Aaaah, here's what I was getting at.

"Clay's won 50-something races and six titles in a row over there and we don't have a major sponsor. What does that say? It tells me the NHRA is where we need to be."

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www.zizzoracing.com

How can you not agree with that Tony? He's absolutely right. What if TJ had won 6 championships in a row and 50 races and you all couldnt find a sponsor especially since an IHRA sponsor money wise isint all that close to a NHRA deal? You'd feel the same way.

I took KK's statements as a Slam also. There are some big names on the "NH" side of the fence without a deal also... so that must be the place to play...

I also find it funny that the sponsorship he does take with him to NHRA is primarily IHRA in Evan Knoll and Torco Racing Fuels. Evan spends a ton of money on both sides of the fence, but his roots are IHRA. NHRA may wish IHRA would just go away... but they sure like cashing those Knoll checks.

I'll always cheer for Clay - because he's a class guy - I'll always cheer for anything that Evan puts his name on... because he's a class guy. I've never met Kenny K, but it's hard to cheer for a guy that made those statements. It just wasn't class.

Think about all of the other guys without sponsorship, the deals they have lost, the rides they have been booted from, they all handled it better.

Hey, that's just my .02 cents.

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Jim Walczak
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I dont really see it as a slam. He was speaking the truth, he basically just said that they had won 6 championships and over 50 races and they couldnt find a sponsor so they didnt think IHRA was the place for them anymore. He was dead on right. You all may take it as a slam but to me a slam would be,
IHRA SUCKS, THE SHOW IS HORRIBLE etc etc. I dont know KK but I have met him before and talked to him and he seems like a pretty decent guy. Go watch him on 1320 tv, he seems pretty genuine to me.

I don't think it was intended to be a slam either. I think what he was trying to say was that if companies are going to sponsor a race car they expect return on investment - we all know and understand that. I'm sure KK is looking for a pretty hefty sum of money, sooo...

IHRA, because of it's shorter schedule, limited venues & limited TV coverage isn't going to guarantee the kind of ROI a company would necessarily want.

NHRA, however, with it's longer schedule, races North, South, East & West, and expanded TV coverage on ESPN2 (Higher Visibility) vs. Speed Channel might make it a little easier to sell to a prospective sponsor.

I don't think that's a slam against IHRA, merely good business practice. He's simply trying to improve his position in an attempt to gain sponsorship for Clay.

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Gordon 'Flaps' Carlon
Work the solution, not the problem.

The Werner/Millican partnership was one of the most successful in the History of DR. Not in overall performance but in returns. The sponsor got exactly what they hoped, recruiting drivers and the team actually made a profit from racing!
Clay is a top notch driver and respects the owners parts. With state of the art equipment under him, I see him doing quite well.

A) Werner left the team at the end of the year so I wouldn't say there was a lot of time to find a sponsor replacement.

B) KK has been racing in the NHRA for several years now and what major sponsor has he found for his cars.

C) Mike Dunn, Dean Scuza, Jerry Toliver, Eddie Hill, Joe Amato are among some of the fuel drivers that have lost sponsors, some were champions, and have not returned to the sport since as drivers or owners.

D) How many other teams and drivers would not be in the NHRA now if it were not for Evan Knoll - Densham, Todd, Ashley, Troxel, Connelly, amongst others.

E) As stated above, the Werner sponsorship was one of the longest and most productive in all of drag racing and they were very happy with the IHRA and its demographics.

I would be willing to bet that not only will Kenny not be able to find a major sponsor anyway near the quality of Werner while focusing on the NHRA, but he will be looking to unload the team as soon as possible, if he hasn't already - and I will take Evan's word over his any day.

I agree with you, but the cost of racing in IHRA is much, much less than running the NHRA tour. Aside from the greater number of races, there are alos fewer runs required. A primary sponsor for an IHRA fuel team isn't necessarily required to provide as much as a sponsor supporting an NHRA fuel team.

Another interesting note. Peter Lehmen is technically the architect of the Werner team's domination over in IHRA. I believe he knew early on he couldn't afford to run in NHRA with the money his sponsors were providing him, so he played where his pocketbook would allow - And it worked. Sure, after Clay's huge success he started dipping his toes in the NHRA fields when he could, but even then it was extremely limited at the onset. Kenny has certainly continued the success, but I find it ironic that Werner is pulling chocks after Kenny's first full year as an owner. I'm not suggesting anything negative towards Kenny at all, I'm just pointing out what I believe is an ironic set of circumstances.

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Gordon 'Flaps' Carlon
Work the solution, not the problem.

Do you think his performance of late was due to old parts, trying new parts, or lost combination? This is not a slam but this team really ran better a few years back(final rounds at NHRA events) than they did this year. Even though they won the IHRA championship, it may have ended differently without Foley's accident. Thoughts??????????

They struggled all year with the new tires, never did get the tire shake at about 200 feet solved. A couple times they thought they had it, then started violent tire spin on the top end.

I notice they are starting with a fresh chassis for next year, and testing early. I wouldn't count Mike Kloeber out quite yet.

The question here is who is "They" - who now owns the team?
Kenny, Evan? I've received conflicting emails and PM's.
Firebird time trials are less than a month away - stay tuned!

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"The Counterfeiter"

my understanding is its all Evans now.... because he also owns the Scotty Cannon TF rail coming also... but like you say have to wait and see at the first race whos name is on the books..

Billy

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