The NHRA’s inconsistent track prep has to go or the fans will …

Maybe the NHRA truly just doesn’t get it.

Maybe they just don’t understand true race fans are no longer interested in forking out hundreds of dollars to watch nitro cars compete in quarter-mile burnout contests.

When thirteen of sixteen races are won in the same lane in the same round, which occurred this past weekend in the first round of the SummitRacing.com Nationals at Las Vegas Dragway, there is a serious problem. A problem not explained away by suggesting the track was hot, because both lanes were under the same sunny conditions yet one lane was garbage and the other was a little bit better.

The NHRA's defense of the product touts attendance figures which are at an all time high. While attendance may be up, the quality of the product is moving in the opposite direction.

On television, the presentation looked horrible. In person it was even worse. Event after event, one of the announcers stands on the wall prior to the finals and delivers his traditional speech of gratitude to those in attendance.   “We realize you have many options when spending your entertainment dollar and on behalf of the NHRA, we’d like to thank you for spending it with us.”

After watching Sunday’s performance, we wonder how anyone in their right mind could utter such a phrase with a straight face.

The NHRA has yet again backed itself into a corner when it comes to track prep. And then the situation is magnified with a new chassis so rigid and heavy a driver is bound to smoke the tires more times than not.

We once suggested in an editorial the NHRA needed to lead, follow or get out of the way in terms of creating a safer race car chassis. But, track prep is another thing. Clearly whoever is leading the charge needs to get out of the way and let someone who knows how do the work. 

a d v e r t i s e m e n t

Click to visit our sponsor's website 

Track prep became an issue with the departure of Chad Head, one of the better track prep-men, who left the NHRA for the world of the Indy Racing League before the start of the 2006 racing season.

The debacle of the NHRA SummitRacing.com Nationals was something the folks at Las Vegas Motor Speedway didn’t deserve considering the “wolf-crying” the NHRA put on to essentially sabotage the traditional pre-season nitro test session.

On top of a poorly prepared track, the NHRA appeared more concerned with fining Don Schumacher $100,000 for a farce infraction … err … fuel infraction. Nothing like a good smoke screen to remove the focus from the real issue.

Here’s an idea: How about taking the fine and distributing it to the fans who were cheated on Sunday out of a good drag racing show.

It would be fair to the fans, but should Schumacher pay for the ineptitude of others?

There was a time when the associates of the NHRA boasted about the quality of their tracks while ridiculing the IHRA for what they called atrocious and unsafe race facilities.

One shouldn’t throw rocks while living in a glass house.

The NHRA has an obligation to the competitors to provide a racing surface that is equal from lane to lane. If there are issues, the sanctioning body should communicate those issues, rather than letting the teams discover the issue while attempting to qualify and then race.

We recall last season in Englishtown, the NHRA decided to change up their track preparation procedure to accommodate a special situation and sprayed only from the starting line to several hundred feet out. They sprayed several hundred feet from the finish back towards the starting line, leaving an area of several hundred feet in the mid-range untouched.

There was a valid reason for the NHRA to prep the track in a manner differently from normal. There were concerns rubber would peel of the tires causing a catastrophic event. The teams should have been told of the change in procedure. However, we were told on this particular day by a member of the NHRA’s management team we couldn’t expect them to notify every team of every single move they make.

a d v e r t i s e m e n t

Click to visit our sponsor's website

It would appear that how a track surface is prepared is information which should be communicated to all the teams at every event. On that particular day it was, and dozens of nitro-burners smoked the tires at the unsprayed spot because of not knowing.  Race teams struggled to make full runs and race fans were cheated in the process.

Unfortunately, the history of the sanctioning body provides strength to those who criticize their actions.

Beleaguered fans have sat through the era of multiple oil downs until the NHRA finally intervened, only to subject the fans to even more oildowns because of the short-sightedness of the rev-limiter and its detriment to engine parts and a clean racing surface.

Then there was the era of the timing debacles when someone up top decided to cut corners and release Bob Brockmeyer’s Compulink timing staff and bring the entire effort in-house. Eventually, Compulink was brought back but not before fans were forced to sit through unnecessary delays and costing some racers rightful qualifying positions.

“You can’t fix stupid” t-shirts came forth as a result of this shortsighted decision making, resulting in the competitor who made them facing sanctions.

Jim Head said it the best when he uttered the words, “These racers should look in the mirror to find a person to blame for this situation. As long as they volunteer, this will happen.”

Maybe the NHRA should hire Head.   However, it’s not likely considering he’s not one to mince words and might actually speak the straight up truth to the competitors. Besides, they already had one good Head and let him slip away.

We once suggested in an editorial the NHRA needed to lead, follow or get out of the way in terms of creating a safer race car chassis. But, track prep is another thing. Clearly whoever is leading the charge needs to get out of the way and let someone who knows how do the work.

Given all that has occurred in just the first five events of the season, one has to be concerned, given the photos floating about the internet,  about the upcoming NHRA Southern Nationals in Commerce in two weeks.

We know we are!