[Lew Silverman]

This isn't the first time that ESPN has moved or preempted NHRA coverage for NASCAR or the NBA! As has been mentioned above, NHRA pays for the privilege of "showcasing" the professional classes on ESPN, and in my humble opinion is not receiving fair value for it's (OUR!) money. The Saturday program was scheduled for 3:30 AM here on the East Coast, and even that was delayed over 20 minutes for a "Baseball Tonight" re-run! Then yesterday's debacle, switching a broadcast already in progress to another channel, which coincidentally NEVER carries ANY NHRA programming, and is a "premium" channel on most cable systems! And our only other coverage, on the computer-based ESPN3, has gone from a "live-feed" of the event to another, more in-depth rehash of the trials-and-tribulations of the professional drivers and their team owners.

By this point, we should be thankful for "any" Drag Racing coverage. And you would have to assume as long as the NHRA is paying for it, we DESERVE a more well-produced product. Say what you want to about "Pink's" and "Pass Time", at least our sport was out there on televisions in the homes of millions of potential fans! How many people stayed up until after 3:30 AM on Sunday, or made the switch to ESPNews (if they could) on Sunday night?

While it's pointless to argue that the sportsman racers are still getting shortchanged, because they are and have been for a good long while, doesn't anyone at the Association HQ's understand that the entertainment "package" that we are being fed is sub-standard? Are they waiting for someone, possibly Lucas's new "MAV-TV", to fund their productions? The Velocity Channel seems to be willing to take-up some of the vacuum left by the demise of what now is called FS1, so maybe something good will happen. I just hope we haven't lost all of our fan's by then!