Len Imbrogno.....Seriously now
 

Len, This is a serious question. Where does the $100 million in cash go, and what is it to be used for? Inquiring minds want to know.

I have made several calls and nobody can answer me?

Jim Wahl
6 Time National record Holder
2239 BF/S
I miss Buster Couch also! 'cause Div.2 will always be "Buster's Rebels"

Good question Jim thats a lot of money.

Dennis
1904 BF/S

i will ": GUESS" 60-65 % goes in wally's pocket .
the rest s[lit between those in "power"

jim

Jim, Dennis, Jims86,

The 100 million goes to the NHRA and will be used to fund the organization in its ongoing role in running amateur and sportsman racing indefinitely.
One factor that many peope do not clearly understand is the fact no one person or persons and/or or no group owns NHRA; never have and never will! (unlike the new NHRA Pro Racing company)
The NHRA will continue to be a 501C non profit corporation.
As examples, the NRA (National Rifle Association), the AARP, The Christian Coalition and other such types of organizations are all 501C corporations. No one owns them and nobody has a right to their funds. However, all of these organizations need money to operate and sustain life, and do hold substantial funds to keep such organizations solvent. Contrary to what many think, it takes milliions to fund the entire sportsman side of the NHRA. When you look at the overhead expense it takes to fund all the departments such as licensing, membership, field marketing, tehcnical services, field services, I.T., youth and education programs, seven division offices, member track programs, travel and hundreds of employees, the overhead expense is stagering.
Not unlike any other non profit organization, the 100 million will help fund the NHRA on indefinitly and keep Wally's dream alive. NHRA Sportsman Racing is here to stay and to continue to grow well into the future.


Len Imbrogno
NHRA Director of Sportsman Racing

NHRA - I love you man !!!!

Len;
Being from New Jersey I tend to be skeplical about people in authority having access to large sums of money,just read the papers about our run amok politicians.Did NHRA unload the Fart Pipes on the new owners?Also is there any talk about raising payouts down the line,not just final rd. money?How about expanding Sports Nats. to all divisions with a TV package with Masters Prod.?How about pressuring
divisional tracks to use the media to publicize div. races?My home track (OB Twp RP) seems to give a rats *** about bringing spectators in to our div. race.
Just a few questions till our next phone conversaton.

Ed F.
15 T/SA
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OK guys, see this is being sold in a very slick manner.
I'm not buying what Len has been told to tell us. Do the math. Does NHRA have a 3 million dollar a year overhead for the license & certification dept. I don't think so? If it is contract it out. I bet someone could run that department & make a fair living for less. That should be a real money maker for them even without adding in all the money they get for the "Approved Alternate Sanction Organizations" You know all those other guys that don't fit in NHRA's rule structure.(hey guys, there are a bunch of them too) There are even more areas/ departments that help dollars flow in. Come on Len, Tell your bosses we have already listened to this song before. Things are being changed, so change the retoric. I guess we look like a bunch of 3 rd graders to the management of NHRA. Well, I guess it's time for recess, or at this hour "Good Night".

Adger Smith

Who cares about spectators if you are a racer? Quit crying about all this crap and race or dont race!
It realy isnt that big of a deal. You either like or or quit!
I have never before seen so many conspericy theorist in my life.

SHOW ME THE MONEY!

Adger,

Let me make one thing perfectly clear to you: I have not been told to tell anyone anything. What I have posted on this website is information beyond what NHRA's official statements have so far disclosed. Perhaps I should state as Travis has stated in the past: "this is my personal opinion".
Considering the fact that I was responsible for overseeing the budgets for all seven divisions, I have a fair understanding of the overall costs vs revenue with regards to sportsman racing. You are intitled to your own un-informed opinion and we will leave it at that.
Regarding alternative sanctioning organizations, they generate zero revenue for NHRA, yet many of them umbrella their activities under NHRA rules, regulations, policies and procedures; In many cases because of insurance requirements. Any dealings that alternative sanctioning bodies have, such as track rentals etc, are with the individual NHRA member tracks, not the NHRA.
I will close by saying that, "in my opinion", this new arrangment will in the long run, benefit sportsman racing simply because there will be a positive pull-through effect. As the professional side expands commercialy and the NHRA brand grows and becomes a bigger player in the world of motorsports and motorsports marketing, NHRA sportsman racing can only also benefit.


Len Imbrogno
NHRA Director of Sportsman Racing

Len,
As always thanks for your opinions and information.
Dick Butler

Dick Butler 3529

Nhra Sportsman racing can only also benefit.............for who?

Thank you Len for an informative and positive reply.

tim w

Len well said , you are wright . We never get to see nhras books but you know how some racers view this . Lic. has fees , membership has fees , field marketing funded by sales , tech. services ok , field services aren't covered by entry fees , I got into nhra way before you started ed. programs and Vin Napps (rip) JR dragsters , div. offices ok , member tracks are self supported to turn a profit , travel exp. ok / employees ok . Alot of racers run there own companies and unstand the overhead profit and loss thing .We see money changing hands , but nothing changing on the sportman side yet . I hope your wright Len nothing personal .

I also appreciate Len's forthright comments as well as all the other constructive ones.

S/SS combined by NHRA's own poll outvoted most PRO's. It is a valuable untapped resource.

I share Len's optimism that good things are in store for Sportsman popularity. All the outlaw classes, Pinks, brass beds with nitrous weed eater motors until now have outdone S/SS's ability to show their stuff. The opportunity still awaits.

Lynn

Very well said Ken.
It was nice to see Len's post & his opinions.
Most of us that have been or that are at higher levels of corporate management know that your opinion of issues & policy might not be the same as your board or CEO. It is always good that you show public support. It might help keep the pay check comming & give you a chance to get one of those golden parachutes.
A good business owner/manager also understands budgets & the budget process. The budget process can influnce profit & loss & how the profit generating & non profit departments function.

As time permits I will have a follow up post with a few facts & more of "my opinions" I might even start a new thread.

Adger Smith

Len,

Pull through effect? In the long run? Getting information on this deal should not be like pulling teeth. What's the point in eeking out a little information here and there? The real story will eventually come out any way. Any one of us is entitled to pursue the information on this deal. We should not have to pursue the prospective buyers to get it.

How about the 100 mil going to the .org side? If true, that should provide an immediate benifit to the Sportsman racers. Wally's handlers say he really wants to get busy for the Sportsman racers. Why should we have to wait for positive results from the Pro's, if they are receiving the money and telling the truth?

Obviously there is still a lot to be learned about this deal!

Mr Imbrogno/NHRA management,

Obviously, and I think rightfully, most racers on this board and in general are extremely skeptical about the direction that the sportsman side of this transaction will head. And as you can see there is a lot of wonderment on how 100 Million Very Big will be spent. Money I might add that was created by a vision of a wonderful man, Wally Parks, but implemented by the hard work, determination, and $$$$ of dedicated racers thruought the past 40+ years. Without whom, Wally's dream would have stayed just that .

So I am wondering if your bosses, and whomever will be the new sportsman heirarchy whenever this all takes place, will give us sportsman some "earnest moneys" .
Just to let everyone know that the sportsman racers will be appreciated and in fact are appreciated for building the NHRA into what it is today. ( and what it's worth today ).
I propose the NHRA immediatley suspend, no REVOKE, the 250 $ oil down penalty. And promise that this will never be implemented again.
Also, a promise of bringing the purses up to modern day standards. To be implemented upon the first race after the split. ( I mean somewhere around double what payout is today ). And a complete revamping of the contingency operation so that the racers get the money they earn, not the NHRA in the escrow set up.

How 'bout a promise that when all this happens, asking the sportsman to work WITH the nhra, with some sportsman representation, instead of shoving everything down our throats as in the past.
I have other hopes for our mutual betterment, but I believe these particular things could be communicated from the NHRA to the sportsman racers forthwith, to show some appreciationg for those that built the NHRA into what it is today.

The financial details of this sale seem to have been pretty much finalized on your end. I don't think it would be too early to discuss and announce a tentative updated payout schedule for the NEW NHRA. Along with the other things I have mentioned.
I believe now might be the perfect time to show the appreciation to those that have made the NHRA what it is today. And to alleviate some fears that the 100 Mill will not be used in the obvious and proper manner.
I am, in my best tactful way, saying that the sportsman need, and deserve, beneficial change for our behalf, and in fact we need and deserve straight talk, NUMBERS, and at least a couple immediate and ironclad promises.

Thank you


Mike ( madness & ) Mayhem

Very well put Mike. All this sounds reasonable and doable. Lets get started! Jim

Jim Wahl
6 Time National record Holder
2239 BF/S
I miss Buster Couch also! 'cause Div.2 will always be "Buster's Rebels"

Everyone is concerned with the payout.... but that isn't going to make any difference. Racers are going to show up whether NHRA races are $500 or $5000 to win.

The biggest misconception is that most racers think that NHRA needs to payout 100% of what they take in to the racers. What most don't understand is that it takes a lot to put on a single race.

Every person that is working the event must be paid (tech, tower, track personnel, gates, etc.). The track has to be prepped, which can include fuel in all of the track support vehicles. Also you have to allocate some of the income towards things like insurance, mortgage/lease payments, property taxes, etc.

Personally, I look forward to what NHRA can offer in the coming years, and that does not include payout increases. I would go to Indy if it paid $0 to win, simply because of the prestige and following in my father's footsteps of winning the big one.

I'd rather see NHRA take the money and work more with equality of the rules, and getting rid of throttle stops. Also, work more with bringing in the young racers, whether they race rice rockets or whatever.

To truly ensure the future of sportsman racing we have to have young racers that will still be around in 30 or so years.


Lee Norton
I/PS '02 Firebird 231 V6

lee,
Good thoughts. If NHRA would only "allow" some of the people with the racing experience they have to control some of the decisions and clean up the rules and structures things could be better. The Committee structures must be being overridden by non racers. Example: A place for everyone to race was how it started. It has been deformed to a place where anything in any form can pay entry without an eye on the appeal of the final product. It gets cash at National events as entries but has watered down the appeal to spectators at other levels.

Dick Butler 3529

Lee,
Although it's true racers will come no matter what the purse, I can assure you that you are in the extreme minority as to not caring what the purses are. 100% of the racers I know think it is long past due for a purse increase. What we're running for is antiquated money.
Nobody said anything about us getting 100% back, but my god, they just got 100 million dollars. And we will still pay our own way after the split, just as before. NHRA has had 40+ years to refine their expendatures and profit/loss margin. It seems it has worked well for them, and every racer I know says it's time to give back, in the form of better payouts. All expenses go up for us, the racers. Payout needs and should go up to.

Your thoughts about the money going for rules equality, and throttle stop elimination etc. I don't understand. I am for both of those things ( although in the real world throttle stops are here to stay, you must be realistic ) but how would doing those things cost money for management? They just say...no throttle stops. Or no more long buttons, or whatever. Doesn't take a cent to do that. Are you also against my hope of sportsman representation ? Shouldn't future rule changes, enhancements, be done in combination with sportsman representation ?

I have found that racers care about mostly three things. And the order of importance varies from racer to racer. But the three things are:
Traction........Money........Respect.
Everything else will fall in to place.

Mike ( madness & ) Mayhem

P.S. to Lee,
I forgot to ask you if you thought the 250$ oil down penalty imposed this year is resonable and should remain in effect.

Mike ( madness & ) Mayhem

My two cents which is about .03 too high is for NHRA to LOWER entry fees.
1. help mitigate travel costs
2. benefits everyone, encourages participation
3. doubling purses impacts what, 6-10 racers and comes nowhere near costs of this hobby
4. pay contigincies at track and get reimbursed by sponsors thru contract, one check at trophy presentation
5. sliding scale on oildown if needed at all; if I oil track the entire length and cause an hour downtime, I should pay $250! You pull over to side, or an oil rag wipe up at 300' it should be little or nothing
6. TRACK PREP, spend some money on starting line hook
7. creative spending to enhance descretionary experience of attending/participating

Randall Klein

Just a thought here, my dad grew up in the early days of racing and was there when Wally Parks started it all. He has always told us that Wally is the only reason there are still sprortsman racers in NHRA.
I personally believe that NHRA has become even more of a mega empire than what even Mr. Parks could ever envision, the sport has evolved into something that mainly supports the pros and was losing sight of the back bone of the sport.
It looks to me like Mr. Parks is putting forth an effort to focus on bringing back sportsmen racers into the spotlight, so why not put aside the worries & quit bickering about him making $100 million on something he has invested his whole life into & lets see how it all plays out, afterall he has been there for 50 plus years.
But i do agree, most sportsmen racers are on a shoestring budget (my shoestring broke) and cannot afford to be hit with excessive fees, penalties, etc. and maybe the new NHRA will realize that.

thanks, Jim Garey

Randall writes:
>> My two cents which is about .03 too high is for NHRA to LOWER entry fees.

My thoughts exactly. The first to go could be the insurance surcharge, which is an effect of the Pro cars.

>> 4. pay contigincies at track and get reimbursed by sponsors thru contract, one check at trophy presentation

Due to how NHRA's contingency program works, I agree. That is how IHRA's local weekly Summit Super Series contingency works.

>> 6. TRACK PREP, spend some money on starting line hook

It's been a number of years since I ran NHRA... is it that bad?? I can count on one finger the number of times I've spun at an IHRA event that wasn't my fault.

>> 7. creative spending to enhance descretionary experience of attending/participating

That one went over my head. Explain?


Michael Beard
<u>Staging Light Graphic Design & Printing</u>
Duck Tape/Loctite Racing
H - I - J/CM '80 Volare 360 Magnum

I would go for some positive creative thought, focus, consideration, promotion or even mention.. With the proven popularity, the money will all come by itself.

Heads up racing would be cool, but right now it is designed as a train wreck. We already know what combo will win with a great accuracy before anyone shows up.

Plot a statistical curve of all cars with aftermarket heads verses those who dont in every class. Then do one with blocks.

I love heads up, but the current rules necessitate a break out.

Lynn

Classracer,

Wally Parks did one hell of a job. But he is no longer in charge.

We are not getting the quality information on this sale that we are entitled to. From what I have read, it looks as though the Sportsman racers will experience the old Stockman "trickle down". Which does not sound very encouraging to me.

As a racer, I care about spectators for the following reasons.
1. I like people to see my car go down the track.
2. The more people in the stands, the greater the entertainment value and the more available to pay out in winnings (why do you think the purses are so much bigger in cirlce track racing than in drag racing and why do you think F1 budgets make NASCAR budgets look like high school football budgets, even Texas high school football budgets?).
3. The more spectators, the easier it is to get sponsorships-sponsors aren't it out of the goodness of their hearts, Evan Knoll possibly being the exception.
4. If ALL you care about is the racing, please sign and forward all you winning checks to me.

Lets remember that this empire was created on the backs of RACERS, not management. Wally's vision.....racers activities.
Maybe I'm different than some on here, but if my lifes work just awarded me 100 Mil, I would reward and remember the people who actually made that empire for me. In this case the racers.
And Randall, when I mentioned purses, I meant all the way down. My semi final got me 150 $ at the divisional in Valdosta. In my opinion, a slap in the face.

I'm not asking for hard numbers, or fine tuning of what all the future benefits might be for us. I'm asking for a few immediate promises of a better life for the sportsman racer.
This is a now or never time guys. With a new deal being struck, and 100 Mill in their pockets, the time to negotiate is now. We can aim high, but if we don't get concesions now, it will be never. Mark my word and let me know in about 3 years if I'm right or not.

So, to my original question for Mr. Imbrogno. Can we get a few promises of some beneficial changes for the sportsman ? Details which can be worked out later.
So far, the silence has been defening.


Mike ( madness & ) Mayhem

Mike,

First I have to say that I'm in total agreement with you regarding payout. The current sportsman payout structure is a total joke. My uncle raced S/S back in the 60's, and he was winning $1,000 back then racing S/S. Obviously, S/S was more prestigious than it is today because it was THE CLASS to race if you weren't running Nitro. But still...40 years later and it's still $1,000 to win?

Of course, the entry fee in the mid-60's wasn't $250 either. My guess is that the entry was probably $40, tops.

But, all that said, I think you can forget about any of the sportsman racers getting any of that $100 million. Plus, quite frankly, I don't believe there are many sportsman racers that are deserving of it, myself included. If Wally's going to start writing checks, he should probably start with guys like Jenkins ans Sox, that put NHRA on the map in the 60's (the legends).

Rather than NHRA sending me a penny, I would simply like to see them start treating us with a little more respect. As somebody else put it, stop shoving stuff down our throat, and actually start asking for input (the oildown rule is the latest debacle). From there, increase the payout, give us a decent place to park our rigs (i.e. if we're going to race at a track, start making the owners of those facilities put some money back into them so we can actually park on pavement, rather than 3 miles away in the mud), don't make us run at 8am and 10pm, and for God's sake don't tell the spectators to go get a hot dog when we pull up.

I'm hopeful this buyout will do one of two things:

1. Improve the current situation
2. Eliminate sportsman racers from national events so we can have more sportsman friendly big races

I'll be very disappointed if one of those two things don't happen.

Jason Oldfield
S/G & S/ST 1838

Someone has to race early and late...unless you want to spend 7 days at an event...or limit the field to about 10 cars in each sportsman class at Nat'l events.

Actually Jason, that was my quote. Hey, I'll take the credit if you agree. lol
But I didn't mean we need part of the 100 mil dispersed to the sportsman racers in cash. I just meant to increase purses and spend the money for the benefit of us all.....in various ways.
You are right about the Sox & Martin's, and Jenkins etc. But remember they all started in S/SS.
We all should be grateful to those that went before us and made this sport what it is. The New NHRA should be VERY grateful.
But their history and importance to dragracing is a moot point for this discussion, in that the 100 Mil goes to Wally, and the SPORTSMAN side of the new NHRA.
The PRO side will be a topic for the new owners.




Mike ( madness & ) Mayhem

Does the PRO FWD go with the Pro's? I loved the listing on DRC first round and final alll in one pass.

>>>Nobody said anything about us getting 100% back, but my god, they just got 100 million dollars.<<<


NHRA getting 100 Million should not affect your payouts. Should NHRA all of a sudden make stock $100,000 to win because another company bought a portion of the organization for 100 million???

If you owned your own business and someone bought a portion of your business and you made a small profit on that portion. What would you say when your customers came asking for part of that money?


>>>NHRA has had 40+ years to refine their expendatures and profit/loss margin. It seems it has worked well for them, and every racer I know says it's time to give back, in the form of better payouts. All expenses go up for us, the racers. Payout needs and should go up to.<<<

501c Not-For-Profit Organizations do not have a "profit". And their financial statements are public knowledge.


>>>Your thoughts about the money going for rules equality, and throttle stop elimination etc. I don't understand. I am for both of those things ( although in the real world throttle stops are here to stay, you must be realistic ) but how would doing those things cost money for management?<<<


Rules don't change themselves. You have to pay someone to review the rules, then someone to make the revision and change the rule book, and then you have to pay people to enforce these rules. And employees don't normally work harder than they have to. Therefore, you will have to employ more people or bump salaries a little bit for added rules to be enforced correctly.

Would you handle the AHFS and all that hooplah for free?



If you are racing for the payout window every weekend you should be racing in NASCAR, where you will get paid. Payouts just can't increase. NHRA hasn't been where I have been racing for a while, but they do pretty well with their program. A lot of racers tend to hate on NHRA, but think about the amount of racer bitching they have to deal with...


Lee Norton
I/PS '02 Firebird 231 V6

I don't like it, but it is the rule we have to deal with. Now maybe you will check those tranny pan bolts and check for leaks more often. In the end it will make you more cautious of maintenance.

Lee Norton
I/PS '02 Firebird 231 V6

i totally agree that the payouts are a slap in the face, not to mention multi million dollar companies welching on payouts for contingincies but what i am saying is that HOPEFULLY changes in the racers favor are on the horizon, or am i just wishful thinking out loud?

i totally agree that the payouts are a slap in the face, not to mention multi million dollar companies welching on payouts for contingincies but what i am saying is that HOPEFULLY changes in the racers favor are on the horizon, or am i just wishful thinking out loud?

BINGO! More or less my words...

Lee Norton
I/PS '02 Firebird 231 V6

We are NOT customers. WE are the show. You must get over the customer mentality. The folks in the stands are the customers. They are there strictly to see racecars. We bring the racecars. And yes, the racers absolutely deserve more !
Don't be silly, I didn't say 100k to win. I said more than now. We deserve it. Period !

Yes, 501c not for profit orgs. DO in fact make a profit. And are legally allowed to do so. No company can exist without profit. Ask your bookeeper how a 501c works.

>>pay someone to review and change the rules, then pay to have them enforced << Not a valid argument, all this is already in place, and has been for years. No extra expendetures there.

>> check your pan's for leaks more often <<
Thats what you have to say to a working man that just blew up his motor, and to add insult to injury just got a 250 $ fine ?
I must say, I don't agree with you on anything. It doesn't seem as if you have the well being of the racers at heart.

Mike ( madness & ) Mayhem