'THE GREEK' DESERVES MORE THAN HE GETS
To Chris Martin:
THANK YOU !!!!!!! for the story on "The Greek." My sentiments
exactly. Somebody needs to wake up and realize that this guy is way
under-rated. I love him and am so glad that he is racing, despite the
fact that he is basically ignored by the sanctioning bodies.
Roger Hammon
Tampa, FL
VEGAS TRACK PUTS ITS MONEY ON YOUNG RACERS
I was pleased to see your comments on the Orlando's "idea"
of running a "Midnight Madness" program in an effort to curb street
racing. But if you want to find out if the program will be a success,
there is no need to wait for Orlando to have their (next) event. Contact
Chris Blair and the Vegas Strip staff! They have been holding similar
events for the last few months, routinely drawing over 200 cars and
a horde of spectators.
Greg Stanley
A FEW SUGGESTIONS FOR IHRA
I want to start out by saying DRO is the best Drag Racing
internet page. You are the best for keeping everyone updated. Lenny's
Line is one of my favorites each time I log on. However, I disagree
with one thing in the 6/10 edition.
I did what Lenny got to do by going to a IHRA & NHRA National
Event back to back. This is the best way to compare the two and get
more Nitro. I went to Richmond then Bristol. I agree the booked-in idea
is great for IHRA Pro-Mod and maybe the way to increase attendance for
Drag Racing across the board. Across the board besides NHRA Natl. Events
that is. This brings me to my point. Living in Bristol I was die hard
IHRA for most of my life. IHRA up until the 80's was about as big as
NHRA with top drivers like K.B. coming to Bristol and other IHRA events.
Then IHRA messed up big time and dropped Nitro Funny cars. Fans want
Nitro!!!! And the more classes of them the better. This is my disagreement
with Lenny in the 6/10 article. IHRA Top Fuel is very weak now but Lenny's
idea to drop them is crazy! Look what happened when they dropped Nitro
Floppers. You can't have a National Event without Fuel cars. What IHRA
needs to do is have book ins for T/F and get the car counts up and make
it where a Don Reed or Steve "Hillbilly on Nitro" Smith can make it
to Grand Bend. Sixteen car fields would then be normal for IHRA. Of
course then have qualifying and eliminations and pay extra for winning.
Most fans want Nitro and would rather watch Top Fuel drivers like Louie
Allison smoke the tires off as to watch a clean Pro-Stock run. And one
more thing, why is Clear Channel not paying for a Top Fuel car. It would
make more sense. Top Fuel and Monster Trucks are the the most extreme
machines on the planet. Also, the name Grave Digger needs to be on a
digger.
Keep up the great work. And thanks for letting me vent
on your time. There is nothing like Drag Racing.
Mike Carrico
Bristol, VA
CHILL OUT, STEVE
OH God help us, NHRA does away with Ta/d's and Ta/Fc's
and all we get in return is a screaming Frey trying to get the people
to beg for T-shirts. OK ! Listen carefully, NHRA, a national event without
TA/D's & TA/FC's is like a beautiful blonde without a pair of T#$'s,
Oh yes, just in case you don't get it, The TF drivers
of the past and future didn't come from T-shirt catching, They came
from the TA classes, eg Manzo Scelzi.
Thanks
Steve
PRO STOCK TRUCK LAWSUIT, LETTER 1
Burk said, "Who can really benefit from this action by
wealthy racers against NHRA....the correct answer is the lawyers." This
is a very narrow minded, corporate butt kissing comment. I don't know
if the point of the pending lawsuit against NHRA is to benefit the Pro
Stock Truck racers directly, or rather to try and make NHRA have some
shred of concern for the people who spend their lives working to be
a successful racer. Hopefully the next time they decide to wipe out
a class and whole segment of the industry, NHRA will put a little more
thought into how they do it. Pulling the plug on a class with so little
notice illustrated just how little NHRA cares about any racer not running
Nitro in the tank.
What about the people whose livelihoods depended in large
part on the trucks? Grumpy, Panella, even Haas for that matter, all
had huge portions of their business obliterated by some anonymous person
with a pen and Fuel racers looking over his shoulder. Have you seen
how many trucks are running in Comp? I have seen 3 or 4; that's it.
All of these people who bought trucks or worked hard to put a program
together are out in the cold. And to top it oFf, we were all blatantly
lied to by NHRA when we were told that there would only be 4 professional
categories.
What about Pro Mod? Looks pretty professional to me.
Tim McCain
PRO STOCK TRUCK LAWSUIT, LETTER 2
Just read your story PSA vs. NHRA lawsuit. I think you
should research your story a little better before you call us a bunch
of wealthy racers. The only wealthy racers out there are the ones at
the top of Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock Car, and those that run NHRA.
If you could remember the reason NHRA started PS Truck, it was to start
a class that a racer without a lot of money could race in a pro category.
We were spending a lot of money already running in Competition Eliminator
that it made sense for us to move to PST. It offered better pay out,
more exposure, and a better way of racing (heads up).
You need to understand the reason PSA is so upset. It
is not because they eliminated our class but how and when they did it.
At the beginning of our last season, we heard rumors that this was going
to happen. But when we confronted NHRA officials, they assured us that
they were nothing more than rumors and that we had nothing to worry
about. Then in the middle of the season they announce that we have five
races left and that would be it for PST. We had just finished building
two brand new motors and other racers had just taken delivery of brand
new trucks. All of which lost considerable value due to NHRA's announcement.
NHRA said the reason behind their announcement was because
of a lack of fan support. The real reason was because the other pro
classes started whining about how popular the truck class had become
with not only the fans but also with the sponsors. They were complaining
that the truck class was getting too much TV time which took away from
their TV time. The truth is that the real race fan would rather see
close side by side racing than a bunch of solo pass oil downs and clean
up crews.
All I can say is if PSA loses this lawsuit, no class will
be safe from NHRA and its management. Watch out PS Motorcycle, and Pro
Mod.
Todd Naiser
RESPONSE FROM DRO EDITOR
Todd,
Thanks for your letter. It is one of the more thoughtful
and reasonable ones that I've received.
Your points are well taken, but I have to tell you that
in doing some research on my own based on some 40 years of being involved
in drag racing, I have to tell you that classes have been eliminated
in professional drag racing before with a lot less notice and never
before in history has a lawsuit resulted.
I do believe that NHRA let it be known to me and others
in the media that the trucks were on shaky ground a long time before
they officially notified the racers. It is my sincere belief that the
leadership of the PSA either ignored the signs or worse, didn't tell
the owner/racers the bad news. Maybe because all of them had a vested
interest in the truck program surviving they didn't hear what they didn't
want to hear?
As to the part about the rich racers, you and I both know
that if it weren't for Dale Eaton and Bob Panella this suit probably
wouldn't have gone forward. The money required for this kind of litigation
isn't chump change. I never meant that all of the truck racers were
rich.
DragRacingOnline will have further editorial on this mess,
but I have to tell you that I really believe that no real good can come
to the sport or the racers through lawsuits.
The PSA may prove me wrong.
Jeff Burk
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