Mike,

Note that I said "no one is a BIGGER fan". I didn't say I was the biggest... only on par with all the other very big fans of Force.

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Greg Stanley
2007 NorCal Top Comp Champion

No one's saying NHRA would continue or that everyone would quit b/c that surely isint going to happen however NHRA would never be the same ever again.

The importance of the man is exhibited by the mere fact that this thread exists, and continues to exist. A bizarre and yes, tacky thread but here I am stating the obvious again. That said, I for one am glad to have been a fan during his reign.

I think we have a winner here.....to say Drag Racing cannot survive without John Force really (in my opinion) shows a profound disrespect to the people who made it possible for John Force to develop this status just through drag racing. People like Jungle Jim, Raymond Beadle, Don Schumacher, Al Hanna, Chris Karamensines, Don Garlits, and (dare I say) my very own Grandfather Pat Minick....(shall i go on?)......we didnt lose John, so why not focus on what can come out of the fact that we had a driver survive this horrific incident? What innovations in safety can be accomplished now?? i say we focus on that

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August 13, 1973 - March 23, 2007
R.I.P. Eric
Now residing in the Magic Kingdom

This topic should have been yanked after the initial post, it's morbid!

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"A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new."

No disrespect to you or Force....I hate to see a racer hurt, however,

Drag Racing wasn't the same after Garlits.
Drag Racing wasn't the same after Glidden.
Drag Racing wasn't the same after Pulde.
Drag Racing wasn't the same after Tharp.
Drag Racing wasn't the same after Liberman
Drag Racing wasn't the same after Harell.
Drag Racing wasn't the same after Borsch.
Drag Racing wasn't the same after Warren.
Drag Racing wasn't the same after Harris.

BUT, it is still DRAG RACING....it's still great.....it will survive.

I bet a nickel to a donut that John Force would agree.

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Proud card-carrying member: SACWC (Southern American Conservative White Christians)

Odd thread not sure if I'm comfy with it but what the hell.

The sport is bigger than any one person.

nascar survived Dale's death as well as other drivers

We have survived the passing or retirement of many greats in our sport.

people said basketball wouldn't go on without Magic and Bird but it did, then they said it would crash without Jordan but it hasn't.

The NHL has lived on without Gretzky

Payton, Montana, Elway, Marino, Rice....and yet somehow the nfl manages

There is always someone up and coming or even on the horizon to take their place regardless of the sport

Gordon, lil E, Johnson
Sidney Crosby, Vincent Lecavalier, Dany Heatley and Martin St. Louis,
Manning, Bush, LT, Chad Johnson, Brady
We will already are in the second generation of great drives, Dixon, Schumacher, Kalitta, Troxel, Bernstein, Dunn, Force. Johnson, Coughlin and Pendregons
and of course the newbies of the last couple of years and ones that are on their way Hillary, Ashley, Todd, Connolly, Thaker, Wood..the list is endless.

Luckily we don't have to know but trust me there would still be a race, there would still be people there to race and to watch

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Click here for NHRA Points Petition
Tact is for those not witty enough for sarcasm

What if`s don`t count: Joe Amato didn`t detach his retna
Darrell Gwynn didn`t crash

Wally is up there organizing them right now.
John is making a legacy and evidently someone feels he hasn't finished yet.

My high school Hero was Dicky Harrell but I sure didn't loose interest after he moved away and died tragically.

You just never know what happens when you drag a kid into your Garage and show him your " Secret Weapon" LOL

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SAVE WATER DRINK BEER !

The show would have gone on. There would have been many who were devistated by the loss of an ICON, but the show would have gone on. And it will continue to go on, even when he passes. Either thru natural causes or loosing ones life on the track, no (1) person is bigger than the sport. I love John Force, for all the same reasons most people love the guy. He is an ICON to me, as is Garlits, Big Jim Dunn, Lee Shephard, Buster Couch, Wally Parks, SNAKE, "THE GOOSE" , Shirley, and Alan Reinhart...(ok maybe not Alan...YET). Some of these folks have left this physical world, and the sport still continues....Wally Parks is our FOUNDER! No Offense to Don Garlits, but he was our "TRUE BIG DADDY", and is anyone talking about where the sport is going to go without him? Truthfully the answer to that question is NO. The reason, is that Wally put people in place to run the NHRA. He prepared for the enevitable fact that people die. Why do you think John Force is So obsessed in developing the NEXT GENERATION of DRIVERS? Why do you think Eric Medlen's Passing was so devistating to him? I can't speak for the man, but I'm sure John understands that he is NOT the only show in town. YES, he is the biggest Draw...and YES, he brings in lots of $$$$ to our sport, but there are those who can, and will step it up, when he decides to WALK AWAY from our sport.

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Timmah! 5636 S/C
"What do Termites eat for Breakfast? OAK-MEAL!"
http://www.myspace.com/timcharlet