Strange Engineering/NHRA dispute

[FED 387]

Strange is about 20 miles from me- I know a lot of the guys in there---constantly working and developing new parts for Nascar-they have realized the continuous money potential of Nascar and stock car racing in general. Drag racing for the most part is a one time deal-- you buy some axles they never need to be replaced--buy a center section once in a while--- many companies sell ring & pinions so why would they want to invest in something like that??? Nascar on the other hand usually has "no budget" when it comes to replacement parts--- they replace stuff every weekend after every race and carry a boat load of spares too. I think they are weaning themselves off of drag racing and focusing more & more on "stock car" racing-- I've met Jeff on many occasions and he is not dumb he is following the money trail-Strange does not need NHRA it has a well known name and will survive without NHRA---NHRA on the other hand needs Strange as well as the other manufacturers to survive and keep revenue coming in-- my 2 cents on it FED 387

[HR9121]

Originally Posted by FED 387

Strange is about 20 miles from me- I know a lot of the guys in there---constantly working and developing new parts for Nascar-they have realized the continuous money potential of Nascar and stock car racing in general. Drag racing for the most part is a one time deal-- you buy some axles they never need to be replaced--buy a center section once in a while--- many companies sell ring & pinions so why would they want to invest in something like that??? Nascar on the other hand usually has "no budget" when it comes to replacement parts--- they replace stuff every weekend after every race and carry a boat load of spares too. I think they are weaning themselves off of drag racing and focusing more & more on "stock car" racing-- I've met Jeff on many occasions and he is not dumb he is following the money trail-Strange does not need NHRA it has a well known name and will survive without NHRA---NHRA on the other hand needs Strange as well as the other manufacturers to survive and keep revenue coming in-- my 2 cents on it FED 387

Agree, very well stated.

[Lee Jordan (3223) A/S]

Originally Posted by Rusty Davenport

I'm not taking sides in the least, but when I look at a company with a customer base like Strange is $13,000 really what the problem is ???

$13,000 is not the point. If it was $10.00 it would be the same. Its the fact that NHRA is not negotiating at all. Its pressure to pay is ridiculous and leans more to intimidation than buisness. I wouldn't pay them anything. Some buisness could be hurt by this non-payment if their product would not be on "the list" of acceptable replacements but the fact that you have to PAY to have your product approved for use,,, I am not sure about the integrity of this aspect.
Seems to me if you have enough money to pay NHRA you could have anything approved for use in any class. Bribery comes to mind here!

[SSDiv6]

This whole scenario reminds a conversation I had many years ago with Art Morrison. If many remember, he used to advertise a full page in ND and also pay contingency. NHRA changed the terms of contingency and advertising to the extent he had to stop doing so. It did not affect his business since he moved his business towards street rods.

[Rich67stang]

[QUOTE=
Seems to me if you have enough money to pay NHRA you could have anything approved for use in any class. Bribery comes to mind here![/QUOTE]

And now we have Cobra Jets with Yates Heads running in stock...

[njk53]

I can see Jeff Strange's point. The NHRA makes Strange display an NHRA/Strange decal that doesn't benefit Strange from a product standpoint. Strange wants to see decals with the Strange name along with the product the racer bought and uses on his race car. Strange is just trying to optimize their advertising dollar. What is happening to them now is they are flushing their advertising dollar down the drain due to a lack of product exposure.
The NHRA needs to be careful. Race component suppliers can easily implement a private contingency program and cut them completly out of the loop.

[Jeff Stout]

If companies were to privatize contingency could NHRA make racers not display a decal on car ? I don't know. This came to mind when I was selling VP in Phoenix. I presented a bid to a local stock car association and did Sunoco. Sunoco won the bid and everyone had to run the Sunoco decal and could NOT run a VP decal on car or they wouldn't get paid. This happened on a local level but the racers went for it.

[Rat Raceway]

Originally Posted by Jeff Stout

If companies were to privatize contingency could NHRA make racers not display a decal on car ? I don't know.

^This is what came to my mind.

Try to run a Pepsi decal on you car and see what happens! Its in the rule book that you can't have a carbonated soft drink other then Coke.

[Sean Marconette]

Originally Posted by Rat Raceway

^This is what came to my mind.

Try to run a Pepsi decal on you car and see what happens! Its in the rule book that you can't have a carbonated soft drink other then Coke.

I have wondered when I would be asked to remove my Pepsi flag I put up on my trailer! It has not happened on the divisional level. Yet!

Good luck to Strange. First MW, and now Strange. Is Moser next? Most all cars going down the track have aftermarket axles, it just does not make sense to keep running sponsors off. But the ones making these decisions need to take a step back and look at the big picture.

Sean

[B Aceves]

Why don't manufactures just have you fill out a form when you purchase a product that you compete in Drag Racing give them the car # and screw the decal, do it private ? If NHRA won't let us run the decals because of that I'm more than happy to take all that crap off my car !
I don't think running a decal really makes a huge impact on the product we use when there are O Frign people in the stands when we race !!!
But the fact is I spend my money on the product …...