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THE WORD FROM NHRA
Jok,
I read your recent article entitled "The Real Truth About Money". As
the current Director of the NHRA Contingency Program I would like to
respond to your article paragraph by paragraph and explain how we here
at NHRA handle our program.
I have yet to come across anything that is perfect. I'll admit that
the NHRA Contingency Program is not perfect. I disagree that the program
has "major" flaws. Since the inception of the Contingency Program in
1966, my predecessors have strived to refine and improve the program.
I continue this effort by soliciting advise from racers, sponsors and
anyone else who will take the time to offer their thoughts on the subject.
I will attend 21 National and a selected number of Divisional Events
during the 2002 season. NHRA maintains a Sponsor Headquarters trailer
which doubles as my on-site office and is located within the Manufacturers
Midway at all National Events. This trailer is open to all sponsors
and racers. I appreciate your interest in improving the program and
would look forward to speaking with you. I do agree that 6 months is
far too long to wait for a check.
Contingency programs are nothing more than another way companies advertise
and promote their products. The NHRA program requires companies pay
the racers when they meet certain requirements. Companies that have
demonstrated a pattern of not paying the racers have been excluded from
our program until they prove to us that all due payments have been made.
NHRA requires that racers use the posted product throughout the event
and display the correct decals on each outboard side of the vehicle.
The decals must be clearly visible when the vehicle is viewed from a
90-degree angle. Sponsors may not withhold payment if the required decals
are not available at that event. NHRA encourages the sponsors to adapt
a "Top end" contingency payments policy. If I were to discover a company
conducting their contingency business in the manner you describe, I
would suspend their program immediately.
I too have spoken and continue to speak with racers in every category.
I am painfully aware of the companies out there who don't adhere to
our 45-day payment rule. Contingency sponsors are required to provide
NHRA with payout reports within 30 days of a National Event. Sponsors
are required to make payments to racers within 45 days of an event.
After 45 days, I encourage racers to contact the sponsors in writing
(with a copy of the correspondence going to myself or Rita Fuchs at
NHRA). Racers may at anytime contact Rita or myself with any questions
regarding the program.
My question to you concerning paragraph 6 is, did you contact the sponsors
in question? Did you receive a satisfactory response? If not, did you
contact NHRA?
I must commend you for taking responsibility for not double-checking
your sheet after the tech official finished. Bottom line is, everyone
makes mistakes, including myself. I personally verify 2 to 3 racer contingency
sheets at all of the National Events I attend. The last thing I do after
verifying a racer's claim is hand the sheet back to the racer so he
(or she) can review and sign their sheet. Mistakes do happen. When brought
to my attention, I (or Rita) will work as a liaison between the racer
and sponsor.
I am surprised at your list of good, slow and horrible payers. Although
I don't know Luke Bogacki, I have spoken with Edmond and Scotty many
times.
All of the companies you mention do spend an incredible amount of money
throughout the year on contingency payouts. Some in excess of $100,000.
With all that money being paid out in contingency awards, I can understand
why some companies spend so much time verifying that the awards are
justified. This is where most contingency awards get bogged down.
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