you make some good points ron...maybe the whining about 'hasmores" is seen as bad light by some. i love a good pedalfest with a handful of steering wheel thrown in!!

I agree with you that we would never know where the sport would have went without many of the biggest stars that we had/have, just as we would never know how the country would be today had the political elections of the last 20 years yielded different winners. If I understand what you’re writing, you’re saying that prior to John Force in the mid 80’s the sport was suffering and "needed something badly when he showed up." That sounds as if your saying John Force is the only reason drag racing has obtain the popularly it has today?

Here is what I said about John Force in another thread, "I have never been a big fan of John’s, but I like him, as odd as that may sound… I still think he is a great racer and has a great team. Heck, I have even chose him once or twice this season so far, in the ‘mater’s Pick the Winners for each race. He is intense, he is funny, he is an icon of the sport…the Don Garlits of the 2000’s if you will,…"

Has he been a BIG plus for the sport? ABSOULUTY - YES
Has he had a direct influence in the growth and popular of the sport? ABSOULUTY - YES
Was he the only person associated with the sport that had a direct influence in the growth of the sport? ABSOULUTY - NOT
Does NHRA "owe him?" ABSOULUTY - YES
Is he the ONLY one that NHRA owes? ABSOULUTY - NOT
Who DOES the NHRA owe? They owe the fans, they owe the racers…the pros, they owe the non-pro racers, they owe the racer at the local track, they owe the sponsors, they owe the person that plants the seed in a young child that directs that child to grow up and participate and endorse the sport of drag racing.

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

No second quessing...just a factual statement.
I watch a lot of drag racing on TV long before we ever heard of John Force

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

Could it be said that at about the same time you started seeing John Force putting a lot of personality into interviews was about the same time that the sport NEEDED an interesting attraction as the cost to purse ratio was requiring that more cars replace what I think were much more fan friendly nicknames on the sides of the cars with corporate names?

I'm sure I may not be in the majority, but I DO miss the days when the margins weren't as close and the ones who won more often did so because they had some trick/advantage up their sleeve. Like Austin Coil recently said, with obvious frustration in his voice, they're not allowed to innovate anymore.

That's why I like a pedalfest. Now the driver's really in it!

I will add one more exception to what I said that I've had for a long time. I will always appreciate an owner, whether he or she drives or not, more than a hired driver. If they do happen to drive, all the better.

Maybe this just comes from being a small business owner and understanding what it is to have your survival depend on decisions that you have to make every day, along with some luck. John Force may have been a company driver when he drove trucks, but he's an owner-operator each time he straps himself in. A hired driver in either business can come in, tear your stuff up, then just walk away. There's an attitude that comes naturally for an owner that I don't think a "company driver" is ever going to get away with faking. If they try to, it shows.

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The faster you drive, the further you have to walk to get back to the road.

If only Don Richerson was called 10,000.000 times in a row by Neilson Ratings. Unfortunatly Don, the world doesn't revolve around you, it revolves around turning the average "Joe" into a drag racing fan. That isn't done by showing side by side races of Hank Estes vs. Phill Hobbs. It's done by showcasing personalities and making viewers "fans" by creating a relationship they can share, and a driver they can root for..

There are two people in my book who the NHRA, and the rest of the drag racing world owes their TV existance to, and that is the late GREAT Steve Evans, who could gloss up the stiff and tongue tied, and John Force who just needed 20 seconds to win over the average Joe with his unglossed genius..
Remove either of those two from the equasion, and I don't know if the NHRA grows out of Diamond P Production and the Nashville Network.

no argument here...we're talking pivotal point is all. drag racing(NHRA or not)is way too cool to not have some following. it takes a village in 08? i hope not.

You guys still beating this Dead horse????

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Shift for Brains!!!!

was it smokey yunick that said"it ain't cheatin' till you're caught"?

i promise to quit...it just won't move.

With baseball bats in both hands.

LOL, you can proclaim it to be dead AFTER we stop beating it. Even then, we may come back and beat it some more!

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The faster you drive, the further you have to walk to get back to the road.

Just where in heck did you gather from my post that I was saying or implying that the world revilved around me...Get real George. I said I saw drag racing on TV before anyone that went to the drags and/or saw the drags on TV ever heard of John Force....or any other modern era driver. Your original post made it appear that there was ZERO TV of drag racing until TV discovered that there was a unique and interesting personaility that they then decided to put drag racing on TV. Also, your post makes it seem that I was the only one that ever saw drag racing on TV pre-John Force?!?!?!??!?! Haven't you seen some of the threads on this site talking about the good 'ol days with ASC, and the Diamond P drag shows. Heck, I have Diamond P and other video tapes that have hours and hours of drag racing...and none of it has John Force, so yes George, there WAS TV before Force came into the picture.
BTW, Neilson is located about 15 miles up the road from where I live, and I have nevered particapted in one of their poles.

Look....I DO NOT have anything against John Force. I like him...not a fan of his IE...hoping that he wins, but I like him. I think he is a icon of the sport.

What I don't like is trying to be told that drag racing basically was a goner, that no-one cared for drag racing, that drag racing wasn't on TV, that drag racer would never survive.......but all those woes went away, soley because of one individual.

Didn't happen....never will

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

drag racing and NHRA are not one and the same, drag racing will never die, NHRA could(was at least floundering). oops, iwas gonna quit.