The state of NHRA - Page 2

Jason · 10-21-2011, 12:58 PM

NEWS FLASH: Anyone still having a full time job at NHRA the first of the year will be taking a 10% pay cut. This is not hearsay...it came from an NHRA employee who hopes they are not on the hatchet list.

Ed Fernandez · 10-21-2011, 02:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jason

NEWS FLASH: Anyone still having a full time job at NHRA the first of the year will be taking a 10% pay cut. This is not hearsay...it came from an NHRA employee who hopes they are not on the hatchet list.

So Compton takes a $71K cut in pay.He's still getting 10 times what he should be paid for running NHRA.Put people on the board who will do the job for way less than the current bunch of prima donas and lawyer types.

10-21-2011, 03:29 PM

Glad I make minimum wage.....they cant cut my pay!!

cicero819 · 10-21-2011, 06:13 PM

This is from Jeff Burks article in Drag racing on line. One NHRA executive asked me privately why my readers and the racers were interested in their tax return and did I think it was any of their business? I replied, “When you force competitors and team members to join the NHRA and they send the sanctioning body around $4,000,000 at year with no control over what is done with that money, I think they have a right to know where their dues are being spent.” CR

GarysZ24 · 10-22-2011, 03:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crew Chief

Giving up the lavish life in California and moving the whole operation to Indy would save a bundle.

Makes perfect sense to me given their biggest race of the year is in Indy!

Given (per the post by novassdude), that Los Angeles is No. 4 on the most expensive to live in Cities list (Glendora is a suburb of L.A. as well), that compounds the reason. The (now former) Governator (Awnold S.), allowed me to realize something else interesting to this ideal of yours Crew Chief; when California doubled it's licensing and registration costs a few years back, that was followed by Glendora raising our competition member, licensing, and comp. number costs by doubling them too! Moreover, not only did divisional entry fees go up about $10 bucks (here in D7), but even worse, National Open entry fees went up so much that we pay $65 bucks more for such races than D5 pays for theirs (not to overlook D1 paying about the same for theirs as well...all that for only a grade point...really?)! Interesting, don't you think???

GarysZ24 · 10-22-2011, 04:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ed Fernandez

So Compton takes a $71K cut in pay.He's still getting 10 times what he should be paid for running NHRA.Put people on the board who will do the job for way less than the current bunch of prima donas and lawyer types.

x2 Ed!

Mike Delahanty · 10-23-2011, 09:52 PM

NHRA isn’t alone w/ its issues. As I was scanning through the 10/17/2011 of Autoweek there was a well written 2 page article delving into the issues facing SCCA. There are a number of direct comparisons that can be drawn between NHRA and SCCA – both were created to foster amateur level racing. Take away the NHRA PROs and the two sanctioning bodies and racers have a number of similarities. Both have regional and national “points” events and lots of classes.

But what caught my attention was the commentary of declining participation and an aging competitor base. Car counts are way down at SCCA. Sounds familiar – huh! But SCCA is doing something about it. It has created a 6 member committee to take a deep dive and examine everything SCCA does. One of the goals is to get the SCCA members that still have race cars in their garages to get them back to the track. The committee is looking at every requirement placed on participants and “seeing if there is a valid reason for it”. Also on the top of the SCCA list is improving its appeal to younger racers. SCCA member average is 45 – and the average age of its racers at the Runoffs (the big end of season race where champions are crowned) is 49. SCCA realizes that the cost of racing is a factor that makes it tough for young racers to participate. SCCA is looking at ways to shorten the Runoffs – which run for a week now. Sounds like Indy. And to get the younger racer involved, SCCA is turning to “Spec” racing with new small cars like the Mazda2, Chevy Sonic, Nissan Versa and Honda Fit. Not sure this will work at NHRA – but there is always the JR. Dragster feeder series to get the young people involved. But I’m not sure any of this helps w/ what we care about – Stock and S/S.

No answers here – just some observations. At least it would be good to see NHRA recognize the issues and proactively look for solutions – like SCCA.

GarysZ24 · 10-24-2011, 12:42 AM

Mike, what I'd like to see that I bet would help NHRA's attendance, is to see them reduce the cost of sportsman racing back to 2006 levels...I mean everything:

1. Entry fees for national events go back to $240 (especially until our economy improves).

2. Reduce the cost of competition numbers, licenses, and even the NHRA membership to their former levels ($25 bucks for the first number, and $5 for additional classes, or at least drop $15 bucks off of the new competition costs, and $10 bucks off of the membership renewal fee)?

3. Add the .3 tenths that were taken away last year back to all Stock/Super Stock classes (especially if the former altitude correction factors don't come back for our cars)?

I think that just these three measures would increase racer involvement a bunch, over this years levels, but I have a fourth ideal that I doubt will be taken seriously, because it was frowned upon when I last made it:

4. Do for our divisional layout what the NFL did, and if need be, create a Div. 8 to help the cause (as the NFL did by creating not just one, but two new divisions), of divisions where racers have to travel over 500 miles to attend divisional races (this applies mainly to div.'s 5,6,& 7, however the other divisions have at least one race where some racers have to travel 500 + miles for at least one divisional? I'm not holding my breath on this one, but I know it would help those of us with more meager budgets, and/or time restraints due to work/businesses, etc.

I hope Glendora will at least look at the first three seriously, and also reduce the entry fees for national open races (especially since there's no points, or contingency monies involved in this series...we shouldn't have to pay over $140 bucks for just a grade point)! Now I ask you, would you pay a new truck price for a truck that's been used for awhile, thus not giving you the dependability that you'd expect from a new truck? I doubt it, so why should we have to pay divisional entry fees for an event that doesn't give us the benefits that a divisional would offer?

My .02 worth, but I think I speak for many with budgets/time restraints similar to mine. SCCA is exploring these things, how about you NHRA???

Billy Nees · 10-24-2011, 07:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Delahanty

but there is always the JR. Dragster feeder series to get the young people involved.

JR Dragster is not ever going to get enough young people involved. When NHRA finally gets serious (desperate?) enough to want to get large numbers of young people involved they will have to humble themselves and go to www.beaversprings.com and look up Beaver Bobs TCR series. One of NHRAs biggest problems has always been it's mindset that if a good idea isn't thought up "in house" it isn't a good idea. Always seemed to me that it's more about how their "old buddies" can make some money.

Rollins_2241 · 10-24-2011, 08:48 AM

[QUOTE= members that still have race cars in their garages to get them back to the track.[/QUOTE]

In an economy where fewer people are investing big bucks in NEW race car projects, this is the key. What is sitting in the garage now because it's "uncompetitive" and how do we get it back on the track in an economical, fair way?

I've always said NHRA shouldn't be listening to the current racers - they should be soliciting opinions from those who raced five years ago and no longer do.

10-21-2011, 12:58 PM	#11
Jason Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 235 Likes: 0 Liked 6 Times in 4 Posts	Re: The state of NHRA NEWS FLASH: Anyone still having a full time job at NHRA the first of the year will be taking a 10% pay cut. This is not hearsay...it came from an NHRA employee who hopes they are not on the hatchet list.

10-21-2011, 03:29 PM	#13
winstonindy Guest Posts: n/a	Re: The state of NHRA Glad I make minimum wage.....they cant cut my pay!!

10-21-2011, 06:13 PM	#14
cicero819 VIP Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Aylmer Quebec, Canada Posts: 1,086 Likes: 31 Liked 69 Times in 30 Posts	Re: The state of NHRA This is from Jeff Burks article in Drag racing on line. One NHRA executive asked me privately why my readers and the racers were interested in their tax return and did I think it was any of their business? I replied, “When you force competitors and team members to join the NHRA and they send the sanctioning body around $4,000,000 at year with no control over what is done with that money, I think they have a right to know where their dues are being spent.” CR

10-23-2011, 09:52 PM	#17
Mike Delahanty VIP Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 1,201 Likes: 0 Liked 273 Times in 54 Posts	Re: The state of NHRA NHRA isn’t alone w/ its issues. As I was scanning through the 10/17/2011 of Autoweek there was a well written 2 page article delving into the issues facing SCCA. There are a number of direct comparisons that can be drawn between NHRA and SCCA – both were created to foster amateur level racing. Take away the NHRA PROs and the two sanctioning bodies and racers have a number of similarities. Both have regional and national “points” events and lots of classes. But what caught my attention was the commentary of declining participation and an aging competitor base. Car counts are way down at SCCA. Sounds familiar – huh! But SCCA is doing something about it. It has created a 6 member committee to take a deep dive and examine everything SCCA does. One of the goals is to get the SCCA members that still have race cars in their garages to get them back to the track. The committee is looking at every requirement placed on participants and “seeing if there is a valid reason for it”. Also on the top of the SCCA list is improving its appeal to younger racers. SCCA member average is 45 – and the average age of its racers at the Runoffs (the big end of season race where champions are crowned) is 49. SCCA realizes that the cost of racing is a factor that makes it tough for young racers to participate. SCCA is looking at ways to shorten the Runoffs – which run for a week now. Sounds like Indy. And to get the younger racer involved, SCCA is turning to “Spec” racing with new small cars like the Mazda2, Chevy Sonic, Nissan Versa and Honda Fit. Not sure this will work at NHRA – but there is always the JR. Dragster feeder series to get the young people involved. But I’m not sure any of this helps w/ what we care about – Stock and S/S. No answers here – just some observations. At least it would be good to see NHRA recognize the issues and proactively look for solutions – like SCCA.

10-24-2011, 12:42 AM	#18
GarysZ24 VIP Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Tempe, Az. Posts: 1,268 Likes: 906 Liked 237 Times in 93 Posts	Re: The state of NHRA Mike, what I'd like to see that I bet would help NHRA's attendance, is to see them reduce the cost of sportsman racing back to 2006 levels...I mean everything: 1. Entry fees for national events go back to $240 (especially until our economy improves). 2. Reduce the cost of competition numbers, licenses, and even the NHRA membership to their former levels ($25 bucks for the first number, and $5 for additional classes, or at least drop $15 bucks off of the new competition costs, and $10 bucks off of the membership renewal fee)? 3. Add the .3 tenths that were taken away last year back to all Stock/Super Stock classes (especially if the former altitude correction factors don't come back for our cars)? I think that just these three measures would increase racer involvement a bunch, over this years levels, but I have a fourth ideal that I doubt will be taken seriously, because it was frowned upon when I last made it: 4. Do for our divisional layout what the NFL did, and if need be, create a Div. 8 to help the cause (as the NFL did by creating not just one, but two new divisions), of divisions where racers have to travel over 500 miles to attend divisional races (this applies mainly to div.'s 5,6,& 7, however the other divisions have at least one race where some racers have to travel 500 + miles for at least one divisional? I'm not holding my breath on this one, but I know it would help those of us with more meager budgets, and/or time restraints due to work/businesses, etc. I hope Glendora will at least look at the first three seriously, and also reduce the entry fees for national open races (especially since there's no points, or contingency monies involved in this series...we shouldn't have to pay over $140 bucks for just a grade point)! Now I ask you, would you pay a new truck price for a truck that's been used for awhile, thus not giving you the dependability that you'd expect from a new truck? I doubt it, so why should we have to pay divisional entry fees for an event that doesn't give us the benefits that a divisional would offer? My .02 worth, but I think I speak for many with budgets/time restraints similar to mine. SCCA is exploring these things, how about you NHRA??? __________________ Gary Hampton '86 Z24,173 V6 CF/S #5824 (#78 in 2021)

10-24-2011, 08:48 AM	#20
Rollins_2241 Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Tallahassee, FL Posts: 170 Likes: 0 Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: The state of NHRA [QUOTE= members that still have race cars in their garages to get them back to the track.[/QUOTE] In an economy where fewer people are investing big bucks in NEW race car projects, this is the key. What is sitting in the garage now because it's "uncompetitive" and how do we get it back on the track in an economical, fair way? I've always said NHRA shouldn't be listening to the current racers - they should be soliciting opinions from those who raced five years ago and no longer do.