Counterweight
OF DRAG
STA★TE
SPECI AL ISSUE ★
dragillustrated.com
SPECIAL REPORT
Taking a
Look at
Drag
Racing
in 2016
State of Drag
Being that Stevie Jackson is
brilliant, hilarious, honest and
a Republican, I say we write his
name in on the ballot next time
they have an election for the ruler
of the drag racing world. Especially
if he’ll make bullhorn-style headers
mandatory on nitrous Pro Mods like
Jeff Pierce says.
Derrick Sizemore, via the Internet
You know what surprised me
about the State of Drag roundtable? How much sense Leah Pritchett
makes. Not that I’m surprised it’s
her that makes sense, I guess, it’s
just that I’m surprised she’s so bold
in saying the things she thinks and
that she’s willing to acknowledge
that the math involved with prolevel drag racing doesn’t work in
2016. NHRA is taking steps the
right direction considering their
new relationship with FOX, but is
that enough to deliver the ROI necessary to see new, non-automotive
companies on the sides of Top Fuel
dragsters and Funny Cars?
Vin Franks, via the Internet
[EDITOR-IN-CHIEF WES
BUCK REPLIES: Good question,
Vin, and I have to agree that I was
thrilled to see such open and hon-
12 | D r a g
est answers from
our participants.
I think that’s one
of the biggest
challenges facing professional
drag racing
right now. I
don’t know that
I have answer
for you as of
yet, but I, like
you, feel steps
are being taken
to dramatically improve
the value of
a primary
sponsorship
with a NHRA
drag racing
team.]
Stevie Jackson is a genius.
Can you guys just do an interview
with him in every issue you print?
You’d sell so many subscriptions you
would annihilate the rain forest in
a year or so.
Chris Gross, via the Internet
After reading Ron Capps’ massively compelling responses, I have
to say that it’d be nice to see him win
the 2016 NHRA Funny Car world
championship. He’s the real deal,
and I’m tired of seeing him as the
bridesmaid.
Barry Duncan, via the Internet
Surprised to see such truth
printed anywhere. Steve Jackson
has a lot of great ideas and I completely agree that political correctness is a problem at all levels and all
facets of life and our world. It’s most
assuredly going to ruin America,
and I’d hate to see it damage the
sport of drag racing any further. Just
about every time there has been a
worthwhile storyline in drag racing – most recently and perhaps
most famously the John Force-Tony
Pedregon feud – NHRA has done
everything in their power to throw
water on it. I don’t understand that
logic. Wasn’t it a fight in the infield
that catapulted stock car racing into
the mainstream? Obviously, that’s
a bit of a tired example and I’m
definitely crying over spilt milk at
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this point, but it sure does seem like
NHRA doesn’t get it. I keep trying to
give the guys in Glendora a chance
– especially these new ones – but it’s
hard to have faith at this point.
Ron Jennings, via the Internet
Pro Stock Pain
It’s over. Let’s quit wasting
pages in a generally great magazine
on something that has been beaten
completely to death. Pro Stock was
awesome at one point in time, but
it’s been over for a while. Move on.
Eric Mifflin, via the Internet
Pro Stock’s biggest problem is
that guys like Warren Johnson and
Larry Morgan aren’t still in the mix.
In my opinion, despite not being super young and hip guys, they were
the kind of straight shooters that
kept things interesting even when
the racing itself was a little stale.
Now that those characters are out
of the mix and the cars look like
they’re on a Sunday drive, well, it’s
a real uphill battle.
Aaron Ackeret, via the Internet
I think we can all agree that
fuel injection and flat hoods were
never going to be a viable solution
to the Pro Stock problem. I’d like
to know what is…what is? Do you
guys have any ideas? What could
be done at this point to inject some
excitement into Pro Stock?
Rob Smyth, via Facebook
[EDITOR-IN-CHIEF WES
BUCK REPLIES: Tough spot.
The problem is that everyone is
so heavily invested that changing directions will be like moving
a mountain. I’m of the opinion
that finding a way to reduce costs
associated with racing Pro Stock
is the first step, and the easiest
thing to do would be to run them
at fewer races. I’m convinced that
going to 12-14 races would help
dramatically. No sort of instant
fix, but halving the number of
races would be a start. We could
likely fill an entire issue with
ideas/thoughts/commentary on
solving the Pro Stock problem –
and, matter of fact, we might just
do that. Thanks!]
NHRA on FOX
Thrilled to see NHRA move on
from ESPN, but I’m literally blown
away that the coverage is so similar.
Why waste this chance for a fresh
start? The only changes I’m noticing are almost awkward. Why do
we call every round the ‘finals’ and
what happened to the burnouts?
They hardly show burnouts anymore. WTF?
Martin Burbank, via the Internet
As the
Radial Rolls
Will Lights Out 8 be anything
like Lights Out 7? I think it’s safe
to say that even the promoters and
people directly involved know that
this deal is on the downhill. Drag
radial racing cannot maintain this
upward trajectory.
Harold Norvell, via the Internet
[EDITOR-IN-CHIEF WES
BUCK REPLIES: Absolutely.
$100,000-to-win changes everything. Had the purse remained the
same or returned to somewhere
near normal, I’d say you might
have an argument, but so long as
Donald Long is handing someone a cool 100K down in South
Georgia next February, I think it’s
safe to assume the place will once
again be a zoo. That’s not to say
that injecting this kind of money
into the radial scene will be 100%
positive. It won’t be. There will certainly be casualties and a whole
new world of issues, but Lights
Out 8 will be a happening. That’s
my take.]
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Issue 112