Spoiled Brats!
 

It's what we ALL are. We're spoiled brats. Admit it. We all know it even if we don't want to admit it and if you won't admit it then you're delusional.
NHRA knows it too and they will use it against us for as long as there's an NHRA. They know that we all want that Wally because that Wally means that, if only for one race or one class run, we are the best at what we do in the biggest game in town. No other sanctioning body or independent race will do. And NHRA knows (short of quitting) that there's nothing we (the Racers) will do about it. Ya know why? Because we'll never stick together and do something about it. We will always fight amongst ourselves and be divided.
Ever hear of any Racer trying to organize a "protest" of NHRA by not going to their races? Sure you have. Know why we don't? Because for every Racer who WILL stay home, 3 WILL show up because they KNOW that "if you're not there', I've got a better chance of winning that Wally".
Has everyone read Tim Fletcher's post regarding the CRN excuses ( good letter Pup, I couldn't have done better myself!) list? Those excuses would never keep most of us away from an NHRA event and a chance for that Wally!
Just what IS a Wally worth anyway? Mine are mostly put away in a closet so that I don't have to dust them. Some have never been taken out of the boxes. Ya can't eat them. I guess the memories of the day mean more to me than the Wally does. Maybe (definitely, to me) it was the purse. Well, maybe not the pathetic purse anymore.

Just a couple more things, what will you do if/when NHRA goes away? Their "competitors/members" are literally dying to get out of the sport/hobby. Will the Jrs. keep them in business?
If NHRA went away tomorrow, do you all think that John Force would quit? Not a chance, he'd find a venue to pay him to put on a show. Would the local track owner just close the gates? Not a chance, he'd find Racers to pay him to keep the gates open and the track running. Would you all just park/restore/scrap your S/SS cars? Some might, most won't. Probably just finally have to find an independent race to run. That is if we haven't chased away all of the people who would be willing to put on a race like that by then.

Ya know, if ya want to spend a million bucks to race for NHRA's pathetic purse fine,ya want to race junk then go for it. BUT at some point in time quite soon we had all better stop acting like "spoiled brats" and figure out some way to become a more cohesive group.

Depending on your opinions of this post, I've either had too much or not enough Cuervo. Blame it on that.

Re: Spoiled Brats!
 

Well stated Billy.

How many dedicated NMCA racers once considered racing amongst the "Brat Pack" and thought better of it.

They seem happy.

Re: Spoiled Brats!
 

Very good post Billy. You have been around long enough to see the highs and lows of NHRA racing.

Whether it is NHRA racing or association racing, please remember to have fun before the show goes away. It is now 2023 and NOT 1970 anymore. Work together as a group and see IF the show can get better. If it doesn't get better, then it will go away.

I love Stock and Super/Stock racing as much as anyone can that doesn't race anymore and hope I can see great racing action for many more years.

See you all at a track here in the Northwest. Have a fun year ALL of you.

Re: Spoiled Brats!
 

When Professor Nees shares one of his gems of wisdom, I fast forward to the bottom of the post, hit “Like”, and return to the top…can’t help myself. :D

Re: Spoiled Brats!
 

Billy Nees for President 2024!

Re: Spoiled Brats!
 

Nick,
Be careful of what you wish for.

Re: Spoiled Brats!
 

Most people are creatures of habit. They look at NHRA as the only place to race and act accordingly. I think that many, consciously or not, see an NHRA event as their version of the Olympics and want to participate regardless of how they're treated.

I see a lot of comments about how important Stock and Superstock are to NHRA. That's another delusion. The money they get from our entry fees is bupkis compared to their other income streams. Plus, NHRA has expenses just for our being there.

We're not important. That's the bottom line no matter how much lip service is paid, by NHRA or anyone else, to try convincing us otherwise.

The whole thing has been circling the drain since the early 2000's.

Re: Spoiled Brats!
 

Billy you should have just that amount of Cuervo. ( What ever that is) more often. I agree on everything you said. And you didn't even bring up my combo!!!! BP

Re: Spoiled Brats!
 

I'm not interested in racing NHRA National Events any longer. I will attend Divisonals and try to stay away from Regional Alcohol events but some are combined with Divisonals.
National events are just not fun and I'm tried of 7.00 AM to get ready for first out.
We all need to remember NHRA is in the entertainment business.
Stock/ Super is NOT the entertainment for majority of fans.
Stock /Super stock most likely has a shelf life at NHRA National Events. Yes they need us at Divisonals as we ARE (most of the time) the largest group of racers at the event.
NHRA is not going to get track owners to pay them to bring a Divisonal Event to their location if Racers don't show up . Look what happened at the Div 6 Mission Race in 2022. There's no Mission Divisonal race in 2023.
There's nothing wrong with NHRA, they run a business , it's their business they can run it anyway they want .
As Stock/Super Stock racers, if you don't like the way NHRA runs their business as it effects you, then I would suggest you try something different.
Get over the Wally thing, or wanting your car in ND or what ever your attachment to NHRA is, because it's ending at some point.
As I have said before on this forum , support your local Stock SS Assocation by GETTING involved. Not just showing up at a Association race , but in the building of a strong , well run organization for the future of Class Racing.
If there were 10 or 12 strong Assocations across the U.S with
5 to 6 well attended races annually , getting a Major Sponsor and secondary sponsors becomes a real possibility.
Association Racing is the future for Class Racing, like it or not.

Steve Teeter Stk/SS 620.

Re: Spoiled Brats!
 

Let me remind everyone , without NHRA there will be NO local stock/super stock associations. You can’t race stock /superstock without the latest up to date horsepower factors. It will just be a bracket race without heads up runs and even now some local associations have dial ins when two cars in the same class meet in eliminations.

Re: Spoiled Brats!
 

I've pretty much raced at all levels including local brackets, local associations, IHRA, NMCA, SUPER CHEVY, and NHRA. The good Lord has blessed me over the years and I've Won my share. That being said there is something about that Wally that keeps us coming back. Every Year I say I'm done. Gonna race local next year and every year my stupid self comes back again, now I do enjoy the National Events. It's like going to a car show but we get to race too and what do we get a WALLY. See yall at the Gators.
Great post Billy

Re: Spoiled Brats!
 

MJ,

We'll all agree that The NHRA rules are the basis for Stock and Super Stock racing. But unless NHRA just drops those classes, association races are a viable alternative.

Everyone on this forum has seen the trends: higher entry fees and lower quotas for national events. What happens next year when the quota drops to 40 and entry fees go up to $400, and the first entry to national events starts at 10 grade points? And then a change to a 30 car quota (we know they can't do math so a 32 car field will not happen)? They have to make room on the schedule for FX cars this year and in the not too distant future electric cars. Tick tock.

The Northwest Class Racer Association put on 3 race weekends in 2022 with 5 races. I talked to every single racer and the universal response I got was "it was the most fun I've had racing in a long time." Association races may not be perfect, but they are a very viable and fun alternative.

Re: Spoiled Brats!
 

When and if the heads-up ever goes away so will we. I want to run all the A/SA and B/SA heads-up. If I win the round I’m happy and if I loose I now have a roadmap on where I need improvement. For me it’s a win win situation.

Re: Spoiled Brats!
 

Just a couple of things there Buddy, if you have a "heads-up" run and both participants aren't taken apart and certified as legal then isn't it just a bracket race anyway? M.J., please take note.

You need a Neon! Lots of room for improvement and you can draw your own roadmap!

Re: Spoiled Brats!
 

I totally agree. I applaud your dedication to the NW class racers. My concern is down the road If NHRA does indeed eliminate stock /superstock …

Re: Spoiled Brats!
 

Wally Parks and Walt Disney had much in common, they were genius creative pioneers. and if they were still with us their creations would not be in such a disorder.

Re: Spoiled Brats!
 

I disagree MJ , the Association that I race has heads up runs and they are often the highlight of the race. We could continue to run at todays factors and still have a fantastic time. I don't see any future factoring that would change things, and if there was , the association would simply address the issue. Personally I believe that all these associations should have heads up runs.

Re: Spoiled Brats!
 

Dave, without an impartial arbitrator (however arbitrary NHRA is at times it is the authority to which we all submit) wouldn’t a independent association eventually have to rule on “unfair” ratings that will result from heads up runs? Associations potentially playing favorites would lead to their own demise.

Re: Spoiled Brats!
 

Jim, NHRA hasn't been in the "impartial arbitrator" business for a long time. Just look at the lack of any kind of Tech.
And yes, I believe that an Association "playing favorites" would lead to it's demise.
If you don't believe that NHRA is "playing favorites" then you must be going to races with your eyes closed!

Re: Spoiled Brats!
 

Agree Billy, just saying their authority is absolute however capricious and arbitrary it is. If we want to race with them it’s their ball and court. The Wally quest and the prestige (however fleeting) means we swallow all sorts of crap. An association ruling just doesn’t pack the same weight. If they lose the faith of their customers then the precarious numbers of those racers will shrink.

Great thread title BTW.

Re: Spoiled Brats!
 

Stk/SS Associations rules are decided on by its members. If they want heads up runs they have heads up runs. Many do not because they do not want to discourage slower cars from attending.
Yes a cars legal issue is challenging, but it's the same at a NHRA event today. There's no simple answer on verifying that a motor is legal . But certainly carburators, correct # on the heads and intakes is pretty straight forward to accomplish.
As to HP and classes, it's easier to use NHRA estblished numbers BUT it does not mean you can not modify and improve it with input from ALL the Class Association racers. Which I would add, we as Class Racers have very little input into currently under NHRA.
Class Associations only works with all the racers working together to make it what THEY want.
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and and over, expecting different results
Try something different...

Steve Teeter Stk/SS 620

Re: Spoiled Brats!
 

There is no way to make everyone happy in this racing game. Association racing is a very viable option to help fill the needs of ALL the racers. Life alters our plans many times. We can't always attend all the events that we had planned to be at. Work and health are the biggest factors in altering our schedules, just a fact. I am retired - and in good health WOOHOO!!!!!!!!

Participation is the key to having success in ANY racing venue. That was a problem here in the Pacific Northwest as Steve Teeter and Larrry Merk did their very best to make the 1st season of NWCRA a true success. I believe we needed 32 cars at each event and the most we had was 26?? One of our racers won 2 races - How happy was he with $4000 in his pocket.

I had a great time helping them at each race and the racers I talked to said it was a lot of fun. Let's get out there and have fun racing and support the races that fit your needs. I will be at divisional races and association races as time allows. Like I said before - - association racing is a very viable option to fill your racing needs.

Re: Spoiled Brats!
 

The All Stars is a great and well run association that I miss very much.

Re: Spoiled Brats!
 

"Ever hear of any Racer trying to organize a "protest" of NHRA by not going to their races? Sure you have. Know why we don't? Because for every Racer who WILL stay home, 3 WILL show up because they KNOW that "if you're not there', I've got a better chance of winning that Wally"."


In my years of covering races - from the tower and sometimes from the staging lanes, starting line, or pits - I personally saw this happen at least twice.

One was a group of Pro Stock racers refusing to go down a very questionable track where there had been one crash and a couple of near misses. Graham Light adressed their concerns by telling them that if they chose not to run, he would have no problem still producing a full field. They knew he was right and all of them backed down.


IMO, our problem is that a lot don't realize that racers and Glendora are coming from totally different angles. I saw NHRA move to the maximize profit theory, where changes were made if a company was willing to pay. For example, look at HD in bikes and Barry Grant never being able to get his carbs legalized in PS. We people who've been around a long time remember when changes were made because it was the right thing to do.

Finally, the executives at the track keep a very close eye on the stands. When they fill for fuel and empty for most other classes, that's their metric for what paying customers (spectators) want to see. I can't count the times I was told that fuel was the show and everything else was just filler to avoid long delays between races. And yes, you racers here provide a huge chunk of money. But so do spectators at national events, and that's free money over and above the costs to run a race where there is little expense for their attendance.

But Billy is dead on. Through some shrewd decisions made years ago, NHRA was able to have a massive edge over any alternatives. Some of my work was done in the IHRA, and it was apparent that NHRA had locked in the best tracks in the country.

The most significant thing that's happened during the time I've been involved happened a long time ago and didn't seem all that big a deal at the time. It was when the proxies were sent out on a vote that essentially removed any power from the membership to have any say in how the nonprofit was run. And that is why even after decades of racing, watching, reporting, and writing I don't have even a ghost of an idea of how to make things better for the racers.

Re: Spoiled Brats!
 

Ain't that attitude just a damned cryin' shame?


A Wally, at any cost, regardless of how many asterisks are next to it.


That's so different from true sportsman racing, and really, real racing, period. True sportsmen, and real racers, will wait for a competitor to make a quick repair, etc, and not even complain. I cannot imagine jumping to enter a race because a bunch of fellow racers were going to boycott it for a valid reason.

Re: Spoiled Brats!
 

Dan - might you recall when this occurred?

Re: Spoiled Brats!
 

Early 1980s.

Re: Spoiled Brats!
 

Back when that vote was sent out none of us ever dreamed that NHRA would ever become what it has or that the sport would develop as it has. Sure wish I had the opportunity to do that vote over. Mike McMahan 2543 H/SA

Re: Spoiled Brats!
 

But we can all bet that most of the people at NHRA who were responsible for that had the current level of control they have in mind.

Re: Spoiled Brats!
 

The only person that I could imagine being there at "that point in time" would be Dallas Gardner.

Re: Spoiled Brats!
 

Kinda sad really...
Not what NHRA was created for, for sure.
Like all things, the money corrupted it...