Does anybody really care?

[Alan Roehrich]

Originally Posted by Dale Rethke

It's funny how people still cry about payouts and costs of racing all the time.
Have you looked around the pits and seen what people use to get there?
Not too many open trailers???

With all due respect, and I believe whole heartedly that you are entitled to your opinion, but exactly what does that have to do with anything?

Seriously.

That's like trying to argue that the payout should be based on how much money and/or property the winner has.

Really, race rigs have nothing at all to do with payouts vs. the actual cost of racing.

Facts are facts, every single thing used to actually race a car has gone up considerably in the last 15 years, some stuff as much as 100% or more. So have the fees NHRA charges.

Yet NHRA has not increased the purse for over a decade, and their policies have forced most potential contingency sponsors to refuse to be involved in the contingency program. Not to mention what NHRA spends on salaries and perks. While they pay the personnel (tech people, track crew, safety crew, etc) who actually make the races possible a mere pittance.

Really, the "look how much you have, why are you complaining?" argument is why we are where we are (that's as far as I'll go with "politics" out of respect for Ken and his rules). Again, I respect you and your opinion, and believe you are absolutely entitled to your opinion. But I vehemently disagree with the reasoning behind it.

No doubt the economy actually is really bad. Trust me when I say it has really hit home for some of us. But NHRA has simply followed a horrific business model for every thing they do for every part of the sport, and that is the single biggest reason the stands are empty, and the pits are starting to get that way. They've been on a short sighted, short term, immediate bottom line plan for a long time, and the result speaks for itself.

[Dale Rethke]

Who said race rigs had anything to do with payouts??
It's hard to listen to people crying about the payout not being enough when you pull through the gate with the stuff they do now.
It is the same way in dirt track racing as their payout is crap but the haulers keep getting bigger all the time.
So money should not be an issue to many the way it looks

How many racers didn't know the payout before they bought their race rigs?

[Alan Roehrich]

Originally Posted by Dale Rethke

Who said race rigs had anything to do with payouts??
It's hard to listen to people crying about the payout not being enough when you pull through the gate with the stuff they do now.
It is the same way in dirt track racing as their payout is crap but the haulers keep getting bigger all the time.
So money should not be an issue to many the way it looks

How many racers didn't know the payout before they bought their race rigs?

It looks like you answered your first question with the last two sentences in your own post. And the answer is YOU.

You are absolutely making the argument that it is perfectly acceptable to make the payout inversely proportional to the amount of money someone spends on their tow rig. That's completely absurd.

[Dale Rethke]

How do you figure that?
If you have a problem with the payout why would you spend so much doing it if it money was a problem for you.
If you think you race for the money you better think again.

[Alan Roehrich]

Originally Posted by Dale Rethke

How do you figure that?
If you have a problem with the payout why would you spend so much doing it if it money was a problem for you.
If you think you race for the money you better think again.

Who said we race for money? Although I do have friends that do.

Again, that has nothing to do with it. Leave the rig out of it, the rig does not matter, either.

Once again, you're making the argument that it is okay to treat people poorly, and take advantage of them, if they let you, and especially if they have money. That's an absolutely fabulous position by the way, you should be very proud of it. (It's also evidently a great business model for a "non profit" organization supposedly dedicated to the racers).

The cost of parts has gone up. The cost of race fuel has gone up. The cost of labor has gone up. The cost of supplies (oil, transmission fluid, brake fluid, etc) has gone up. The entry fee has gone up. The other fess have gone up. The salaries of NHRA executives has gone up. The only things that have not gone up? The purse, and the contingency payout.

Like I said, you're entitled to your opinion, and I think I'll just leave you to it.

[Terry Knott]

Originally Posted by Dale Rethke

Who said race rigs had anything to do with payouts??
It's hard to listen to people crying about the payout not being enough when you pull through the gate with the stuff they do now.
It is the same way in dirt track racing as their payout is crap but the haulers keep getting bigger all the time.
So money should not be an issue to many the way it looks

How many racers didn't know the payout before they bought their race rigs?

USUALLY,(not always) the same people that complain about payouts are the same ones who have $250,000 plus in the motor/toter home+trailer. Back in 2005 I remember walking by a really nice rig at a IHRA race in Milan,MI. and the owner/driver was bitching about paying $500.00 for a set of slicks and Barbara said "Is he serious!!....maybe he should sell his Showhauler".
Anyway, this thread seemed to drift off the original topic so I digress......

[Dale Rethke]

Never said the NHRA /IHRA was doing things perfectly for the racers but there are not too many in the stands at DIV races for the most part.
No people not much of a payout?
Where should all the money come from for everyone who thinks they are getting the short end of the stick?

If you don't like what they are selling don't keep going back to the store?
But they still do maybe not as many as there used to be but when they do they do it with some nice stuff.
Usually the guy with the big haulers complain the most.

I guess we just disagree that the payout stays the same and the support equipment gets bigger?

[RULER]

So basically you are OK with paying more and getting less, most people would have a hard time with that and if your OK with that then good for you, but don't expect others to buy into that thought.....

[Dan Fletcher]

So apparently if one drives an expensive car to the ballpark, you aren't entitled to complain about stupid high prices for hot dogs and beer...makes sense...

[Bobby Fazio]

This thread was about Tom Compton's absence, a guy that I am sure very few of us have ever met. That kind of bothers me actually. If I ran an organization like this and time permitted it, I would make it a point to try and come around the pits at national events, say hello to my clientele, and at least pretend to be making sure they are enjoying their experience. Sort of like a restaurant manager does when he walks over to your table, introduces himself, and asks how everything is going.