Over the last 55 years or so the NHRA has been able to leverage the fact that its national event races were the most profitable race that tracks like the Motorplex, HRP, Englishtown could have during a season. There weren’t any races that challenged the NHRA in terms of gross and profit, so that allowed the NHRA to dictate and control the tracks because the track owners couldn’t afford to lose the prestige and revenue that an NHRA race brought.

Over the years the NHRA has proven over and over that as a company they always put the racers safety before making a profit or putting on a race, right? So, putting the ADRL race at Houston in peril isn’t out of character for them, is it?

So why the grief? Maybe they suddenly realized that what the ADRL is going to offer its fans is a real, old-school, Nitro Funny Car. The ADRL fans, many of whom get their very first taste of drag racing at an ADRL race, are going to see and hear a real Nitro Funny Car with flames on a free ticket. For years Nitro Funny Cars have been an NHRA asset that major market fans could only see at an NHRA event. If the NHRA allow the ADRL have their version of Nitro Funny Cars, they lose that exclusivity.

But times are changing. Many tracks are owned by publicly traded corporations that demand a bigger yearly profit and have no particular loyalty to the NHRA. Many tracks on the NHRA national event schedule have full-time, year-round staffs and all the costs that come from that. That means those tracks need to stage as many unique and profitable races during the year as they can.  Some track operators have simply ignored NHRA’s attempt to control their business and, so far, the NHRA apparently has not pressed the point.
 
So, if Houston Raceway Park has its ADRL race despite NHRA’s threatened sanctions, will the NHRA circus show up three weeks later for its race without a problem? Can the NHRA afford to lose a track and market such as Houston to make a point? You can bet that if the NHRA revokes the ADRL’s ASO privileges but allows the race to go on and then allows HRP to hold the NHRA national event, their power over the member tracks will be done.

In recent times no “alternative” sanctioning body has ever challenged the NHRA and lived to tell about it. But no sanctioning body in the history of drag racing (aside from the current NHRA) has had extremely wealthy owners like the ADRL does; owners who are willing and able to fight the NHRA in court if necessary. The last thing the NHRA needs is another loss and out-of-court settlement like they had with the Pro Stock Truck owners and Darrell Russell’s widow. 

I hope and believe that in the end the management of the NHRA and the ADRL will find a way to resolve their issues so that no one loses face. The NHRA has got to come to grips with the idea that they are no longer all-powerful and that the sport needs series like the ADRL, Super Chevy Show, NMCA, and a strong Pro Mod series to survive and thrive.  The NHRA isn’t NASCAR and can’t save drag racing by itself.