The leaving of Joan and Bill Wells from our track, Mission Raceway is very bad news for everyone that races and spectates there. The dedication the two of them gave to the operation of the track will not be easy to duplicate. Surely, the people involved in the track management could reflect on the problems that influenced this decision and put them back at Mission where they belong. I know I speak for the large majority of the racers that call Mission their home track.

If there is some mysterious reason as to why they left, well I suppose that best be left alone......BUT....... If it is someone or a group just flexing their muscles, they better give their heads a good hard shake.

As for NHRA and the "2 Cents Worth" posting, Bob, it is time you took a look in the mirror. The hypocrisy of your condemnation of the expense of NHRA drag racing or ANDRA or IHRA is out of control. Take a good hard look at the photos of your old race cars and then take a quick peek at what's sitting in your 42 foot race-car trailer now. It could be easily argued that guys like you are the sole reason the expense of racing is so high. You are never happy with going slower. The pattern is endless and because of this it is grossly unfair to blame NHRA or any sanctioning body.

NHRA needs to address the racers as part of their show, not as paid help, and realize that drag racing is a rich man's game. A progressive plan set in place that any racer who runs a given number of races in a year (say ten) runs any further races with no entry fees. This would be a starting point as a show of respect to the racers for their dedication to the sport.

The amount any person or corporation spends will never be controlled, drag racing is simply too much fun. I suppose it could be summarized by the old saying: "Speed costs, how fast do you want to go?"

Keep up the good work on the best Web page in motorsport.

How's it going? Just a quickie: Looks like your article that Dragster Australia ran on Federal-Mogul Dragster and Funny Car caused a little bit of a stir. In front of me, in the latest issue, there is a reply from Melvyn Record, NHRA Director, Field Marketing, that doesn't go in your favour. The letter was also critical of DA for running your article, so at least the blame is being spread evenly.

You sound like you're freezing your butt off over there, while here I'm coping with another day of sunburn. Envious?!?

It's me, Bob Wilber and contrary to what a few of the more vicious denizens of the NHRA newsgroup might hope for or believe, I'm happy and well (I've taken to wearing my driver's 5-layer firesuit to survive the storm).

I initially read your long  "2 cents worth"  post in a pretty negative mood. I've seen flames before, but the level the fire is burning in my direction, from just three or four individuals, is pretty amazing and I was ready to see burning hell in just about everything.

Anyway, in a calm moment tonight, brought on by a post from James Harvey that was so vicious, so full of hate, that I actually felt pretty sad for the guy, I read your post again.

Frankly, the "Pollyanna" line at the start is what caused me to read it with preconceived ideas before, but I understand where you're coming from and you don't know me from a bump on a log, so we'll forget that.

Your post is well thought out, full of great insight. And, surprise, I don't really disagree with much of it. I'm not the total fatalist you are, I don't see it as terminal, but I certainly agree we have put ourselves in a very bad spot. Guess I'm an eternal optimist.

When I started all this stuff (oh that fateful day), it was with a couple of thoughts in mind. It was obvious that the militant few in the group were way over to one side of the gauge. I personally think the truth is in the middle somewhere, but the way they refuse any dispute it was also obvious that coming at them from the middle offered no chance of actually moving their thoughts there. So I took a stance more to the other side, I suppose in hopes of some sort of real debate, where wise minds would give and take and meet at some point in the middle. Silly me.

Anyway, I respect your thoughts. Don't necessarily agree with them all, but support your right to state them as you did. Best to you, and good luck.

PS:  By the way, I have to add that I think it's a terrifically sad commentary that I have been flamed by three or four sorry individuals and have received 32 e-mails of support. These people are actually SCARED to post such messages on the board, since they know supporting me will get them flamed as well. There's something wrong with that picture.

Well said Bob. Too bad I'm outta Labatt's. I need one after scrolling through the  New Testament  Post. HAPPY (that means HAPPY) NEW YEAR!

"It's a Dog eat Dog world, and I'm wearing Milk-Bone underwear!"

Long time no talk. Good history lesson about NHRA and nice to see your old cars. Personally I don't see anything different in the way the tracks are run today compared to yesteryear. Just ask the Wells'. Even though most of the competitors want Joan and Bill, they're gone. The tracks have always been run the same as far back as I can remember. It just goes to show that the old adage still stands. "You can please some of the people most of the time..."

As far as NHRA goes, it is in the same boat. Who do you try and satisfy? The fans, the racers, the promoters? All involve trade-offs. Bigger purses don't come without someone putting up the cash. I know the Super Comp Association purses are comparable, if not better than the NHRA payouts (without contingencies), but everyone works on a volunteer basis. I doubt anyone would volunteer to run the NHRA. The tracks also give the associations a break on entry costs. It is interesting to note that even though the tracks are letting the associations use the track at a cut rate, as soon as the track wants to raise the user fee $5.00, some racers start to complain.

I guess what I am trying to say is: "The more things change, the more they stay the same." Personally, as long as the tracks/races are safe and well run, I will go to them as long as I can afford it, no matter how much b.s. is flying. After all, when you are staging the car or running down the track, none of the other stuff matters. Have a great 1999.

Superb post. My friend who races SCCA Solo says the same thing has happened there, gobs of $$$$ being spent in the classes made for the little guy. It seems almost inevitable.

I only discovered the NHRA Newsgroup a few months ago and have been visiting regularly and posting occasionally. What I have found is the constant personal abuse and negativity is not only wearing but also contagious. Despite my best intentions I've also fallen into the trap of flaming someone who's sentiment and delivery I didn't agree with. Cidbone has my sincere apologies. I still may not agree with him but he has a right to state his views.

My perspective is of having been a sportsman racer here in Australia for nearly twenty years and now working as a consultant to a very good raceway. I have been part of similar debates for years. Yes, I am what some on the NG have described as a "marketing puke" but I was a drag racer long before I fell into this line of work and am proud of the extra money that now goes into racer's pockets through sponsorship programs we've put in place at our track. That includes everyone down to Junior Dragster.

I'm also proud that we've been able to find the sponsorship to produce eleven hours of television for free to air from our track each season. This coverage understandably concentrates on the professional classes because that's what the viewing public want to see. We do however show the final of every class right down to Junior Dragster from each event. This has allowed smart racers from all classes to use the TV exposure to attract a few sponsorship bucks to help with costs. And guess what? We still get abuse from some racers for not showing more of what ever class they're in. These guys have got the right to believe the television public wants to see more 12-second Super Street cars just as I have the right to believe we've done the best we can for them by showing their final. I don't believe, however, they have the right to be personally abusive.

The recent "My 2 cents worth" debate on this NG displayed the depth of the passion most of us have for this sport. I believe Bob Wilber's original post made many good and relevant points. I too believe the NHRA has actually achieved a great deal for this sport and not only in the USA. They have provided a good deal of assistance to sanctioning bodies around the world to help make drag racing truly international.

Unfortunately they have obviously also disaffected a lot of people along the way. The general feeling conveyed by many was that they don't care about us and that they don't treat us with respect. Although I've never experienced this personally from the NHRA, I've no doubt if I was racing a sportsman class there that view that could be easily formed. Big organizations of all kinds fall into the impersonal trap worldwide, almost without fail.

Unfortunately this lack of respect becomes a destructive two way street. It's easy to dismiss someone's opinion or needs if they're screaming abuse at you. I'm sure Bob Wilber has plenty of criticisms of the NHRA but he tried to give credit where credit was due and got severely flamed for it with a lot of personal abuse. His reaction was understandably "well up yours too fella".

From the point of view someone in a position of trying to please all of the racers all of the time I agree with a lot of what Bob Wilber said. I'm also a racer who won his first round before the viewing public arrived, then sat on his butt for hours while the big guys played and then was expected to do five rounds back to back with no time to touch my car and was more than a little upset when a car that had never had a cooling problem before overheated and was shut down on the line in the final of the Winternationals. From that point of view I can understand the feelings of racers that those bastards don't care. They didn't here in my case and I'm sure over there the response would be "What do you mean five rounds of back to back runs isn't fair? You need a better cooling system and don't spill water on our starting line again."

So guys. It's the season of goodwill. We aren't going to agree all the time with each other or with the NHRA but let's keep it civil.

G'Day and Merry Christmas to you and yours. Well, it's been a struggle, but I'm back on the air. We just moved house about a month ago, no, not back to Brisbane unfortunately, but just up the road. You would not believe the trouble we had getting a phone connected. I'm not going to go into details because it makes me angry, but we only got our phone on yesterday !!

Anyway, only a few days to go until the big trip up north for the January 2nd meeting at Willowbank. Man, am I looking forward to this. It's been six months since my last race meeting and when I saw the replay of the Top Fuel meeting in Adelaide last weekend (yes, it takes that long to get things onto TV here), I nearly made a mess in my undies.

We are making a week trip out of this, staying with friends and getting about catching up with other friends. I can't remember if you said that you would be here or not, I'll have to check your site for a look. But if you are, I look forward to catching up with you. If you're not, then I'll have some news for you after the new year weekend. Happy New Year !

If your taste in the Aussie Babes is any indication, I'm gonna love this place! Thank you, thank you, thank you! - Talladega Greg

"You does what you can, for as long as you can, then they put dirt and rocks on your face!"

Not to toot my own horn, but I really do get a laugh out of these "Professionals" who think they can engage me in a verbal (or printed) combat and come away unbloodied. The point is that "they" think that they are so superior to everyone else. He came into the newsgroup with guns blazing, but didn't realize that he was wielding a six-shooter to our assault rifles.

A flack is a flack, and he didn't realize that the people who frequent the newsgroup are far more literate and well spoken then he'll ever hope to be. And of course we have Tony Defeo, who just loves to tell the Corporate types "F@*% YOU", which I find personally to be pretty funny.

He can whine about us all he wants, but he KNOWS he's in big trouble and has bitten off WAY more than he can chew. Kind of like finding that little garter snake and realizing that it was the tail of an Anaconda.

Merry Christmas mate and thanks for the card. Unfortunately, Santa didn't deliver when it came to my request for a spare engine.....bastard, but there's always next year. We ran the car at the last meeting (at Adelaide) as my sister flew over from Sydney to do a photo shoot at the track with an absolutely gorgeous model. She asked me to make room next to the car for a van for the model and arrived at the track with a semi-trailer that dwarfed all the others there!

Anyways, went out for the second qualifier and the sump shook loose in the burnout dropping some oil. We then pushed the car back only to have my dad reverse the tow car over one of the front wings! After beating the crap out of the wing to attempt to return it to something resembling its former self we ran the final qualifier against Anguel (Athanasov). Long story, but I ended up taking off in third gear resulting in a 7.0 at 213 and wasn't I p-o'd. Had (Brenton) Bassett in the first round and then the rain came and the meeting was cancelled.

Well I hope everything is moving along fine for you with your car and I'll speak to you again soon. Keep me updated and in the meantime have a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year... oh and party hard!

Tis almost the time for the fat guy in the red suit to try to stuff that top fuel car down the chimney, so I thought I'd better wish Northern Thunder a Merry Christmas and five-second Top Alcohol New Year.

Down here in Oz the temperature is warm (read: damned hot) but we're racing, so who cares. Jim Read and Rachelle Splatt, along with the "usual suspects" are back at Willowbank in Top Fuel for January 2nd. The Lucar Top Alcohol Queensland Championship starts on the same day and even Dave Grubnic is listed for duty as guest commentator. Pity he couldn't talk his boss into letting him bring the car home to show the family. We're ready to have a good time getting over our New Year's Eve hangovers.

In just over 100 days a mad Canadian is going to join in the fun down under as well. Even saw something about that on TV the other day.

Congratulations on the site Bob. It obviously takes a lot of work and looking at the hit parade, plenty of people are enjoying dropping in to have a look at what you've built. See you soon at Willowbank. Stay warm.

HEY MR. WILSON - Nitronic big-wig and all-around swell guy Cole Coonce has finally shared yer e-mail to him RE: Nitronic submissions... next issue is SOON... feel free to throw anything ya write over the transom to moi... whateva makes you happy, tha rest of the world will find interesting, so write what ya wants... iff'n ya need a suggestion, or three:

Does the SHORT season make dragging in the great white north more intense? Is a McKenzie brothers rip-off starring you and the Pfisterator out of the question? And does having made a 200mph pass improve your sex life?

In all seriousness, the idea of a possible collaboration between you and Pfister intrigues me... but it's your keyboard...

Wow !! That was one long piece, dude. Lots of viable points but it was a little long-winded. But I'll ALWAYS listen to someone that puts that amount of time and energy into a piece like that. Good accurate information on Newberry, he lives just down the road from me. Have a happy and safe holiday.

Hi Bob. I can't believe you've only had this website up for less than a year. It's one of the best around, tons of information and babes of course and up to date results and feedback from some of the real "insiders" of Drag Racing. And of course the best of all in my book, Backfire, is such a great idea for meaningful feedback (as opposed to some of the ravings on newsgroups etc.) By the way, when do you get time to sleep exactly?!?

We'll have to have a chat when you come down under. Speaking of which, you're not the only one having storms. In Brisbane and the Willowbank area there's been heat thunderstorms with hail every day for weeks now. We've got the 3rd round of the Top Fuel series in two weeks, I hope it has stopped by then.

I didn't hear anymore about the results from round 2 at Calder but it sounds like everyone will be going all out for the first 300 mph at the Nationals in March. Even Jim Read is coming out of forced retirement it seems to go for the $100,000 prize. It sounds like he may have nailed a major sponsor at last, I certainly hope so, he's one of the best. Speaking of sponsors, apparently Willowbank has pulled in another three sponsors for the coming year. Does that mean more fun will go out of racing? Somehow I doubt it.

Bob, good to hear from you as ever. I've already had several replies on the unblown nitro cars in Top Alcohol and its immediately apparent from them that while the nitro cars are loved by the fans, they are very much a sore subject with other alcohol racers. This of course mirrors the problem the IHRA has with Pro Modified and the blown alky vs. nitrous combinations.

I thought the argument against the nitro cars was that it was far more difficult to be consistent with one of them compared to an alky car. (Certainly when I have asked around the UK scene this is the main reason I am given as to why nobody in Europe runs one). Is this still the case, or have the nitro cars got past the 'go or blow' stage?

I also notice there seems to be fewer of the nitro cars about now (admittedly those that are still there are "big hitters"). I assume this is because the rules are constantly being shifted against that type of car. I get the impression that the NHRA would rather slowly push them out, rather than admit that they (the NHRA) might have made a "cock-up" in the rules and sort it out just banning them outright.

I hope that a compromise is possible as it would be a crying shame for the fans if the nitro cars (or indeed the blown alky Pro-Mods) were banned as it really does add something from the fans point of view to have two different types of car going at it. Still, when was the last time the NHRA were worried about the fans?

Thought for the day : Real Racetracks don't have corners.

Not too many times do I voice my opinion about someone's actions, but I feel that this is as good an opportunity as ever. Not that it will change things because I don't have power over others to change their actions. But I remember you saying a while back that you welcome comments, so here it is. First, let me give you some background info on me.

I'm 33 years old and I'm a professional camera operator down here in South Florida. I've worked for myself in my own business and now work for private industry. I'm not a racer. Never have been and probably never will be. I've been going to the drags since 1977, as well as other forms of racing. I did a stint with Diamond P Sports, but I no longer work with them (I'm out of the "loop").

I find your web site to be full of pertinent information relating to drag racing. Facts, statistics, little known tid-bits, these are all things that pique my interest. In fact, info about racing in Australia is really cool as well.

However I find your commentary, let's call it your soapbox to utter your opinions about NHRA drag racing to be less than honourable. Rarely, if ever, have I ever heard one positive thought about NHRA drag racing come from your mind and find its way onto your web page. You seem to take every possible stab at that organization whenever you get the chance.

Granted, you have a captive audience. Thousands of people checking out your site daily. And freedom of speech in this country allows you to say whatever is on your mind. Personally I find media people like Howard Stern to be obnoxious and I turn the radio dial whenever he comes on. But countless hundreds of thousands of others listen to him. Is your "shtick" controversy?

And I can't disagree with you on many of your opinions about NHRA drag racing. But how much is enough? NHRA is doing their own thing and I go to their races because I enjoy seeing fast cars. Perhaps NHRA is weeding out the little Sportsman racer. It seems that lots of racers are real unhappy with the service that they are getting. And I can see their point.

But frankly I'd like to hear more solutions to the problems, than hearing more pot stirring. What's your thoughts?

My name is Eddie Goodchild. I am a Business/Marketing student of the Sunshine Coast University in Queensland, Australia. I am requesting some advice if you have time.

If you could be so kind, could you please inform me on how 'big' motorsport marketing/promotions are in America ? It seems to be fairly small in Australia. Further, what are my chances of gaining graduate employment within the field?

Or, how would I best prepare myself for employment in this field. What would you look for in a graduate? This is the whole reason I am studying marketing, to get involved in motorsport marketing within Australia or America. Simply seeking advice, thank you very much.

As a response to your rather well-written December 10th "What's New", the people who like to watch drag racing (on TV) are almost all car buffs, period. The somewhat small market-place this group represents is the achilles heel of our sport. Just try and put together a sponsorship proposal to any company or individual that doesn't like hot rods and you will experience that sinking feeling at your first meeting.

The key to NHRA racing success will be in the targeting of the group of people that watch drag racing because they love it. It's a hard sell to convince your neighbour, who likes to garden, of the merits of cars going 300 mph and the excitement of the whole thing. A person must have an appreciation of the technology and the difficulty of making the cars do what they do in order to genuinely enjoy it. We can only hope that the marketplace can support corporate involvement in a sport that is largely made up of people who innovate and develop engineering and horsepower to the highest level.

Kenny Bernstein has convinced Budweiser and John Force with Castrol that their marketplace is worthwhile. Upon inspection of their products, you will find that the "car buff" group fits into their marketing. The delicate balance of sponsors and racers will become more targeted as time goes by. This is the key to the continued success of NHRA drag racing.

Just finished reading your latest news and having an involvement in drag racing television and sponsorship I thought I'd throw my two bits worth.

Producing drag racing television is expensive but without it the sport really has no future growth potential. Without TV there is not enough market exposure to satisfy the demands of major sponsors. Our track, Willowbank Raceway in Australia (or should I call it Northern Thunder's home track) attracts 120 to 150 thousand people PER YEAR into the stands. That might sound like pretty good exposure for the sponsors and we are proud of those figures, but to put it in perspective, in a SINGLE one-hour episode of our Wreckers Hotline Drag Racing 98 TV show, a quarter of a million people or more are exposed to drag racing. Consider that those figures are pretty good from our small population and you can see the power of television.

It is expensive but it does work. Because our raceway management had enough faith in the appeal of our sport to commit a large chunk of its very limited funds to producing the show and then buying the air time to broadcast it, we now have an ever increasing sponsorship base for the raceway. Competitors are also now getting with the program and having greater success in obtaining their own sponsors.

Most significantly, because of the television broadcasts, our biggest sponsors include non-automotive companies like Konica, Nestle, 1st Provincial Building Society and the newly announced Ice Break Iced Coffee. None of these corporations are on board because of any love of the sport of drag racing. What they do love is the cost-effective advertising reach it gives them into a desirable demographic. Drag racing has an older and more affluent demographic than most people, including marketing executves, realize. In our case 68% are aged 25 or over, 24% are over 40 and income levels are accordingly very respectable. 76% are male. This IS an attractive demographic for advertisers.

Don't under sell the appeal of drag racing to the general viewing public. It is very popular because it is spectacular and presented correctly it is entertaining. In our country we'll never rate like Cricket or AFL football (Aussie rules) and I guess the Winston Finals wouldn't hold a candle to a good hockey game in Canada, but we do rate better than many so-called main stream sports and have quite often "won" our time slot.

Well, we launch a new season of "Wreckers Hotline Drag Racing" on free to air with the Seven Network and cable/satellite on FoxSports in January with nine one hour shows and a two hour Konica Winternationals special. This will be our third season so the industry now knows we're here to stay.

Hopefully a certain Canadian night owl will feature heavily in a few of the shows. Here's a thought, Bob. They do sell Canadian Club in Australia. That might be a nice marketing angle. If you secure a sponsorship I'll take my commission in product.

By the way, your NTSC copy of the 1998 Castrol New Year Series video should be entrusted to the international postal system early next week. A bit scary around Christmas though. I'll confirm when its gone. If any of your site's visitors are interested, we can supply PAL or NTSC copies of either the 120 minute 1998 Castrol New Year Series or the 150 minute 1998 Konica Winternationals videos or in fact copies of any episode of our television show. They can just  e-mail  enquiries and we will reply with details. Stay warm Bob.

Wouldn't it suck if the sport falls back to pre-corporate days? We will be back to match races, opens and 64-car shows. The money will not be there for big budge teams, so cars like Steve Pleuger's will be affordable to book in. More cars will be built like this to be cost-effective. The "Maunfacturers Meet" and the "Fox Hunt" will become big events (again?) Gosh, that will suck! Or maybe not?!? When I was at the California Hot Rod Reunion and Sammy Hale ran a 6-flat with a small block Top Fueller (front-engine), by the crowd's reaction you would think they just saw a 4.49 at 331.50. Maybe we will see if it is true when it is said that things will come full circle. Happy holidays!

Just a few bits and pieces to answer a few questions....

Winston wanted out of the 1998 Finals because they knew they would be handing in the "settlement" at that time and looked at giving it away at that time. Winston feels like doing the event in Bristol (aka: Tobacco Road) won't get the negative backlash that it would in the # 2 market of Los Angeles. T. Wayne (Robertson) had planned on giving the event to another RJR Nabisco company but Cliff Pennell decided to give it another run because he didn't want to bail out on it in mid-stream. That's the story I picked up at the Winston Champions banquet.

There is a very strong possibility that NASCAR might say thanks but no thanks to Winston. I have a very good friend at a major Winston Cup track in the deep south who said it was discussed at the Winston Cup Track Operators meeting in New York last week, that NASCAR had several major companies lined up that want to be involved but are hesitant because it is associated with "Big Tobacco." He also said that NASCAR may not sell the title rights to Winston Cup just because they don't have to. There's also talk that they may do the same with Busch Grand National just because of the negative aspects of alcohol and driving. One of the comments made was "Major League baseball isn't known as the Burger King Baseball Series."

NASCAR may say "see ya' later" to Winston. I may be wrong, but NASCAR is looking at "mainstreaming" the sport according to this very good source.

The reason for the lost TNN deal? NASCAR, for many years, has allowed the individual tracks to sell their own TV packages and keep 100% of the profits. As a result, in 1999 you will have seven networks covering races with rates ranging from $350,000 to $2,000,000 (or more) per race. NASCAR is telling their track operators that they are going to try to put one big package deal together so that everyone can get rich. (Like the billions spent on the NFL).

All of the networks are posturing themselves for this to occur. CBS (along with their network, TNN) are trying to secure as many events as possible to get themselves even more established and to try to take away some of ESPN and ABC's thunder. Also keep in mind that TNN and NASCAR are partners on Silicon Motor Speedway, NASCAR Thunder and NASCAR Cafe. Where do you think the package will go? NASCAR threw ESPN the Craftsman Truck Series as a bone to make it look like they will be spreading the wealth.

In order to keep their viewers, TNN is doing more stuff that they own. Such as Roller Derby, Demo Derbies and stuff they get for free like Monster Trucks and Sprints, who will take whatever they can get. This enables them to keep the demographic they want, that is, believe it or not, closely related to NASCAR, without spending a lot of cash. They are putting all, and I mean all, of their eggs in one basket in hopes they get it. ABC and ESPN are going to make a shot at it, but they have IndyCar and IRL as a backup (although it won't give them enough weekends). FOX is also looking to court NASCAR for a possible deal on the Busch Grand National series.

So that sort of left everyone standing around waiting. Rumour has it that NHRA looked to have an exclusive deal with a "major" cable network, but something didn't fall in place as planned and it died for 1999. Glendora then had to settle for "Plan B".

When this whole NASCAR deal goes down in 2000 (or 2001 according to National Speed Sport News), NHRA will suddenly become popular again. I think you'll see networks such as ESPN and ABC (as a partner) and TBS, TNT and NBC (the same folks who bring you the NBA and who don't have football anymore) looking at NHRA and things such as ASA, Motorcycles and lesser stock car series. There's also talk that NBC is looking at investing in a major new road racing series. I have no idea why.

NHRA's deal with RJ Reynolds goes through the end of 2001, so they fall into the right area of the contract according to the Tobacco Settlement. One major company already sponsoring a car and events has said they will take over when that time comes. Winston was investing $5,000,000 annually, roughly the same cost as what they spend on Jimmy Spencer's Winston Cup car, to do NHRA. With the cost of Winston Cup team sponsorship now approaching $10,000,000 for the "primary", the NHRA series will soon look like a bargain. By the way, did you see what Team KOOL Green will be getting annually for their CART program?

Regarding McDonald's... The reason McDonald's is cutting out of everything is because they lost a big chunk of their market in the last eighteen months. They cleaned house in their marketing department and dropped Fallon-McElliott last year, and brought in a new group who plans to get back to basics. They cut back everything from Michael Jordan commercials and celebrity endorsements to racing and even Happy Meal Movie "tie-ins". That's why McDonald's is now promoting stuff like 39 cent cheeseburgers and two pies for a dollar. They have to get their customers back. My office in Chicago was just down the street from their Oak Brook "campus" and, at the time, my organization's sales staff was working on them for sponsorship. It obviously didn't happen.

As far as Coke, Pepsi and the others. It seems all they care about right now is cutting deals withs stadiums and arenas to get pouring and official beverage rights. Some of those deals could fund Cory Mac for 20 years.

My personal opinion is that NHRA, in a worst case scenario, with the sales department doing nothing, will float along without a hassle for two or three years. Then, all of a sudden, some TV excecutive at a major network is going to see the only way they can have racing on the tube is to go drag racing. Sponsorship then will follow.

Having met those guys who sold dog food for a living, I think they may actually break through and open some doors. It means that guys trying to climb the ladder the old fashioned way can only hope for a race operations job in the future because you will have to have an MBA to play in the corner offices. As much as I hate it, it is the best way to go. NASCAR and Speedway Motorsports didn't take off until they started hiring Ivy League bankers to crunch the numbers and look at the big picture. You still need people who know drag racing looking at rules, race operations and racer relations and logistics. You need a personal service rep examing the "fan experience" to make sure the NHRA experience is "entertaining" to get butts in the seats. And you need businessmen running the business. As hard as it is to say that.

The racers want NHRA to be as successful as NASCAR. At the same time they want it to be like it once was. That's where you will have to have the suits meeting the grunts (officials) and trying to make it a better deal for everyone.

As you may have noticed, Bruton Smith bought Las Vegas Speedway. Keep a close, and I mean close, eye on this. Bruton knows he can't get Winston Cup dates unless he spends $15,000,000. He can spend $30,000,000 and build an NHRA track that will be considered state of the art and get a guaranteed date. Sears Point, Bristol, and now, Las Vegas, will be the tip of the iceberg. This is coming from someone who knows everyone within that organization and has worked with Speedway Motorsports, Inc. in the past, not from someone associated with NHRA.

That's just some information so you don't have to speculate so darn much. I hate for you having to guess.

C'mon the Canucks ! Some points from the guys at Shoalhaven Drag Racing Club on the south coast of New South Wales. We were at a club meeting at my internet cafe and we hope you win this round to move on up. See you at the Winternationals. Best wishes for Christmas and the New Year.

Firstly, hope you are fully recovered from the dodgy food. Sorry I've not been in touch for a few days, my ISP's servers have been down. I was reading with interest your 'rant' about websites and found myself in agreement with you on a lot of things (particularly frames). I then carried on to your links page to see which sites you particularly like and have a nose around them and try to pick up some tips. As you can maybe imagine, I was absolutely stunned to see "Top End Tales" as one of your Top Ten Links. Thank you very much, for someone whose site I hold in such a high regard to say that means a lot to me. The next planned update (for my site) will be the piece on Pomona, probably around the 20th of December. Thanks again for your support.

Bob, how are you doing? Just thought I would update you on what we are doing with the Raising Hell '48 Fiat for next year. We have switched over to run the car on fuel next year, we no longer will run with the "Hot Rods From Hell" (circuit), and will be forming a 'mini' association with a couple of other fuel altereds. We will basically be doing the same thing as before, just on fuel.

Here's a question for you. I need an older three-disc Crowerglide (complete with flywheel). Doesn't really matter if it is tagged or not. And I have a complete 11' Hayes, one new hat, four new floaters, three new discs and a pile of accessories to go along with it for sale. Didn't know if you were in the business of dealing (auto parts), but I thought I would run it by you. By the way, I only want to cover the costs of the Crowerglide with the sale of the Hayes.

I have been hearing mega rumours regarding NHRA being up on the auction block. As any one in business knows, when people are laid off, it is a sure sign of financial trouble. Now with the tobacco deal going through that will only allow one venue to advertise in, you know it will go to NASCAR. The only way NHRA can keep the Winston dollars is for the organization to fall under NASCAR. I have also heard of a group of investors looking to bid on NHRA, with Penske and Bruton Smith being mentioned in the same breath. And those guys know how to find non-tobacco money to fund a series.

Bob! It all makes sense, but is there any truth to the rumours? Will things continue going downhill allowing Bader and the IHRA to pounce on the market, then sign Budweiser as a series sponsor ? As bad as things are getting, I feel good about the future of the sport. After all, sometimes bad things must happen first before something good will result. Sort of like how many people must die at an intersection before they put up a traffic light.

I'd like to see you stir up the hornets nest on this one and see what happens.

Thanks for putting your site together and in particular the bit about street racing. We here in Canberra (Australia) are having a hard time convincing our government to give us a break! If you have anything that can help us soften their opinion on proper organized street meetings, please let us know. As we are trying to put together a proposal to win their support.

You should know better than to eat that crap. I'm not the picture of perfect health but geez man, you have to be in top shape to drag race . . . don't you?

Hopefully you can post my follow-up on Top Comp to clarify things that were left out of the original press release so it could fit on to the NHRA-Online page. Tell everyone that all of the details, including first year purse, will be in the next issue of "Sixth Sense" that will be in the mail on December 10. I also want to emphasize that this is a long term commitment. If we don't get huge numbers for 1999 we will stick with it for 2000 and 2001 . . .

I just wanted to remind you that I'll be leaving Wednesday morning for the PRI Trade Show at Indy. I'll be "off-line" until Sunday, December 6. Eat a bran muffin and an apple from now on.