New Division one Director
 

They ( the NHRA) announced today that we have a new Division Director - Craig Curdie - he comes from FELD Entertainment after ten years there where he headed Monster Jam and worked with Ringling Bros & Barnum & Bailey .

Comes as a surprise to most of us in D1...........Anyone know anything about him????

Re: New Division one Director
 

Bean counter, let the cheating commence! Actually I wish him the best, I know I would not want that job! Hope it works out, but I must say someone with drag racing knowledge would of been a better choice

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He came from Feld , didn't they own IHRA at one time ?

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Yes, 2008-2012.

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They never said he was part of the drag racing, maybe he was, i don't think so, i don't remember seeing or hearing anything about him, i was a touring pro-am racer for many years, until the circus ran it into the ground, and again, i really do wish him the best of luck.

Re: New Division one Director
 

Ringling Bros & Barnum & Bailey. The irony is palpable.

Hoping for the best...

Re: New Division one Director
 

Well that fits in with NHRA , entertainment business not racing business.

Re: New Division one Director
 

he headed Monster Jam and worked with Ringling Bros & Barnum & Bailey

Wish Craig all the best, but this kinda says it all. Good luck with the NHRA circus.

Division Directors need to either be racers themselves or, at least, understand the needs of his/or her local racers.

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Lets see if he can keep the animals happy, well fed, and knows how to draw a crowd.

Re: New Division one Director
 

Very curious hire for the historic Division One, Land of NED.

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Anyone else curious about the high turnover in the DD ranks this year? Coincidence, or no?

Re: New Division one Director
 

I believe its just a matter of circumstance/coincidence.

D1 and D5 were directors with 25+ years of NHRA life, believe they were ready to move on, just happen to be in same timeframe. Although Rob will still be involved in mentoring the new DDs.

D4...sudden firing of previous DD, so Mady was promoted to DD after those events.

D7...Mike Rice was promoted to Sr. Director, basically he will be acting race director of all Nationals Events to drive consistency at those events across the nation. And also relieve some of the DD responsiblities when they have national events in their own division.

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Can't wait to see what kind of entertainment they bring in to the divisionals to draw spectators.

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Maybe “No Prep” would be a good fit….

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My close friend Larry Hill (all five foot twenty inches of him) experienced some NO PREP at the St. Louis double divisional a few weeks ago. Maybe Larry will chime in as I always appreciate his banter on the forum .

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D6 DD stepping down as well, no replacement named yet that I'm aware of.

Re: New Division one Director
 

:eek: Must be the NHRA silly season.

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Can't tell you how many times this year I thought I was on a "No Prep" track ..........

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I'm OK with that!

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Good luck to all of the new DD’s, we all want you to succeed. Since we are all customers (aka Members) we all the same thing, value for our money’s spent.

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While I'll wish Mr Curdie luck on his new adventure, I can't help but say that I'm disappointed in NHRA's choice.. there are many good candidates right in the D1 backyard, and they are not all on an application.. and I'm sorry, but I'm one of those Ol Skool promote from within guys.. D1 has missed an opportunity here..

My hopes for Mr Curdie is that he not only run the circus, but put fans in the stands.. while we racers are actually the performers, and we love to play to a crowd..

He may also want to have an accepted representative from each class, to assist him in keeping a finger on the pulse, so to speak.. some may say we already have that with SRAC, BUT, no one has checked my pulse in more than 20 years, so the opinions and thoughts of many are never discussed.. and constructive criticism can be very helpful in reforming any business..

While coming from the entertainment industry could be a help, running Ringling Brothers brings negative to the table, and only serves to solidify my thoughts on NHRA in general.. non-racers turning Wally Park's NHRA into a circus.. no good will come of this..

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I can't wait to meet him!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXyBueW7kJs

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I certainly wish all the current and new DDs the best of luck. The biggest barrier is their leadership at the VP level and up,

Re: New Division one Director
 

To all my HEROS. (HEROS= You)
We must all be positive with the nomination of Mr. Crudie, saluting his experience coming from those different avenues and his passion for cars. Big changes are coming and there big reasons behind such all those DD movements.
Our crowd is old we must find a way to bring young people “in”.
We must all promote your classics cars and all try new ways to promote our sport.
Drag racing and race cars are already targeted by cost, ecologist, environment, EPA, name it…
Race track are targeted by speculators for their great space value…
So we must support this arrival and give him a chance. We never know what will come from him.
Now, our simplest job is to communicate with Mr. Curdie, talk about our complaints, grievances but also new IDEAS and use his experience. Falling to do it will mean it’s our own fault, no other person to blame.
But wait, I forgot that I’m not a racer. I’m just a “50 years Pro fan observer” with the “Stocker Desease” and I feel part of this great family. I’m only the old guy, right there in the stand…

Re: New Division one Director
 

and HIS simplest job will be to listen to what we (the Racers) have to say and acknowledge the purpose of what we (the Racers) may have to say. At this point, we (the Racers) have much more experience than he does.
Good luck, Mr. Curdie! I will be looking forward to meeting you!

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Our crowd is old we must find a way to bring young people “in”

Put the ricers in Stock and Super Stock

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Don, that's not going to do it.

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The D1 banquet at the Hershey Lodge should provide some interesting feedback.

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Been there ...done that. Deja vu all over again.

The way to do it is to do away with 95% of "rules", ...and traction compound.

Re: New Division one Director
 

If you watched NHRA from the PRI show last night, they had all the new DD do interviews as all 7 of them and then individually. It starts around 3 hours in with all 6 of them and then they do individual interviews.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEzPN5uGdHY

Re: New Division one Director
 

Good morning to all,
Well after 20 years of denial to use a TH200 and finally put it in , I could go back to my 1.82 Power Glide. Have a Good day .

Respectfully,
Henry Kunz 1534 H/SA