Just wondering while missing the 2009 U.S. Nationals

Just Wondering … Why does the NHRA and their PR staff continue to virtually ignore the Pro Mod series and the Hemi Challenge race at the U.S. Nationals when those events are virtually the only part of the U.S. Nationals that is remotely unique and special? Just saying a race is special doesn’t make it special. Indy will mostly have the same cars, drivers, and format seen at every other race on the Full Throttle circuit. Yawn!

Just Wondering … NHRA is always looking to monetize their assets to the maximum, so why do they leave so much on the table when it comes to the Hemi Challenge and the Pro Mod Series?

Just Wondering … Why some really smart people believe that public opinion has zero affect on what the NHRA management does? Aren't 1,000-foot racing, major track safety improvements, increased purses for the pros in 2009, the dumping of the Pro Stock Truck class and the inclusion of the Pro Mod exhibition series examples of public opinion and what the drag racing media write making a difference?

Just Wondering … What's not to like about AA/FD and AA/FC racing? The Funny Cars have bodies that are identifiable, the Top Fuel cars run as high as 96 percent nitro in the tank, all races are quarter mile in length instead of 1,000 feet, and the best ticket in the house usually cost you  $30 or less!

Just Wondering … Without smell-o-vision and a mandatory 5000-watt surround sound system, can TV ever really demonstrate the attraction of nitro cars to the casual sports fan seeing drag racing for the first time on TV?

Just Wondering … Did any of the CFO’s of Castrol, Ford, AAA of So Cal, or Brand Source get a little heartburn when Force was quoted as saying that he was offering his major sponsors a 15% discount on their sponsorship to help them instead of waiting for them to declare bankruptcy? Does he know something the rest of us don’t?

Just Wondering … What must the neophyte sports reporter for a local TV station or newspaper think about drag racing if, when getting assigned to cover their first drag race, they tune in to the most popular drag racing show on ESPN to find out what drag racing is all about and watch a Pinks All Out episode?

Just Wondering … still … Will the IHRA series just quietly become a one-day, five-hour event with jets, wheelstanders, and a couple of Top Fuelers? IHRA/Feld is quietly doing a lot of those types of shows these days and drawing better crowds than their national events I hear.

Just Wondering … How does an expensive, labor-intensive, largely unsponsored, and certainly not a fan-attractive Sportsman Series remain viable to a bottom line driven entertainment company such as the IHRA’s parent company Feld Entertainment?