by Aaron Polburn

Thoughts on the 4th of July

What an incredible country we live in. Amidst all the negative press on anything to do with our government, we have somehow found a way to roll up our shirt sleeves, attack the issues on a personal level, and forge ahead. A perfect example is a guy named Ron Matcham. Ron is the guy who is personally resurrecting Dragway 42 in Ohio.

Ron has been told a thousand times why he couldn't do this or couldn't do that. When the track didn't open in 2014 he took a blistering beating on the various drag racing social media sites. But Ron would never give up. Fast forward to today and Dragway 42 is nearing completion and the facility is world class. When I met Ron I immediately nicknamed him "Wild Card" because he was. That was with the exception of one incredible trait. If Ron said it, Ron did it. Some of his methods may have been unorthodox but you could count on him. He was a man of his word. What a concept. So, despite the roadblocks that got thrown his way, Ron proved that in America dreams can become reality... even if you are a Wild Card.

And You Think Drag Racing Is In Trouble?

I stumbled onto a road race at Watkins Glen while channel chasing the other day. What got me were two things. First were the cars. They were spectacular in design. It was like watching an auto racing version of Star Wars. Think of a Jedi Fighter with wheels and tires. Then came the reality. You could literally count the people in the stands. I mean the crowd was so small that there were 18 in this stand, 12 in that stand and less than 10 in several others. So how does an event like that make money? Even if that back gate is huge and the sponsorship is plentiful I can't envision a business plan that would create a profit.

Tom Compton

I just heard this morning that Tom Compton retired as NHRA President. Good for him regardless of the circumstances that made him call it a career. And what were those circumstances? IT'S NONE OF OUR BUSINESS. Information is power and people want to be on the inside even if it means fabricating a story.

I did not have a relationship with Tom. We spoke on the phone a handful of times. What I do remember was running into Tom and Wally Parks at a SEMA Show. Wally thought it would be funny if we switched name tags, so we did. You could tell by the deer in the headlights expression that Tom didn't see the humor it in. In Tom's tenure he ran NHRA during some of the most turbulent economic times and survived. And that is saying a lot. A lot of people seem to relish Tom's departure. Peter Clifford is now the President. I don't know Peter but in talking with a few NHRA National event track operators I would say, "Be careful what you wish for." Good luck, Peter. You now have one of the toughest jobs in motorsports. Make us proud.

THE DAY THE INDY CARS CAME TO THOMPSON

During the infancy of the Cleveland Grand Prix I got a call from STP. It seems that a location advance team had been to Thompson Drag Raceway and deemed in the perfect location to shoot an STP commercial. So what was the nuance that made this the perfect location? It was the drop off at the finish line. They didn't want to shoot the cars going down the track. They wanted to shoot the cars cresting the hill and coming toward the starting line.

So on the Monday after the Grand Prix, 8-10 teams showed up at Thompson and the fun began. It took all day but the director did get the perfect shot. At the end of the shooting car owner/driver Dick Simon came over and thanked me for the hospitality and asked me if I would like to take a spin in one of his IndyCars. I declined because I was scared to death something would go wrong. Simon then offered the same deal to his crew chief, who had never driven. It took about one second for him to accept and in a short time he was in the car.

Let me say this. It takes a lot of RPM to get an IndyCar moving. When you don't have the proper RPM the car acts like the first time you ever drove a clutch car. It bounces, it rattles, and it is not a pretty sight. And that is precisely what happened. Here was one of the most sophisticated race cars on earth bouncing wildly down Thompson Drag Raceway. All I can remember was Johnny Rutherford doubled up on the ground laughing. And I thank the Lord every time I tell this story because it could have been me.

Race Safe. Godspeed...