I feel so sorry for Kenny Bernstein!

[Tom Goldman]

Well stated,Billy! ....I've always felt the same way about Bernstein, always the perfect corperate suckup during all those interview's. ......never showed the emotion of someone who was excited about winning,only satisfiying the corperate masters........Winston,for good or bad,at least gave a lot back to ALL the racers. ...Never saw Bud do much of anything for the unwashed masses of Sportsman racers ! ..........Oh well,I dont drink Bud anyway..................Tom

[Freddie]

I dont feel sorry for any of these "PRO" racers, it is because of the excesive ammount of $$$ that these racers need is why the sportsman racers are suffering. Used to be able to get oil, spark plugs or other small freebies from most of the companies out there, but not since the cost for them to be involved with the pro cars has skyrocketed. Yet it is the $$$ from the sportsman racer that is paying for them to race.

[treessavoy]

If you think Kenny is the only suck-up in drag racing you are extremely brain damaged...all the pro's are that way and if YOU have a significant sponsor you're a suck up too!

I have the pleasure to know Kenny and if you think he was born with a Bud in his mouth you couldn't be more wrong! Kenny worked his way up by racing on his own dime. He started out by running his own wrecker company in Dallas with him doing all the work until the business went big. He then sold that business and started Chelsea Street Pubs in Malls throughout the Southwest. He sold the business and went Funny Car racing on his own dime. After a race one weekend he trucked his entire rig up to the Bud plant so that when everyone came to work on mon. morning the whole plant saw his car and rig as they came to work...and that got him his sponsorship...and he worked his *** off to keep it!

While you are gloating you missed the point completely......if this can happen to one of the most successful race teams what do you think other sponsors are thinking now? Would your sponsor be financially better off if he didn't have to give you money?

This is the crack in the dam and I believe we're going to see a lot more of this....from top to bottom.

Jim

[Billy Nees]

I know all about his past history and I am NOT missing the point! The point is that man almost singlehandedly ruined Drag Racing! He took it from a "Car Guys" game to a "Corporate" game. I still feel sorry for Garlits.

[Kenny Wigington]

Yep, the hell with em ! Not a KB, but one of the bigbiys(in his own mind) owed me $5300, refused to pay any more, got me in a bind, and went out and bought himself a $100,000 Mercedes. Thats one I wont piss on, if he catches fire. ....

Best part is, he aint racing this yr again !!!

[treessavoy]

Either you guys are very young or you just have a dislike for Kenny.

Do you really think Kenny was the first guy to have a major sponsor? What about prudhomme, he started BEFORE Kenny, in fact you have to go back to the '70's to find pro's getting with major sponsors.

Garlits has always done it on his own and had major sponsors through the '70's .......ie. the Wynnscharger?

[Tom Goldman]

Originally Posted by treessavoy

Either you guys are very young or you just have a dislike for Kenny.

Do you really think Kenny was the first guy to have a major sponsor? What about prudhomme, he started BEFORE Kenny, in fact you have to go back to the '70's to find pro's getting with major sponsors.

Garlits has always done it on his own and had major sponsors through the '70's .......ie. the Wynnscharger?

You're missing Billy's point.......Bernstein took Corperate to a whole new level,escallating costs to a point where even some very wealthy privateers said enough! .......Those early sponsorships were for a lot less than you could imagine, and usually were based on a per diem basis that required multiple apperances per week,at dealerships ,ect......Over the years I've met and got to know a few of the Fuel pioneers, their stories ar a lot like ours, living to go to the next race,trying to get enough money to get there........Bernstein, and others like him escalated the costs for all others, starting with among other things, Million dollar salaries for crew chiefs!........Tom

[treessavoy]

Originally Posted by Tom Goldman

You're missing Billy's point.......Bernstein took Corperate to a whole new level,escallating costs to a point where even some very wealthy privateers said enough! .......Those early sponsorships were for a lot less than you could imagine, and usually were based on a per diem basis that required multiple apperances per week,at dealerships ,ect......Over the years I've met and got to know a few of the Fuel pioneers, their stories ar a lot like ours, living to go to the next race,trying to get enough money to get there........Bernstein, and others like him escalated the costs for all others, starting with among other things, Million dollar salaries for crew chiefs!........Tom

No, I'm not missing his point!
His point is a personal attack on someone he doesn't even know and singles Kenny as the root of all evil, not even mentioning the prudhomme's, Mcculloch's, who started out with corporate sponsors....before Kenny came back into racing! Lay the blame on all of them or none but don't just single out one person because you have some delusion that he is at fault.

If you want to throw stones at someone, throw them at the NHRA that has a whole division that is responsible for finding sponsors for NHRA professional racers.

Lastly, by the end of the year you're going to hear that other pro's are losing their sponsors and if enough of that happens and the pro's are no longer racing.....neither will you be racing.....the NHRA will fall if enough sponsors pull out.

How I see it.

[Rick Schilling]

Originally Posted by Billy Nees

I know all about his past history and I am NOT missing the point! The point is that man almost singlehandedly ruined Drag Racing! He took it from a "Car Guys" game to a "Corporate" game. I still feel sorry for Garlits.

Billy, you are absolutely right and I couldn't agree more. But when you stop to think about it, hasn't the same exact thing happened in just about every form of motorsports? The story always seems to start with humble, "grass roots" beginnings and ends up with the need for "cubic dollars" in order to participate. Seems to be a never ending battle.

P.S. With all due respect to all of the great names in the sport, past and present, Garlits is still my hero. (Could have something to do with my age I suppose).

[SSGN]

Don"t kid yourself Kenny Bernstein and most the pros like him have alot of money ,and could run on their own dime with only associate sponsors.They want to spend others money.Unfound money is easier to spend.Why do you think so many of these products that sponsor racing are always higher priced retail products.We are paying for it.Why is Brad penn oil cheaper than Castrol we feed John Force oil?Just my 2 cents.


Kevin