#someone please sponsor him and get him into F3 next season

[gardenofadonis]

Roman getting P9 and P7 on his first race weekend since having a serious vertebrae injury is so iconic. My GOAT

[kkmotorsports]

2017 - The Season Is Here

It’s hard this time of year to decide on a topic to write about. There are literally dozens of things that have happened and unfolded since we last spoke. Over the next few “Quick Takes” I’m going to briefly touch on as many as possible. 

This first topic might take a few paragraphs though. The term “sportsman”; what does Sportsman mean in today's NHRA or any other Drag Racing organization?

I recently watched the IMSA Rolex 24 hours of Daytona. Four classes of cars all racing on the same track for 24 hours. Once you got to know and understand the different classes it was very exciting and enjoyable to watch. Not once when the television media described the race teams or racing classes did I hear the term “Sportsman”.

I also enjoy NASCAR Racing. On almost any weekend you can enjoy the Cup Cars, Xfinity Cars, and Camping World Trucks. Once again I have never heard any team competing in any of those series’s referred to as a “Sportsman” team by a writer or broadcaster.   

I love F1 racing. I believe it is the pinnacle of automotive technology on display. Never will you hear F1 and/or any of it’s feeder series: GP2, F3, Formula Renault,...etc. referred to as sportsman racers. These are serious racers racing different cars, but the money & time to build a winning franchise is serious business. From the early Karting stages of younsters to the GP2 series, those on the inside of the journey say you will spend a minimum of 8 million dollars to get to F1 if you start early, have the talent, determination, grit, and yes the money.    

But what about Drag Racing? Many in the media use the term Sportsman Racer. But where did it come from? Lets take a brief look at that and why it no longer applies and even hurts the sport. 

In the beginning’s of Drag Racing there were a few teams in the Nitro AFX (Funny Cars) and Fuel Dragster categories that had some help paying the bills. These were charismatic guys and gals that had good running cars to back-stop their talk & personalities. Also, the Super Stockers - or what would become the Pro Stock class had the popularity and factory support to race for somewhat of a living. 

These very successful and innovative teams created personality clashes and the factory wars. It was the perfect storm of horse power, loud noise, fast cars, pretty girls and even the occasional spectacular wreck. Racers with actual personalities with their own cars racing on their money. They had true rivalries and were going head to head on a weekly bases at a track near you. Actually, some of these teams really didn’t like each other and weren't afraid to say it. The fast growing and eye catching young sport had what it took to keep fans and the few sponsors very happy. These were called the professionals of the sport. These were the guys and gals you saw on ABC Wide World of Sports 2 or 3 times a year or a little later on the American Sports Calvalcade. 

But drag racing has many categories and dozens of classes in those categories. So, what do we call them? Well, lets just call them sportsman racers.

That model stayed true until a few very important developments started to emerge in the late 80′s and early 90′s. The paid crew, the paid crew chief, the semi rigs, the hospitality tents, the one off parts few could make, the rare materials even fewer could afford. 

No longer was your favorite racer controlling all aspects of his operation. The evil dollar had taken a hold of a once “everyone is invited” sport. No longer was the Gas Class or modified Production racer dreaming of racing pro stock. He peered inside of the big trailers and saw titanium chassis brackets which tied up thousands of dollars. He heard of the hundreds of dino pulls that he knew he could never compete with on the bases of time, technology, or money. 

The wild eyed nitro want-a-be wasn’t in a good way either. No longer was a couple of engines good enough. Teams were coming to the track with box-trucks full of noting but short blocks and long blocks. It had become true “disposable” racing. It was now more important to find someone to pay for the damage rather than just keep it together and not hurt it. 

The post-modern Drag Racing that we live in today had begun. So what did the so called sportsman racer do? He made his living with sportsman racing. The once thought of Sportsman classes: Stock, Super Stock, Super Gas, Super Comp, Comp Eliminator, ....etc., became the new much more affordable professional classes for many racers. Multi-Car & Multi-Class teams of racers emerged. 3 or even 5 car teams that were well funded, well equipped, and well traveled. Multi talented drivers and teams that were the best of the best in many categories. They set out to do what was reasonable and more important “do-able”. Have a plan, assemble a team, attract sponsors, and dominate as many races as they could. And, for many it worked. They became full time professional drag racers in classes that had never seen that kind of racer before. The “Sportsman” racer in Drag Racing was gone. Every class was gobbled up by the multi-car team professionals.  

Drag Racing in all it forms had moved into the professional ranks. You now find professional racers in every category of every sanctioning body in the sport. If you doubt me then you haven’t been to a NHRA National Event lately. These teams are serious. For many this is their livelihood. These guys and gals aren’t out there just to grill and have a good time with friends. This is business!...and like it or not, that’s the way it is. 

Alcohol racing is no different. When we started, and even today there are serious professional teams. None better than Frank Manzo before his retirement a couple years ago. If you showed up thinking he was there to grill some burgers and have a grand ole time you were quickly dispatched to spectator status. You could catch him now and then with a temperamental car, and take the trophy from him but not often. We did that on occasion and when we did we knew we had beaten the best there ever was at TAFC racing. 

I’m getting a little long here so I’ll wrap this up by saying, “I have no interest in racing the nitro classes. It’s disposable racing, its stab and steer, and I’m not interested. In the Alcohol classes Cars & Drivers matter. It works because the parts are very good, the automation is limited, and drivers really have to be sharp at making a bad run - a winning run. Watching these guys wind these cars to 7,000rpm + and dumping the clutch all the while cutting psychic type reaction times is just cool!  

We are paid by SK Professional Tools, Unkers Therapeutic Products, CTECH Manufacturing, and other great companies to the advertise and market their brands and products using the Alcohol Classes. Right now the international excitement around the Top Alcohol Funny Car Class is second to none. The performance per dollar spent is second to none. The excitement it generates is a great value to businesses that get involved. 

The TAFC class gets faster and more exciting by the week. The rule changes implemented years ago are working. The class is fast, it’s healthy, and provides great bang for the marketing dollar to corporate america. 5.40′s at 270 MPH in the quarter mile with no clutch automation - that ain’t sportsman racing. 

So announcers and media types of all kinds - Please stop using the term “sportsman”. The term is meaningless, it doesn’t fit, it sounds cheap, and hurts Drag Racing’s credibility in many ways! You are giving Corporate America a reason not to take Drag Racing as serious as other forms of Motorsports. Corporate america listens very closely. Stop giving them a reason not to look this way with serious money. It’s called the Lucas oil Series for a reason. They pay for you to call it that!  

See you at the track in Gainesville......