Road to the future award

[The Hawk]

It`ll be good for more die cast collectable sales!

[Ed Fernandez]

Originally Posted by 69ss/rs

Was that pure politics or what. When ever a Force family member is up for rookie of the year they always win. Chad Head should have been the winner in my book. Again NHRA kissing that Force ***. Why don't they rename it Force Hot Rod Association.

Which of the two would you rather be locked in a room with????????????????

[Ed Wright]

I don't remember Chad Head winning that many round.

[Sean Marconette]

I don't really care either way, but she did compete at all of the races on the tour. I don't think Chad did, or any of the others. Regardless of funding that should be worth something.

Sean

[shoe guru]

Money talks

[Julie Jordan]

Kevin McKenna posted this on the Nitromater site, his explanation as to how he voted. It seems to be a well-rounded group of people who vote.

As a member of the voting panel, I cast my ballot for Brittany and I'll explain exactly why I choose to do so. Flame away if you feel so inclined but hopefully this will help some of you understand the thought process of at least one voter.

My first instinct would have been to vote for Adam Arana because he was the only rookie to make the Countdown and he did ride to a final round in Epping. Adam also scored bonus points with me simply because he had almost no experience before his debut in Gainesville. (on a personal note, I am a big bike fan and have a very solid relationship with the entire Arana family).

However, as the season progressed, Adam's development not only stalled, but he regressed as a rider. In 16 events, Adam had six red-lights and four holeshot losses. His last round win came in Denver which made him 0-for the Countdown and as a result, he dropped to tenth in the points. For those reasons, I could not in good conscience vote for him.

That left the choice between Brittany Force and Chad Head and if the award was determined solely by driving ability, I would have voted for Chad. Hands down. However, when I weighed all the factors I elected to go with Brittany.

By almost every measuring stick, Chad had an awesome year. He ran 4.01 and got the final in Reading and the Four-Wide in Charlotte. Hell, he even got his father to praise his driving ability and that might be the most prestigious award ANY driver could ever hope to receive. Yes, it was very close, almost a coin toss but in the end, I went with Brittany.

When I looked at Brittany's season, it was obvious that she made steady progress leading up to her first semifinal this weekend in Pomona. Her ten round wins included victories against Doug Kalitta (twice) Brandon Bernstein (twice), Spencer Massey (twice), and David Grubnic. Personally, I felt like she never looked out of place in the car and given the number of quality teams in Top Fuel, I think she more than held her own.

If you read the not-so-fine print, the ballot asks each voter to include additional criteria including fan popularity, media interaction and potential for future stardom and in those areas, Brittany was the clear cut winner. I can understand that many purists feel that the award should go strictly to the best driver and there is a part of me that agrees with that but in the end, I simply felt that she best fit the current "spirit" of the award.

As a side note, I'm not sure that everyone understands that the award is not chosen by NHRA but is the result of a vote among more than 100 members of the media. Teams my lobby heavily for their particular driver/rider but there is no internal pressure here to vote one way or another and I have no reason whatsoever to question the integrity of those tabulating the votes. Hopefully that squashes any conspiracy theories.

While I am not privy to the final numbers it was my understanding that the final vote was very close. In the end, I suppose we should all be happy to be having this debate since it means that there no shortage of talented up-and-coming drivers entering the pro classes.

[jmcarter]

Thanks for posting that Julie, I had no idea the voting media had that full list of things to consider and it helps me better understand the vote. Clearly, it has less to do with the talent of the candidates than it should and in the case of TF and FC (still think the WJ "Ray Charles" quote is classic) there is so much riding on the talents and funding of the respective crews that it's almost a team award rather than an individual accomplishment. With similar criteria the NASCAR Rookie of the Year award will no doubt go to Danica.

[RJDUDEK]

Originally Posted by 69ss/rs

Was that pure politics or what. When ever a Force family member is up for rookie of the year they always win. Chad Head should have been the winner in my book. Again NHRA kissing that Force ***. Why don't they rename it Force Hot Rod Association.

----------------------

Chad dos not sell commercial ESPN .. time and least of all endorsements.


Accept the game as it is..flawed and fixed.


Like Warren said last week.."Look at the stands..."