[Mike Pearson]

I was at the meeting at the Gators. It was interesting to listen to the head honcho Peter Cliford. Peter is a very good public speaker and did a very good job with his presentation. He seems very passionate about the NHRA. It is clear that at the national events it is all about the pro show and the TV time. He made that perfectly clear. He did say that the healthier that NHRA becomes the better it will be for all involved. The only issue I had with his presentation was that he thought Pro Mod and the alcohol cars were sportsman categories. I guess in all reality they are but not like the true sportsman like comp, stock and SS. That was the first time that I have ever actually seen the person that runs our assn. I would say he is a big improvement over Compton. He put a lot of emphasis in growing our sport and making sure the media is aware that NHRA is the 2nd largest Motorsports organization in the world. He is stepping in after many years of bad management so let's see how he does over the next few. I know we all want bigger purses and lower entry fees but that is not going to happen. Maybe if things get better some of the contingency sponsors will start to come back. There have been some small improvents since his tenure started.