Zak
Nitro Member
Everyone should read this blog post from Thomas Pope of the Fayetteville Observer. He's one of the most respected motorsports journalist in the business.
Did somebody shoot me with a Taser? 'Cause I'm shocked
Something I find both egregious and unsettling came to light this week. Norwalk (Ohio) Raceway Park is jumping ship at the end of the year, leaving the International Hot Rod Association fold for the rival (and larger) NHRA.
I had never heard of Norwalk, period, until Gary Burgin's post-race Funny Car winner's interview at the 1980 U.S. Open Nationals at Rockingham. In it, he mentioned that the Norwalk track was coming aboard the IHRA national-event schedule the following year. Norwalk's been on the schedule ever since. The city of Norwalk has been IHRA's headquarters since Bill Bader Sr. bought the sanctioning body and relocated it from Bristol, Tenn., in February 1998. Bader was always been extremely - profanely sometimes, to make his point - proud of IHRA, and that it represented a contrast to the infinitely more corporate, starch-collared approach to the way that NHRA runs its business.
When I first got a whiff of Bader's plans to switch allegiances last weekend, I must admit the notion seemed so far-fetched, so completely unimaginable, that I figured my source was yanking my chain. That, I said, would be akin to Ronald Reagan joining the Communist Party. It was THAT kind of ridiculous, I thought - but it took just one e-mail to back up my source's information.
To put it mildly, I'm floored. (I'm typing this while on my back ... just kidding). Seriously, this is one of the most stunning things I've witnessed in almost 30 years covering racing. My first national-event drag race was the '78 U.S. Open at Rockingham, and I've been to IHRA races in Bristol, Darlington, Atlanta and Richmond through the years. I've been to NHRA races, too, and I've got no beef with those folks, I just feel more "at home" with the IHRA crowd, from the officials down to the sportsman-level racers.
Knowing the Bader family as I do, NHRA must have wagged one helluva financial carrot in their faces to make this move. The Baders are going to spend $4 million to upgrade an already great facility, and they wouldn't do that if they weren't 100 percent certain he could recoup that several times over. NHRA wanted a better venue than National Trail Raceway near Columbus, Ohio, and it's got one now. So, um, congratulations, y'all.
But I swear to you, if I were Bill Bader, senior or junior, I couldn't have done this; guess I don't have enough of a portfolio to appreciate what massive money can do for a man. I have a hard time imagining that anyone in the IHRA office in Norwalk will be able to separate "it's not personal" from "It's just business" either. Money doesn't buy friendship, and I'd rather have the latter than all the money in the world. Oh, the Baders will keep themselves busy tending to the facelift at the race track, but I'm thinking there are going to be a lot of long, cold winters in Norwalk, Ohio, from now on - and it won't be because of the icy winds blowing in from nearby Lake Erie.
Did somebody shoot me with a Taser? 'Cause I'm shocked
Something I find both egregious and unsettling came to light this week. Norwalk (Ohio) Raceway Park is jumping ship at the end of the year, leaving the International Hot Rod Association fold for the rival (and larger) NHRA.
I had never heard of Norwalk, period, until Gary Burgin's post-race Funny Car winner's interview at the 1980 U.S. Open Nationals at Rockingham. In it, he mentioned that the Norwalk track was coming aboard the IHRA national-event schedule the following year. Norwalk's been on the schedule ever since. The city of Norwalk has been IHRA's headquarters since Bill Bader Sr. bought the sanctioning body and relocated it from Bristol, Tenn., in February 1998. Bader was always been extremely - profanely sometimes, to make his point - proud of IHRA, and that it represented a contrast to the infinitely more corporate, starch-collared approach to the way that NHRA runs its business.
When I first got a whiff of Bader's plans to switch allegiances last weekend, I must admit the notion seemed so far-fetched, so completely unimaginable, that I figured my source was yanking my chain. That, I said, would be akin to Ronald Reagan joining the Communist Party. It was THAT kind of ridiculous, I thought - but it took just one e-mail to back up my source's information.
To put it mildly, I'm floored. (I'm typing this while on my back ... just kidding). Seriously, this is one of the most stunning things I've witnessed in almost 30 years covering racing. My first national-event drag race was the '78 U.S. Open at Rockingham, and I've been to IHRA races in Bristol, Darlington, Atlanta and Richmond through the years. I've been to NHRA races, too, and I've got no beef with those folks, I just feel more "at home" with the IHRA crowd, from the officials down to the sportsman-level racers.
Knowing the Bader family as I do, NHRA must have wagged one helluva financial carrot in their faces to make this move. The Baders are going to spend $4 million to upgrade an already great facility, and they wouldn't do that if they weren't 100 percent certain he could recoup that several times over. NHRA wanted a better venue than National Trail Raceway near Columbus, Ohio, and it's got one now. So, um, congratulations, y'all.
But I swear to you, if I were Bill Bader, senior or junior, I couldn't have done this; guess I don't have enough of a portfolio to appreciate what massive money can do for a man. I have a hard time imagining that anyone in the IHRA office in Norwalk will be able to separate "it's not personal" from "It's just business" either. Money doesn't buy friendship, and I'd rather have the latter than all the money in the world. Oh, the Baders will keep themselves busy tending to the facelift at the race track, but I'm thinking there are going to be a lot of long, cold winters in Norwalk, Ohio, from now on - and it won't be because of the icy winds blowing in from nearby Lake Erie.
