WHAT'S NEW
in the world of drag racing
The latest update as of August 28, 1999
What the heck is going on here?... three updates in four days; that
almost equals my total for the last two months. Well, now that things have
calmed down to a dull roar (back to work, "money hose" starting to flow again,
lots of housekeeping done on the website) it's time to get back with
it and bringing all the news as it happens, instead of a month late like it's
been lately. (Or not at all, as the case may be).
TV NOTE: For viewers in British Columbia who receive
"Speedvision" (on the Rogers cable network), you've got another chance to see
the recent Colonel's Truck Accessories Nationals (nee: Northstar Nationals)
on Monday, August 30th. The times are (Pacific Daylight) 6:00 - 8:00
pm (the semi-finals and finals) and a repeat showing at 10:00 pm -
Midnight. Write these times down now, or better still, program the VCR
NOW, before you do like me and forget about it until half an hour after
the show ends....
I haven't logged on yet today, so there's no further news about what's
happening at the four major drag racing events being contested this weekend,
but we'll try to bring you all the news and results as soon as possible. In
the meantime, why not check out these latest bits of "Hot News" gathered off
the web last night, courtesy of Drag Racing Online's "Agent 1320".
"Silly Season" starting early
The success of John Force's two-car Ford team has spawned a frenzy of real
and imagined alliances. First, Jerry Toliver announced that he was expanding
his WWF team to include Jim Epler. Now it is reported that Jim Head and Del
Worsham, already loosely aligned under the CSK banner, are negotiating a deal
that would put them both in CSK Pontiacs next season. Also in the two-car rumor
mix: Chuck Etchells, Alan Johnson (who reportedly would like to add a Funny
Car team to the mix) and Al Hofmann.
Penthouse gone... Mooneyes back...
Another sponsor bites the dust although it is unlikely that the NHRA will
lament the departure of Penthouse Magazine and its Pet Parade next season. With
the magazine gone, it's rumored that "Big Jim" Dunn will be back in yellow next
year with Mooneyes sponsorship. No word on whether that means the return of
Kenji Okazaki. (That's more than rumour, the Mooneyes sponsorship is
a done deal, according to NHRA Online)
Brainerd Bits
Don Williamson, the Colonel as in "the Colonel's Truck Accessories Nationals"
and "the Colonel's Brainerd International Raceway" reportedly is committed to
spending $14 million on improvements at BIR over the next several years including
at least one 125-room hotel on site. Already in place this year were a new and
impressive main entryway and a new office building. Now, the Colonel is rumored
also to be building a convenience store, reportedly because of a dispute, real
or imagined, with the Tom Thumb facility outside his front gate. Williamson,
who bought the controlling shares in the facility from former Top Fuel and
Funny Car driver Gene Snow, reportedly gave NHRA a good faith check for $1.3
million BEFORE this year's event to cover the sanctioning body's share of the
split and expenses. Of course, the Colonel isn't going to pay all of that tab
out of his own pocket. Parking at this year's race was $20 per car, per day
PLUS the admission ticket. (Ouch!)
"Concrete" developments
Despite pressure from the PRO, the NHRA likely will not adopt a 700 foot
standard for concrete launch pads. Privately, the sanctioning body is playing
the safety card, claiming that while the concrete is great for the pros, it
is a detriment to sportsman and bracket racing which provides the tracks with
their income on all but one weekend a year. Referenced as the prime example
is the Texas Motorplex which has a reputation, deserved or not, for being a
dangerous track for sportsman cars. NHRA likely will adopt a standard closer
to 500 feet and will bring its company-owned facilities up to specs by next
season. Already scheduled is a concrete pad makeover at Atlanta. Still, expect
the new Las Vegas track to provide 700 feet of launch pad, the same as Bristol.
Speaking of makeovers, NHRA apparently has done a lot of work at Indianapolis
Raceway Park, site of the 45th annual U.S. Nationals, but very little of it
on the drag strip. The new grandstands, track repaving and other improvements
to the IRP oval track reportedly ran in excess of $3 million though.
Improvements or not, IRP isn't in danger of losing its national event. The
same isn't true of a couple of other NHRA locales, however. With next year's
addition of Las Vegas and the likelihood that Bristol will eventually come on
board as a full-blown national event track, NHRA reportedly is looking at places
to trim the schedule since its pro teams already are maxed out on appearances.
On the bubble? Memphis, Seattle and Houston, though not necessarily in that
order.
NHRA media watch
The NHRA has recently retained the services of both an ad agency and a public
relations firm. Certainly both are needed, but it appears that the PR firm is
perhaps needed the most. In a recent edition of the respected motorsports weekly
"AutoWeek" that featured a section devoted to the midseason review of all motorsports,
every major sanctioning body -- with the exception of drag racing -- got a report.
Drag racing got the donut, zero, zip, nada. In fact, the only mention drag racing
got was a couple of lines that followed a paragraph on the World of Outlaws.
Same deal in a recent issue of "Sports Illustrated" which had a motorsports
update section that neglected to even mention drag racing while once again the
World of Outlaw sprint cars at least got a mention. Hope the folks at Hill &
Knowlton Sports can help.
Winston out of NHRA by 2001?
Sources tell Agent 1320 that Winston will be around for one more year as
the major sponsor for NHRA drag racing and then will ankle off into the sunset
in 2001. It will be interesting to see whom the Glendora Gang romances to replace
them.
Bill Bader & Bruton Smith
IHRA president Bill Bader is a busy man this week. His flagship racetrack,
Norwalk Raceway Park, is hosting the IHRA Mopar Parts World Nationals presented
by Ethanol Performs and he reportedly has a scheduled meeting with Fred Wagenhals
of Action Performance Companies, the conglomerate which now includes GoRacing.com.
Also rumored to be headed to Norwalk: Bruton Smith.
Bruton Smith Hot Rod Association ?
Motorsports Tycoon Bruton Smith is taking more than a casual interest in
drag racing. He has given his staff at his Fort Worth (Texas) NASCAR plant the
go-ahead to build a dragstrip on the premises. You can bet Billy Meyer doesn't
welcome that news. When the track at Fort Worth is complete he will then have
four National Event sites to run drag races on: Sonoma, Las Vegas, Bristol, and
Fort Worth. One rumor that has been floated is that Mr. Smith may look into
the possibilities of fronting an eight race circuit of his own. It is well
known that Smith at one time looked into buying NHRA and has talked to people
in the industry about having his own sanctioning body. A Smith-backed sanctioning
body is just a rumor but a very intriguing one and just the thought of Bruton
Smith doing this could make the boys in Glendora very nervous.
IHRA gets TNN television deal for 2000
Evidently Bill Bader and IHRA are having better success putting together
a television package than NHRA is. Reliable IHRA sources indicate that Bader
has inked a deal with TNN that for the 2000 season will be putting IHRA races
on the tube at least 13 times on Sunday nights at 10:30 Eastern and 7:30 on
the left coast. Several reliable sources confirmed that part of the reason that
IHRA got such a good package from TNN was that TNN found dealing with IHRA much
easier than dealing with the NHRA.
Well, is that enough news for one day? Heavens know what will happen
tomorrow or next week, eh? As always, stay tuned to Northern Thunder for all
the latest drag racing news, views, results and reports.
More news as it happens, and if you wish to provide us with any news or information to
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