[Gary Smith]

Originally Posted by Marvin Robinson

Well, I hope this is not an opening of Pandora's box..... I would certainly like to see better practices on behalf of the Sportsman Racer from NHRA, but I wonder if this lawsuit will turn things in that direction, or have unintended consequences for all of us.

The Salaries quoted do seem excessive, but I don't buy for one minute that Dallas and Graham work 1 hour a week. Anyone who has run any type of organization larger than 5 people knows that the principal people involved put in many times the effort and hours that you would think they do, to make things happen. Having said that, 700K, 400K or more, may be excessive compensation for what they do, I don't profess to know enough about what kind of time & effort they actually expend, and whether the salary for those positions is justified. I DO know that I'm not real happy with how they have addressed (or failed to address) many issues on the part of the Non-Professional racer.

The salaries are only a small part of a larger problem... how well does the organization serve it's designated members (ALL of them, not just the pros), and what kind of relationship does it maintain with it's members, suppliers, affiliates and contractors? How well does it control it's expenses, and does it distribute it's services equitably and in a fiscally responsible manner?? Does it properly account for all of it's activities and finances??? How well this has been done in the past will have a direct bearing on the procession of events in this lawsuit, and the outcome(s) relative to the average racer. I hope for the best...

Statistics prove that any successful organization is always run by someone who truly loves and believes in the product/service they're providing. They reap the monetary rewards when their customers/clients are happy. But those who are motivated by money first, then the product/service suffers, ultimately driving away customers through dissatisfaction and sometimes animosity. All three of the top brass (Light, Gardner, and Compton) are about the money/opportunities over the love of what they do. The NHRA is a sick train and has been running on borrowed time and will derail unless someone knows how to turn it around.