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

[Mike Meier]

I've come to the conclusion that in order to be a big time CEO you have to be illiterate!

[Alan Roehrich]

Originally Posted by 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

Bill,
I think you misunderstood what I was saying. I'm not really completely convinced that the clowns on the board believe they do not need sportsman racers at all, although I think it is entirely possible that at least a great number of them do truly believe that NHRA could get along fine on just the "pro show" (you need only remember their failed attempt to separate the sportsman show from their beloved "pro show" to see this). What I am saying is that they are incredibly ignorant, negligent, and incompetent, and that is why they do what they do.

They are completely out of touch with the wants and needs of the true sportsman racer, they do not know, nor do they really care. Most of what they have done for years is in direct conflict with the health and welfare of sportsman racing.

They operate under the assumption that sportsman racers will continue, in great numbers, regardless of what is done to them or how bad things get. To some extent, a fairly large number will, at least as long as they can, until such time as something changes their mind. However, the longer the economic downturn lasts, and this one may last a good while, the easier people's minds change, and the more change their minds. That in itself gains momentum, building on itself as the number grows. There is a tipping point, and a point of no return. The question is when, if ever, will they see it coming. Will they care enough to react if they do? Will they know how?

I expect that their great concern for the bottom line and their wallet in the short term will lead them to continue in their current ignorance and stupidity, and they will continue to act in direct conflict to the wants and needs of sportsman racers and sportsman racing itself. Never under estimate the greed of the out of touch individual in management, concerned almost entirely on his own wallet and his own easy life.

Given the current economic situation, the results could be disastrous. I'd bet they'll continue to ignore what happens to sportsman racers, sportsman racing, as well as the sponsors and suppliers of sportsman racing, in order to do what they can to fill pro fields and get title sponsors. Sure, maybe they'll offer little trinkets, or maybe even kind words, but that'll be the extent of it. The sportsman racer and those who depend on them will be left to fend for themselves.

Hopefully, I'm out in left field. We'll see.

[sweetpea]

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

[keith ohanesian]

We are the title sponsor dahhhhh