Hillary Will says she's "done with pro racing" in new podcast (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter john
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force fan
Nitro Member
Ummm...Del didn't "lose" his seat, he chose to retire. Get your facts straight
Don't beleave everything you read. Would he have retired if he had not lost his seat?
DrRocket
Nitro Member
Why wouldn't he? Why do you all have SUCH a hard time believing him when he says he's had enough? Why NOT leave while you're on top?? Why wait until you're seriously jumping the shark, like Richard Petty did? Do you have inside information? Were you present while he was discussing this with his family?
Also, I do not believe it to be a coincidence that he announced his retirement shortly after the death of Dan Wheldon. I'm guessing that many households that are involved with racing had some serious discussions after that, expecially if children are present in those households.
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Yes, it was blown alcohol, not injected nitro, and alky whiz Bucky Austin called the shots on the setup.
I was hoping it is just frustration at the moment. Her latest blog says goodbye though
Hillary Will, Top Fuel driver
Hillary Will, Top Fuel driver
Rollout96
Nitro Member
The podcast seemed like just an emotional gut-wrenching over reaction. the blog is very even keeled and well thought out. I applaud her for a very nice goodbye. Very classy I think.
My mistake I did not realise there was a blown car aswell, either way there is an ex Hillary Will Afueler in NZ.
Walter
Nitro Member
One rumor floating about is that there was a difference of opinion between car owners and driver on a driving/shutdown sequence. In these disagreements, owners always win out.
This is just the way it is in many types of racing. There are too many qualified shoes for too few seats in the pro ranks today. Money, family ties, sponsor relationships, & age/target market demographics make the difference in many cases. After all, for most it is a business and funding does make the monkey dance.
There are a lot of folks with great skill that will never get to drive a nitro car down the track at all.
Sad to see her out of a ride...
This is just the way it is in many types of racing. There are too many qualified shoes for too few seats in the pro ranks today. Money, family ties, sponsor relationships, & age/target market demographics make the difference in many cases. After all, for most it is a business and funding does make the monkey dance.
There are a lot of folks with great skill that will never get to drive a nitro car down the track at all.
Sad to see her out of a ride...
Since Hillbillery is all of 5'2". And 100 lbs, I'm guessing the new driver is a small person!
If that is the case, (Old Habits are hard to break). I'm sure that is
the way Jim O and Scott had taught her to shut down. And with the
limited amount of runs she made on this car it may have just been a
learning curve.
I'm sad to see her go.
Anther interesting thread that demands a response.
Let’s start with the al Anabi situation. Del Worsham appears to have voluntarily retired to become a tuner, so suggesting he was fired is very likely inaccurate. Further, from just having completed a feature story on Alexis DeJoria for Drag Racing Action, and from having spoken extensively with Del prior to and just after his retirement, I believe he’d been planning on stepping out for some time.
One of the posters suggested that Del may have retired partially as a result of Dan Wheldon’s death, and based on my conversations with Del, I dispute that suggestion in the strongest terms possible.
Larry Dixon’s situation does appear to have been different, but the only people who know the details of that are Alan Johnson, Sheik Khalid and Larry Dixon. Anything on the subject posted here is mere conjecture.
Let’s also understand that Larry didn’t seek this ride, they came to him, and as someone here has already pointed out, it’s the car owner’s decision as to who drives for him (or her!). It is grossly unfair to pillory Larry for something he had nothing whatsoever to do with (Full disclosure: I am good friends with Larry, but that is NOT influencing what I’ve written here.). If he had been making calls to the car owner, suggesting he’d do a better job than Hillary, and we knew that to be a fact, then maybe we’d be justified in attacking him, but that’s not the case.
There is another situation that I’m aware of that has apparently impacted Ms. Will’s relationship with the team owners, as has been suggested by another poster. I think that situation is relevant, but until all the facts are known I won’t speculate.
I personally like Hillary and hope she gets over this disappointment and continues to seek another ride.
One thing we all need to remember is that there are far more qualified drivers than there are cars, so in the natural course of events drivers we think are good are going to be displaced by others. Sometimes those new drivers will get the ride by bringing money, while in other instances they’ll get the ride because of their reputations. It may not be fair, but that’s how things work.
Regarding how owners differ from drivers in opinions about driving, the late, great Pat Foster used to say that when Barry Setzer owned the car his mantra was to drive it out the back door on every run. Setzer didn’t care about blown engines because he could afford new ones. Of course, it wasn’t his ass on fire in the car!
Jon Asher
Senior Editor
CompetitionPlus.com
Let’s start with the al Anabi situation. Del Worsham appears to have voluntarily retired to become a tuner, so suggesting he was fired is very likely inaccurate. Further, from just having completed a feature story on Alexis DeJoria for Drag Racing Action, and from having spoken extensively with Del prior to and just after his retirement, I believe he’d been planning on stepping out for some time.
One of the posters suggested that Del may have retired partially as a result of Dan Wheldon’s death, and based on my conversations with Del, I dispute that suggestion in the strongest terms possible.
Larry Dixon’s situation does appear to have been different, but the only people who know the details of that are Alan Johnson, Sheik Khalid and Larry Dixon. Anything on the subject posted here is mere conjecture.
Let’s also understand that Larry didn’t seek this ride, they came to him, and as someone here has already pointed out, it’s the car owner’s decision as to who drives for him (or her!). It is grossly unfair to pillory Larry for something he had nothing whatsoever to do with (Full disclosure: I am good friends with Larry, but that is NOT influencing what I’ve written here.). If he had been making calls to the car owner, suggesting he’d do a better job than Hillary, and we knew that to be a fact, then maybe we’d be justified in attacking him, but that’s not the case.
There is another situation that I’m aware of that has apparently impacted Ms. Will’s relationship with the team owners, as has been suggested by another poster. I think that situation is relevant, but until all the facts are known I won’t speculate.
I personally like Hillary and hope she gets over this disappointment and continues to seek another ride.
One thing we all need to remember is that there are far more qualified drivers than there are cars, so in the natural course of events drivers we think are good are going to be displaced by others. Sometimes those new drivers will get the ride by bringing money, while in other instances they’ll get the ride because of their reputations. It may not be fair, but that’s how things work.
Regarding how owners differ from drivers in opinions about driving, the late, great Pat Foster used to say that when Barry Setzer owned the car his mantra was to drive it out the back door on every run. Setzer didn’t care about blown engines because he could afford new ones. Of course, it wasn’t his ass on fire in the car!
Jon Asher
Senior Editor
CompetitionPlus.com
Cristen Powell walked away and at last report, was enjoying her life to the fullest. It's been awhile since hearing or reading anything about her so nothing current to know any different.
I'm wishing Hillary well in whatever her future employment is. It appears she will still be in touch with the sport so, who knows what the future may bring to her doorstep.
She still got to do something I never will.
Congrats Hillary, and God Bless.
I'm wishing Hillary well in whatever her future employment is. It appears she will still be in touch with the sport so, who knows what the future may bring to her doorstep.
She still got to do something I never will.
Congrats Hillary, and God Bless.
DrRocket
Nitro Member
That poster was me. It was speculation on my part, based somewhat on the timing of those events. You have much more insider info on that than me Jon, so I'll quit making that speculation.
The jist of my post was that some here CANNOT bring themselves to believe that ANYONE in their right mind would walk away from a fuel ride unless somehow forced to, and I was challenging that idea.
d'kid
Nitro Member
cant blame people for being suspicious about Del’s departure, i cant remember a young driver ever walking away from his ride in his prime, plus his teammate also getting canned, and the topper, instead of retiring he just moved to another team.
DrRocket
Nitro Member
d'kid
Nitro Member
Why Not, He and his father spent about a year and a half training Alexis, Connie wanted Del to get out of the seat, he had nothing else to prove behind the butterflies... I think it was a win/win for Del...
d'kid
He first win was IHRA World NationalsOh my gosh, what a heartbreaker.
As far as being marketable, she's an awesome person. I've met her at the track and you couldn't find a nicer driver and she's great with the fans. Very nice looking, not that it should matter, but this is an image selling world we live in. She doesn't have 3 championships though. I guess that's the difference.
As far as Larry, I'm tentatively happy he's back, but I would have rather seen him with his own team "Larry Dixon Racing." BUT, before anyone gangs up on him, remember, he's a "racer" and when you're called to duty, you're there. Welcome back Larry. You've been missed !!!
Hillary, you'll be missed !!!
qualified17th
Nitro Member
Holy thread resurrection...
