Counterweight
Feedback , Friendly Notes , & Hate Mail
Outlaws Out Front
Excellent article by Ainsley Jacobs on “ Nova Joe ” Albrecht and his path to victory at Lights Out 8 [“ Hard Work Pays Off ,” RS 119 ]. For a lot of us , it ’ s nice to get a little reminder from time to time that the hard work , sacrifices made and investment of time and money required to go drag racing can ultimately be worth it . Excellent work ! Bobby Ross , Burbank , California
Can ’ t stress enough how important it is that these young men and women we are more and more frequently seeing behind the wheel of big power , crazy fast race cars have a strong mechanical understanding of how the vehicle they ’ re driving works . It ’ s absolutely fantastic to know that “ Nova Joe ” is not only young and motivated , but he ’ s a knowledgeable and talented fabricator . You guys pegged this guy a winner in the 30 Under 30 issue and - clearly - you were correct !
David Pacheco , via the Internet
What ’ s Next ?
Thrilled with your radial coverage , especially Radial vs . World , but I have to ask where is this class headed ? If it wasn ’ t out of control a couple years ago , it ’ s upside down and on fire right now - and that isn ’ t meant to be a negative comment , only to illustrate the insanity of this class right now . It was only a few years ago that guys like Kevin Mullins were getting major-league press from DI for a string of low 4-second passes and now you couldn ’ t qualify for a 32-car field with those numbers . I know that Donald “ Duck ” Long has spoken candidly ( on the pages of your magazine , matter of fact ) as to these heads up classes all having something of a lifecycle , and I guess I ’ m just curious as to where you guys see it . The money that is being spent to compete at the highest level in this category , according to the people I talk to , would likely rival or at least closely compare to that of NHRA Pro Mod . That ’ s unreal . The real question is probably , how much is left on this fuse ?
Eugene Knapp , via the Internet
[ EDITOR-IN-CHIEF WES BUCK REPLIES : I don ’ t think you ’ re totally out of line with your thoughts , Eugene , but I think this radial movement has plenty of life left in it . As long as Donald Long is able to keep stirring the pot , keep people interested and excited , I believe his events will continue to grow or at least maintain . I do think that all these heads up categories have something of an
The Outlaw Issue
212.69
MARK WOODRUFF KNOCKS DOWN THE SCOREBOARDS IN SOUTH GEORGIA
The Arrival
‘ STEVIE FAST ’ JACKSON MAKES A SPLASH IN NHRA DEBUT
Lyle Barnett Can ’ t Be Stopped
Eric Latino Sets the Pace in Pro Mod
LIL ’ COUNTRY SCOTTY G DEAN MARINIS
expiration date , but it feels very fluid , almost ever-changing . My fear has always been rising payouts bringing a slew of bigger and bigger budget teams into the fold , but it would certainly appear that a lot of the usual suspects - even a few that admittedly race on a limited budget - remain frontrunners , and that ’ s got to be a good thing . I ’ m still waiting for a bunch of top-tier PDRA Pro Extreme , Pro Nitrous or Pro Boost cars to strap on a set of Mickey Thompson 315-series radials and get involved , but for whatever reason it hasn ’ t happened yet - and that ’ s probably a good thing . Thank you for writing !]
Rock Bottom ?
Not sure how the rest of the drag racing community feels , but I believe Pro Stock hit rock bottom at the recently completed NHRA Spring Nationals in Houston . Just 13 cars were on the property and while the field was pretty tight , it really felt sad - maybe for the first time , at least for me . I think it was the first time I kinda took a step back and said , ‘ Wow , Pro Stock is in real trouble .’ I suppose you could argue that they rebounded with at least a
Joe Albrecht
ON RADIAL RACING ’ S BIGGEST NIGHT , ONE MAN STOOD TALL dragillustrated . com
full field ( 17 cars ) in Charlotte , but I still believe we ’ re far beyond “ the writing is on the wall ” - Pro Stock is a proverbial dead man walking . You can ’ t help but feel for all the guys that are so heavily invested in this class , but is there not a point of like making matters worse ? How can anyone feel good about continuing down this path ? Stop the bleeding ? Maybe ?
David Williams , Grand Rapids , Michigan
Read a book recently that talked about quitting , and how that sometimes it ’ s OK to quit . It feels like we ’ ve reached that point with NHRA Pro Stock . There ’ s a time to stick it out , and there ’ s a time to throw in the towel and it would appear that the real challenge is to know the difference . Is there truly a future for NHRA ’ s once fan-favorite factory hot rod eliminator ? There may be , but it is this humble reader ’ s opinion that it cannot and will not happen without something approaching a complete reboot . I ’ m talking steel roof and quarters , perhaps some sort of factory crate engine program , or at least a current production engine , 10-inch slicks , no wheelie bars ? Of course , nobody is going to be completely satisfied with whatever the future of the class looks like and starting from scratch is a far cry from ideal , but it ’ s hard to envision any other possible solution .
Hector Romano , via the Internet
[ EDITOR-IN-CHIEF WES BUCK REPLIES : I ’ m not saying there is an instant fix , but I will tell you this - reducing the schedule for NHRA Pro Stock would help A LOT . Pulling the Pro Stock schedule back from 24 to say 18 races ( or 14 ) would no doubt have a significant impact on car count and , in my opinion , sponsor involvement . It ’ s my opinion that very little of this heads up drag racing stuff makes financial sense , but there are people out there that ’ d jump into the fray if the schedule and monumental dollarfigure attached to Pro Stock was even moderately reduced . I know there are several race teams that struggle to secure sponsorships because the return on investment simply isn ’ t there - it simply costs too much to be involved at a high level . You may be right that a complete reboot is required , but I believe a schedule reduction will have a positive impact .]
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12 | Drag Illustrated | DragIllustrated . com Issue 120