NHRA's New Budget Cut

[Michael Beard]

I have a Gold Card from winning the NHRA Div. 1 Bracket Finals in 1994. The card was good for 1 car and driver *AND* 1 crew member. There was no mention of bracket vs S/SS. Unfortunately, it was a few years before I started running Stock, so I had only used it to bracket race. I was going to help one of the NHRA Bracket Finals champs get started in Stock Eliminator this year, but when he found out his Gold Card wasn't good for Nat'l/Div'l races, he backed out, and NHRA failed to "set the hook" on yet another racer.

I won the IHRA Div. 2 East Bracket Finals this year, and received a Silver Card, (same deal as NHRA's "new" bracket-only Gold Card... not good for Pro-Ams or Nationals). Bracket Finals champs used to get "full" Gold Cards, up until about 5-6 years ago. I think Jim Cimarolli was among the first to receive the "revised" Gold Card, which was later renamed Silver Card to reduce confusion.