Is IHRA Going Under?

[Rusty Davenport]

I think you guys are painfully dead on correct but let me add to the "no car culture" and the "old guys muscle car club" comment.......it is still the ECONOMY that has to be figured in too-----the ECONOMY is IMAGINARY NOW AND HAS BEEN FOR EIGHT YEARS and does not support young guys getting in the sport nor the interest, the Spectator is not there for the tracks with or without the freak show. It will be up to the smaller organizations like Eastcoast and CCRA to market it and sale it and include the IHRA type cars if they want a place to race and a sport to hold on to. Local regional organizations need to get busy, somebody could be creating a market here if they have enough interest and business sense. The tracks need it too.

[joespanova]

Originally Posted by BRETV

"American's don't have a love affair with cars" I beg to differ. Me and my family have been car dealers for over 60 years. And the new car business is selling just as many new cars as in the heyday and go ask Barrett- Jackson and Mecum auctions and all the other classic car auctions they have how business is. They're all doing great. On top of that that new car manufactures are in with both feet with the Cobra Jets, COPO and Drag Paks, The problem is the cost of racing is sky high and NHRA and Ihra have dropped the ball in promoting their type of racing. When Pinks All Out and Street Outlaws can get the type of following they have, Both HRA'S need to take note. It's not the LOVE that's gone!!. IMHO

The Barrett Jackson cars sold won't do a thing for drag racing. Those cars are coveted collectables now. The new cars are too expensive and generally , unless you have deep pockets and an insatiable quest for g forces or speed won't get touched by most guys............let alone see a drag strip.
The love may be there , but the hands-on desire to "tinker" isn't.

[BRETV]

Originally Posted by joespanova

The Barrett Jackson cars sold won't do a thing for drag racing. Those cars are coveted collectables now. The new cars are too expensive and generally , unless you have deep pockets and an insatiable quest for g forces or speed won't get touched by most guys............let alone see a drag strip.
The love may be there , but the hands-on desire to "tinker" isn't.

Joe your right about the "tinker" part. But it's because these new cars are too hard to work on and too expensive.



Bret Velde
2003 SS/LA

[Dan Fahey]

IHRA will survive.
They leave a lot of opportunity on the table.

NHRA is struggling too!
They have enough of a better model.

d

[Tracy Robbins]

Originally Posted by larrylomascolo

And who would have thought at one time ihra was so close in the same strength as nhra ,,When this nitro jam bull crap was the demise of the format and tourn. of champ,,when ihra had the same format as nhra,it seemed the strongest,and i thought like others M.Dunn was the savior of sac. body ,he was there to pull the plug,This is sad for motorsports if this does happen .

I think this is when you saw Bill Bader exit then Polburn and Scooter Peaco took over...that's when things began going down hill. Peaco tried to tell everyone that they were sportsman friendly and you could talk to him anytime. You could talk to him but it was like talking to a brick wall and they were dead set on changing what Bader had built! What a shame to see it go away, we have had a lot of great years racing and meeting new friends from all over the country but it will never be like it once was. That said, I don't think it is all Mike Dunn's fault, the ground work was laid by the previous regime.

[Jim Wahl]

Originally Posted by Tracy Robbins

I think this is when you saw Bill Bader exit then Polburn and Scooter Peaco took over...that's when things began going down hill. Peaco tried to tell everyone that they were sportsman friendly and you could talk to him anytime. You could talk to him but it was like talking to a brick wall and they were dead set on changing what Bader had built! What a shame to see it go away, we have had a lot of great years racing and meeting new friends from all over the country but it will never be like it once was. That said, I don't think it is all Mike Dunn's fault, the ground work was laid by the previous regime.

I think you have to remember that IHRA has been bought and sold twice in the last 10 years. They are currently owned by IRG, an insurance company. You have to know that whatever happens, good or bad, it is not without approval of the "mother" company. It IS possible that Dunn was brought in to slice and dice IHRA into an all "Pro" Nitro WWF style show. After all money is the root of all evil, right? Jim

BTW - I have a call in to Scooter and Mike.


.

[GUMP]

Originally Posted by Tracy Robbins

I think this is when you saw Bill Bader exit then Polburn and Scooter Peaco took over...that's when things began going down hill.

I really enjoyed running the IHRA races when Bill Bader was the boss. It's a shame that they have slowly reduced it to nothing.

[Dick Butler]

Imagine, everyone speaks of the demise of IHRA, NHRA with good reason. I believe the model of drag racing is so flawed it must die in this form. Bracket racing will never replace heads up all out racing. Watch round track grow because of low cost and many cases spec or sealed motors.
Cut the costs, simplify the car specs, make TIGHT rules on technology and some kids might enjoy. Very few who know Pokémon know cars because of costs and friends.
Any basic class would be better than current flood of variables and factors.
I miss the class racing but not the issues created by the classes and rules.

[Dave Ribeiro]

Jim, Tracy is right-on about this not being Mike Dunn' fault .. Back about 4-5 years ago when IHRA left VMP and went to Memphis... Tracy was right , it was after Bader had left that things got much worse !!! I don't think any one at Corporate cares about Sportsman Racers .... All we do is get increasing entry fee's & less prize money than 30 years ago ????
Let's hope IHRA can get their Act Together , because we Racer's need
to have options on where to Race ? Remember, the worst thing that can happen to us , Is to have only one place to Race your car ... When you don't have Choice's, you are Stuck !!!!

[Pinballer]

My hope is that IHRA is simply going through a reorganization and probably needs some time to sort out everything. If this isn't the case, and they intend to go nitro and not much else, they'll die out for sure. All that you need to verify this is a look over at the other outfit.

The sportsman racer-- liked or not by either sanctioning body, is the true backbone of competitive drag racing. It's the first step on the ladder to moving up to the professional classes. The one thing class racing has over regular bracket racing is a heapin' helpin' of "class". The class cars all look great, they run absolutely fantastic once you understand what they're doing and how stringent their rules are, and the racer's pride in their car's performance and their dedication to the craft is second to none. In fact, more is probably asked of this guy or gal than anyone else in racing. When was the last time your regular weekend bracket racer was demanded to tear their engine down for inspection?

The sanctioning bodies would do well to keep featuring sportsman racing, not throw it away. If it ends up that they ARE that dumb and kick it to the curb, hopefully somebody else will step up and create a league for it. The racers will attend, there's plenty of us, and all that's asked by them is a safe and fairly prepared place to do it and a payout that is reasonable for the entry fee demanded.