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Here's the situation, Simmonds says: "If a thief came through the U.S.
tonight and stole every Funny Car body out there and burned them all
up and not one driver had one left, I'd have to tell all of them, 'Here's
what the price is, and you'll have to stand in line.'"
Graham Light, NHRA Senior Vice-President of Racing Operations says
he doesn't think the problem is anything new. It's no different than
with chassis, engine blocks, superchargers, tires, clutches or anything
else.
"If Alan Johnson made cylinder heads that met our rules and didn't
sell them to anybody or only sold them to select teams he wanted to,
what control do you have over that? It's a free-enterprise market,"
Light says.
"Not to put down IRL, but in IRL racing, you have to buy one engine,
one chassis style. Well, gee, ours is a lot more open that. You have
more options. Is their system wrong? Not necessarily. It works for them,"
he says. "We have regulations . . . and if it meets that, we don't care
who built it or paid for it or who sponsored it."
Bottom line is that's The Way It Is unless the NHRA changes its rules
to mandate manufacturers to supply everything to all teams. And that's
about as likely as John Force and Whit Bazemore smootching on the lips
on the starting line.
The situation makes a PR pickle for NHRA, which is trying to attract
and keep new sponsors. Immediate disillusionment isn't what anybody
has in mind.
"The thing I liked about the NHRA was the spirit and camaraderie. Everybody
talks about brand loyalty," sponsor Stewart says. "We're playing in
the spirit of cooperation, but this is survival."
"It troubles me," NHRA's Light says, "that a team possibly would run
out of parts and be unable to compete. We're trying to encourage as
much participation as possible. But I don't know what we can do."
It's especially troubling, considering the sponsor in this case has
money he is willing to spend.
For now, Gilbertson and Smith need to make sure they walk a tightrope.
Run as aggressively as they can without causing an engine concussion.
Protect the one body --the 2000 Camaro that's patched, taped, buckled
and covered with stress fractures -- that has any chance of delivering
downforce. "We're competitive now, even with a body that's 100 pounds
overweight," Gilbertson says.
The big-picture problem for him is that GM assesses the competitive
capability of drivers in the final quarter of the year and awards contracts
accordingly.
Turner says, "It's not a question of limiting (Gilbertson), but last
fall, when we put this together, he was not running for a championship.
He wasn't under consideration for a contract. This year, he's running
great, but my budgets are locked in. At the end of this summer, Bob
Gilbertson is going to be in a stronger position to negotiate a contract
with us."
In Friday qualifying at Chicago, Gilbertson lowered his career-best
elapsed time to 4.858 seconds at 309.20 miles an hour. That marked the
third time in four passes he had rewritten his career-best time. He
ended the day No. 3 in the 16-car field. He ended up the No. 10 qualifier,
his best result of the season to that point and better than some of
the class' elite drivers.
How much can that help him, though? Granted, his first-round exit at
Chicago was no worse a fate than that of Tony Pedregon, who had won
the previous two events; Bruce Sarver, Winternationals winner and key
contender; Ron Capps, Bristol winner and Force's top points challenger;
and No. 2 qualifier Dean Skuza.
Who's better off? A Bob Gilbertson, who plods along with his talent
"showcased" in a piecemeal Funny Car that might, in the end, leave him
looking like an also-ran? Or a Cory McClenathan, who's sitting out,
frustrated, because he couldn't find a sponsor? At least McClenathan's
reputation hasn't been besmirched this season by equipment that is limiting
his performance.
A Cory McClenathan might be standing in line for a Top Fuel sponsor.
And maybe that beats standing at the back of the line, waiting for a
GM Funny Car body.
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