Time to focus on the positive

With the holiday season coming up and everyone, including myself, getting into the Christmas spirit, I thought I would go over the things I thought were positives surrounding drag racing and motorsports in general. I am not going to tell you I know everything that goes on, but I sure find myself roaming the Internet a lot and watching about everything that SPEED Channel has to offer, as well as 1320go.com.

Speaking of the SPEED Channel, for some reason I can sit and watch the 'Pass Time' for hours on end. As long as they have real drag cars going down the track, I watch it. Anybody else got the'Pass Time' addiction? I just want to get the Olds on that show and stand it up for them one time. That's something for my growing Bucket List.

Looking back over the events, announcements, and things that caught my eye, in no particular order:

  1. Watching Jason Line capture the Pro Stock title and handling it with dignity and humility. He is an excellent example of a World Champion, and that is a POSITIVE.
  2. Finding myself cheering for Erica Enders to get her first Pro Stock victory with a holeshot win and then hearing what Dave Connolly has to say to the ESPN TV crew.
  3. Watching Randy Folk resurrect “The Million Dollar Drag Race” and coming up with an event where over 200 racers were willing to peel out $2,000 each to see if it was going to be “their day” as the best bracket racers faced off in Montgomery, Alabama. Congratulations to Shane Carr on winning the richest bracket race on the planet.
  4. The improved “live-internet race action”. Thanks to 1320go.com for some great work. Some had multiple fixed cameras, quality announcing. When I listened to Jared Pennington at the 'Million' over the Internet, I couldn’t turn it off.
  5. Maybe the best “positive” would be to have Jared replace the ESPN TV announcing crew! That would be awesome.
  6. Seeing Del Worsham win the Top Fuel Championship after working his way up was cool. Hearing he was retiring about a week later pretty much sunk that positive feeling. Replacing skill and desire with cash is not a positive for the sport.
  7. I have to admit I am a fan of the NASCAR guys too. I think it is mainly because of the technical side of it. The drivers, at least the ones they interview, seem arrogant and rehearsed. A guy I think is a positive to NASCAR is Tony Stewart whose old school attitude is refreshing. I also think NASCAR is a lot less when Darrel Waltrip isn’t in the announcer booth.
  8. The NASCAR switch to fuel injection will be interesting but it makes sense since Detroit doesn’t use carburetors. I hope NHRA gets rid of those butt-ugly hood scoops in Pro Stock and lets them use fuel injection. That would be a POSITIVE.
  9. I am hoping something will come from the half-empty grandstands we’ve all seen on TV in 2011. Hopefully the NHRA, IHRA, NASCAR, IZOD Series and many other sanctioning groups will figure out how to fill the seats. The diehard race fans are getting older and I think reducing the outrageous prices would be a POSITIVE move in the right direction.
  10. At the PRI Show a few weeks ago, the aisles were full of people looking at the latest and trickest parts on the planet from manufacturers that came from all over the world. The manufacturers I spoke with were all upbeat that we have seemed to turn the corner economically and things are improving. I sure hope they are right – that, my friends, would be a POSITIVE!
  11. The Grassroots Bracket Series had its best race ever at Ardmore (Oklahoma) Dragway and that speaks volumes that the local bracket racers and tracks are working together to keep our sport alive. That is a huge POSITIVE!
  12. The young racers are starting to establish a strong presence at tracks and events across the country. They seem to be more interested in Friday night test and tunes and heads-up racing, but that is OK with me, as long as they are drag racing and having fun. That is how the sport started. Simple and fun…now there is a POSITIVE!

I know there are tons of more positive things and events. These are the ones that came to mind today. I hope you will stay positive and reach the goals you have set for yourself and your family. Drag racing has been and I hope will be a big part of my life for years to come. The friends I have made and the new friends I have yet to be meet, is no doubt the biggest POSITIVE of every year. You know what? I have been going to the drags for 41 years and every week it seems something different happens… I love it.

I hope we will see a lot POSITIVE things happen in 2012 for our country, our brave members of the Armed Services, our families and, of course, for motorsports as well.

Hope you have a Blessed Christmas and a fantastic New Year!