I've written about this topic before, but it's something I continue to trot out in conversations and discussions at various times, and amongst racers I've yet to have it rejected or questioned. The only rejection I have had came from an ANDRA NCC (National Control Council) meeting.

In the past year there's been a growing stress within the Australian drag racing scene. Rising costs, toughening standards of competition, the dropping away of the extra funding provided by the Winfield-RPS bonuses, tightening business circumstances in companies which are required to support most race operations, have all led to an inner searching, and a growing dissatisfaction with the status quo.

The system we have in ANDRA is really an anachronism, a left-over from the mid-60's. Back then a grouping of clubs had established regular drag racing and hot rodding activities around the Melbourne area. In Sydney a similar grouping was beginning to do the same. To establish one central body of rules and administration, the two groups formed what they called the Australian Hot Rod Federation. It was built around club membership, and the situation was retained through the late 60's and early 70's, when the AHRF began to lose steam and those in the drag racing side of the equation began to feel the need to break free of the street-show side of the operation.

Those who began to plot to form the new drag racing control body - to be known as the Australian National Drag Racing Association - were changing all sorts of things. It was a time of flux in the sport, when handicaps were being introduced, and some of the old bracket structures were being discarded. I've never had a reasonable answer why it was decided to continue with the old club structure. Probably it was a case of there being so many other changes that it was nice to have a comfort zone of factors which were not changing from that which was already in existence.

It's a system which we still have in existence, and while I have much respect for the social and "cultural" aspects of clubs, I just figure they should have little place in determining rules and regulations in the 1990's. The system of club member to club delegate to Divisional Council to Divisional Director to National Control Council is just so unwieldy as to be at times almost unworkable.

We have a system which requires volunteers, who give up their time along with no small amount of stress on family life, marraiges, business and the pocket, to hold the position of Divisional Director. And once a month they have to sit up in front of a room full of sometimes strongly opinionated individuals and justify this bit of policy or that decision, which at times they might not even have voted for.

Like it or not, it's a system which has at times chewed up quite a few competent administrators who felt they had a lot to give the sport. It would also be necessary to say that at times, over the years, we've had a few duds among the Divisional Directors, people who were just in the job because nobody else wanted to do it, and that has to be the worst possible reason for doing it.

We need to recognize that the National Control Council is the board of directors of this multi-million (billion?) dollar sport we call drag racing. We cannot afford to have a system which consumes or drives off competent people. And we have to have a system which allows for the most efficient administration of the sport.

One thing which Australian drag racing does have is a uniquely democratic system which allows the competitors some measure of a say in the rules making process. The trouble is, that as explained above, it's so awkward and cumbersome as to be best described as ponderous.

I figure that if we feel the need to allow the racers to have a vote in some aspects of the sport - they can't vote on everything now - then we need to streamline whatever that process is and make it user friendly.

A workable system would be to give racers a vote on aspects of their racing, such as the size of tyres on a Modified Bike, or whether altereds should have windscreen wipers, or whatever. Does it matter to the crowd, or anyone else, whether a Mod Bike going down the track has a 10 or a 12 inch slick, and if the racers want it, then let them have it.

How to do it? Every drag racer deserves to have access to the decision making process, not just those who are members of clubs. Racers who live in isolated localities, who are prevented by work demands, or by a simple personal choice not to belong to a club, should not be barred from up-to-date information. If it means a slight extra charge on every racer's license, then so be it, but it would be relatively cost effective to package a simple printed letter from Head Office each month - it's already prepared but is sent to clubs and/or DC's instead - could inform all ANDRA members of the latest policies on any subject, tribunal decisions, new thinking on difficult issues, and rules changes. It's called communication.

And if any racer has a bright idea for a rules change then they can make use of that monthly communication medium. A rules proposal could be submitted, and if appropriately supported by argument would be passed to a rules advisory panel, which then append its recommendations. This would then all be published in the next available issue of the newsletter.

If the rule concerns Super Sedan, then all racers holding current licenses for Super Sedan (or Super Street as well, since a simple performance change could step them up into Super Sedan, so they are potential competitors) have the right to vote, yes or no, for the proposal. If you don't vote you're considered not to care. If you don't race in Super Sedan or Super Street you don't get a vote, since it's none of your business.

You have 30 days to vote, by which time the next edition of the newsletter is published and voting on that round of proposals halts. Over the ensuing month the votes are collated, and published in the next edition. The whole process need take no more than four months from beginning to end, and cut out much wasted time.

It would free up DC time spent arguing over such matters, save time at NCC meetings where it could be better spent on more important issues than windscreen wipers for altereds and open up the channels of communication.

In exchange for the increased democracy on such matters ANDRA would with-hold to itself matters related to safety, and the big picture issues, to enable it to better structure and manage the sport. It might also convert DC meetings into more social occasions, taking the heat out of them, and discouraging the vote stacking that has been known to go on in most divisions at times, and keep the administrators with something to give in the business.