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Greg Gay · 02-20-2011, 01:07 PM

Thank you for the responses, everyone. My real problem is not with the television coverage, it is with the money, although after rereading my post, I can see why the discussion has gone down this path. I remember hearing of guys in the ‘60’s and ‘70’s winning three times as much as they had invested in the car. When I bought my Stocker, I paid $18,000 for a car (and trailer) that could win $15,000. Not THAT long ago, I heard rumors of a guy building a Hemi Plymouth, and he would have $40,000 invested in it by the time he was done. That was considered outrageous at the time. Now, how much does it cost to build a Stocker? And, how much can you win with it?

My two main points were that we missed a huge opportunity when Wally Park’s proposal to split the Pros from the Sportsman didn’t go through (with what amounted to a trust fund to support sportsman racing well into the future). And two, I think the publicity that we do get is what separates NHRA Sportsman racing from other forms of racing at the same level. Many organizations have put together a $10,000 to win race for far less entry than $305. Here, more and more money continues to go to the nitro class. But, they know they can continue doing it, and still keep the fields full, because we all want to see our picture in National Dragster, I guess.

02-20-2011, 01:07 PM	#22
Greg Gay Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Vermont Posts: 389 Likes: 22 Liked 286 Times in 73 Posts	Re: NHRA and the Olympics Thank you for the responses, everyone. My real problem is not with the television coverage, it is with the money, although after rereading my post, I can see why the discussion has gone down this path. I remember hearing of guys in the ‘60’s and ‘70’s winning three times as much as they had invested in the car. When I bought my Stocker, I paid $18,000 for a car (and trailer) that could win $15,000. Not THAT long ago, I heard rumors of a guy building a Hemi Plymouth, and he would have $40,000 invested in it by the time he was done. That was considered outrageous at the time. Now, how much does it cost to build a Stocker? And, how much can you win with it? My two main points were that we missed a huge opportunity when Wally Park’s proposal to split the Pros from the Sportsman didn’t go through (with what amounted to a trust fund to support sportsman racing well into the future). And two, I think the publicity that we do get is what separates NHRA Sportsman racing from other forms of racing at the same level. Many organizations have put together a $10,000 to win race for far less entry than $305. Here, more and more money continues to go to the nitro class. But, they know they can continue doing it, and still keep the fields full, because we all want to see our picture in National Dragster, I guess.