Re: Atlanta dragway
 

There was never a real Phoenix track but one that is near and dear to me closed a number of years ago. There was a lot of interesting stuff that caused that one to shut down. I don't think Ray saw either Firebird nor Speedworld shutting down, albeit one was resurrected.

Re: Atlanta dragway
 

Cromwell is useless......

Re: Atlanta dragway
 

It isn’t a problem to do that. It is the lack of any plan that supports drag racing that is alarming to me. There is no doubt that they have tough decisions to make, but as an association, it should be much more transparent to the members what their plan is.

It would be much more reassuring if they simply identified their national event strategy and just stated which markets they were going to focus on and which ones couldn’t make the cut.

If they don’t or feel they can’t manage tracks any longer, so be it. I just don’t think the leadership has any true understanding of their role as leaders of an association.

If they do, they are not following those principles well.

There is no doubt that there are experienced and knowledgeable employees at NHRA that could help them take their blinders off, but the executive leadership must not support an open forum internally.

Re: Atlanta dragway
 

Jim, this is one of the best posts of the year. As sad as it is, I think you nailed it, and I couldn't agree more.

Re: Atlanta dragway
 

If you look around, there are way too many organizations granted non profit protections. The IRS is so under staffed they can not regulate these folks properly. Another NHRA member and myself looked at this over the years and even hired a lawyer to look at the NHRA. We couldn’t get the IRS interested in doing any kind of investigation or audit, even though the attorney thought they were operating in a manner that violated their non profit charter. When we, the members gave up our voting rights we ceded power to the management. What all these non profits do is pay out their profits to executives in large salaries.

Re: Atlanta dragway
 

So what do they sell next, Gainesville Dragway to make room for student housing?

Sounds like they are a for profit corporation.

Unless they build a new track in the Atlanta area.

Which isn't happening.

Down here there was thought to sell the union hall, there was a near riot during the meeting over the tax ramifications.

Re: Atlanta dragway
 

Actually they stated that they were going to take some of the revenue from the sale to upgrade Gainesville Raceway. Not sure if that is still the plan. I am sure the execs will pocket a good bit of that money. Its sad that we cant get better management of NHRA

Re: Atlanta dragway
 

And the key word in the statement is "some". Think about that.

Re: Atlanta dragway
 

People need to remember Non-Profit does not mean they cannot make a profit. They have to or they will go out of business just like any organization. They are in their rights to take the money from the sale and invest it back into the organization. They are also allowed to keep a fund/carry over money for the future.

Re: Atlanta dragway
 

Bingo. It's a business, not a charity. NHRA cut a lot of staff in 2020. Per Glen on a conference call, all the execs took a pay cut. Now what that means is not my business. I'm just happy to race.

It's also 1 track gone. A track that is costing more money than it's generating year after year. There's a very good chance NHRA will announce new tracks to host National events in 2022 or 2023.
Calm down. Change is OK. It's not the end of the world. See you in Atlanta.


Matt Hanley
Car Chief
Leverich Racing Top Fuel Dragster