DO YOU KNOW THE WAY TO GLENDORA?

Thank you for Burk's Blast of 6/30/2005 about the aftermath of Darrell Russell's tragic death and NHRA's poor PR as it blunders its way into TireGate. Ineffective NHRA management has stunted the growth of an exciting form of motorsports for many years, and I think TireGate is only destined to tarnish drag racing’s reputation among a wider audience. In drag racing, the finish line is only a quarter mile away — but does NHRA management even know which direction to go?

John Bakas
Riverview, FL

WORTH THE RISK?

The loss of Darrell Russell was a terrible tragedy and my heart and prayers have been with Julie and all of Darrell's family. But every driver who straps into an 8000 HP nitro bomb knows the risk of injury or death is a very real possibility. Darrell and the rest of the racers knew that the Goodyear tires had problems but chose to run them anyway. Goodyear and the NHRA are always trying to make the sport safer for the drivers and the fans but there will always be a risk in racing. I'm afraid that the only winners in this legal battle are going to be the lawyers that will be lining their pockets.

Mike Bowers
Ft. Wayne, IN

OLDER BUT NOT WISER

Maybe, just maybe, some lessons are harder to learn than others. To assume that NHRA has got smarter throughout the years would be naïve of us, to say the least. Unfortunately, it's the American way to reach for a can of lawyers. The Russells deserve some closure from this whole situation, not another example of ostrich mentality from large corporations. There's not an easy answer to this. Only with the input from teams will these problems be solved. What's needed, What can we do to help, etc. They're trying to kill off our sport. Don't let em.

John Geltink
Arnhem, Netherlands

SHORT-TERM VISION

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Another lawsuit...more money lost and more bad PR for drag racing. Apparently, not only does the present NHRA have short-sighted vision in where the suits make big money for short term, but they also don't realize that this only has to be a dark moment in time over the long term. In other words, in fifty years, will this be seen as another page in the long and storied past, or the beginning of the end? They are grabbing money from every angle and every venue to the detriment and longevity of the sport. And now they are withholding monies that should be spent for the sake of drag racing and more importantly, because it's right. If the suits weren't so short sighted and hell bent on making a quick buck and then getting out, they would make a respectable offer. 50 years? They don't care because they won't be around then. (Obviously don't have a passion for drag racing.) God forbid they ever take responsibility for anything, including the demise of drag racing as we know it today.

Damn suits. . .now they'll probably spend more hiring a better PR "spin person"....

Jim Miller
Canada eh?

MONOPOLY MEANS NO IMPROVEMENT

Enjoyed your article on the Russell lawsuit. . .part of the trouble stems from no competition. When you have one tire company or one manufacturer of any equipment there is no chance of real improvement. Since NHRA has dictated clone cars, trouble will surface again. Innovation in NHRA racing is stone dead.

Tom Baum "The Bomber"
Des Plaines, IL