HEY, STEPHEN, WE'RE STILL WAITING
FOR THE PROSTAR T-SHIRT
Mr. Burk's article on drag racing needs some racing was
dead on. Because after all, the only purpose that the .90
categories has is, you do not miss anything at a national
or divisional event when you get up from the stands and
go to the restroom or browse the pits. It's track filler,
not racing. Mr. Burk should like me for that comment. .
. send me a t-shirt.
Is it me or is the 10.5 wide scene the coolest thing to
hit the tracks in a long time?
Is it me or does the local weekend bracket racing programs
need an enema? Damn it's boring. . .they all look like slot
cars going down the track. All of the electronics has made
the racing pretty lame. Again, Mr. Burk should like me for
that.... send me 2 t-shirts. BTW, I wear a large.
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I love Top Alcohol Dragster!! My favorite class!! Now if
only NHRA would get a clue and let the Funny Cars guys use
the injected nitro combination. The sounds that both engine
combos make is music to ones ears. . .at least mine.
Super Stock, Stock and Comp are still fun to watch. I was
at the track (Southern Nat's) at 8am Saturday morning just
so I could see more SS/Stock racing. Of course I was bummed
that there was no Comp. . .and the rain washing out the
fuel altereds.
I'm looking forward to the 50th anniversary race at the
OLD Southeastern dragstrip at Dallas, Ga. That place is
a time warp. Other than the track surface getting changed
to concrete, it still looks the same. It still has the old
faded Coca-Cola sign with the tracks name on it by the front
gate. I bet that sign could sell for more than what the
stripper poles at the now defunct Gold Club sold for at
the auction when it got shut down.
Keep up the good work on the site, I enjoy browsing it.
No more rants. . .it's past my bed time.
Stephen Lamphier
Atlanta, GA
DO WE NEED LIVE TV COVERAGE?
I just read your article "Drag racing needs some racing"
and agree 100% that it would be nice to see time taken to
prep the tracks as good as they can get to achieve better
parity. As a longtime drag race fan and participant (hobby
racing at local tracks) I have no problem sitting as long
as it takes to see a good race, or to have the track right
when I make a pass. I also can see however that the hardcore
fans are not necessarily in abundance like they are for
NASCAR. To pull in the sponsor bucks, you need butts in
the seats. To that end, they are going to promote the "family
entertainment" deal which is fine until you realize
that the typical kid likely doesn't care too much for sitting
around for hours, racing or not. It's cool when kids are
interested and watching but in my observation, more time
is spent by parents either trying to keep the kids happy
or drinking beer so that they don't care about the kids
whining to do something else which annoys everyone else
who is trying to watch. So now the goal is to "keep
the program short."
You didn't mention the unfortunate impact of the live telecasts
either. You know as well as anyone, television coverage
is a huge part of growing the NHRA/IHRA BUSINESS. Unfortunately,
while drag racing is slowly gaining popularity and we finally
get to see some on TV now, they are forced to keep to some
pre-set time schedule to present the "live final rounds."
You can't tell me that is not a strong driver for the current
trend of ignoring the track conditions, just to get us there
on time.
Personally, I wish they could forget the live coverage
stuff which helps force this time issue. We are already
watching the previous rounds on re-play so who cares if
the final round is live. Anyway, just thought I'd ask your
thoughts on that. Bear in mind, I'm not defending the NHRA/IHRA
tactics. Just trying to understand why, as the good part
of our sport dies away in the interest of money.
Regards,
Dave Kaveshan
