A subject for discussion on a winter's day.

[Chevy55]

If I remember correctly Clear Channel Entertainment was to buy the pro division only of the NHRA but it was voted down by the Clear Channel stockholders.

[B Parker]

In the last several years I've seen a lot of new positions at NHRA. Not sure how many VP's they have but it seems like every few months there's another one. How about if they were to hire someone that would actually go out and promote the sportsman classes. We are one of the greatest car shows on earth. If they stay with the current model of (DO NOTHING) for us this side of the sport will eventually die.

It's sad most of us are just a bunch of Sheep. We would have a real impact if we could just come together as a group. Even the Pro's can't stick together. Just look at Pro Stock. Wait in a few years when the fuel cars can't field a full sixteen at most races. Can we say combine Top fuel and Funny car and have only one payout. A lot of us own businesses. Could you imagine treating your paying customers like this. Sorry I'm only going to let 50 in today. We don't really need you. Yah I know you helped me build this business but that was yesterday.

Almost all of the grass root NHRA workers that we see at the events are great guys and girls and do a great job. The ones at the top don't seem to really get this sport or have a consistent direction. Maybe they do. It's whoever has the biggest dollar today. But in the end you can only burn so many before it catches up to you. And I wouldn't want any of them to touch me. They seem to slowly kill off anything that doesn't fit their current agenda.
BP

[Rory McNeil]

Originally Posted by B Parker

Even the Pro's can't stick together. Just look at Pro Stock. Wait in a few years when the fuel cars can't field a full sixteen at most races. Can we say combine Top fuel and Funny car and have only one payout. A lot of us own businesses. Could you imagine treating your paying customers like this. Sorry I'm only going to let 50 in today. We don't really need you. Yah I know you helped me build this business but that was yesterday.


BP

Funny thing is that NHRA reduced the amount of races this year that will have Pro Stockers in competition, yet at Pomona, Pro Stock was the only "PRO" category that had a full field, even had a couple of alternates. By comparison, neither Top Fuel nor Funny Car were even close to having 16 cars each. But I suppose NHRA considers the Nitro cars as untouchable prima donas, so they are immune from such tactics.

[Mike Jones]

Originally Posted by B Parker

It's sad most of us are just a bunch of Sheep. We would have a real impact if we could just come together as a group. BP

...But why shell out money (that could go to salaries and bonuses) if you could get something for the fans to watch - and not just for free, the performers would pay YOU. So yes, they need the sportsman racer but sadly, not in the way any of us want.
Dan Bennett

Mike A114

[ALMACK]

Originally Posted by john ancona

Looks to me like like the splitting has already started, no tech,no tear down to speak of, lower quotas such as in 45 posted and then revised to 60 for now. Sportsmen is truly a not-for-profit already at 60. That Compton was a true visionary years ago.

Originally Posted by Myron Piatek

I wonder if class at the "Little Gators" is a feeler gauge towards that split?

The indicators are there....

* Lower quotas at Nat. events
* Run class at Div. events

My prediction for the future is zero Stockers & Super Stockers at Nat. events and the Division races will be where class eliminations are ran

[james schaechter]

Originally Posted by Myron Piatek

I wonder if class at the "Little Gators" is a feeler gauge towards that split?

I don’t really care if the class run offs are at a National or a points meet. I like running class. I actually see that as a positive step. I would hate to see all class runoffs go away from the nationals, but if they added more class optional races at points meets, I think that would be a plus. I would pay to run class. Especially if that helped pay for the Class eliminations and maybe even a tech inspector to tear down a person or two.

[john ancona]

Originally Posted by Billy Nees

A number of years ago, then NHRA President Compton was in discussions with someone about splitting the NHRA Sportsmen away from the pros. I guess that the idea was to turn the pro part of the program into a "for profit" business and keep the Sportsmen as "not-for-profit".
Can anyone out there shed any more light on this? How close did this come to being a reality? Do you think that we (the NHRA Sportsmen) would have been any better or worse off had this come about?

I'm just asking questions here.

Looks to me like like the splitting has already started, no tech,no tear down to speak of, lower quotas such as in 45 posted and then revised to 60 for now. Sportsmen is truly a not-for-profit already at 60. That Compton was a true visionary years ago.

[Billy Nees]

Originally Posted by Billy Nees

A number of years ago, then NHRA President Compton was in discussions with someone about splitting the NHRA Sportsmen away from the pros. I guess that the idea was to turn the pro part of the program into a "for profit" business and keep the Sportsmen as "not-for-profit".
Can anyone out there shed any more light on this? How close did this come to being a reality? Do you think that we (the NHRA Sportsmen) would have been any better or worse off had this come about?

I'm just asking questions here.

But, does anybody else care to comment on this subject? And yes, I know that Racing isn't the same as it was 10 or 50 years ago.
I have just always believed that we (the Sportsmen) have much more to offer than we have ever been given credit for. I also believe that we have never been presented/marketed correctly by the sanctioning body and I believe that is intentional.

[ALMACK]

I like to find a positive in every situation...

So it is encouraging to see the division races getting live streaming coverage that anyone with the internet can watch for free. ( Thanks Warren )

That's a huge plus as this allows people ( that may not know much about class racing ) to get a glimpse of what it's all about.

I'll continue to class race as long as I can and enjoy it

[Dave Muller]

Originally Posted by Billy Nees

But, does anybody else care to comment on this subject? And yes, I know that Racing isn't the same as it was 10 or 50 years ago.
I have just always believed that we (the Sportsmen) have much more to offer than we have ever been given credit for. I also believe that we have never been presented/marketed correctly by the sanctioning body and I believe that is intentional.

I just have one comment. Everyone seems to assume that splitting NHRA into two, one for pros and one for sportsmen, automatically means running separate events, with no sportsmen running in the national events with the pros.

But there's no reason they can't split the businesses and still hold the races jointly. There are lots of races out there with more than one sanctioning body involved.