Summit is just an hour up the road from NRP.

Actually, no. I seriously doubt the $$$ to sponsor an NHRA national event was an issue at all. If that were true, they would be bailing out of the NHRA altogether. They still support numerous funny cars and pro stocks, including WJ and KJ's cars directly.
FWIW, GM's stock has been steadily rising for the last 6 months and is only a couple bucks away from doubling its value in that 6 month time period. As important as the NHRA may be to us, I'd venture to say the whole of GM's involvement in drag racing is a proverbial drop in the bucket when compared to their bottom line.
Something else drove this change. I don't know what. As a life-long GM guy, I can honestly say I don't like GM's decision. For once, the NHRA clearly made a great call. Norwalk is a vast improvement over C-Bus for the racers and fans. Hopefully Pontiac will be back next year at a different race track.

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...........that's what I was thinking Joe. On some of the financial radio shows I 've listened to lately, the host and guests on the show are claiming that GMC will be fililg for bankruptcy in 2007.

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....as for me and my house we will serve the Lord (Joshua 24:15)
aka.....Rollemup
www.rollemuptravel.com

NHRA is after cubic $$ if you have Pro Stock & a "GREAT ENGINE DESIGN" its tough you gotta go by "Their" rules... however if you have Toyota's $$ and design a PS motor you can bet the ranch NHRA will accept it !!

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"When I die, I want to die like my grandfather, who died peacefully in his sleep. Not screaming in panic like the passengers in his car."

oops, sorry, I thought summit was in Nevada.

Imagine any Major sponsor defending C-bus over Norwalk????

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Shift for Brains!!!!

It is. They have a warehouse there and in Georgia plus Ohio.

I still say the pontiac firebird trans am funny car bodies have allways been one of the best looking even with the recent aero bodies they still look cool . My fav funny cars will always be the skoal bandit trans ams of don prudhomme those looked cool . I may be a mopar fan but the pontiac bodies have always been cool , way better then most of the other recent funny car bodies . I hope pontiac stay with drag racing .

Pontiac's loss is Summit's gain. From what I've been hearing, Pontiac may soon join Oldsmobile, who also once sponsored the Columbus race. Too bad, my last 4 cars have been Pontiacs and Olds.

Jeg's is just an hour down the road from NRP.

I don't think there's any chance that Pontiac is cutting back, and I don't think there was any decision that one facility was better than another.

I haven't heard anyone mention the huge yearly event Pontiac used to put on at Dave Gill Pontiac in Columbus. From what I can see, it was by far the largest local promotion at any track on the tour and had been for years. The event had been promoted well year after year and had grown into a tradition that was unmatched anywhere in the country. It's going to be tough to put it on next year since the race is in a different city.

Remember that the funding for supporting drag racing actually comes from the manufacturer's promotions department and every dealer pays into an advertising and promotions account. In essence, GM Racing's customers are not you and I, they are the dealers who put up the money in the first place.

That said, imagine a scenario where you're footing the bill for, say, a large company picnic. You've funded it for years but out of the blue you get a call from someone who stresses that you really ought to get in touch with the people operating the location.

So you make the calls but between voice mails and secretaries you never get to talk with the person you need to. Finally your calls are returned one evening and you're invited to a function the next day announcing that your picnic has been moved somewhere else. It's a done deal and you were the last to know.

Like I say, it's just a scenario but if I was the guy footing the bills my posterior would be pretty chapped. And I'd wonder how much all the money I'd spent in the past really mattered to those who were receiving it.

Summitt has a West Coast facility in Sparks, NV, but corporate still hangs back East.

Don't forget, it was Pontiac that stepped in to fill the void at the Columbus event created by Oldsmobile's withdrawal.

Since Summit's home base is Tallmadge, Ohio (88 miles from Norwalk) and the Norwalk track is now named "Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park," seems to me it's Summit Country.

I thought the thread was Bye Bye Pontiac, so why would Pontiac still sponsor an event where they have no participation? OK, so they sponsor KJ in a Chevrolet and what will they sponsor WJ in since they will no longer produce the GTO?
While stocks are up, GM has not made a profit from their North America operations since 2004. If the Delphi deal takes a dump, GM most likely will be forced into bankruptcy. Once again I will say that NHRA drag racing is a small venue and in the end is "how much bang do you get from your buck?" Then there's the 1000 gorilla called Nascar where one 30 second spot reaches more people than an entire half season of drag racing.
Follow the money. Wouldn't be the first time NHRA laid one of those rectum eggs.