[GHoef]

There is a giant hurdle that anyone attempting to "alleviate" NHRA of their S/SS classes will face. And guess what ? You cannot buy it. NHRA has it in spades and it cannot be purchased.... it's called LEGITIMACY.

Tracks, personnel, equipment, insurance, leadership, money and sponsors are all part of a solid plan to sustain a racing venture, but to truly lure NHRA S/SS racers away from NHRA will be VERY difficult to achieve because of the Legitimacy that NHRA possesses.

Due to the span of time that NHRA has been around, it is a multi generational sport. Case in point, my late grandfather, Bill Hoefer (and his brother John) won the Street Eliminator national championship in 1964. Thus the beginning of my families drag racing story, which saw my father Willie Hoefer campaign multiple S/SS throughout the 70's-80's l. He would win a SS national event @ Bandimere in 84, 2 D7 NHRA Summit Series championships (06 - 16) and 1 NHRA Summit Series National Championship in 06. He has an office with several Wally trophies on the shelves.

My entire life, I've wanted to race S/SS in NHRA and dreamed of earning a WALLY (like many others) of my own and what that would mean to me and my family. Well in 2018, I went out with my dad's 2016 D-7 Championship car and won the D-7 NHRA Summit Series Championship and along with it my own Wally.

We are a 3 generation family of NHRA champions (not to mention the multiple NHRA champioships of C.W. Sacha and Craig Hoefer) and I don't think my father and I had ever hugged and cried together before, as I came back to the tower to celebrate the win. I knew it meant everything to me, but even more so, I knew what it meant to him and my late grandfather's legacy.

Besides the multi generational aspect, there are iconic drivers and cars that have come and gone and with those, stories of races won and lost, trips across the country only to lose by a thou in the final round, all catalogued in our beloved National Dragster Magazine. Either by actually racing against or by simply reading about, men and women who would other wise not even be recognized in their local grocery store, became our household names because of the Legitimacy NHRA.

And so, the iconic and seemingly unchanged NHRA logo and unique trophy that countless men and women have strived for no matter what the cost, both financial and personal will continue to be the bar for S/SS excellence until someone can create Legitimacy for racers to buy into. Maybe in the future I'll be striving to win a "Rampy" or a "Fletchy" but for now my NHRA Wally is my most coveted racing achievement and I'm not alone in that statement.

One thing is certain though, if NHRA is going to continue to push the everyday Joe out of the show with diminished S/SS class car counts, I think there will be an opportunity for major change on the horizon and I wish the best to whomever attempts to spearhead that attempt.