Notes written on my coaster from Aunt Chiladas Mexican restaurant in Tempe, AZ

(Thanks to chef Rafael Torres for the table visit and great food)

Just Wondering… Isn’t it obvious to everyone by now that winning NHRA races or even championships has almost zero to do with getting or keeping a sponsor? John Force and Erica Enders-Stevens -- just to mention two -- are proof of that.

Just Wondering… When will the NHRA and its racer partners admit that faster speeds and ET’s have almost nothing to do with close racing, ticket sales or sponsorships? For at least the last 20 years whether the track distance was a quarter mile or the dreaded 1,000 feet,  pros have continually gone quicker and faster yet fan attendance and TV viewership has either remained the same or more likely declined.

Just Wondering… Am I the only one who really misses those half-track burnouts John Force was famous for when Austin Coil was his crew chief? He doesn’t do them anymore. Does John remember that every time he did one of his “half-trackers” the crowd went nuts? Yeah, I know it’s about saving parts and better performance but this sport and JFR need some excitement and long smoky burnouts, like jet cars at night, are always crowd pleasers.

Just Wondering… I know you can’t fix stupid but can you fix boring? Sitting in the stands as a fan all day Friday at the NHRA event at Wild Horse Pass MSP and  watching the track crew and vehicles cleaning up oil or prepping the track between each class of  pro qualifying was miserable for me. So I have a couple of suggestions for the NHRA management: 1) Don’t  fine teams; instead don’t allow them  any qualifying points for the event if they oil the track at any time during qualifying. 2) Make any team that oils the track twice during an event take the next race off. I guarantee that if any premier Top Fuel or Funny Car team is barred from a race and the racers know about it  there will be racers  to take their spot  at the next event.

Just Wondering… Why does the NHRA stick to the qualifying rule that only allows 12 cars to make the field on Friday? In these days of minimal fields, what benefit do the fans or the racers derive from that rule? While I’m on the subject, is there anyone other than anal math majors that like or care about the “little points” offered for each of the four qualifying sessions?

Just Wondering… Since “ten-wide” races like the one Donald Long promoted at South Georgia Motorsports Park are among the most entertainingg in all of drag racing today, why is it so hard to get results anywhere other than on certain Internet sites? I think “en-wide racing that features stock-appearing, wheel-standing, bad fast door cars could have the same future that “street legal” racing had in the late 1980’s, but it needs the kind of exposure and legitmacy that the main stream electronic and print media can bring. Donald Long’s SGMP Lights Out race would have made a great TV show for MAVTV, NBC Sports or the Velocity channel.