New NHRA President!
 

Just got this email!


As chairman of the board of the National Hot Rod Association, I am proud to introduce Peter Clifford as the new president of NHRA. Peter has been a senior executive in our organization since arriving in 1997, making him uniquely qualified to lead NHRA today and well into the future. I hope you will join me in welcoming Peter as he and the NHRA embark on what I know will be a promising and successful new era for our sport and organization.
Peter will succeed Tom Compton, who faithfully served the NHRA for more than two decades. Tom announced his retirement from the NHRA this morning. We are grateful for Tom’s contributions and service, and we sincerely wish Tom and his family the best.
You are an important member of the NHRA family. As such, I am writing to you today before we make the announcement public. The NHRA is one of the premier racing organizations in the world, and that makes our appointment of Peter Clifford as president very big news, both within and outside our industry. As you will see shortly, Peter’s new role as president is not only big news, but good news as well – good news for you, our organization and, above all, the fans that we mutually serve.
You may have questions or comments. If you do, please feel free to contact me. In the meantime, please know that your support is deeply appreciated and never taken for granted. We’re thrilled by what awaits the NHRA and we thank you for your loyalty and partnership.


http://www.nhra.com/UserFiles/File/P...ifford2015.pdf

Re: New NHRA President!
 

This is good news! I don't know much about Mr.Clifford but he surely will be a better president than the last. I look forward to learning more about Mr. Clifford and his way of leading the NHRA to new and better times! Jim

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Re: New NHRA President!
 

I'm cautiously optimistic.

I hope someone who does know about him will stop by here and clue us in.

Re: New NHRA President!
 

Here's a little bio on Peter Clifford. http://www.nhra.com/UserFiles/File/P...ifford2015.pdf

Re: New NHRA President!
 

I think he may have had a Camaro in High School...

Re: New NHRA President!
 

LOL
If that is true...
Then the next question is, did he put the headers on himself?


Mike A114 P/SA

Re: New NHRA President!
 

just another bean counter no better than the last

Re: New NHRA President!
 

x2

Re: New NHRA President!
 

Mike Lewis for president.

Re: New NHRA President!
 

I really think they should put Bill Bader in charge. That man can fill the seats for a sportsman race and he is good to the racer, spectator and sponsors. JMHO

Kevin

Re: New NHRA President!
 

FYI ... when Bader fills the seats at divisional races it is the show that fills the seats, not the sportsman racers. He starts his Saturday night show at 6 pm and the only classes that run are Comp, Top Dragster, Top Sportsman and alcohol. Throw in wheelstanders, jet cars and funny cars, followed by fireworks and you fill the seats. The other sportsman racers are done by 5 c'clock.

Jim

Re: New NHRA President!
 

Yeah I should have known better than an endorsement from Dallas Gardner, another bean counter who f'd up NHRA before Compton raped and pillaged it.:( Gardner and Light need to be put out to pasture too so the real improvements can begin. A corporation, no matter how large for profit or not, doesn't need more than one CFO. that is only for balance, but they need a visionary who knows what the hell is going on, knows his "customers"

Let's just hope PC's passion ranks higher than his penny pinching.

http://competitionplus.com/drag-raci...ess-conference

Re: New NHRA President!
 

Mickey Wahley for President. No minced words there.

Re: New NHRA President!
 

I heard as part of his golden parachute he gets a designated driver to take him to ti**it bars for life.

Re: New NHRA President!
 

"“The more than 22 years I spent helping to build the great team, strong partnerships and robust operations the NHRA now enjoys makes this decision a difficult one.”

Ummm...."strong partnerships and robust operations"....he's obviously drunk or delusional or both.

Re: New NHRA President!
 

When Compton took over NHRA had just lost the Winston sponsorship. In just a short time he had procured a series sponsor. According to the financial reports of the organization the financial position has greatly improved during his tenure. There is no way anyone will please all the racers or fans, drag racing has so many facets to it. But, as far as steering the organization through serious financial challenges he has done a good job.

Re: New NHRA President!
 

I can appreciate what you are saying, to some degree.

However, if you take a "non profit" organization and turn most every decision purely toward making a profit, at what ever cost you deem necessary to due paying members of that organization, and further remove those dues paying members from the decision making process, you can improve the financial position of that "non profit" organization.

It would be far more impressive if he had improved the financial position of the organization without doing it on the backs of and at a cost to the individual dues paying members that are the back bone of the sport.

Not to mention the fact that due to the financial decisions of NHRA, the sport is very unhealthy now. Car counts are down all over, almost without exception, and it is not at all uncommon to see one or more of the pro categories unable to fill a 16 car field at a national event. It is also not at all uncommon to see very successful championship winning racers completely unable to secure necessary sponsorship to compete.

There are a lot of organizations that look good financially, on paper, but are not really doing well at all.

Re: New NHRA President!
 

Nailed it

Re: New NHRA President!
 

Alan is exactly correct.

Enron looked very good on paper until the very end when the fraud was exposed.

Just My 2 Cents
Rick Cates

Re: New NHRA President!
 

So here's my question and I'm sure it's been asked many times. What if anything can we do about it? Here's my story. I grew up at the race track and worshiped all the stock/SS stock racers and their family's. I dreamed that someday I could be in the staging lanes with them racing and I was for a short time till I ran out of money. I was and am addicted to drag racing and not just the racing part. I'm talking about all the great people you meet there and the comradery. One of my favorite things is to hear the stories the (for lack of a better term) old times tell. Not that I'm young any more (40). I've been on the sidelines for 3 years now and it sucks but I just can't afford to do it.
I've always felt if you want to get new and younger people interested in this sport make JR. Dragsters more affordable IE sealed crate engines. I just thing it's so wrong that only rich kids can race. Sorry I needed to vent. I keep reading pissed of people posting on hear but I haven't seen any real suggestions of what we the sportsman racers can do about it. Yes I understand nobody comes to the track to watch stock or super stock race but for me it's the most fun to watch. Is the reason non racers don't like is because they don't get it or know many of the characters that are doing it?
Have a great 4th everyone!

Re: New NHRA President!
 

Do what Rob Keister and others have done. Start your own series and book time at dragstrips to run it.

Re: New NHRA President!
 

DAVE DENSMORE SPEAKS (COMMENTARY): ABOUT AS TRANSPARENT AS A BLOCK OF GRANITE
http://www.competitionplus.com/drag-...ock-of-granite

And don't miss the first comment. It says a lot.

Re: New NHRA President!
 

Depending on why Compton was MIA, the reason may not be anyone's business.

As for the rest of Dave's comments, I've always thought that instead of having a bunch of PR and marketing people in Glendora, it would be better to have one marketing and PR person in each division who would b responsible for promoting drag racing of all kinds in that region. They would work with the track operators, build relationships with local media, set up public appearances and displays, etc.

When a national event came to town, that person could start weeks in advance promoting the event, instead of starting the week before.

A few years ago, I was talking to an NHRA PR person during the Keystones at Maple Grove. He was complaining that the motorsports writer for the Philadelphia Inquirer never mentioned the race in his Wednesday motorsports column. I asked when they sent information about the Keystones to the writer and was told they sent it on Monday, two days before his column. I then asked if he was aware that the writer's deadline for the Wednesday column was Saturday at noon, so that any pre-race information sent to him on Monday would arrive too late to make the column. The NHRA person said he was not aware of the deadline but that they were too busy with each race to work that far in advance.

Jim

Re: New NHRA President!
 

Jim, pretty sure that when NHRA posts Division Director positions they use the tasks you've outlined...

Re: New NHRA President!
 

Yep ... except that Division Directors are not marketing or PR people.

Jim

Re: New NHRA President!
 

Well, from what I understand. That's exactly what our Div director is. A marketing major

Re: New NHRA President!
 

So What does the new president got planned ?

Re: New NHRA President!
 

Most of the colleges, of any size at all, have an internship program. Hire an intern. A perfect opportunity to help young people with their education, and expose them to our sport.