Interesting Article

[Mike Fuller]

This article needs to be read by the NHRA exec's

http://www.competitionplus.com/index...8827&Itemid=21

[Jason]

Interesting article for sure.

I just looked at the 2009 schedule and of the 24 national events, 8 of them do not have a title sponsor. Thats 1/3 of the events. Last year only 2 events were untitled. Maybe some sponsors will step up before the season gets under way.

[bill dedman]

You know, for many, MANY years, NHRA drag racing existed in a world where nobody had ever HEARD of a "title sponsor."

I really didn't like it when they changed the name from "The NHRA Nationals" to "The U.S. Nationals".... and REALLY, REALLY, didn't like it when they added "The Mac Tools US Nationals."
Seemed like it cheapened a pure entity.... commercialized a thing so valuable and unique that it should have transcended crass commercialization.

But, they didn't ask me...

The point I wanted to make was, if NHRA drag racing survived and even PROSPERED and GREW with no "title rights" sponsors, why are they perceived as being so important, now?

It's still a contest of acceleration in front of spectators.... and, will be.

I don't think the sky would fall if ALL the "title rights sponsors" suddenly disappeared from the face of the earth. NHRA got along fine without them from its first Nationals in 1955, for probably at least 30 years, thereafter... what's so special about 2009?

The bean counters need SOME limits on how much they can squeeze out of this automotive turnip....

Just my 2-cents...

[Alan Roehrich]

Bill,
The problem is, the top section of NHRA is sucking up all of those title sponsor dollars, and without those dollars, they'll find more dollars to suck up elsewhere. The top is where it happens during growth, that's where the money goes. But when there's contraction or shrinkage, the bottom is where the difference is made up until it can no longer be made up. Then it's dead. NHRA is no different than any other large corporation, whether they claim non profit or not. If sponsor dollar shrinkage continues, it'll be passed down the food chain. We're at the bottom. It gets here first, and hits here the hardest. It's not that we're not going to get a pay out increase, it's that we're going to get shorted everywhere, and charged more. The lower the class, the harder it will be hit by lesser contingency payouts. The lower the class, the sooner it'll see increased fees, everywhere, in small increments at first. They'll make cuts in sportsman tech too. And if that means they have to make bracket racers out of Stock and Super Stock, well, so be it. Don't get me wrong, I fervently hope none of this comes to pass, but I'm a realist, and a cynic, with a side of pessimism. Dealing with corporate America has taught me some hard lessons. I trust them only to do what best benefits the board of directors and stockholders most, even if only in the short term. No one looks at long term anymore. They demand returns and profits now, regardless of cost.

NHRA is too big to be truly concerned with the sportsman racer, just as NASCAR is too big to be truly concerned with their weekly racers. The weekly racing there has been suffering for years, just like it has in drag racing. The only things being done for the benefit of the sportsman racers are being done by racers themselves and a few wise track owners.

[Gary Smith]

Originally Posted by Alan Roehrich

Bill,
The top is where it happens during growth, that's where the money goes. But when there's contraction or shrinkage, the bottom is where the difference is made up until it can no longer be made up.

That is the best written explanation of what I've tried to say, preach, pound, and scream to friends and family for the last few years, especially since the death of my father in 2007. I've endured more lies, false hope, deception, humiliation, and devistation than should be allowed by law. I will not go into details about our "family" business transactions but let's just say I've watched and heard just about every communicatable angle in an attempt to convince I lack better knowledge about business and success in the corporate world. There are some slight similarities in what's occuring in Glendora that is presently taking place in our business. Much of it relates to people who claim to "know the corporate world" and "to not bother with botton end details". My in-laws come from VERY large corporate environments where, my guess is, creative detailed thinking is discouraged. Maybe that works in a well financed conglomerate, but a surefire recipe for disaster in a small business. My biggest gripe (about my in-laws) is "they never see the train until it's 10 feet in front of them".

[bill dedman]

Alan,

You may be right, but I don't see NHRA killing the goose that continuously lays the golden egg for them (the Sportsman racers), just because the "title rights" train is stalling on this hill.

I think they KNOW which side their bread is buttered on. To think that they'll commit financial hari-kari by killing off the Sportsman program that has provided them with so much of their income over the years, doesn't sound like a very smart thing to do...
But then, nobody ever accused them of being "smart."... LOL!

Thanks for your thoughts!

Bill

[sweetpea]

Hi Alan---Couldn't put it any better! Scot LaMar

[keith ohanesian]

We are the title sponsor dahhhhh

[bill dedman]

Alan,

I can only HOPE you're wrong, but in my heart, I know you're right; I just don't want to admit it....

Thanks for your well-written and insightful explanation, devastating though it may be.

Bill

[Alan Roehrich]

Bill,
I'm not a bit happier about it than anyone else. I dearly love the sport, it means the world to me. I've been blessed with the opportunity to participate twice in my life. It saddens me to no end to see the direction it is taking.

I wish that the solutions were simple, not nearly so painful as they are, and that we could get enough people on board to make them work. Unfortunately, I think it will take a lot stiffer and harsher dose of reality to make that happen, and it may come too late.

The sport, as we, the old school die hard racers know and love it, has changed a great deal, and will likely change a great deal more, and not for the better, unless something causes a serious change in direction.

What we need is for as lot of people (thousands) to be visited by the three ghosts, drag racing past, drag racing present, and drag racing future. I think many would be scared to death when presented with the third.