• Home
• Blog
• Podcast
• Forum
• Speed Shop
• Archives
• About Us

Subscribe

• Channels:
• Formula 1
• IRL
• NASCAR
• Motorcycles
• NHRA

New Year’s Resolutions I’d Like to See

Christmas is over; both Hanukkah and Kwanzaa end on Jan. 1st and feats of strength and the airing of grievances for those that celebrate Festivus have already passed. (That last reference may be over your head if you never watched ‘Seinfeld’.) So now is the time to make those New Year’s resolutions before midnight on Saturday. Forget about losing weight, taking the stairs instead of the elevator or calling your mother more often. Here is a list of New Year’s resolutions I would like to see those involved in the NHRA adopt for 2006.

Come January 1st, the gyms will be crowded with those trying to lose weight and the thousands of Starbucks will see a lull from those trying to cut out caffeine. Almost all of us have made New Year’s resolutions and I will to bet that 99% of you have broken them before March. This year I’d like to suggest a list of resolutions for owners, drivers, crew chiefs, race teams and even the NHRA itself should try to adopt for the 2006 season. I’m just hoping they can keep them at least until the Gatornationals in March.

– Top Fuel drivers should resolve to stop the exodus to the Funny Car class. Whether it is the fear of Tony Schumacher’s dominance or the concern that Funny Cars are a safer vehicle, please keep the quickest and fastest cars on the planet full of talented driver to keep the class competitive.

– Team owners should resolve to reject the notion of team orders. Fans of drag racing want to see tight, competitive, side-by-side racing. When a teammate drops a red light or “conveniently” smokes the tires before the 60′ mark, we all start to question if the win was legitimate. Resolve that the best car and driver wins on Sundays and stop taking a dive for the guy that is currently 12 points ahead in the POWERade points.

– Don Schumacher should resolve to stop adding cars to his already enormous racing arsenal. Don, you have proven your point. You have surpassed John Force as the more opposing team owner on the NHRA landscape. You can now stop the escalating spending arms race. Campaigning at least two vehicles in each professional class is quite enough and any more will dilute the competive integrity. One more car and you might as well start up your own drag racing series to ensure that no matter who wins, it will be one of your drivers hoisting the trophy.

– Teams and drivers should resolve to have no oil downs in 2006. I understand pushing the envelope for more horsepower and speed is what built the NHRA but dumping oil on the track is not part of it. Drivers, please resolve that when you feel the motor going south, lift off the throttle. Keeping your foot in it and blowing up the engine does no one any favors. Crew chiefs, please resolve to not overload the tune up. No one looks forward to the crew chief walking to the starting line with his fingers crossed and hoping the motor stays together for the full 1,320 feet. Team owners, please resolve that you have enough of a budget to be able to campaign a competitive car without having to reuse suspect parts. I understand drag racing is an expensive sport but for the benefit of the racing experience for all involved, when in doubt use a new part rather than trying to get one more run out of that piston. Let’s all resolve to have an oil free 2006.

– The NHRA should resolve to campaign Pro Stock Motorcycle at all events in 2007. It is too late for 2006 because the schedule has already been announced but it is not too late to include the bikes when you announce your schedule for 2007. The bikes are a popular class and the riders have some of the most compelling human interest stories of anyone. More minorities and women compete in this class than any other and the NHRA should try to expand their fan base with these personalities.

– Older drivers that have retired should resolve to stay retired. Announcing a farewell tour at the beginning of the season only to go back on that claim just makes the fans jaded. Resolve not to be like Willie Mayes, stumbling around in the outfield, after your best days have passed you by is the best choice. Seeing great drivers with amazing careers campaign a limited season and are there only as a field fillers is just sad. Resolve to know when your time has come and do not tarnish your reputation with DNQ’s and first round losses consumed in a cloud of tire smoke.

– Whit Bazemore, please resolve to be on your best behavior in 2006. Speeding at the turn off after a tough loss, berating security guards and bad mouthing NHRA officials is not what we are looking for out of a professional. I know Charles Barkley once said, “I am not a role model”, but the fact remains that kids look to celebrities as their heroes. You have an obligation not only to your adult fans to portray a positive image but also to the youngsters that think you are the greatest. On second thought, this resolution should extend to all drivers and not just Whit.

– More NHRA sponsors should resolve to follow the lead of Brut. The men’s fragrance is running an NHRA themed television ad away from the normal NHRA broadcasts on ESPN2. Brut will be running the ad during the Vitalis Sun Bowl at 2 p.m. ET, Friday, Dec. 30, on CBS. This ad campaign will help expand the reach of the NHRA and help to expose college football fans to the power and excitement of drag racing. More sponsors should follow this lead and run NHRA themed ads during other sports’ telecasts such as Monday Night Football or during the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament in March. Sponsors in the Nextel Cup realize the revenue potential of cross promoting their sponsorship on other programs. The NHRA sponsors should resolve to do the same.

– The NHRA should resolve to research and develop a plan to expand the racing seasons to underserved markets like Detroit, Boston and South Florida. A quick glance at the map of the United States and these are the only major metropolitan areas that currently do not have an NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series event. Sure Bostonians could drive to Englishtown, N.J. but that is nearly a five hour drive and straight through the heart of New York City traffic. Detroit to the Columbus event is a four hour drive and Miami to Gainesville, Fla. is over a five hour drive. There are motorsports fans in the area as evidenced by NASCAR already hosts races in these areas. Brooklyn, Mich., Loudon, N.H. and Homestead, Fla. all host Nextel Cup races and serve these markets. Much like the NFL does with new stadiums, the NHRA should resolve to create a track development committee to serve these markets starved for professional drag racing.

Will all of these resolutions be made and hopefully kept? I doubt it. But it is nice to have a dream. If one of these resolutions serves as a suggestion to anyone of the people or organizations mentioned, I will be happy. Rome wasn’t built in a day and you can’t expect the NHRA to be perfect in a year’s time. Have a safe and happy New Year and here’s to a great year of NHRA POWERade Drag Racing in 2006.

Comments