Notes scribbled on my Stag beer coaster from Fast Eddie's Bon Air bar in Alton, Ill.

Let's all take a deep breath here and allow new NHRA president Peter Clifford and his management team some time and not expect instant action or results. Actually the reasons surrounding the departure of the former president are probably irrelevant and will have little or no effect on the future of NHRA Drag Racing. It is impossible to not have some confusion and deliberation when the head of company the size of the NHRA changes leaders.

The fact is that there have been more changes (whether or not they were planned before Tom Compton "resigned") in the NHRA recently than there have in the last decade total.

Very often when a person is elevated to a position of absolute authority he will rise to the occasion. Peter Clifford has gone from being the head "bean counter" for the NHRA -- a job where the bottom line was king and risk was a dirty word -- to a job that requires he take risks and often spend money to affect change and progress. Let's give him a little time to adjust to his new job before we start dissecting and analyzing every move he makes. Based on what I have seen so far Peter Clifford may prove to be the right man for the job.

Just Wondering... Did you know that according to an online site that monitors ratings for cable and national networks, the Fox Sports One channel numbers are superior to the ESPN2 network in Nielsen rating by a wide margin in prime time? Another indication that the NHRA's move to Fox is one of the best decisions the current management team has made and justifies NHRA paying off ESPN to get out of their 2016 contract year.

Just Wondering... Will the NHRA and Fox Sports also shake up the TV broadcasts by replacing or shuffling the broadcast announce staff? Will they also replace the producer and director positions?

Just Wondering... Is their any logical reason to keep the 1,000-foot distance for NHRA Top Fuel and Funny Car? Absolutely not! Larry Dixon holds the 1,000-foot record at 332+ mph. That is just five mph off of Tony Schumacher's 337+ quarter-mile record. The Funny Car record for a quarter is 335+ set by Mike Ashley. Courtney Force holds the 1,000-foot record at 335+. Please explain to me, NHRA, why you still are racing nitro cars at 1,000 feet? It sure isn't to slow them down.

Just Wondering... Do any of the NHRA's national event track partners or the NHRA management actually believe that thousands of fans are staying away from NHRA national events because Top Fuel and Nitro cars race on a 1,000-foot track? Obviously they don't because if they did that rule would have been rescinded years ago.