TA is great, Erica and I loved having him on the team. He was part of it when I bought the assets from DSR. David and I committed to keep him on through the end of the year and we did. If he lived in Houston we would still be together. No hard feelings or problems with that one either...as far as I know. A new team doesnt need and cant afford 2 crew chiefs at the number it takes to get them as good as Terry or David Nickens. That was just a business decision, NOTHING personal. We will hate racing against him on any team.

I will say this, and I completely mean it. If this truly is a "we are trying to do the right thing" then good for you guys. You are a rare-breed in finding the one million dollar treasure and returning it to some guy who was visiting the country but since went back to wherever. (pardon the bad metaphor).

I can't argue with facts, so I won't try...but there seems to me to be more to the story. I guess the flesh part of me just won't believe that this was a decision solely based on "good ol' boy values" -- believe me, I want to believe it...it's just hard.

Gregg
I really hope you understand that no one at all has had anything bad or derogatory to say about you or Erica on this thread... We are all trying to figure out what is going on with this whole deal... I understand, many may not...
Keep your heads up and looking forward...

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theDARKSIDE- TOP ALCOHOL DRAGSTER*

Thanks for your candor and contribution Gregg.

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NAPA Nitro Fan!

If you can't stand behind our troops, feel free to stand in front of them!

Actually, there has been, just not publicly. If you read my first post, NHRA/Powerade is not exactly happy that Del Worsham has Pepsi as an Associate Sponsor. They tried at one point to not let them have Pepsi products in their pit, but they caved because Del had the deal before Powerade was around.

I think the reason why KB was able to do the Monster deal is 2-fold.
1) It's Kenny Bernstien.
2) Monster is tied to AB.

Lots of money and press to be lost by the NHRA if they don't let it happen.

IMHO.

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Josh

www.jbracecraft.com

It appears they have a fledgling sports drink called Power Quench that can compete with Powerade.

Who knew????

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Jay Smith
www.fantasydragracing.homestead.com
www.myspace.com/styxboy

Joshua
I got ya the first time, I understood what you said...
But did'nt Del blow up the Mountain Dew body when it was Powerade at the helm?? I'm sure that in this time of contracts, lawyers and ME-ME-ME... Things have got much worse... The issue is,
SPORTS DRINK vs. ENERGY DRINKS
Now it's a cola war to??
I understand that Coke,Powerade and Full throttle along with other beverages are under one roof so to speak... But POWERADE, a SPORTS DRINK is the series sponsor... PERIOD

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theDARKSIDE- TOP ALCOHOL DRAGSTER*

Jay
I googled Revive-usa last night and saw all I needed to see... Power Quench is definatly a NO-NO in the POWERADE DRAG RACING SERIES, in as it IS a SPORTS DRINK...
Why it was not an issue last year is beyond me though...

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theDARKSIDE- TOP ALCOHOL DRAGSTER*

Greg thanks for shedding light on this and i can agree that nobody is here to bash you or Erica in anyway we where all just curious to the facts being that it seems a lot of top teams are having a difficult time securing sponsorship one wonders why somebody would walk away from a deal but now that its all been cleared up i would like to wish you luck in the 2007 season and hope to see your team where it belongs!

Gregg, once again your candor is appreciated. You seem to be a standup guy, it was not my intention to denegrate your team or sponsor, I just found extraordinarily odd that someone would walk away from a sponsor in this economic climate. I sincerely hope that NHRA/Coke/POWERade will repay your loyalty in kind down the road.

Good luck in '07, the Pro Stock world is a better place with Erica in it!

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I don't have a microwave ... I have a clock that occasionally makes popcorn.

Baca's December 31, 2006 Blog:
Any team owner will tell you that the goal of winning a championship begins with corporate funding. Unfortunately, I was notified at the conclusion of this race season that Mach 1 Air Services was going to pursue other teams to diversify their involvement in the sport and that we would need to find a new major sponsor.

Ender's January 03, 2007 Announcement:
The announcement leaves the 23-year-old rising star in search of a major sponsor for 2007 and beyond. However, the team is confident that the favorable return on investment it produced for Revive-USA and former sponsor Bravo! Foods and its Slammers Ultimate Milk brand will help it procure another corporate backer to complement associate sponsors Lupe Tortilla Mexican Restaurants, Snap-on Tools, Aeromotive, Mach 1 Air Services, Impact Race Products, and Mopar.

Coincidence?

Baca's blog states Mach I told him they were going to diversify their involvement

So I don't see any coincidence..other than they are spreading it around..rather than being a major. I suspect you'll see Mach I on several rides this year. I hope so.

I also wish David the best.

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.
.
--Medicated for your safety!!--

First of all, kudos to Gregg and Erica for having the integrity that they do when it so lacks almost every where in the offices of the NHRA, oooops...did I say that? I meant professional sports....lol

Anyway, here is the lowdown on a few items that I have seen posted today...

1.) It is true...AB is out of NASCAR, but ONLY in the Busch Series....You see, the Dale, JR. program is a HUGE profit center for AB...They recieve an even share of a 3-way split in all of the licensing fees associated with ANY and ALL merchandise that is sold with their logo on it...Die-Casts, T-Shirts, Trinkets, etc...The $20,000,000+ that they spend annually on that sponsorship comes back to them dressed up like a nickel at the end of the year when you look at the revenues that they generate from this merchandise. Its like turing a profit on the dollars spent, and the sponsorship, in effect, is free advertising...Follow me..?

2.) KB and the Monster Energy drink deal...Here is the story...If Gregg is still lurking, I think he can share some thoughts on this as well...Gregg, Erica, and Revive COULD in fact become a Primary Team Sponsor in the NHRA because the ONLY sponsors that CANNOT come in are the ones that DIRECTLY compete with Powerade, like Gatorade or Vitamin Water...The others (energy drinks) like Red Bull, Rockstar, Revive, etc....can come in because the rules state that they are ALLOWED to...Its just the NHRA's position that they will not be supported. All this means is that they cannot but banners at the track, sampling programs, sponsor certain categories or events, etc...And lets all think about this for a second....Do you need to buy these activations from the NHRA anyway? If you are concentrated on only sampling to the 2,000,000 people who attend the races, according to the NHRA (which is ALSO B.S...! just ask them why they WON'T verify that...its quite simple...BECAUSE THEY CAN'T!!!)...sorry....ah'em...ok...back to what I was saying..If you only concentrate on marketing to the atendees of the events, then you cannot justify the expenditure of the sponsorship anyways...The general rule of thumb, is that for every dollar that a company invests into the sponsorship itself, they should spend an additional $1.50-$2.00 activating and promoting it....You CANNOT do that effectively in the NHRA alone..You need to call ESPN and buy spots during the broadcasts (which they CAN do....ever seen the Gatorade spots during the shows..?), you need to have parties with media and celebs there to greet your fans. How about sweepstakes with your retailers, etc...you get the idea....and so does Monster....THAT, my friends, is a PERFECT example of a company that has "Gorilla Marketing" down to a science...Notice that you have NEVER seen a Monster Energy Drink commercial before this year....And they STILL did over $600 Million last year...The point is, THEY do not NEED the NHRA....So when the NHRA told them that they would not be supported, they didn't care because they probably would NOT have made an investment with the NHRA as a sanctioning body anyhow...Does that clear it up..?

I hope so cause all this talking, I need a drink of water...OUT!

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Jay
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J. Rathman Sports, LLC.Support Bacteria...Its the only culture some people have!

Jay
I have noticed for a very long time now, that most do not understand the difference between an OFFICIAL SPONSOR and a SERIES SPONSOR... Maybe you can clear that issue up a bit better then I can...
Also, Revive DOES sell a product called POWER QUENCH that while it is a WAFER that you could put in say your DASANI water, it is in the same catagory as a SPORTS DRINK... That is where I believe the negotiations so to speak seem to come from...

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theDARKSIDE- TOP ALCOHOL DRAGSTER*

I think any racing series in general makes a big mistake when they make agreements limiting other competitor's involvement. Sponsors are no longer a dime a dozen, and if they grew on trees that would be one thing. If Bernstien can bring out Monstor then I see no reason why other teams don't follow suit if opportunity knocks. Just my opinion.

Here's a little story, I was banned from displaying my dragster at two car shows this past summer because one of the sponsors of these events just happend to be another car dealer. In a way I took it as a compliment that my program is effective enough to be a thorn in the side of my sponsor's competitors. But since both these events were at publicly owned fairgrounds, I thought these two other dealers were being petty for keeping us out.

Rich Bailey
www.capracing.com