SEEING STARS?

Well Jeff, normally I agree on everything you say. However..."over 400 class racers, Pro Mod (yawn) and even a top fueler" (bigger yawn). And you are upset there were no alky cars? Perhaps, this was the ONE race, put on by Pat that was for the STOCK and SUPER STOCKERS. And to ensure profitability, added some "circus cars" for the fans. It is very obvious you're from the big money alcohol classes and not the lower bucks STK/SS classes.

You call the alcohol cars the "stars of the sportsmen class"??? Stars to who? Your fellow alky racers? Another comment, "and they'll probably still be required to pay an entry fee." Oh boohoo!!! You mean the prima donna's would have to stoop to the lower levels of the rest of the sportsmen and pay their own entry? Poor alky racers!!! Sorry, we have enough prima donna's in the pro ranks, don't need any in the sportsmen ranks thank you very much.

It was not a national event, so the people in the stands were there for the cars, and not the usual "crash and burn fans" that go to see the "pro circus". Do you know what caused a lot of buzz in the pits and stands? The U/SA shoot out and the SS/AA shoot out. AND GEE, THEY'RE NOT EVEN PIPE RACKS!!!

Pat puts on an awesome show and treats ALL racers equally. No special status for any one class. You could say this is the race that highlights the racers who are not normally highlighted. Others could take many lessons from him.

Ever try to get a SS car or a faster Stocker to hook after one of your "star" leakers makes a mess??? Leave 'em out, the circus attraction portion is covered by the booked in Pro Mods and fueler. (and that's bad enough)

Jim Miller

BURK RESPONDS

Jim, you missed my point. The race was the SPORTSnationals which by its very definition and history is supposed to be a showcase for ALL SPORTSMAN RACERS regardless of which class they happen to race. Why should those Sportsman racers be penalized because of the class they run in? Are they any less of a drag racer just because they don't run the class you support? What ever happen to the brotherhood of drag racing? Letters such as yours from a devoted racer who loves the sport demeaning and degrading a fellow drag racer really make me sad. And just for the record, my first two race cars happen to have been Stock Eliminator cars: an L/S '54 Mercury and Ford Galaxie 500 NHRA legal D/S that ran good enough to qualify for the World Finals at Tulsa one year. Also, I might add that as an alky racer I have tried to get my car down a track behind a Stocker that cracked a glide and dumped a couple of gallons of trans fluid right down the groove. Every class has to deal with stuff. --Jeff Burk

FUTURE ASPIRATIONS

Another great article. I have expressed dislike for the removal of the alky classes from national events we attended such as Bandimere. I noticed the ticket prices didn't go down when they left out TAD and TAF/C either.

My son Ryan who drives our A/ND comp elim car has always looked to TAD as the class he wants to end up in. We hope to get there in the next 3-5 years...providing it is still around.

Anyway...great stuff.

Don Finley

ON SECOND THOUGHT

I really wanted to bitch you out about this at first, but I can't because you are correct. Besides the fact of me being a BB/FC nut anyway, I do think the "sportsmen" should have been at the SPORTSnationals. Somehow, I don't see "pro" modified being a part of this show because of the 1 word. Of course, you and I are not running the event, so it's not up to us.

What I do know for sure is you can have a competitive race car in Stock or Super Street for not a lot of money by comparison and go out and have a good time. I also know that the sportsman racers can move up and become a touring pro. My opinion on that is don't forget where you came from, and don't change who you are to make someone else happy.

Between you and I, I think some people have lost sight of what the hell is going on in racing, and that's having a good time with people, and racing. What happened 30 years ago when there were no big sponsors?

Anatol (Tony) Denysenko
MoneyMaker Racing
Lyons IL
IHRA and NHRA national record holder
I/FIA 5302 and 3302 1986 Mercury Capri