff is right on the mark with the latest article. What NHRA was then is nothing like what it is today. Back then people like Dale Hamm, Div 4 director, Steve Gibbs, and many others really gave a damn about racers, tracks, programs etc. Now we have division directors that sleep through divisional event qualifying sessions.

When I started going to races one of the biggest races of the year was the "Texas vs California" meet at Amarillo Dragway. I know it was all a booked in deal, but you certainly couldn't convince the fans of that. There was never a seat in the house. NHRA personnel were there in force and it was a BIG DEAL. A race like this is not possible today due to the cost of booking in a show. Can you imagine the cost of booking in 8 top fuel and 8 nitro funnys for 4-5 passes each. Granted this problem is not the fault of NHRA directly, the sport just outgrew the little tracks.

The current state of sportsman and bracket racing IS directly the fault of NHRA. They could care less about sportsman classes. If they did not need filler material to keep the fans on site during the 75-minute turnaround time for the pros there would be no sportsman racing. They "sanction" small tracks around the country for bracket racing, but what do these tracks get for the outrageous sanction fees? Do any NHRA personnel show up for their races? Do they get equipment, merchandise, or anything that would help put people in the stands? Not hardly. They do get an outdated old concept of "team bracket racing" with a "divisional final race" at the end of the season. No new ideas, no nothing.

A lot of the tracks have their own big money races that draw a lot of cars, but few spectators. Yet the sportsman and bracket racers are, as they always have been, the backbone of the sport, the ones who really pay the bills. The latest of which is to require a $60 membership to renew a required permanent number. I personally use that number for 1 track 2-3 times a year and nothing else, yet it is required to race there by NHRA rules. So in the great minds of the "suits" of NHRA the attitude is to force us, the little guy to take on even more of the bills while they ignore, insult, and push us out the door. Hardly a good business plan, even for a "for profit entertainment company".

On the other hand, look at the current IHRA sportsman and bracket programs. The contingency is better. The prize funds are better. There are a lot more races and options for the "little guy". It is like IHRA took a page out of the NHRA operations manual from about 20 years ago and put it in play. Not that IHRA is perfect by any means, but sportsman racers have a better future with IHRA than NHRA.

You have heard the old saying about how Russia would take the USA without firing a shot. Think about it. What a crying shame Wally and his generation of NHRA people had to grow old and retire. The current NHRA can't possibly be what he dreamed of back in the fifties when this whole thing started. NHRA has become the "cubic money organization." What a shame this "cubic money" goes in ass pockets instead of programs designed to bring new people into the sport, improve track facilities, and make the experience of attending a race a lot more pleasant for the PAYING CUSTOMER!!!

Give me the good old days.

Jon Wolfe
Amarillo, Texas