RICHARD
RICHARD
FREEMAN
FREEMAN
change the perception about the class?
At the end of the day, times have changed.
NHRA and the class said when we change the
rules from carburetors to fuel injection we may
take a step back before we take any steps forward.
I think that is kind of what we’ve seen and there’s
a reason for it. You’ve got to remember, there were
a lot of carburetors around, there were a lot of
manifolds around and a lot of engine components
around that if someone didn’t have their own
engine shop they would take some stuff from
other people’s shop and go out and race. When
they changed that rule, everybody kind of had to
start from scratch. I didn’t have extra components
and neither did the other teams. They were all
trying to work to build their program back where
it needed to be to be competitive.
I think we’re just now seeing that people like
myself and the Grays, we’re reaching out and
helping other people be able to do it on a part-
time basis, and get that program built back up.
But here’s the real story: they can talk about Top
Fuel and Funny Car and Pro Stock, and there is
a trend, as I would say.
Top Fuel and Funny
Car has stayed level
for, let’s just say, 15
years, at 16-19 cars. Pro
Stock has had a steady
decline from 30 cars to
use that as an average
to now 14 or 15. But
there’s one thing that
is the same – all three
of those classes, there’s
10-11 touring teams. So
when you look at it as
an overall, they’re in
the same boat. It’s not
just Pro Stock. Every-
body likes to point
right there, ‘Oh it’s Pro
Stock, they fell down,
there’s no competitors.’
That’s horseshit. It’s
not correct.
You have Don
Schumacher, John
Force, Connie Kalit-
ta, you have a private
team in the Torrences
who are doing real-
ly well, but you take
those three people that
I mentioned, there’s
9-10 (editor’s note – 16)
cars just in those teams
that are touring cars. If
you really look at it, Pro Stock is as good as any of
them. We just don’t have 16 cars at all the events
and they do.
Obviously there’s a lot of talk about Pro
Stock moving to 18 races next season. What
are your thoughts on that? Do you believe it’s
a good thing for the class?
I’ve had a lot of mixed emotions, a lot of mixed
feelings, and I’ve said to NHRA that for me, per-
sonally, cutting the schedule, for me, would help
me because I have a business and I have a family.
But I’m not for sure and I’m more leaning towards
(that) cutting the races is not good for the class.
If they just cut the races, I don’t think it’s going
to bring more cars and that’s what we’re talking
about. That’s what everybody is talking about.
If that is the direction the class is going,
at least for 2018, how can you turn it into
a positive?
One, I don’t think it’s forever. It would be some-
thing to see if it would help us rebuild our class.
Personally, back to what I said, I don’t know that
it’s a good move. Even though, for me, it would
probably be better, it’s probably not better for the
class. I just don’t have a warm and fuzzy feeling
about it, so, you know, I think the fans, for what-
ever races they would cut, they would not like it.
I did that the one year I skipped two races and I
got all kinds of people that were disappointed that
we didn’t show up and, to be honest with you, I
had never really thought about it. They brought
it to my attention and
in ‘15 we went to all of
them. So, I don’t have
a good answer for that.
I don’t think it’s prob-
ably the answer and I
don’t know that there
is one answer, so that’s
my opinion.
Certainly one of
the big talking points
is driver participa-
tion and car count.
How can that be im-
proved? Are there oth-
er issues at play that
tie into everything?
Well, there’s a cou-
ple of things we can do.
One, the teams can do
a better job of making
everything available.
The second thing is
more money, and no-
body wants to listen to
that. Our sport is one
of the only ones that
you cannot even pay
your way to the track
off of what you win.
Now, I’m not knock-
ing NHRA because I
know they’re working
diligently also, but the
positive in this is our
TV package is better, our ratings are up. There
are people noticing NHRA as a place that they
would like to park money, and I can say that from
my own personal (experience). I’ve got a sponsor
on the side of my car right now in Melling Per-
formance Parts who has spent a large amount of
their sponsor dollars or marketing dollars in the
round-track world over the years. They owned
“WE HAVE
TO TAKE IT
ONE STEP
AT A TIME
AND HAVE
EVERYONE
SWIMMING
IN THE SAME
DIRECTION.
WHEN PEOPLE
START
SWIMMING
AGAINST THE
CURRENT,
IT MAKES
IT VERY
DIFFICULT.”
78 | D r a g
I l l u s t r a t e d | DragIllustrated.com
their own (NASCAR) Cup team and they are on
the door of my car, and they are excited about
what they’ve seen over the last year and a half.
So there are some positives. The sponsor dollars,
that stuff has changed and we have to change
along with that. Social media is huge and TV is
still big, and we have to do a better job of that,
and the NHRA is trying, but that doesn’t happen
overnight. I think all the teams, instead of just
pointing fingers and blaming this or that, we all
need to, whether it’s Top Fuel or Funny Car or
Pro Stock or Pro Stock Motorcycle, band together
and do our part to make the sport great again.
You mentioned there are some things going
in the right direction and you’re a fan of EFI
and these new cars. What’s the next step in get-
ting this class to grow, whether it’s an infusion
of talent or something else?
I think the next step is allowing them to be
able to make that phone call and say, ‘Hey, what’s
it cost to rent a motor? What’s it cost to rent a
car?’ And I have all of those. Jeg Coughlin is a
guy that shows up and drives. Alex Laughlin, they
own their own car, they rent a motor and we help
them with the car. So, there is a variety of ways to
do it, but just make it where people aren’t scared
to make that call, and when they do make that
call, make it where it’s somewhat affordable and
where they can do it, whether it’s five times a year
or 24. We personally at Elite Motor Performance,
we have an arsenal of engines that can support
five teams as far as the engines go. I am doing
some things right now that I think is a little out
there. I’m going to build a new trailer that’s going
to go in the center that I can actually run four
cars – two on one side, two on the other – and the
center trailer will be more of a command center.
We’re going to make it where if somebody wants
to rent the whole deal they can. To be honest with
you, for what has been done in the past, it will
be reasonable.
I know you’re passionate about making this
work and Pro Stock holds a special place for
you. What’s your vision of not only getting
Pro Stock turned around, but also starting to
prosper again?
Whether Pro Stock is alive or not, we’re going
to race. Like I’ve told people before, I don’t have
to do this, I want to do this. I like it. I like the
people, I like the competition. The competition
of Pro Stock is like no other. It’s fierce and we’ve
struggled as a team for the last year and a half,
and people would say, ‘Why would you even do
that?’ Well, there is a drive behind it and we love
what we do. I love my team and I love my people.
There’s no quit in them – none. We do it a little
bit differently than anybody else, but we just like
what we do. My brother runs Top Sportsman,
we’re involved in all kinds of sportsman stuff –
that’s where we come from. We’re involved in a
lot of different things, but we love Pro Stock and
we’re going to do everything we can, personally,
to help make it back where it needs to be. My
personal goal is not 30 cars. My personal goal is,
if we can have 16-20 cars at every event, I would
be happy with it. If I can help five teams full-
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