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Yes, they've put me to work |
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Welcome to my new column on CompetitionPlus.com. This column will be a little different from what you're probably used to reading in terms of driver columns in some of the print media. Most of the driver columns that I've ever done have had to go through a p.r. washing machine where they come out all clean and pristine. Competition Plus has given me my own forum to offer not only insight into what goes on with the Matco Tools racing team but also to enable me to give my views and opinions on our sport. Most of my driver columns in the past have had to be politically correct - why, I don't know. But this one is coming right from my own pen. What you're not going to get is a bunch of PR rhetoric, but instead the facts as they pertain to our Matco Tools Dodge team and the Funny Car class as a whole. It's an exciting time to be a professional Funny Car driver. With the recent advent of multi-car teams the professionalism of Funny Car racing has increased dramatically over the last several years. Nowadays the cars in the top 16 are, for the most part, well-funded and extremely competitive. While this has raised the game tremendously, it has made it hard for the privateer and some of the lower-budgeted teams to survive. At the same time, it's made the competition a lot closer and thus given the paying spectator and fan a better show. Racing has never been an easy sport to get started in, and you have always had to fight and claw for every opportunity to improve yourself. For example, back in the early '80s you had the top guys like Billy Meyer, Kenny Bernstein, Raymond Beadle, Don Prudhomme, and a handful of others who were the headliners, and a guy like John Force was struggling to make it. Through sheer determination he is where he is now. In the late '80s and early '90s you had guys like Force and Ed "Ace" McCulloch, Candies and Hughes, and Bruce Larsen as the well-funded teams that won most of the races. At that point guys like Al Hoffman and I and many others were struggling to make it. Again, sheer determination and a refusal to quit are what finally earn you your own trophies on the mantle.
These days when you look down the qualifying sheet, you see guys like Terry Haddock, Dale Creasy Jr., Cory Lee and some others who are struggling to make it. One could argue that it's harder now than it ever was before. And in some instances that may be true. But, on the other hand, the sport offers a lot more opportunity to go out and get the proper funding now than it did in the past.
Racing is so much more professional now and that in turn makes it easier to attract corporate America . That isn't to say things can't be better because they always can. The NHRA controls the sport and many of the decisions they make have a direct bearing on the livelihood of all the racers who participate in this sport. It's a huge responsibility because there's quite a bit of money involved now. When you look at strong racing leadership there are really two names that come to mind as people who did it the right way, and whose actions have benefited not only themselves and their sport, but also many of the participants in it. Bill France Jr. took NASCAR to a place where the competitors could not only make a good living but actually become incredibly wealthy - very similar to stick-and-ball sports in our country. Bernie Ecclestone arguably single-handedly grew Formula 1 throughout the '80s and '90s into the world's richest sport. Drag racing by comparison has not, in my mind at least, taken full advantage of all the opportunities that have been in front of it. But it's never too late. With stronger leadership the potential of our sport could be fully realized. And believe me the potential is huge.
I have many thoughts and opinions on the future of our sport, and I'll address them soon in an upcoming column. This year so far has been an up-and-down season for our Matco Tools Dodge team on the race track. Over the winter my crew chief Lee Beard and the team switched to the setback blower and, while the initial tests were good and the potential is huge, it does take some time to work out a new combination. We've had two runner-up finishes but also a couple of first-round losses, which were excruciating. Things are starting to come around and we head into the late spring/summer season with high hopes. One unknown is the new Goodyear tire which became mandatory at Bristol . At the Phoenix race NHRA put out a memo which effectively said that the new tire was going to be an option. Upon arrival at Gainesville for the Gatornationals it became known that the supply of the old tire was very limited and that Goodyear was going to stop producing it. This came as a shock because it was not what we were told by the NHRA memo delivered to the teams in Phoenix . Our team was very vocal with the NHRA in that the class should run on only one tire, or there should be the option for everyone to run the tire of their own choice. The fact was at Gainesville , Las Vegas and Houston some teams who just happened to have a large supply of old tires had an advantage over other teams that did not - and could not get their hands on any of the older tires. Our team happened to have enough old tires so we were OK. But still it was a very unfair situation for many people. Suddenly, NHRA did an about-face and outlawed the older tire starting in Bristol . From Bristol on everyone is on the new Goodyear tire, which does level the playing field. It's the only decision that was right and why it came three races later is beyond me. The new tire is very competitive in cold weather, but seems to be a little more difficult to run on hotter race tracks. This weekend going into Atlanta will most likely give us the first opportunity to run this new Goodyear tire in hotter conditions than what we've experienced before. There may be some learning involved. At any rate, we're very optimistic and we'd like nothing more than to win Atlanta for the second time in our career. The points situation is critical and with six races in the next seven weeks a lot of reshuffling may take place. Keep your TV set to ESPN/ESPN2, and if you can't do that, by all means come out to the race track and say hello. It promises to be an exciting rest of the season. Thanks for reading, and until next time.... - Whit Bazemore .
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