Drag definition #3

I am not sure how to contact Paul Page regarding his question as to why is it called drag racing but hopefully you can forward this to him as I could not find a way to comment on his blog. The earliest roots to drag racing started in the early 1600s and were powered by two horsepower. Drag racing was a contest where a driver straddled a wooden cross that was harnessed to two male horses. The top of the cross is what the driver held on to and the bottom of the cross dragged on the ground. The left and right of the cross harnessed the two horses. The competitors raced in a straight line from a standing start. The race event was elimination based and only two drivers competed at a time. The horses actually drank a special liquid that improved performance right before the elimination took place. A magnificent pageant preceded the event where the female horses adorned flowers and plant leaves as decorations.

Don Mason
Florida

TV or not TV

Hey Burkster, great coverage from Qatar. Didn't you need a personal assistant to carry cameras, spell check? Hey, I'm there for ya. Once again, great coverage.

Then there was Bristol. Now I have nothing against the Bernsteins, Krawiecs, or Hoods (let’s call it what it is), but damn, this is supposed to be drag racing, not the damn Newlywed Game. Rieff is an idiot. We could have watched all rounds of Pro Mod in the amount of time wasted on stupidity.

We could have seen a great piece on Chris Karamesines. He made a pass, and on the second pass something went wrong, but espn (ain't capitalizing these idiots) didn't even show him as a non qualifier, only Massey. Karamesines is a living walking legend, just like Snake, Big, Shirley, Connie, etc.

It is a shame that NHRA and ESPN cannot pull their heads out of their butts and recognize these legends of the sport. It is a wonder that Bender even has a job. And YES, as you mentioned, Dom Lagana got his shot at the wheel, great and fantastic. espn could have shot a great Lagana (Twilight Zone) history, but noooooo. We had a lame excuse from John Farce about steering ratios, hell, the man just flat whacked the throttle as the rear end was swinging around and it almost cost Beckman his race car. Beckman was very gracious after that incident, but fact is, Force drove it too far, even on race day.

I am hoping to make Kansas City again this year, but things are tight for everyone. I have some cool Ronnie Sox items that I would bet most folks have never seen and I would like Diane Sox to autograph them for me. I don't eBay my stuff. Told the wife that when I die, she gives my Prudhomme collection and all my nostalgia stuff to my youngest son.  Just a little sniff of that Nitro stuff, yeah baby.

Thanks for all your good Drag Bike pics too. Have a great day.

Mark Elms
Everton, Missouri

Not a fan of ‘fluff’

I agree with Burk about all the fluff and a "who cares" attitude about the real racers. Being a diehard fan of this sport for over 45 years, I too have seen my interest wane, especially since they went to the 1000 ft. I used to set my VCR to watch the qualifying, not anymore. I used to set it to watch the finals so I could fast forward through the crap, not anymore. I don't car if I see the whole final show. If I miss it, I just go on this site to see who won. I still go to the Toyo Tires Nat’ls at Maple Grove, but I go more to see the backbone of our sport which is all the classes than aren't pro. They need to take the show to the Speed channel. At least those guys know how to run a racing show.

Tom Gondal
Pottstown, Pennsylvania