But virtually everyone, from the president of the IHRA to Torco-backed racers, tracks, and people who had signed deals with Torco, voiced the opinion that Knoll had plenty of money and anyone who questioned the deal was either jealous, a troublemaker, or stupid.

In the end, Mr. Knoll’s empire collapsed, leaving many racers and tracks holding the bag, and arguably killing off the IHRA as an alternative to the NHRA for racers and fans.

So, what does this have to do with the ADRL, you may ask? Sheikh Khalid Al Thani isn’t Evan Knoll! He isn’t going to run out of money!

Well, the question is what happens to the ADRL, its racers, and its track partners should Sheikh Al Thani decide he has no further interest in drag racing. His country has an enormous job costing billions of dollars to get ready to host the FIFA World Cup in 2022, with many infrastructure projects to build, plus stadium and hotel rooms, etc. And what if the political situation in that part of the world makes a U.S.-based drag racing series unsupportable politically?
 
The Sheikh has already won a championship in the NHRA and his teams dominate the ADRL and have won championships there, both in the U.S and in Qatar. There is nowhere to go but down after you have won a World Championship.

Despite what the ADRL management may claim, I believe the ADRL currently is almost totally dependent on Sheikh Khalid Al Thani’s money for survival. As even the NHRA knows, there just isn’t that much new sponsorship money out there.

Without the Sheikh’s money, in order to get enough revenue to survive the ADRL would have to make the fans buy tickets, charge the racers to race, find a way to attract 400-500 cars to each event, and it would need a series sponsor on the level of the National Guard. That seems a daunting task in light of the world economic situation.

Here is something else for the racers who support the series to consider. Where else are they going to race their unique-to-the-ADRL No Rules $300,000 Pro Mods and Outlaw Pro Stocks should the ADRL fold?

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that is going to happen with the ADRL. No one but Sheikh Khalid Al Thani really knows that answer.

However, if I were a track owner, racer, or business who was dependent on the ADRL, I would at the least be a little cautious going forward.

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