WHAT TO DO WITH THE MONEY?
Great article. They could have used the money to improve the facilities, i.e. the Bakersfield pits where they were only going to have one Reunion and I am going to the 15th this October. I work at Infineon Raceway in Sales and Bruton has poured over $50 million into this place since he bought it. It is a far cry from the early 1970's when I was out here racing the Marv Eldridge fleet of Funny Cars from LA.
We just finished our NASCAR Weekend and it is getting nothing but high praise for the way it came off...better traffic flow, nice clean facility, great staff, best facility in NASCAR, etc., etc, all because the owner knows that to make money you have to spend money in order to get the fans back out here -- which he has done not only here but his other tracks as well. I hope the hell he buys and owns NHRA someday and make it the organization it needs to be so my grandkids can carry on the tradition.
Mike D'Addario
IS HEAVIER TUBING THE SAFETY ANSWER?
OK, so here's a simpleton's view of this problem. When I watched Cory Mac's frame snap, reminiscent of T. Schumacher's two incidents in past years, I just have to ask: Why doesn't NHRA let weight take a little power out of the equation and just go to a heavier weight tubing or larger diameter - I mean making the frames stronger will add weight to the car which will slow it down a little, and the extra rigidity couldn't hurt - could it? Just a thought.
Still the best E ticket ride on the planet. I want to see them fly, but I want everyone to live.
Joe Galatha
Hazleton, PA
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CRYING IN HIS BEER?
It's a sad day when a major sponsor such as Miller cannot see the benefits of sponsoring a REAL race car. While the marketing of NASCAR far exceeds what NHRA's marketing people have done, the truth is NHRA events are far more spectator friendly and exciting than "NAPCARS". Four hours of "taxi cab" racing makes me dizzy and sleepy, and the talent of the drivers and crews are minimal at best.
I will never give up on NHRA because they truly have the most talented crews and drivers on the planet, PLUS as a fan I can get within 6 feet of any car and driver in the pits without paying hundreds of dollars for the privilege. NHRA teams care about their fans far more than NAPCAR teams (and sponsors) and I would challenge ANY crew chief of NAPCAR to harness the power of a 9,000-hp nitromethane fire breathing monster and succeed in a full pass without crashing, strikin’ the hides or blowing up the car.
For the fans out there that attend NHRA events, I say thank you for continuing to support our men and women and I will see you at the next event with or without Miller. And speaking of Miller, I have been drinking their beer for 28 years but as of today I am a Coors man.
Joseph Camp
Iowa
ROUND TWO
(Letter is unedited)
To all the sport compact haters saying i'm new to drag racing. I have been around the sport since 1995, I personally know many promodified
drivers. I write for www.dragcoverage.com & Drag Illustrated Magazine. All of u naysayers of sport compact racing need to take a freakin reality check and think about this, in 10 years the cars will be sport compact, Shuan Carlson needs seat-time, you r talking about someone who has raced front wheel drive race cars and is now in rear wheel drive. I will stand by my believe's on this, I have many supporters with my thoughs and don't think u guys should bash the sport compact so much.In 10 years when everything is sport compact I will have the last laugh. Amd for the 2 who are saying I don't know what I'm talking about F you, you probally drive freakin imports for daily drivers.
Codie Early
And lest we start the level of correspondence that belongs in a chatroom, we are going to let Mr. Early have the last word on this particular exchange of ideas. – Ed.