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That, too, has Stewart supremely frustrated, although he says, "I don't want (Turner) to be an enemy. I want Bob and his team to be treated with respect. At least he could just act interested. Instead, we got the door squarely slammed in our faces." Turner says, "It's a simple issue of contractual consideration, along with supply and demand. The list is long. The supply can't keep up with the demand right now. I can't sell any bodies until I fulfill all my contractual obligations. I've got contracts with 12 cars and I haven't gotten all the bodies to those guys yet. Everyone else has to wait. I'm sympathetic to the fact he's been a loyal GM customer, but I can't do anything about it." Turner continues, "I want to sell bodies because I make money off of them. But I can't void out a contract to make money. You can't go and get or buy a Ford body, and nobody wants the Dodge body." (That could be news to Dean Skuza, who's No. 9 in points and has been the top qualifier twice, No. 2 once and No. 3 on two other occasions this year in his Dodge R/T. Never mind the consensus that GM doesn't make any money selling Funny Car bodies, anyway. Even Turner contradicts himself, saying, "We're not doing this to make money. We don't make money in motorsports. When I sell bodies I make money -- but I have not been in a position to sell bodies in two years." Go figure.) Sniping aside, the problem is a Catch-22 for a number of people. Only a handful of people on the planet want an NHRA Funny Car body. In the scheme of America's gross national product, the market for them is infinitesimally small. Even smaller is the number of companies that can manufacture them. But because the carbon-fiber body, with the aerodynamic magic it's designed to provide, is such a critical element to running quick elapsed times, a shortage becomes a long-term concern. GM Racing spokesman Dave Hederich says, "The situation is unique. We don't sell (bodies). GM pays to have a body built and it's sold by the manufacturer." If a spike in demand, which is cyclical, occurs or a hiccup hits the production schedule, the equation becomes skewed. Heaven forbid the NHRA Funny Car class experiences both simultaneously. Throw in the reality of a budget established two or three quarters ago, and someone -- GM in this case -- could have a public-relations nightmare on its hands. Stewart says, "It's like they're playing God and deciding who's going to be successful. They have a death-grip on NHRA Funny Car bodies. If you're a nobody, too bad. We don't have access to the resources. They're trying to stymie the competition." Hederich, citing a generous but ultimately finite budget, says, "In a sense, you have to play God. But look at the history of drag racing. GM has provided more things to more teams than anybody else. We try to spread the wealth around as much as possible. So now we're the bad guys? Let's go after Mother Teresa while we're at it." When Fred Simmonds, GM's Marketing Manager of Drag Racing, learned Gilbertson was unable to buy a new body, he said, "Don Prudhomme can't get one, either. We have no love to give him -- or a piece of carbon fiber. We're behind in building Funny Car bodies for 800 different reasons." He says, "You look at Tim Wilkerson's car. That thing's got more bubble gum and Band-Aids™ on it than you can imagine. He needs a new body, and we told him we'll get it to him when we can. He's not happy. And you take Johnny Gray's car. It looks far worse than Bob Gilbertson's. He's not happy. But his head nods the right way."
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