Three updates in three days: what the heck is going on around here? Has
Wilson finally emerged from his semi-permanent "stuck in Canada while the
racing season's in high gear in Australia" coma? Well, it's partly that and
partly . . . when the stories just fall into your lap, how can you ignore them?
Today's one of those days.
The biggest news so far this year in NHRA's Division Six was publicly announced
earlier today through a media release from Division Director, Chris Blair. There
had been rumours floating around for several weeks about this venue change for
a Federal-Mogul Drag Racing Series event from Seattle to Mission, but today's
release confirms it. While Seattle has dropped its divisional points meet,
it will still host the Prolong Northwest Nationals in July. Mission however,
will be hosting two -- count 'em, two -- points meet this year, the usual date
in early May and now a second one in late June, plus the MOPAC Canadian National
Open in late July. An embarassment of "riches" to be sure.
Here's what Mr. Blair had to say about the change: "We are looking forward
to hosting two Federal-Mogul Drag Racing Series events at Mission Raceway Park
in 2000. Mission has been one of our most popular tracks since it opened in
1992 and provides our racers with some of the best racing conditions in the
sport."
B.C. Custom Car Association (Mission Raceway's owners) president Ray
Grossmith added the following comments: "By now hosting two Federal-Mogul
Drag Racing Series events as well as the Canadian National Open Championship,
Mission Raceway is proving itself to be Canada's premier motorsport facility."
So what did Seattle promoter Jim Rockstad have to say about the change?
Nothing. For the record, all that was mentioned was that "by mutual agreement"
the change was made. Not much to read into that, is there? I've received some
very interesting "backgrounders" on the situation from a variety of sources,
but in the interest of keeping the legal profession from getting richer than
it already is and being allowed to attend this year's Northwest Nationals, I'll
try to keep the invective and slander to a minimum.
It's common knowledge that Mr. Rockstad's lease on Seattle International
Raceway is due to expire at the end of 2001. And he has been informed that a
renewal of that lease is not an option. The future plans of the property owners
are not totally clear at this point and the track may continue to operate in
2002, but that is far from guaranteed. Again, the rumour mill has all sorts
of ideas about what will become of SIR, but until the owners speak publicly,
nothing is concrete.
For the past few years, heck, try the last ten years (or more?), Rockstad
has allowed SIR to deteriorate, to the point where it must rank as the worst
site on the NHRA national tour. The pits are just that: the pits, with potholes
and large rocks in plentiful supply and paved or even smooth dirt surfaces
at a premium. The grandstands? Using the word "grand" with those "stands" is
really almost fraudulent. If they weren't so well sheltered from the winter
storms by the nearby forest, the wind would have blown them down long ago.
The tower? A tad fancier than Mission's, but still, certainly not up to
current national event stature. The track? Well, it was originally paved in
1959 . . . and sort of re-paved in 1998. I say "sort of", as the thin layer
of new asphalt did little more than patch the holes in the surface and failed
to address the underlying bumps and dips. The lights and PA system? Heck, my
Chaparral has more power and light than SIR. The only real improvement in the
facility since Rockstad took over has been the highway access/egress. Of course
that was funded by the taxpayers and that's the only reason it happened.
The one area where Rockstad doesn't skimp is in hiring security guards. Big,
ugly, well-armed dudes with built-in bad attitudes and a minimal understanding
of people skills or drag racing. Are they there to protect us from ourselves?
Or to protect Rockstad and the NHRA officials from the masses of angry specators
that seem to forget the basic lessons of P.T. Barnum on an annual basis. You
know most of them, don't you? "You can't fool an honest man" "You can fool some
of the people all of the time; and all of the people some of the time". So
which category do Rockstad's customers fall into?
Another area where he doesn't exactly spread the money around is in the
area of promotion. He does some things right, for the die-hard folks, like
continuing to send out his quarterly "Northwest News" newsletter and annual
schedules to anyone who's purchased tickets to the Nationals through the mail
or over the phone. He must really like me: I get two copies of each newsletter.
However, he doesn't like spending much money on TV and radio advertising
for his events. I'm presuming that NHRA pays for the advertising and other
promotions for the Northwest Nationals -- somebody correct me if I'm wrong.
But when it comes to the divisional points meet: nothing, not a nickel more
than he absolutely has to. Either that, or potential race fans in the Seattle
area save up their money for the national event.
And saving is the operative word: this year's edition will cost me $180 US
(including parking). In Canuck dollars that equates to about $270 at today's
exchange rate. Pretty pricy entertainment, eh? Okay, I could park in the regular
lot (in the next county) with the mob, pay general admission at the gate and
still shell out $114 US. Okay, I could use that valuable $5 discount coupon
that came with my NHRA membership and cut the tariff down to $109. For the
privilege of risking hemorrhoids, bodily injury and being required to stand
when anything louder than a Stocker goes down the track. Real bargain, eh?
Okay, let's get back on topic and talk about SIR and Mission and the points
meets. Rockstad was probably happy to ditch the money-losing
(I can't possibly see how he made any profit on it) points meet and let Mission
take it. Have you ever attended the FMDRS meet at SIR? There are usually more
people in the pits than the grandstands. It literally can't draw flies. Mission,
on the other hand, caters to annual overflow crowds at its event. This year
might see a slight dilution of numbers with the second event occurring seven
weeks after the traditional date. But, with all the major events at Mission
this season separated by at least four weeks, the overall attendance picture
should be excellent and quite profitable for the BCCCA.
How does it affect the rest of the division, though? I'm not privy to all
the details of how the venue change occurred, but I'm certain that it was done
with very short notice and no other sumbissions from other tracks were invited.
Coming as close to the start of the season as it did, moving the race only
180 miles north was the logical choice. For this year. Period.
If Mission Raceway hosts two points meets next year then the division as
a whole will be shortchanged. Ashcroft's Eagle Motorplex held its annual FMDRS
meet from its opening year until this season. A lack of market size, funding
problems for the native band-owned facility and the disinclination of racers,
especially from south of the border, to travel to Ashcroft doomed their hold
on the premier race on their schedule.
Small aside: Through the almost singlehanded efforts of Bill Kraus, they
were able to completely resurface the Motorplex late last season and have embarked
on an ambitious upgrade of the entire facility. Unfortunately, it may be too
late to ever see another FMDRS event there. A National Open yes, and one is
on the schedule this year, but a full-blown NHRA points meet: sorry, not a chance.
Other options for a new location for the Seattle race were two other tracks
in Canada, across the mountains in Alberta: Calgary's RaceCity and Edmonton's
Labatt Raceway. For a five year stretch in the late 80's, early 90's, Calgary's
multi-purpose track did host a (then) Winston points meet. They lost it shortly
after Mission Raceway re-opened and since then have gone through some management
instability and have focused their efforts in other areas. Now the word is
that they are very interested in getting back on the divisional schedule. I
understand that a serious submission will be made to host a FMDRS event in 2001.
With six points races on the schedule for Division Six, it is absolutely
necessary to maintain parity that at least two of those events are held in
Canada. Assuming that Mission is a given, that leaves either Calgary, Edmonton
or Ashcroft as the viable choices for the second event. It will be interesting
to see how the lobbying progresses for the hosting of that event during this
season and into the off-season. My money's on Calgary, but I've never been a
very successful gambler, so let's wait and see.
Last word (for now) on the topic: While I'm personally very happy to see
two events within an hour's drive of home and the racers will be very pleased
to be running at the best track in the division twice this season, longterm
considerations demand that the second Mission event be relocated for 2001. End
of story. Dissenting opinions to this viewpoint are welcomed. But before you
react emotionally ... think rationally. Like I always do. As if, eh?