Did Anybody Else Catch This?!

[Tom P]

Originally Posted by Wade Mahaffey

I was at SEMA last week, and boy was that a site to see. I can say that there are plenty folks left, that love the car culture. I have been to PRI several times, but SEMA is about more than drag racing and the show was at least five times larger that PRI.

True enough, it is all types of racing and other car stuff, show cars, restoration, trucks, etc.

But it's still an automotive trade show and what was disturbing to me was there were hardly any or no line ups to get an autograph from Don Garlits, Tom McEwen, Don Prudhomme, Richard Petty or Mario Andretti (the last two guys mostly ran in circles, just a little drag racing) but the lineup to see some MMA fighter there was a thousand people long. As many "Affliction" shirts as there were car event shirts.

Sure some cool drag stuff there though, the Mach IV and Backup Pickup in Galpins tent, the MT tires booth had the monocoque 70 Mustang funny car and Challenger1 speed record car, newly restored Joe Shubeck AA/FD in the front hall, the EMPI Lightning Bug in the "window tint building" that Gale Banks diesel dragster, etc.

But Warren is right, the attendance is also misleading since many people are just there for the noise and to get drunk and can't be counted on to sustain the sport. If fuel cars next year were almost silent but running 2's at 400mph those people would not be back because they aren't the automotive diehards the sport used to have and still needs.