Just Wondering ... Why are there so many questions and so few answers?

Just Wondering ... Why is the NHRA brass so taken aback about the level of anger expressed by the professional truck racers after they killed the class? Did they think that those racers who had invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in their Pro Stock Truck program would just roll over and say nothing?

Just Wondering ... What PR genius at NHRA decided that instead of calling, say, the top 10 truck teams and letting them know a couple of weeks in advance that they were going to kill the class, that the best way to inform race teams owned by lifelong NHRA racers like Bob Panella, Jerry Haas, and the Coughlin family was to call some of them about 15 minutes prior to sending out the email that announced the demise of the class?

Just Wondering ... When will the first professional race team file a lawsuit over NHRA's action? Many of the top Pro Stock teams are owned and financed by successful businessmen who aren't use to being treated the disrespectful way most of them seem to think NHRA has treated them and they aren't used to losing.

Just Wondering ... Does putting the letters 'PRO' on a race truck windshield cause the owner of one of those trucks to actually lose their mind and decide it is a good thing to spend $60-70,000 on a pickup and buy small block Chevy engines that cost $90,000 each and then race in a class that pays less than $10,000 to win?

Just Wondering ... Could somebody, anybody, please explain to me just how a Federal Mogul dragster or funny car could or should be called a Sportsman racer? If the definition of a sportsman racer is tied to the premise that those racers are supposed to be racing for fun not profit, then most of the Top Fuel and Fuel Coupe racers would also have to be considered "Sportsman" racers.

Just Wondering ... Am I the only person confused by the fact that NHRA gave the Federal Mogul dragsters and funny cars a purse increase? By all accounts they aren't considered a spectator draw and there can be no doubt that at most of the NHRA events on the National and divisional level full Federal Mogul fields are rare. The Pro Stock truck racers never had a shortage of entries but their class got axed. It would appear NHRA rewarded mediocrity. Can you say politics?

Just Wondering ... What kind of signal did it send to the Pro Mod teams that are considering running NHRA when prez Tom Compton told the press that one of the reasons the trucks were axed was to cut down the number of Pro Classes from five to four -- and that there was no consideration of having more than four in the future.

Just Wondering ... Is there any possibility that NHRA could pay contingency for exhibition classes such as Pro Mod? There are probably a lot of manufacturers who would go for that.

Just Wondering ... Since the Coughlin family is going to lose the truck class, how long before we see some of them in Pro Modified competition? Would it be out of reason to think one or more of the Coughlins could end up at IHRA and NHRA events in a Pro Mod?

Just Wondering ... Could it be that the reasons for NHRA not dropping Pro Stock bike along with the trucks are: (1) that NHRA is banking that the new Harley-Davidson overhead cam motor currently being developed for the program will bring the ultra-loyal Harley legions to NHRA events once the motor hits the track and (2) Angelle Savois doesn't drive a truck!

Just Wondering ... Did the airlines decide that if the Reagan administration could say catsup was a vegetable, they could call a bag of unsalted pretzels an in-flight meal?

Just Wondering ... Am I the only fan that wishes the NHRA television broadcasters--- except for Crux Pedregon -- would quit being so damn cute and spend a little more time learning and reporting the sport? Studying the old ABC World of Sports broadcasts and Chris Econmacki's interviews should be mandatory for all of them.

Just Wondering ... Will Dick LaHaie ever get another starting line interview?

Just Wondering ... Where was Pro Stock Truck Owners Association president and main mouthpiece Bob Unkefer when the boat was going down? You'd think that he would have had something to say about the situation other than a denial of a quote attributed to him, especially since he supposedly represents the truck owners.

Just Wondering ... I have asked before and I'm going to keep asking. If, as NHRA says, the Federal Mogul dragsters and funny cars are supposed to be feeder classes to the Top Fuel and Funny Car classes, why doesn't NHRA allow injected nitro funny cars? The only people who could possibly object to this are alcohol funny car teams that have no plans to ever step up.

Just Wondering ... What is going on in Top Fuel? There were just eight cars at the recent IHRA national event at Central Michigan and there would have been only seven if Jack Ostrander hadn't lapped his spare car. The field at the NHRA race in Seattle was a joke after eight cars. Has it finally become just too damn expensive to run these cars no matter what the qualifying money is?

Just Wondering ... Isn't it true that when a sanctioning body make rules they believe will deliver the famous "level playing field" all that is really accomplished is that those rules just make the real racers work harder to get an advantage?

Just Wondering ... Why didn't NHRA at least consider giving the Pro Stock Truck racers a season to use up their equipment instead of obsoleting their race cars and engines with just a handful of races left? I'm no fan of the trucks as they are configured and I won't be a hypocrite and lobby for their return and I believe that NHRA in all probability did what was the right thing, but they were completely wrong in the way they did it.

Just Wondering ... If DaimlerChrysler and GM were to offer IHRA and Bill Bader both the direct and "backdoor" factory support for a Pro Stock truck class similar to what went into the NHRA program, could or would those racers go to IHRA? Talk about your culture shock for all concerned....

Just Wondering ... How long will it be before some smart racer makes a Pro Mod out of one of Jerry Haas' ultra slick Mercury Cougars or one of Rick Jones' Neons? When it finally happens the only thing that will keep one of those cars from dominating the class will be a rule change.

photo by James Drew

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