Sportsman moment of the year

[Jim Wahl]

Originally Posted by Chuck Norton

Ladies and gentlemen, we have experienced a rare moment in class racing history. It was a glimpse of a by-gone era that many of us doubted would ever be allowed to surface again. "Sportsman Moment of the Year," indeed! How about "Drag Racing Moment of the Year," or "Drag Racing Moment of the Decade?"

1. No delay boxes
2. No transbrakes
3. No handicaps
4. No throttle stops
5. No nitro or laughing gas
6. No engines on a stick
7. No flip-up "plastic replicas of the Detroit iron"
8. No legion of crew members in matching uniforms thronging around the cars on the starting line
9. No one in the stands to see the race of the weekend
10. Probably no Association marketing guru still on the property to realize what they missed

Just real drag racing the way it began and the way we love it.


That run epitomizes what this sport has always been about. If the Stock final had been aired on TV with the proper promotion or had been featured with a knowledgeable announcer working a crowd of 30,000 daylight fans with an appropriate buildup it would have whipped up a frenzy of enthusiasm. It was a promoter's dream and it was wasted.

Who is going to write the back-story?
Who is going to promote the poster of that run? (I want one.)
Who is going to do the situational play-by-play analysis of the moment?
Who took video or still pictures of the preparations for that run?
Who will conduct the in-depth interviews with the drivers?

Oh well, it was great and before it fades into a dim memory I would like to personally congratulate two really tough racers who were cast into the spotlight and who deserve a hell of a lot more than they're going to get. Nice going guys!

c

Amen Chuck! Amen! That's what it's all about and only a few lucky people got to see it! Too bad, but history just the same. Jim