WHAT GOES AROUND, COMES AROUND

Well, I hope PRO "wins" without a work stoppage. The current NHRA management has brought it on themselves because they have no idea of the costs (remember Compton's astonishment at the money Panella had spent in PST?) and ramifications of their edicts. Plus, making promises you do not keep is bad with racers (this is not politics or Wall Street). Therefore, you lose credibility and respect and ultimately power, which is happening to Compton. Parks et al did a great job building NHRA; they unfortunately did a poor job of picking their successors. 

If "King Kenny" Bernstein or "The Snake" Prudhomme were running NHRA they would have the respect and credibility with the people who supply NHRA's premium sales product (a professional race with side by side competition) and would undoubtedly be smart enough to get input from all involved, just like you do on a successful race team. 

To me, the Pro Stock Truck and the Professional Racers Organization issue are the same thing:  you have people with low credibility making promises that are not kept and making rules decisions that have little input from the organizations affected (racers, manufacturers, track owners). And worst of all, look foolish doing it.

Worst of all, NHRA's management is losing credibility with the sportsman rank and file. The enhanced experience, silly rules changes that cost money with no results (mufflers, reorganizing stock and super stock, mid-year rules changes in Comp), stagnant purses with escalating entry fees, and an arrogant attitude are pushing the rank and file away. That should scare NHRA's management silly but it does not, probably because they are too busy adding Vice Presidents in charge of Bathroom Signs. 

I just hope that NHRA's management realizes it is doing a superb job of really irritating all its members from Top Fuel all the way down to Super Street. This organization needs a strong leadership that can pull its members together, not just make them mad enough to quit.

William D. (Dee) Kruse
ET/SC 4030

TRICKLE DOWN TO THE LITTLE GUYS

So, the teams with a $5 million budget really need an extra $1500 for the winners purse? You must be kidding. Sure, Weis, Gilbertson,

Whisnant, and others who drain their pockets to compete could use the purse money, but they're not the ones winning all of the purses are they? And just where will this extra purse money come from? We all know that answer: from the fans at the gate and us sportsman racers.

The fans are already getting hit pretty hard; it takes the average working man's entire week paycheck to take his son out to the drags for a weekend. Ask any sportsman racer who finds it increasingly difficult to compete with a garage-built chassis or engine from a local engine builder, who also faces increased fuel, insurance, and other travel expenses, whether they want to divvy up extra money for Force or Schumacher. You might want to be wearing a full-face helmet. Everyone knows that the purses are small piece of the mega-teams' pie. If they want to make a power play let them chose a different venue, like perhaps, safety issues. The burden of such a power struggle regarding money will eventually befall the little guy, and, in the end, if the pits and stands are empty it will also affect those Big Guys.

Scott Cornish

FANS MAY MOVE ON

Looks like I better cancel my plans to go to Chicago and just watch it on TV from the comfort of my family room in Dayton, Ohio. I'll be able to watch the highlight of qualifying and 5-6 hours of eliminations in 2 hours but I won't get to spend 14 hours on the road and $500 on my tickets, motel room, gas, and "track food". I'll miss the lack of general admission seating at the big end (now 1/3rd filled race sponsor territory), watching every other car go up in smoke (track repaved or new tire), oildown clean-ups and the smell of the portajohns. I'd miss (with the exception of a few races) barely filed TF fields. But would it be televised if there is a labor action? Is Rollerderby still on?

Are these guys nuts? Do they think they're the only motorsport? Do they think they're the only motorsport (that) struggles with cost and safety without alienating the fans? Do they think they're the only place for one to spend their ever-decreasing entertainment dollar?

What NHRA and the Pros need to keep in mind is every time a labor action has taken place in a sport their fans and their sponsors took their money elsewhere and were slow to return afterwards.

Seems like a typical labor/management situation caused mostly by greed on both sides. In my opinion both parties need to be working on improving the product, as it has become stale and predicable. I've got my ideas if anyone's interested.

35 year dragracing fan

Mark Christ