What do you have to say? Your name: Your location: Your email: Do you want to subscribe to our FREE email newsletter? Yes No Letters which do not include a full name will not be considered for publication. * Your letter may (or may not) be published in our "We've Got Mail" section.

That’s not racing!

I have been involved in drag racing for 41 years as a fan, photographer, announcer and racer. The IHRA event at Baton Rouge last weekend was the WORST excuse for a "Major Event" I have ever seen. The marketing department for IHRA did one helluva job getting a huge crowd out to the racetrack. I will give them credit for that. TV ads every time you turned around for the last couple of weeks.

The show included four, that's right, four top fuel cars and a handful of injected nitro cars. A hand full of nostalgia funny cars and an outlaw pro-mod class made up of all local racers. No true pro-mod cars, no pro stock and again four top fuels cars. First round of "PRO" cars ran around 7pm. All the fuel cars smoked the tires. I guess the new format where you don't have to qualify is an economics issue. SUCKS... I won't attend another IHRA event if I live to be 100.

You know it's true that drag racing gets in your blood. I have loved it for 41 years, but I am ready for a blood transfusion.

Larry Barrios
Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Foreseeability?

Just Wondering… How many lawsuits will be filed against the track, the NHRA, and the traction compound maker after the fiasco of a national event at Phoenix?

This is a question which I asked myself, Jeff. I believe a suit or suits should be filed. The family of the deceased has standing in a court of law. I am a paralegal student and as I learned in tort law, the NHRA and the track owe a duty to keep all fans safe at all times. The four elements in tort are duty, breach, causation, and damages. As I see it this tragedy meets all the elements for a suit. Now you will hear some fans say "well she knew the risk of attending a race." Well there is a thing we call foreseeability, and that means the NHRA should see that tragedies such as this can and do happen. This where the duty comes in, and that is they owe you that duty to keep you the fan safe. The last thing is, the NHRA should take a page from NASCAR. Those crash fences they have in front of the grandstands at their tracks do the job. They are nice and high and slanted into the track, and they stop car wreckage from going into the stands.

I am a long-time drag race fan and have attended major events, and I believe the fences at these venues that I have been too are not high enough. Something has to be done. You are straight shooter, Jeff, and I am glad to see someone ask this question. I think the NHRA is running scared about the question of a suit and they should be. They are trying to lay low on this issue; they should address this subject as quickly as possible. Maybe this tragedy will wake them up and do something. They say they are dedicated to safety, well, we'll see. Thanks for your time.

Gene Tavani
Florida