FEEDBACK ARTICLE: BOBBY BENNETT: FRIDAY WAS NOT GOOD FOR THE IHRA 

I believe you are correct it was a bad day for IHRA and the racers that support it.

I go to the races to see the qualifying on Friday and Saturday for the pro classes.  I also go to watch two classes Pro Stock and Pro Mod.

It just seems those in charge at IHRA don't understand what the fans want to see.  They also do not understand what the racers want.

It is all about the bottom line and the dollar.

The Win and you're in program for Sportsman racing is not very popular with many of the teams.  The past points program worked fine and was changed by those in charge.

I have enjoyed attending IHRA races for years but this change concerns me. - Frank Doyle

FEEDBACK ARTICLE: BOBBY BENNETT: FRIDAY WAS NOT GOOD FOR THE IHRA 

I believe you are correct it was a bad day for IHRA and the racers that support it.

I go to the races to see the qualifying on Friday and Saturday for the pro classes.  I also go to watch two classes Pro Stock and Pro Mod.

It just seems those in charge at IHRA don't understand what the fans want to see.  They also do not understand what the racers want.

It is all about the bottom line and the dollar.

The Win and you're in program for Sportsman racing is not very popular with many of the teams.  The past points program worked fine and was changed by those in charge.

I have enjoyed attending IHRA races for years but this change concerns me. - Frank Doyle



Don't be waiting for your Christmas card from IHRA this year. I'm sure you have now established you and Comp Plus on the black list. I'm not saying I disagree.

I haven't raced much IHRA since Bill left.

I started to notice a difference and it was harder to justify the expense to travel to a race that probably wasn't going to be that great anyway.

RTC(resistance to change) is one thing we all deal with, but when the change clearly runs off fan favorites and fans it must be wrong.
I guess I'm not getting a card either now. - Johnny Deakins


It's a shame that the events unfolded this way, although there are NO IHRA events here on the west coast I ALWAYS enjoyed watching the classes (not just Top Fuel) they had. I am a long time racer (1974 to present) and will miss the REAL IHRA, and have no intention watching the circus event they turned it into.
Thank godness for the ADRL and lets hope they keep their act together. - Lou Calangelo



I would really like to know who is really behind the impending restructuring of how the IHRA does this racing thing?  Remember, the FELD people are about entertainment, and they're good at it.  I figured after they partnered with the sanctioning body they'd take a wait and see approach to access the situation, then make their move.  I feel the idea is to do for drag racing what the WWE/WWFdid for Pro-Wrestling coupled with the Monster Jam ideas...  Larry Carrier come baaaack! - Jack W. Smith



You hit it dead center on the head Bobby, having worked with Aaron at "Dragway 42" many years ago. It is no suprise that he managed to kill the IHRA! His management skills are just what George and the rest of the owners he answered to then taught him. You can't really blame it all on Aaron as he is a product of managers who had no love of dragracing and very little understanding of it. They managed to take what at the time was the best track in Ohio and run it into the ground. - Jeff Correll


Time to face it IHRA is just bearly breathing and short lived. IHRA and NHRA have it all wrong. People come out to see Top Fuel once but they come back to see big wheelstanding Super Stock and stock. No one ever owned a dragster in high school but they did own a big block Camaro. Throttle stop racing is gonna be the death of dragracing. Fans don't understand it, check out the stands when they come up to race their boring throttle stop runs. Pro Mod, Pro Stock, Top Sportsman, Top Dragster, Super Stock, Comp and Stock are cool. Get rid of the throttle stop and make 'em dial it. - Lamar Crosby



You could not have written a better article on this subject! You hit the nail on the head so 100% it is scary! You have written the article of a lifetime here and it is .000 dead on with an egg pal! The IHRA is now a LAUGHING STOCK and needs to get rid of Aaron and Scooter to regain ANY racers! It is JUNK and it is that simple. Mr. Feld is making a financial mistake that needs to be corrected TODAY or his investment will be totally WORTHLESS within a year! NO if ands or buts. - Brian Prins



If the Feld Co. wants to run their business in the anounced manner, fine, please just do away with the IHRA name. It is not the INTERNATIONAL HOT ROD ASSOCIATION anymore. Having spent almost 30 years as a part time employee of IHRA, giving my  heart and soul to the organization, I don't feel this group has earned the right to use the IHRA name anymore. Nothing but a circus. I guess after all these years Aaron has finnally gotten his way. He promoted monster truck shows, jet shows, circus shows and the like before he came to IHRA and gues what, he is
back at it again. However, no ammount of complaining will stop it. The only way the old IHRA can come back is in the hands of the ticket buying crowd. If this is what they want (I don't believe it is) Good Luck. - Bud Grogg




IHRA is good as dead thy are no longer a drag racing business, thy are a car circus. Thy have no clue as how to run a drag race.I have raced with IHRA since it began. I ran Super Stock, Modifed, Top Sportsman and Pro Stock but never again. They have made IHRA a JOKE my she rest in pease!!!                      

GOODBYE FOREVER, - Herb Allen



I agree a 100% with the article. Arrogance always clouds the minds of people. Polburn has entirely killed the IHRA and all by himself. A pity. - Jorge Lugo

11-06

Bobby, Bobby, Bobby!!

Great article. I am very proud of you. You hit the nail on the head and brought to light exactly what I could see would eventually happen to the IHRA under its present management. - Lenny Imbrogno

I won't go back to any IHRA events due to the rudeness of Scooter Peaco.  I sent him an e-mail last year informing him that when I tried to have some guests attend the Staurday session of a points race at US131, these guests were told they could only purchase 3 day passes.  They couldn't buy a pass for one day!?!  US131 personnel told us they didn't agree with the policy either, but it was a directive from IHRA.  Mr. Peaco responded to my e-mail and told me if I didn't like the policy, don't come back to any IHRA events. - Terry Friar

I must say after reading the IHRA press release last Friday I was very saddened the way the "so called leaders" of IHRA has made a another bad decision. I have been a long time supporter, racer, and sponsor of IHRA for many years. I am afraid that this will be last bad decision they will make because as far as I am concernerd after Rockingham the IHRA is dead. IHRA rest in peace! - Rick Jones

You are so right.  For the past 3 years at the end of the season we have attempted to communicate to the IHRA that they were headed the wrong direction, falling largely on deaf ears.  We had already made our decision to pull sponsorship for 2010 before this announcement, and this just confirmed our feelings.  What a shame as we both watched this organization grow from nothing to 'top of the world' to as you so eloquently put it, arrogance taking over in full.

We will sadly miss it, than goodness we have a good substitute that, at least for now, is willing to listen to the racers and sponsors.  No monster truck jams
for us! - Mike Norcia, RAM Clutches


Even though I have retired from racing I still stay deeply in tune to what is going on.  Aaron and Scooter were never receptive to anything that wasn't their idea.  Peaco was a problem from the day he joined IHRA and Bader gave him a free path to do what he thought best. Aaron was always a decent
publicist and announcer-now he thinks he is a businessman trying to save what - his share of the stock price?  The Edmonton fiasco should have been handled better by both the racers and the management team.  A contingency of 8 could have been sent with a larger purse and no points to put on a good show for the Canadian fans- and no one would have lost money.  This was turned down by the two geniuses so the racers reacted and boycotted the race.  Aaron finally has his revenge regardless of the final price on the IHRA.  Ringling is a circus and Feld must be a circus master or the lead clown to be fooled by this approach.  

It would be a great scoop to have NHRA pick up the mountain motor class but that is only a dream on my part. - Chuck DeMory



Those immortal words are what comes to mind in this situation. We have met the enemy and he is us. I was very skeptical when Evan Knoll burst onto the scene.

Anybody who comes in that strong and throwing money around like Congress, usually is going to go out whimpering and crawling; which is exactly what
happened. People like Knoll are like the month of March - in like a lion and out like a lamb. - Ted Smith


I could not agree more with Mr. Bennett. Both of the big boy sanctioning bodies are going to be in dire straits before too long. If Top Fuel is the only
necessary class then let's see how long it takes for the fans to get ticked off when they go to the track to watch the fuelers and have to set and stare at an
empty track for 75 minutes while the fuelers rebuild. How's that for productivity??
 
Until the fans revolt there will be no peace in the valley. - Jeff Thompson


Your article about IHRA could not be any more "spot on".  IHRA grew under Bill Bader because he knew that you needed to put on a great show, and you had to take care of your life blood, the sportsman racer.
   
I have an example of how arrogant this IHRA has become towards the sportsman.  Scooter Peaco made a change to Top Sportsman. In this tough economy, he decided to lower the bump to 7.60.    I emailed him my view on this.. I said "you should leave the bump at 7.80, and grow the class until the economy comes around", also "you didn't fill your fields with a 7.80 bump, it wont get any better with a 7.60 bump", and i finished with " You are taking the SPORTSMAN out of Top Sportsman"
   
The reply i got from MR. Peaco was "I appreciate your view, but I am trying to put the TOP back in Top Sportsman" he also said  "We believe that people will "step up"  their program to run our show".
    
It was a disappointing, but not unexpected response.  looking back at the 2009 season. I feel that I was correct. - Steve Gregoire


Excellent post on the IHRA problem. It appears that they, and others are strictly in the entertainment business, without regard to the grass root's racer
that has to race from his own pocket. Furthermore the show should be called "Ringling Bros, Barnum & Bailey, IHRA,NHRA, Lickum, Flipum and Dickum". The show that I have witnessed this year is not what I would pay $44 per day (3 Days) to watch. Don't know where it is going to go, but it can't last much longer. Keep up the excellent work. - Jerry Coley


I have been a loyal IHRA fan for 20 years attending every race in eastern Canada and northern USA.If they want to turn this into a dog and pony show and leave out the true competition of the sport they have just lost me as a patron.

Just like the writer stated the last couple of years management has been asleep at the wheel and ignored the needs of the sport.It also may be the economy but everybody has to accept cutbacks to continue some kind of survival income. - Clarence Sifton 

Your commentary hit the nail in the head. I couldn't believe the content of the press release sent out last Friday. To justify the changing of the traditional
drag race format by saying folks will not attend an event that takes over 3 hours, was a pitiful attempt at justifying Feld Entertainment's decision to
completely revamp what a drag race is. To ignore 50+ years of drag race history to package it into the same format as the circus or Monster Truck shows is just wrong on so many levels.

I'm encourageing the fuel car owners who Feld will send contracts to run at their events to rip them up and put them in file 13.

Let the IHRA die as soon as possible. Sportsman racers will still have the same tracks to race on, just no fancy IHRA logo on the tower. - Rich Venza

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