Re: Erica pulls out of Sonoma & Seattle
 

At 16 races per year that's 1.2 million per season, which is about right. That's a tax write off to some degree for a sponsor.

Dale

Re: Erica pulls out of Sonoma & Seattle
 

I think she is doing a fine job of driving.

And the whole team right now has the right chemistry.

Congrats to that whole team on their accomplishments !

I feel certain that pulling out of 2 races is purely a business decision, not a blow against her fans.
I would imagine she really wants to race.

Re: Erica pulls out of Sonoma & Seattle
 

Blaming EE puts you out in left field somewhere.
It is apparent it has not been her decision!

Re: Erica pulls out of Sonoma & Seattle
 

Nailed it, Ed. And no, you're not the only one impressed!

Re: Erica pulls out of Sonoma & Seattle
 

IF you have a sponsor who can "write it off". All a "write off" does is lower your taxable income, you are taxed on that much less. It's not like you get that amount back in your pocket somehow.

If your racing on your own dime......

And, since the Freeman family pretty much races out of their own pockets, they do not "owe" it to anybody to show up for a race.

Re: Erica pulls out of Sonoma & Seattle
 

Firesail, as a former P/S crew chief all I can say is you don't have a clue.Try running a competitive stoker and multiply it by 20 times and stay on the road 30 weeks a year. Lee.

Re: Erica pulls out of Sonoma & Seattle
 

Ok so who is supposed to pony up the $140,000 for them to show up and make you
happy?
Maybe NHRA needs a rule say that if you can't afford to make every race you are not allowed to start the season. Don't want to disappoint any fans. As all races should have all the same drivers so all fans get the same opportunity to see all the same drivers.

I am not necessarily a EE fan But that team is doing a lot with out a huge budget. If this is what they have to do to keep competing so be it.

Re: Erica pulls out of Sonoma & Seattle
 

Just to clarify, I don't have anything against Erica as a driver. She is obviously quick on the tree and her crew knows what they are doing. I'm also not trying to slight anyone who tries to run a program like this. It's obviously a daunting task.

I'm a spectator building a race car and I'm looking at $166 in tickets here for all three days to the race at Pacific. I'm a race fan, not a driver fan, so her not running won't bother me. If I were a driver fan, it might. I'm just trying to make the point that these drivers aren't Sportsman racers anymore and have a responsibility to the fan base that shouldn't be ignored.

I'll back out with that.

EDIT: Racing the Championship circuit costs all the Pro class drivers a big chunk of income because they aren't available for match races. NHRA should find a way to compensate teams that forgo this to race at National events week after week.

Dale

Re: Erica pulls out of Sonoma & Seattle
 

They don't have a responsibility to show so you can see them. Only if they have a big sponsor that requires it. That is all.

Re: Erica pulls out of Sonoma & Seattle
 

I think Erica can't get/keep a sponsor is because she is unprofessional & has the personality of a 2 year old. She runs her yap when she wins and pouts when she looses. She's butted heads with a lot of the drivers on the tour, and she seemingly can't figure out why they can't stand her.

She thinks that Connolly screwed her at Indy a little while back, when he cut a light & she didn't, and they've been enemies ever since.

She drives well most of the time, but it seems as though potential sponsors prefer drivers/people/adults with a personality, and she doens't have one.