OUT IN LEFT FIELD?
Instead of wondering about all this stuff most of us have an answer to, (it's all about the money!) why don't you wonder how to defend our sport from all these attacks (re: E-Town) from stupid people complaining about drag racing and the noise. And land developers wanting to build over everything.
I don't hear them complaining when a baseball stadium or a soccer field or a golf course (biggest waste of land I've ever seen) or any other sport venue is built. And I don't hear much complaining about funding these either. But when it comes to drag racing, it's no support, no funding, nothing.
I believe this is a form of discrimination that should be looked at by lawyers and investigated. Why are all the other sports accepted with open arms and we are not. I'd like to see you write an editorial about this.
Give the racers the why and what-fors about why we are attacked and is there anything we can do to save our sport from being silenced for ever and buried under someone’s house or baseball field or golf course.
I think NHRA and IHRA and all magazine editors and owners should be just like the NRA and do something to protect our rights as drag racers like gun owners.
Let's start complaining about the lack of noise from the sanctioning bodies and start doing something about the attacks and closings or soon we won't have any place to race and then you can sit and wonder about what should have been done.
John Crump
Alaska
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I LIKE DRAG RACING BECAUSE. . . .
I read with interest Jeremy Lehrke's letter in response to the debate on slowing down drag racing, 1/8 mile vs. 1/4 mile, etc. He is clearly a motivated racer and has valuable insight to provide from the driver perspective.
Mr. Lehrke states that "The sport is hurting enough, don't take away the only appeal it has going for it, the occasional speed." He goes on to say, "The rare 330-mph run is all the few fans we have show up for," and that this is "the way a bunch of us sportsman racers feel about the safety subject in drag racing."
I feel compelled to offer a counterpoint, from my own perspective as a loyal and intense fan. This may seem strange, but I don't go for the speed. Yes, speed is what initially got me to my first drag race. Yes, when I attend I hope to see a record broken or an unusually high speed attained. But it's not why I go, and it's not why I spend a lot of money doing so.
I go for the fact that I'm shoulder to shoulder with people who, unlike almost everyone else in my life, love drag racing. I go because of how a hard metal bleacher seat, cold Coors Light and a sloppy track dog make major life problems go away for an afternoon. I go to marvel at the drivers and crewmen working on the cars, simultaneously fascinated in what I'm observing and wishful that I knew my way around an engine so well. I go to watch the crowd, I love how everyone's face turns to stone when the cars pass and how they all explode into cheers and random high-fives on a good race - which reminds me...
A "good race" is not a fast race. A good race is CLOSE. It's either cliff-hangingly sloppy for one or both drivers, where all bets are off until the finish, or it's a clean and honest race that is CLOSE.
So, do I like it when there's the "ultimate run"? You bet. Is that why I go to drag races? Nope. I'd still show up and enjoy and spend if it was "slower." That's because I get much more out of it than speed. So to all you Sportsman racers out there that think it's all about speed... well, maybe for you it is, but I'd rather my son and daughter grow up learning the wonders I've discovered at the races rather than figuring out how to explain to a five year old that someone just died in front of us.
Stay safe, race again. I'm watching!
Sincerely,
Tim S.
Phoenix, AZ
SOMETIMES IT’S BETTER NOT TO KNOW?
Paul Page might be doing his best but he sucks! Do some homework on the sport! Are there more important issues, yes, but as JUST a fan of 28 years he sounds like an open wheel lover being put out covering drag racing. Put some duct tape over his mouth and let Dunn do it himself.
Mr. Burk, I don't know how you can follow NHRA or IHRA with so much insight of its politics. I almost don't want to be JUST a fan after reading it.
Joe Barron
Flat Rock, MI
ALA MODE?
Here, here, Jeff! Concerning the Paul Page nay-sayers! My message to the whiners would be something resembling a challenge...if you think you can do a better job, then apply for the job to ESPN. Otherwise, put a sock in your piehole and quit wasting e-mail time and my reading time!
Rik Chidester
Poulsbo, WA
THANKS
Like your mag.
Glen G. Wilson Jr.
San Francisco, CA
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