[KRatcliff]

Originally Posted by Frank Castros

The N.H.R.A. survives without;
Don Garlits, Don Prudhomme, Bob Glidden, Shirley Muldowney, Kenny Bernstein, Warren Johnson, Bill Jenkins, Joe Amato, Dale Armstrong, Mickey Thompson, Lee Shepherd, Pat Austin, Eddie Hill, Ronnie Sox, Tom McEwen, Jim Liberman, Don Nicholson, Ed McCulloch, Raymond Beadle, Connie Kalitta, Pete Robinson, Jack Chrisman, Gary Beck, Tommy Ivo, Gene Snow, Jim Dunn, George Montgomery, Art Chrisman , Chris Karamesines, Dick LaHaie, Darrell Gwynn, Brad Anderson, Willie Borsch, Terry Vance, Blaine Johnson, James Warren, Danny Ongais, Frank Manzo, John Mulligan, David Rampy, Frank Hawley, Dave Schultz, Ken Veney, Billy Meyer, Malcolm Durham, Richard Tharp, Elmer Trett and Me!

A lot of big names there that are gone for sure, but those are names when the NHRA was thriving. It is far from thriving now and the question is will it survive. It probably will survive, but it is a long ways from thriving in my opinion.

It is not hard to see when there are far fewer teams fielding multiple cars that the NHRA is riding on a much riskier bet than the list above. The vast majority are single car teams and much more diversified when one retires or leaves the sport.

I guess the thing that bugs me the most about this is not that people come and go. That is a natural progression. It is disappointing that a sport with such addictive qualities is being talked about their survival. I know this has been talked about for decades, but at some point it no longer becomes a chicken little discussion. Unfavorable team demographics, management decisions, and other mitigating factors seem to be hitting all at once.