Has he? Yay for Bobby.

Greg i am with you, NHRA management drop the ball on this. It's their job to make sure that the people running the credential window have ample supplies to handle the race. They know how many racers that will be there by pre-entry and previous races. Jim obviously paid his entry fee and is a regular entry at most races. Employees should be trained to be respectful and courteous to people that pay there hard earned money to race in these events. If Jim and other racers had made several attempts to get their credentials and NHRA could not provide them then they should have at least had one of there runners notify the racers when they were available and this issue would not have happen. I don't think Greg or anyone else is bashing NHRA, it's called frustration. NHRA management is not doing there job and that drops down on employees and before you know it the organization begins to have problems after problems and frustration settles in. The racers and fans spend their money on racing to have fun and some do it for a living. NHRA management has lost the values that this organization and sport were built on.

When I stopped by the Hughes pit on Saturday evening, Kevin mentioned that both cars that Hughes had beaten in round one and two were going to be reinstated in round three, but his opponent from round one had already left the building....

Frank Nichols Jr did race in the third round Sunday.

As to what happened, I can see time trials being run without a waiver when there is a glitch like a shortage of paperwork available for signatures at the time of registration, especially when the sanctioning body makes a list of those competitors who still needed to sign (and submit) waivers before the start of eliminations. Same thing with tech cards, though there are always some missing tech cards during time trials and qualifying. The sanctioning body makes a point of calling drivers to the tower (at least they do at divisional events) for missing tech cards during time trials and qualifying. That is different than the waivers, as those are usually kept at the tech or registration trailer (correct me if I'm wrong here), so race control likely won't know if there are missing waiver signatures during TT and Qual unless registration brings it to their attention.

This isn't the first time I've seen a racer tossed for not signing a waiver. What would have been the result if Jim's elimination runs were allowed to stand and other racers found out he hadn't turned in his waiver(s) prior to running eliminations? I suspect some folks would have been crying favoritism due to his stature as both a racer and supplier/sponsor.

It's a shame he got tossed, but the blame isn't solely on the sanctioning body. In fact I think they acted accordingly by enforcing a rule that pertains to every racer.

JMHO,

Bob

Taking a page from NASCAR, who (whom?) NHRA SEEMS to be trying to emulate, judgements and penalties like Jim's expulsion should probably be investigated and handed down TUESDAY after the event, when all sides of the story have been bandied about and a level-headed decision made.

(Seems like there was something recent about possesion of nitro that would apply here also.)

Hit 'em hard if they deserve it, for sure, but the Hughes deal sounds like a clerical error with MANAGEMENT at fault.

As many know, you can spot NHRA officials at ANY race by their blue shirts and khaki pants.

At the highest level, like VP and above, those individuals, as they walk along, will suddenly develop a violent KNEE JERK!

Ya can't miss 'em!

I guess I won't get an answer to what "Moon Flied" means?

Don't leave us hanging here.....

Bob,

The only thing Hughes had not completed as part of his entry into the event was receipt of his ticket with its restricted area sticker. He did sign his waiver in front of an NHRA official and his name along with all the other competitors in the same boat was put on a list of those needing their ticket and restricted area sticker.

The fact remains that the situation was caused by NHRA and it should have never resulted in Hughes' disqualification.

__________________
Greg Stanley
2007 NorCal Top Comp Champion

Greg, i am fairly new on nitro so i don't know if Jim has posted here before, sure would be nice to here his thoughts.

Still wondering just what this means.
Anyone?

You left hanging? Why don't you just open-mindedly re-read the entire first page of this thread where Greg Stanley, a regular participant at such events, poses a very simple-yet direct question only to be debated to death over semantics without answers to his question then notice just who are these debating parties. Without receiving honest answers to his valid question, I'd say he was "Moon Flied" It appears from other replies, there was a consensus.
Don't take it personally. Why not just answer the man's question without the drama of unforeseen collateral BS.

__________________
"The Doctor"
www.wannaberacing.com

Have I just been Bobby Miller Flied?

. . . to quote a line from cinima past:
"You could teach the cows to program a VCR before he'll ever get it."

__________________
"The Doctor"
www.wannaberacing.com

Yer a class act Bobby. Talk trash and then get indignant.
Class act, I tell ya.

According to Greg's first post, this is what he stated:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Greg Stanley I understand that Jim is at fault for not remembering to return and file his paperwork but... Anyone else have any comments?

He is getting comments just like he asked for. No question asked.

And exactly how do you read third-hand info "open-mindedly"?

__________________
Paul, just another keyboard "expert"
www.ConceptsEngineering.com, check out the new "Animation" section
Check out altered construction

I have to respectfully disagree with you Greg. Even under the circumstances surrounding the paperwork before and during time trials, it looks like receiving his credential with the restricted area sticker on it wasn't the only thing not completed by the start of eliminations -- admitted to in the email you posted in the parent note of this thread.

Again, it was a shame he was DQ'd, but to allow him to continue to compete would have required (from what I've read here) a bending of the rules. If the rules aren't enforced equally for all racers, there'd be some real problems.