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IHRA Pro Stock drivers starting to speak out
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I saw that this morning. It is a very good article.
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gald to hear the other side.
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I really dont want to stir the pot, but two things stuck out to me. If there was no pack, then what did he mean by they were all in agreement. I think he is trying to split hairs with the comment. If they all walked away from the meeting agreeing not to go, then that should have been the same as signing a pack.
The other is a question. I was always under the impression that you pretty much spent money to race in the Pro Classes, and that no one really made a profit at it. Maybe if you won every race and never broke something you would break even.
But is there a chance in a Pro Stock Class Car to actually turn a profit from racing it? What does it cost to race at any event other than Edmonton? What position is considered a break even point?
One thing I have to agree upon, why the heck would the IHRA have a foriegn event on the 4th of July? I did realize they had done that, and it certainly doesnt make sense. Should have had it the weekend before as that is our long weekend.
The other is a question. I was always under the impression that you pretty much spent money to race in the Pro Classes, and that no one really made a profit at it. Maybe if you won every race and never broke something you would break even.
But is there a chance in a Pro Stock Class Car to actually turn a profit from racing it? What does it cost to race at any event other than Edmonton? What position is considered a break even point?
One thing I have to agree upon, why the heck would the IHRA have a foriegn event on the 4th of July? I did realize they had done that, and it certainly doesnt make sense. Should have had it the weekend before as that is our long weekend.
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Jeff is a cool dude...one of the best.
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Back in 2005 I raced at a race in texas that paid $20,000.oo to win, instead of the final ffw race that paid $5000.oo to win, I really had as good a chance or better to win the 20k race, because there was also another one 25 minutes away, that the majority of the racers were going to, as well it was also 106 degrees, and the tracks were going to be a little tough to manipulate. I even talked to one of the ffw guys in advance for their opinion on which I should attend, since we make our living on racing. The ffw we had been very loyal to, canceling match races, and other guarranteed pay events, but we had the points all sewn up, and had a chance to win 4x's the pay. ffw never paid us to attend not one race, so the advice was go where the money is, noone would care. We also had to add 150lbs at this 1/8th mile race, but it was a decent risc, since there were no lynch,kirk,hill,ect........ Well we were fortunate enough to win, but the owner of ffw was so offended, that he added 150lbs to us, and sent out word he would not even let us race if we ever showed???? We did race one race the following year, and took advantage of the small engine loophole, we won but were just oh so lucky, brad brand was very late against me the first round and I won on a holeshot, tim lynchs car did not start the second round, and the fellow we ran in the final just did not get down, bill never came to the pictures, actually he refused, and we had atleast 100 fans standing in the rain to have pictures with us, as well we never got our winners plaque for that race. This is all fact, and George can back it up, hey face, say good bye to nose, BG
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I was there :-D
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I don't own a Pro Stock but I have been a racer for a zillion years [ok maybe about 45 but that's close], I really can't understand IHRAs position. The racers are independent contractors when they go to a race regardless of what HRA it is. If the money is not there to do it, just what exactly does IHRA expect them to do??? Will the IHRA spend more money that what they have??? Obviously not and they will tell you so because it is a business. Then why are the ProStock drivers getting the grief because of the same deal???
This may come as a big surprise to the HRA associations but there are other places to race and the real truth is Drag Racing could go on without them because there will be somebody to step in and fill the void. The racers want to work with these associations but it seems the atitude of these associations is trying to drive the racers away. How else can you explain all the recent decisions???
As much as the IHRA wants to cry they have to remember that without the racers there is NO IHRA. That simple.....
This may come as a big surprise to the HRA associations but there are other places to race and the real truth is Drag Racing could go on without them because there will be somebody to step in and fill the void. The racers want to work with these associations but it seems the atitude of these associations is trying to drive the racers away. How else can you explain all the recent decisions???
As much as the IHRA wants to cry they have to remember that without the racers there is NO IHRA. That simple.....
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I do back up what Bill wrote. This was at the Texas Motorplex and was the final FFW event of the season. BG called me on my cell and told me what he intended to do. I could easily understand his position, money talks and $20K talks very loudly.
As BG wrote and also as the IHRA deal plays out, racers and promoters need to understand something. Both need each other to survive but neither should make foolish business decisions just to satisfy the other. Loyalty is always a two way street, in my opinion, but it has to be based on logic too. BG was very loyal to FFW and went out of his way to promote the series. And FFW was loyal to BG too. We gave him a weight package where he could be competitive against the turbo cars, when other organizations refused to do it. It worked out, Glidden showed up to race, won his share of races, and everyone was happy. Plus he cooks up a mean steak.
As BG wrote and also as the IHRA deal plays out, racers and promoters need to understand something. Both need each other to survive but neither should make foolish business decisions just to satisfy the other. Loyalty is always a two way street, in my opinion, but it has to be based on logic too. BG was very loyal to FFW and went out of his way to promote the series. And FFW was loyal to BG too. We gave him a weight package where he could be competitive against the turbo cars, when other organizations refused to do it. It worked out, Glidden showed up to race, won his share of races, and everyone was happy. Plus he cooks up a mean steak.
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A gentlemans agreement is a handshake where a signed pack is a legal deal in my mind. If IHRA knew for certain, as Jeff said, that they were not coming and didn't inform the fans, who in my mind were the big losers here, then that totally sucks. I love Bobby Bennett but if he knew he could have done more to print it up and inform the fans too. RM
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That is true in this day and age. I always thought a man's word was worth more than a piece of paper, because you can fake the piece of paper.
(I am not suggesting the ProStock teams broke their word to anyone either,just in case someone reads that wrong) It just a mere comment on the state of our society when we recongize the difference between the two.
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Wait a minute. IHRA P/S is not a "booked in" show. I don't think that anyone running P/S is paid to show up. They may pay out a bonus for qualifying but that's not the same thing, is it? From what I hear, NHRA is even worse in that respect. If you want to enter a P/S car in NHRA, I hear that you have to COMMIT to a certain number of races and you damn well better be at those races or you won't be eligible to enter ANY events during the following season. It's arrogance to the extreme. On the other hand, if you have a paying sponsor, they want to see you at the events. IHRA is a little closer to "sportsman racing" from the sponorship angle. I suspect that the majority of the P/S cars at an IHRA event are self-sponsored racers, running for the most part out of their own pockets. Someone can fill me in if I'm wrong about this.
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This has been going on along time with the Edmonton race, 5-6 years ago I remember Mike Janis didnt make the tow out there along with a bunch of other pro-mod guys due to the wear and tear on haulers plus the fuel, they were saying back then they didnt want to race out there because its too far and a hard haul out there. It's not like this is a new problem.
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There may be more to this than meets the eye. I have heard that racers have some concerns about whether IHRA is going to be able to take care of the Torco Year End Points Fund on their own, now that Torco is kaput. Plus, I hear that the Pro Stock Knoll Gas deal is done too. Maybe the racers are getting a little edgy about IHRA covering the payouts, I don't know.
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How could I have done more? I broke the story, LOL.
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Good find Jimmy, interesting read
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There is 20 of them at Grand Bend this weekend.
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I guess I thought you could have expanded on it after the origional breaking news. You broke the story then nothing. I just hate the fans paid to see a show then no P/S show up. If you knew they weren't going you could have updated the story. Don't take it personal if Aaron knew he or his people could have stepped up too. On the high jack side how about the mayor of Union getting indicted Bobby? I hope the new track isn't effected.
RM
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Perhaps that's where I saw it first, I can't recall. Bobby, I check the CompetitionPlus site at least several times a day to get my "pro news". But I have a minor issue to pick with you, and maybe this is just the down side of having a site with sponsors and advertisers. This whole Even Knoll and Torco thing. There seems to be a hell of alot of info out there that is NOT being discussed or reported on CompPlus. I don't know if it's because you have a loyalty to Evan or not, but the news that I hope to get about this deal from your site is not forth coming. Alot of folks want to know what is really going on. We hear about possible serious fraud charges, prison time, $200 million missing, federal investigations, etc. And then there is the so-called unpaid $300K bill to NHRA for the Joliet event. All of these rumours have been floating around, and I figure that with your insight on this whole thing, we would be getting a few more facts by now.
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