But seriously, dude

JB, when I was a kid I was taught this.

When you have critics, that means you are to be taken seriously. When people all agree with you, is when you are not taken seriously.

Guess what pal, you’re to be taken seriously. Keep voicing and writing. You’re closer than you think, ‘cause the critics are raising a stink.

Will Heritage
Minnetonka, Minnesota

Weeping for the lost 320 feet

Well Burk, you finally got your precious 1000' records. It’s a sad day in the history of our sport. When is everyone going to wake up and realize that this so-called "1000' era" is going to be an abysmal stain on the history of our sport? It’s a disgrace.

Mike Parsons
Orange County, California

How to attract divisional fans?

I race in NHRA division 5 and I can't help but notice the large disparity in the number of spectators that attend the division races.  Some races don't even have bleachers to accommodate more than 1000 people, and then you attend the division race at Denver and Bruce Kamada can get 15,000 fans to Bandimere. I assume that the other divisions have the same situation happening.

Is there any way to teach these other tracks what they have to do to put people in the seats, make more money for themselves and reduce some of the financial burden on the racers? Obviously it can be done. Bruce can do it and the ADRL seems to be working. It is mind boggling that there are 20,000 people that attend Heartland Park Topeka for the NHRA national and the ADRL race, but only 1000 people in the seats for a division race. Am I crazy?

Scott Cowles
Fremont, Nebraska

Track design basics

Engineering 101: don't make the racing surface the lowest point on the track - or at the track.

Learn from the Maple Grove incident. The same thing happened at Topeka in 1997. 

Lower the surrounding ground below the track surface, cut two-inch gutters at the wall, with outlets (with fall going away from the track) and this won't happen again.

Thank you.

B. Sanders
Kansas City, Missouri