[Rob Wright]

Everything I'm saying here is being said with a liking and a respect for everyone on all sides, and I happen to hold personal opinions that favor a lot of what the article says.

if the article is stating there are problems, I think the problems should be clearly identified and measured before there are any suggested fixes. Otherwise there will be lots of fixes for things that are not broken.

So here goes............


"What is the future of the Factory Stock Showdown. Well, without real support from NHRA, who knows. Its hard to understand why a class that has GM, Ford and Chrysler committed to building and supporting these cars gets very little promotion from NHRA."

Factories are involved because the FS cars are products that the factories produce and sell at a benefit for their respective Companies. Some make money, some say they do not...Either way there is a benefit to the OEM's. Otherwise they would definitely not do it.

At a minimum, OEM participation in FS is good for product image and credibility, and it gives buying customers something to reference when they decide to buy a CJ, DP, or COPO. Keep in mind, over 75% of these are bought by fans & enthusiasts who are not likely to participate in regular sanctioned drag racing.

"In fact, if it was not for Sam Tech (School of Automotive Machinists & Technology) they class may not exit today."

Having a title sponsor to fund the class is not a bad idea, plus it creates piggy-back media opportunities for the class and for the sponsor.

Otherwise funding would have to come from the existing pot, and none of us know what the actual impacts would be if money was redirected towards FS from somewhere else. We also do not know (with certainty) whether the series sponsor(s) have any say-so in it or if they would agree with it.

It's great that SAM Tech signed on and they are truly some of the nicest-greatest people out there. Still, at the end of the day nobody can really say with certainty that nobody else would have signed on to be the title sponsor for the FS class.

"NHRA does promote its 4 professionally classes as it should to bring the best possible show for the fans."

I'm sure we can all agree on this point

"They seem to have missed an opportunity to increased their fan base with this new class. Knowing that most fans come to see the fuel cars, these fans are also very in tune with what the big three produce when it comes to factory performance cars."

"And although there is a excitement in the NHRA sportsman ranks about the Factory Stock Showdown cars, there seems to be very little excitement from NHRA."

What is the measure to gauge current fan interest in FS, and what is the extent of fan interest? As an example (and not basing everything on a sample set of only one event), what did fan interest look like during the FS events in 2017? Did it grow, shrink, or stay the same compared to 2016?

If the thing that would make all the difference in the world is NHRA promotion, there would absolutely have to be some indications of fan interest by now since the class has been ran at several events during more than one racing season. Does anyone have any data or meaningful observations, even if they are subjective?

["Most of the NHRA top brass has probably never walked the sportsman pits to look at the race operations of these teams and the investment they have.

Does this statement say that NHRA should reward racers because some of them chose to make significant investments? Another way to ask the same question - if payout and contingencies offered $5.00, should those incentives be raised if someone shows up with a $1M setup to compete?

"Many sportsman races are always talking to the tech officials and asking why?

If they are asking tech officials, doesn't it seem that they are asking the wrong people? Even so, what are the tech official's responses?

Why doesn’t NHRA want to promote this class, and why don’t they promote the sportsman class as a whole. Its one of the best car shows you can go to. What other motorsport has so much diversity and accessibility. With today’s business climate, why would you not treat the sportsman as an asset instead of a liability.

Same questions as above regarding fan interest......What do observations and other measures show for fan interest (causual and die-hards) in NHRA sportsman categories during the recent seasons up to today?

If there is a tremendous opportunity lurking, there would absolutely positively have to be some serious indications that can be quantified & spoken to.