Then vs Now - What Happened?

[Ed Wright]

Bill, I saw the same thing when I started going to the national events. I was usually found getting under Mike Edward's feet, and when Pro Stock ran, you could sit anywhere you like. Everybody left after the fuel cars, which I have no interest in watching. Worked out well for me. I showed Pete Peery a picture I found of his Bill Hilsher Vega at a Laplace div 4 race. He said "look at all the people in the stands!" I remember them being full, but top fuel and Pro Stock ran div races back then also.

I was a little suprised the first time I stood in line at a national event waiting for the gates to open. Everybody was telling bs stories about what Kenny Bernstien and John Force were having a war about, Some whiz-bang new blower somebody had, other bs. After the gates opened, I would sit on Mike's golf cart until they showed up. The same people were walking around carrying old head gaskets, other crap they found in the pro's trash cans. Baggy shorts, flip flops, mullets or bald spots above pony tails, wife beater shirts, teeth missing. Not the same crowds we used to see. Looked like the same people I saw at my one & only NASCAR race. They are obviously only there for the noise and big speeds. Most don't know beans about the cars. That's not everybody, but a large percentage of them. The people left in the stands when Pro Stock and sportsman cars run seem pretty knowlegable. They pretty much leave when the throttle stop cars come up.

I miss the real racing.