ALL IN THE FAMILY
Just finished reading Burk's Blast article, NHRA and ESPN should be ashamed. Jeff, it was great to hear your kind words on J.R. Todd and the Skull Shine team. J.R. is my nephew. He is a fine, outstanding, polite young man, who has a good head on his shoulders. It is great to see him living his dream. Last year after the season, he visited my daughter’s class at school. He talked with the kids and signed cards for each of her classmates. This meant the world to my daughter and her teacher, who just happened to be J.R.'s teacher in pre-school. His family and friends in Southeastern Indiana are very proud of him. J.R. keep up the good work and best wishes.
Jeff, again, THANK YOU for the kind words.
Doug Baker
Rising Sun, IN
MEDIA HYPE, ROUND 2
I thought the recent death of Anna Nichole Smith was being over played by the media. The ESPN2 over coverage of Ashley Force (and the whole friggin’ Force racing team) makes the Anna Nichole Smith media coverage look 'thin' in comparison.
It is hard to criticize a guy who has won 120 NHRA professional events and 14 (National Championships), but I'll try: this idiot (John Force) is ruining our precious sport. His original goofy persona started to wear out on people a few years back. Now he and his handlers, are continuing to concoct other stunts for him to do at each race (ie; hey John, why don't you pace back and forth behind the starting line?) This crap sickens me!!
It is hard enough for the smaller teams to compete on the track with teams like Force's, but now they are robbed of any TV airtime because of this BS.
I hope NHRA gets the message. This Force crap rates right up there with the Janet Jackson wardrobe malfunction at the SuperBowl.
Just put (Ashley) behind the wheel and let’s race. She has proven that she can drive. We all know she has the best equipment.
I bet IHRA is just loving this crap. Serious racers are just looking for an excuse to start/join another sanctioning body.
Maybe Force and DSR can buy NHRA and just race against each other's team. John can huff and puff in front of the cameras, while Schumacher's drivers can body-slam each other in the pits.
The rest of us can go somewhere else and follow the sport of drag racing.
Ted Guth
Minnesota