Just Wondering… Since the entire NHRA company has taken a 10% pay cut, if the fiscal situation of the NHRA doesn't get better could a 10% reduction in the pro and sportsman purses be the NHRA's next move?

Just Wondering… Will the departure of Budweiser both as a major sponsor for the NHRA and Kenny Bernstein's Top Fuel team afford the opportunity for another brewery to step in and back Bernstein and become Official Beer of the NHRA?

Just Wondering… Will the cheap/free ticket programs instituted by both the NHRA and its major racetrack partners cost them revenue? I'm thinking that overall revenues (think parking, concessions, souvenirs) actually increase with larger-than-usual crowds.

Just Wondering… Did you know that the IHRA drew essentially the same crowd numbers in regards to tickets sold with or without Fuel Funny Cars? According to one IHRA national event track operator, there was no serious increase in ticket sales by adding a Fuel Coupe program.

Just Wondering… Is it a sign of the times or a look at the future that the race with the most AA/FC (29) trying to qualify for a 16-car field wasn't at an NHRA national event, but rather at the NHRA-sanctioned Nostalgia March Meet at Bakersfield, CA?  

Just Wondering… What does it mean to the future of Nostalgia Top Fuel, a class invented on the West Coast, when the biggest race of the season for those cars (March Meet) attracted just 18 entries? That's fewer cars than the NHRA has had trying to qualify at some of its national events this year.

Just Wondering… Still on the Nostalgia kick, how did the Funny Car classes end up with an eight-car “A” main and a “B” main? Sounds more like circle track racing than drag racing. Why is the NFCA asking promoters to adopt this two-tier structure instead of a qualified 16-car field? 

Just Wondering… You can race at NHRA national and divisional events and burn nitro but why did the NHRA decide to ban the use of nitrous in their sportsman classes - Top Sportsman and Top Dragster excluded? Does that make any sense to anyone?

Just Wondering… Since Forrest and Charlotte Lucas stepped up to back Don Garlits’ Hall of Fame, what's the over and under for how many years before a Lucas is inducted into the hallowed hall? I'm setting the number at three years!

Just Wondering… Who knew that drag racing was so solid with its fan base? You sure don’t see the gaping holes in the crowds at NHRA, IHRA, ADRL and other series that are painfully obvious at NASCAR’s sedan and pickup truck races.

Just Wondering… Why doesn't the NHRA let their cash-strapped pro teams keep all of their own souvenir sales? If the NHRA, according to their recent income tax returns, has gross receipts over $100,000,000 a year and profits of over $5,000,000, couldn't they let their underfunded pro race teams keep the souvenir money and still show a profit? After all, they are a not-for-profit organization by their incorporation papers, right?

Just Wondering… Why not let Junior Dragsters burn nitro and call the class Junior Fuel?

Just Wondering… What the hell happened at Bill Simpson's Impact company that allowed potentially unsafe firesuits to be sold to racers? That is totally out of character for Simpson, who prides himself on the quality of his safety equipment. And can we now trust the Chinese to manufacture safe products?

Just Wondering… Does it make sense on any level for Tom Compton to cut the safety crew’s pay for NHRA national and divisional events? Those men and women are expected to risk their lives to save others, should the situation arise. In my opinion they should have been exempt from a pay reduction. They are underpaid to start with. Just my opinion.

Just Wondering… What would it have been like if the sale of the NHRA had been successful?