Kind of an interesting story on NHRA.com about Connelly returning to Ohio.
NHRA News: Ohio native Connolly welcomes new stop on POWERade circuit (6/26/2007)

Here's a story I did for Super Stock back in February of 2000, right when things were happening. It might help for those unfamiliar with what went down. Sorry for the length and "spam".


>>>>BEGIN PIECE>>>>>>

It's a simple statement, but what's contained (or perhaps, not contained) may affect drag racing for a long time.

The entire release in its entirety:

IHRA Suspends A Number of Drivers
February 8, 2000
Norwalk, OH - IHRA has suspended a number of drivers "indefinitely" for suspected rule violations. IHRA will not tolerate this sort of action in any way, shape, or form.

Those two short sentences raise a lot more questions than they answer. When contacted, IHRA Director of Communications Jim Marchyshyn stated, "The statement stands and is our entire comment on the matter."

Why is the word "indefinitely" enclosed in quotes? Marchyshyn repeated his response. When asked if the phrase "suspected rules violations" meant that no one had actually been caught, Marchyshyn answered, "The statement is as approved by our attorneys."

Marchyshyn was unable to provide either the name of the law firm involved or their telephone number, but promised to provide it at a later date. IHRA President Bill Bader was not available for comment.

Aside from the fact that a strict grammarian would be displeased with the two sentences - Is IHRA stating that they will not tolerate the suspension of a number of drivers? -- Questions began to pop up as soon as the statement was released.

"A number of drivers"? Why weren't names given, let alone how many were involved?

"Suspected rule violations" Were rule violations actually found? Or, in fact, were the racers suspended because of a suspicion they were illegal? Is that type of action allowed under the organization's published rules and guidelines?

"will not tolerate this sort of action in any way, shape, or form." What sort of action? What rules were broken?

Within hours of the release, message boards and telephone lines began to carry heavy traffic. Speculation as to the cheating seemed to center on electronic track location computers that would allow a bracket racer to receive a real time readout during a run as to whether the pass was shaping up to be a breakout or too slow. Most comments seemed to congratulate the IHRA on taking a strong stand against cheating, but wondering why the news was announced in such a cryptic fashion.

And in a short period of time, a copy of a letter sent from the IHRA to one of their member track operators was posted on the Web. This letter listed twelve names, with the statement that "The International Hot Rod Association has decided to suspend indefinitely the privileges of the following drivers to participate in any event at its Sanctioned Tracks".

As if the situation wasn't volatile enough, the first name on the list was Richard Matty. That's a name known for putting bracket racers solidly up against the high chip on their two steps.

Why? Because on September 24, 1991 the United States Patent Office granted patent #5,051,935 to Richard Matty.

According to the claims of the patent, the device was "an apparatus for automatically and continuously projecting an elapsed time in which a vehicle traveling a course of a certain distance will complete the course, and for continuously displaying to a driver of the vehicle during a race the difference between the projected elapsed time and a predicted time for the vehicle to complete the course, so that the driver can adjust a speed of the vehicle accordingly for approximating the predicted time..."

Yikes. Double Yikes.

Of course, just because the patent was issued does not necessarily mean that Matty or anyone else was using the device. Patents are often granted to an inventor who wishes to gain rights to technology that may be used in the future.

And for the sake of accurate reporting, Matty was not the first to be granted such a patent. Citations of prior art included many other inventions, such as a very similar timing system for usage on racing yachts applied for on April 4, 1975. Older references exist, but a search on the US Patent & Trademark Office website provides a limited background.

Regardless, various technology used in the drag race analyzer was earlier patented by employees of SDS-Relais AG (a German firm), Honda, Toyota, Renault, Bendix, Matsu****a, and Nissan. The pieces necessary to produce a real-time ET prediction computer have existed for more than two decades. Remember that predicting time and distance is critical to Rally participants, and the above manufacturers have all fielded Pro Rally teams.

At time of publication, Richard Matty was not available for an interview.
Ron Erks, a racer from Ohio and one of the competitors on the list makes some interesting points about the situation. Erks stresses that his car never failed tech, and was never given more than a cursory inspection at any location. He strongly denies that any illegal electronic device was ever on his car or that any tech inspection involved a search for one, and definitely that nothing was ever found on his car.

Erks points out that he is in an impossible situation. To restore his reputation or remove "the cloud over my head" as he describes it, he now needs to prove that something didn't happen in the past. That's a tough ticket, close to the classic "are you still beating your wife?' conundrum.

Remember that in the justice system in the United States, it's the other way around. The accusing party has to prove their case.

But this issue isn't before judges and the same rules don't apply. In fact, when the courts have been involved they consistently uphold the right of a sanctioning body to make and enforce rules as they see fit. When you participate, the courts seem to be saying, you are agreeing to the organization's right to manage their business.

Many are wondering why this whole matter hasn't been taken into the courts by one of the Terrible Twelve so as to clear their name. It's not quite that simple, as Erks explains.

"I don't have anywhere near the resources needed to take on the IHRA's lawyers. None of the attorneys I've contacted are willing to take the case on a contingency basis. Even if I did have thousands of dollars to spend to fight this thing, what could I really win?"

"What's really happened here is not good for the sport. Being successful shouldn't be a drawback." Erks is referring to what we've all heard in the pits when someone is really good or really hot - they've got to be cheating, whether that's the case or not.

Since Erks insists that this suspension never involved anyone finding illegal equipment on his car, he believes that somehow he's been suspended due to an unknown party stating that he was cheating. He says that when he questioned the officers of IHRA as to the reason for his suspension, he was told, "Because we can."

"With this decision, all the second-rate racers now have an excuse for why they never won. And all the good racers have to be thinking, 'That could have been me. Am I next?' if they win too much and someone complains."

Most serious racers have already heard of the near-riot at this year's Moroso 5-day Bracket race, where a mob of angry racers descended on the pits of some of the winners and demanded that they tear down their cars or else. Erks says he was there and observed what was happening, but had no comment other than "Are we to the point that this what a good racer has to face? You win a race and then you get mobbed by the losers?"

Erks strongly emphasizes that he doesn't think that the status quo is something that drag racers can live with. "I made roughly 700 runs last year. I can think of maybe a couple of times that my car was really looked over. We're now to the point where a racer has to wonder what he's up against when he goes to a race. We need a lot better tech inspection at these races than we have. Basically, it's pay your entry fee, someone walks around your car, and you race."

But aren't the National Tech personnel capable? "National Events aren't the way serious bracket racers make money. You spend four days racing for $8000 if you win. At a big money bracket race, you're sometimes racing for $10,000 per day. When you have that kind of money at stake, then you get into people willing to do anything to win it."

When asked for alternatives, Erks cites B&M Million Dollar Race promoter George Howard as an example of the way leadership should be. "George and I have talked quite a bit about this, and he's taking a pro-active stance. He realizes that racers need to depend on getting a fair deal when they race."

"His plan is that there will be constant, serious, random, inspections. You might be pulling into the water for the first round, and they pull your pair aside and go over everything. If you miss the round (because of the inspection), you go into the next round. Tech may show up at your trailer first thing in the morning, at the end of the track, really at random times."

"And the inspection would get tougher as the race goes on. Realistically, it's not until you get to eight cars left that you're talking about serious money. From that point on, each car needs to be inspected closer and closer. The two cars in the final would be gone over with a fine-toothed comb."

But what if the finalists agree to a split and race legally for the money? "It's not going to be perfect, but you'd expect to find something in the random checks earlier. Let's face it. You can be dead on in every round but unless you win, who cares? The guy going rounds by being dead on ought to get a lot of attention."

How does Ron Erks think he became involved in this? "I think that Bill Bader was trying to do the right thing but made a hasty judgment. He's making the wrong statement here if he's trying to stop the cheating. He may think that he's making an example of us, but if we were cheating why didn't someone just tear us down in the act last summer? Isn't that the way to stop it? By doing this, he's just trying to treat the symptom without actually curing the problem."

>>>>>END

Good stuff...

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--Medicated for your safety!!--

I remember that Edmond Richardson was supposed to have been leading that mob after the driver ran dead on against a red light or broken car without ever turning his head. I also remember someone saying that "mob" was the reason they didn't want to have their car torn down, that they packed up and left. Why would you not want your car torn down to prove that you had nothing, if you had nothing?

Much belated great story, Dan. I remember it, but have always been crappy with remembering names.

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I'm an optimist. My glass is 1/4 full, not 3/4 empty!

O.K so how old was Dave Connolly then. He really doesn't look to be older than maybe mid to late 20's now?

I see the date on Dan's story is only 7 years ago. There's plenty of 16 year olds driving bracket dragsters. I suppose it would still be up to the track how long to keep someone suspended, even if they were a minor listening to a parent say "Just keep the tach needle at 12 o'clock."

If you got spoiled on such an advantage, how would you go back to racing on an even field?

How mad would anyone be if they spent thousands of dollars towing, lodging, and racing all season to find out that it was basically being stolen from them? I'd be worried that I'd end up on a noose between two trailers.

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I'm an optimist. My glass is 1/4 full, not 3/4 empty!

I don't think it ever made it into print and I can't find those notes right now, but I remember talking to one of the racers involved.

He said he was totally willing to tear down, but only in a secured location. According to the racer, the demand was made to tear down while there were 50 to 100 irate racers stumbling around in his pit and the race organizer said no "barn" or secure location was available.

He told me he literally feared for his personal safety and that the scene was such a zoo there was no way to prevent someone from tampering with the stuff he WAS running.

I had the impression he was totally legal, but might have found a couple of angles he didn't want to display to the general public.

I guess it's easy for him to claim this after the fact, but I even now I clearly remember thinking the guy was on the level and would have gladly torn down inside his trailer or in a non-public area.

Take it for what it's worth.

I believe the 'suspension list' states that they were banned from IHRA racing. That has nothing to do with the track today since it is now NHRA.

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Jackee Allen-ProStockJunkie
"The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress." -- Joseph Joubert (1754-1824) French Philosopher

Ding, Ding, Ding........We have a winner!!!!!! Overwhelming point, Junkie!!

Late.............Mitch

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"We'll just put another engine in it. That's the way this game is played if you have to." Big Daddy Indy '86/ONFIRE '03

Totally agree. The position of the track now is just geography.

Baber is the track owner and not the sanctioning body owner.

IMHO it does not apply here. But if they show up at that new Mansfield track......oh wait.....there isn't one there.

Let's see Justin, kinda like the saying...Cheaters never prosper!!!

Most of that infamous list have done quite well since then, and I know it's gonna leave a bad taste in alot of Norwalk faithfull's mouths to see the them back on the grounds. Of course, those will be the same guy's with "IHRA and D*** proud of it" stickers on thier bumpers.

Lets see, Dave Connelly is one of the best ps drivers there are
His dad has been damn near unbeatable this year
Ron Erks is the depending National Champ in SC
not to mention the others who arent no ducks either

I'd say they came out of this deal ok. I am not saying they didnt do it, or they did, or if they still do but I just wish someone would either prove it or everyone would drop it.

Well how about this quote from Bill Bader Jr. "All we have said is that these twelve racers are not welcome at our track. The time to *****foot around this issue is over. Things like this really hurt the credibility of the sport. It was time to drop the hammer and make a statement." Bill Jr.

"It (the letter)simply said they were NO LONGER WELCOME to race at Norwalk Raceway Park or any Norwalk Raceway produced event for the duration of there life." Bill Jr.

Then Bill Sr. added his on words in stating "We needed these guys out of our lives and we did what we had to do." Bill Bader Sr.
All of these quotes were in an article written for Inside Motorsports.

My point is not about the dirty dozen themselves but how the Bader's have treated this whole deal since going NHRA. They act like it just never happened and want to say it was an IHRA problem and not there problem now that they have changed sanctions. When in reality it was a problem for drag racing as a whole. Not to mention the racers who support the track weekly, how will they feel now?

Just my .02 worth.

There's no doubt that some of those racers have proven their abilities, in what appear to be legal cars. But you always live with that stigma afterwards it seems.

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Greg Duffield
ACS Data Recovery
http://www.acsdata.com

Just to let everybody know they did tear down their cars back then and they found nothing. Dave and the guys spent all night putting their cars back together and the next day when they made a pass IHRA told them they were going to tear them down again. Basically the guys said, not unless you're going to help us put these cars back together again. IHRA said no way, so they got banned. Pretty cut and dry!!!