I notice the name of the association indicates that primary interest is based on funny cars. Why are top fuel and fuel altereds not being represented?

BD: Well, they didn’t come to me, and my feeling about the fuel dragsters and altereds is that they put on a wonderful show too. I found through countless, countless hours research and talking to people that if you are going to front line a class, to bring people through the front gates, for a straight line automobile race, funny cars are the answer. Now you can run the fuel altereds with them, and that is really good when people see them at the track. If you put on a fuel altered race and you get try to get people when you feature fuel altereds it doesn’t work. You put on a dragster race anymore, and just dragsters, it doesn’t work. When you combine them and you put funny cars out front, they have always been the thing that excited the young people, and the people named them funny cars and that did not sit well with the NHRA. The NHRA has never liked the name funny car, but the fact of the matter is if you go to any NHRA Big Show they run the funny cars.

So it got to the point, that even with (Don) Garlits or Shirley (Muldowney), other than national events it was hard for them to get dates. Because dragsters were just dragsters. So, this year at Bakersfield the March Meet (Top Fuel) will just be an eight-car field. They can’t even fill more than that.

If we got to a point where we could put on our own race -- not now, not this year, but down the road -- I would take a hard look at running fuel altereds with funny cars. I would even look at the alcohol funny cars as part of the field.

So if the fuel dragster guys came to you and they liked what you were doing for funny cars is there a possibility that you might incorporate the top fuel cars?

BD: I would have to talk to the members (UNFCA) to get what their take on it is and see. Right now I’m having a hard enough time nursing this thing along. Nobody is used to something like this. And what I am trying to do has failed repeatedly in car racing. When the dragster guys and the funny car guys tried to unite in the past it has always failed. So, I have to overcome that. For a lot of guys what makes you think you can succeed where others have failed? Well, I think I can. It wasn’t my idea, but I’m gonna try and it would be spectacular if I could make it work. If I can make it work and these founding guys who helped me … I am going to look out for them any way I can, believe me.

If I could keep it going for a year, and end the year with strength instead of weakness then that would be really spectacular and then I could probably flex up a little. Consequently, right now I am just trying to get along with everybody. To the NHRA funny cars are a necessary evil that goes back to Wally Parks, he never liked them in the beginning; (Steve) Gibbs certainly didn’t. People still love to see funny cars.

Mr. Doner, thanks for taking the time to talk with DRO.

BD: Thank you.

My Opinion:

Right now nostalgia fuel car racing and nostalgia racing in general is a rudderless ship adrift in a wash of uncertainty.

There is some speculation of the financial health of the IHRA, and will they be able to continue to pay out those large purses they have in the past. If the IHRA can’t financially handle those purses, then any leverage the IHRA had on getting top flight cars to their national events will be eroded.

On the other side of the fence, the NHRA has six different people who are assigned to run the Heritage Series. Individually these are fine honorable people who have severed the sport and the racers very well for years. Nevertheless, there is no one leader. There is no one person to make a command decision at the sanctioning body. Honestly, at times getting a decision from this group more closely resembles the end of the 1982 Cal vs Stanford football game. (Lateral the ball, lateral the ball, lateral the ball…oh my God the band is on the field. It’s chaos!)

What UNFCA is attempting to do is honorable, but the full concept of this plan as presented by Mr. Doner is somewhat murky at this point. However, some benefit of the doubt must be given as the association is in its infant state.

I think it might be just the right time to start such an association. My concerns are that the process might not be taken to a serious enough level. Anytime you start getting money involved with more than one person, unless there is a concrete business plan along with safe guards and protocols in place, there is a distinct possibility for serious issues to arise. There is no due diligence done according to Mr. Doner so it appears the group is kinda winging it.

In doing some research for this article, at this time there appears that a written business plan not been produced. This is concerning to me, and that the association might have the cart ahead of the horse somewhat.

Nostalgia racing, in my opinion, has a very bright feature. Up to this time it has been self-guided to some extent. The UNFCA is something that has a real possibility of taking nostalgia racing to the next level. But it can’t be done half assed or it will simply implode.