DON'T JINX IT

Jeff, please, please retract your story about my beloved 10.5's. If NHRA gets ahold of it they will destroy it. It is the best show in drag racing right now. I've seen Ian Tocher at a bunch of races and I think he will tell you that it attracts a different crowd than your typical NHRA (all I want to see is those loud Top Fuel dragster Funny Cars) fans. So please, please don't let the cat out of the bag.

Thank you for your attention to this situation, it's greatly appreciated.

John Fore III
Atlanta, GA

THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT

You're right! I am the starter at our local drag strip, and I love to watch the 10.5's or the Pro Outlaws. You never know what to expect!

Thanks,

Bill Swink Jr.
Eddyville Raceway Park, Iowa

HOOKED ON STREET CARS

Jeff, I think you hit the nail on the head, with the STOCK appearing cars. I'm part owner and driver of a 10.5w car, and people are so in love with the cars, because they are stock looking cars, and they look like the car that they drove to the track to see the race. I was once one of these guys; I seen the video of the Street Car Shootout in Memphis, and was hooked.

I watch NHRA, but only for the Pro Stock cars, and they don't thrill me like they once did. When I'm at the track, I hate not getting to see these cars run, but I'm too busy working on my own. Also, the true 10.5 car are just as fun to watch if not more at times. These guys have just as much money in their cars as we do, and just as much power with smaller tires and no wheelie bars.

I get excited talking about these cars. You would think that Detroit would wake up and smell the coffee. Thanks for the article; us guys need more people like you to help make this thing bigger.

Mike Brown
Clinton, MS

DOESN'T ADD UP

I think at least the new GTO is more of a leap in the right direction for NHRA Pro Stock because it's a modern muscle car. If I'm a young fan and I go to see NHRA Pro Stock now, I've got to be thinking, "6 seconds, how in the hell, Cobalts come with 4 cylinders."

Eric Detzel
Cincinnati, OH

'WORLD STREET NATS' SHOW HOW IT SHOULD BE DONE

That is the best idea I've heard about drag racing on the pro level. I'd much rather go to the dragstrips near my home and pay more to see the O.R.S.C.A. or the N.M.C.A. rather than the Powerade Series. The men and women who run the N.H.R.A. should go to Orlando, Florida to the World Street Nats in late October to see a real exciting drag race. A drag race people do not mind to pay good money to watch. I'm driving all the way from Tennessee to Florida. I could always go to the Powerade race in August at Memphis Motorsports Park, but I'd rather see a good drag race than a boring one!

Tery Dalton
Lewisburg, TN

DON'T HAVE A COW, BAARTMAN

Have you ever looked at a Busch car or a 'Cup' car? If it weren't for the graphics proclaiming 'Monte Carlo' or 'Ford' or 'Dodge' (along with their fake vinyl headlights), those cars would be unidentifiable. Take a Chevy, replace the motor with a Ford, change the graphics, and presto! Now you have a Taurus!

Stock appearing my ass!

Michael Baartman