I’ve been thinking about this for some time, so I thought I’d put my musings down on paper.  Will drag racing go the way of other sports where it’s all about money?  Can loyalty to friends and teammates win over going with the highest bidder?  Do we still share a passion for what we do, or has it become just a job?     

When we were kids, we took every chance to get together with our friends to play baseball, football or basketball at the local park or street corner.  Not because we thought we could make any money but because we could be with our friends, doing what we loved to do.  We played Little League or Pop Warner, not for the pizza or ice cream we might get after the game, but because we loved what we did. We played high school sports for the same reason and wore our lettermen’s jackets to show we were proud of what we did and who our friends were. It was the same if you were in a car club or a band. Now we hear of professional athletes who are already making $10 million a year who want out of their contracts, not to be with friends or even have a better chance of winning, but so they can make another million dollars a year.  How much is too much money, and where is the love of the game?

Drag racing began with the love of cars. We enjoyed being with people with the same interests. When racing became too expensive, and more work, we formed teams with our friends to continue doing what we loved.  We knew everything about our crews because they were our friends. When we went out of town to race, we slept five in a room and ate hot dogs, but none of that mattered because we were with our friends and got to do what we loved doing. It was the way it had to be. Now we have teams that are so big, some owners don’t know their crew guys names or even what their jobs are. The only thing we require of a crew guy now is unbelievably long hours of work, leaving their families for long periods of time, and no mistakes. If they leave or get fired, oh well. They can be replaced.

Funny Car Veteran Gary Densham Offers Some Thoughts On The Current And Future State of Drag Racing 

I’ve been thinking about this for some time, so I thought I’d put my musings down on paper.  Will drag racing go the way of other sports where it’s all about money?  Can loyalty to friends and teammates win over going with the highest bidder?  Do we still share a passion for what we do, or has it become just a job?     

When we were kids, we took every chance to get together with our friends to play baseball, football or basketball at the local park or street corner.  Not because we thought we could make any money but because we could be with our friends, doing what we loved to do.  We played Little League or Pop Warner, not for the pizza or ice cream we might get after the game, but because we loved what we did. We played high school sports for the same reason and wore our lettermen’s jackets to show we were proud of what we did and who our friends were. It was the same if you were in a car club or a band. Now we hear of professional athletes who are already making $10 million a year who want out of their contracts, not to be with friends or even have a better chance of winning, but so they can make another million dollars a year.  How much is too much money, and where is the love of the game?

Drag racing began with the love of cars. We enjoyed being with people with the same interests. When racing became too expensive, and more work, we formed teams with our friends to continue doing what we loved.  We knew everything about our crews because they were our friends. When we went out of town to race, we slept five in a room and ate hot dogs, but none of that mattered because we were with our friends and got to do what we loved doing. It was the way it had to be. Now we have teams that are so big, some owners don’t know their crew guys names or even what their jobs are. The only thing we require of a crew guy now is unbelievably long hours of work, leaving their families for long periods of time, and no mistakes. If they leave or get fired, oh well. They can be replaced.

How much is enough? John Force owns some of the nicest street rods and motorcycles in the country, but I have never seen him drive one.  He owns a beautiful home in Lake Tahoe where he gets to spend a few days a year with his family, only the girls are now old enough to want to be with boyfriends more than Dad. The only place he seems happy is at the racetrack, racing. We all hated to see him by the sidelines at Vegas and Indy. But John, if you had one less car, you would have been able to play with the rest of us.

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I know most of the people in our sport feel the way I do. Jim Dunn, in a recent article in “National Dragster,” said he’d stop doing this when he died. We love doing what we do. It’s our lives. 

Robert Hight is a perfect example. He is one of the hardest working and probably most underpaid drivers out there. He can and will do anything on the car that needs to be done at the races and then goes back and works 12-hour days at the shop, putting up with John’s moods.  But, you know he wouldn’t change a thing because he gets to work with Jimmy Prock and drive a bad-fast hot rod.

I had a friend in high school, Ron Yary. We played football together and his love of the game sparked him to be a three year All-American at USC and a pro with the Vikings. After his first season, I asked how he liked all that money (he was paid $18,000 a season). He said it was great, but the best thing was that he got to play football every week. He’s now in the NFL Hall of Fame after being a 12-time All-Pro.  Although a California boy, he played in Minnesota—I’m sure he could have moved during those years or even gone to another team for more money, but he liked his team. When our hometown stadium was named after him, I asked him, after all these years, did he ever make any money?  He said not like the kids of today, but he did okay. His parting words were, “I’d give it all back if I could put on the pads and play again.” 

Are there drag racers who feel the same?  Yes, you see them at all the national events. We have even started nostalgia events for them to drive again or experience races as they knew them (And by the way, those cars on 98% nitro still sounds better than ours do today!).

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We are lucky that we are in a sport where our careers are not over by age 40.  We can drive and tune for decades more. John Force’s career didn’t really start until he was nearly 40. I did not win my first national event until I was 50. Chris Karamesines is still driving at age---well, all we know for sure, he is over 70!

Should we be better paid as a sport? Do our attendance figures warrant more publicity? Are we not the best value for advertising bucks out there? You betcha.  But when that becomes the driving force (forgive the pun) for our sport, then we have lost the passion, the fun, the camaraderie, the thrills that have made our sport what it has become.

If a driver or tuner is in a position to have a private jet fly him to and from races in order to spend more time with friends and family or is able to get more to support his family, then good for him.  Family is of the utmost importance. But, drag racing provides a second family for all of us. Remember the all night drives, five in a room, and the hot dogs and all the fun that was. It was fun because it gave us the opportunity to be with friends and do what we love to do. When our sport becomes so corporate that we are merely pawns to the money brokers, expendable in our jobs, then we cease to have friends and I’m afraid the passion will also be leached from us. When one-car-team owners are saying that to exist, they will have to join a mega team to stay in the race, something is wrong.  Tony Schumacher won multiple championships with a one-car team. Do I think John Force and Austin Coil could win another championship without a multi-car team?  Yes, I do. Single car teams are the last outposts of friendships and passion---the places where fun is still part of the game.

I get up every morning and thank God for Evan Knoll and Marty Yacoobian, two men who still have faith in me. They are two men who value friends, family, and the passion of drag racing.

Remember, the money is not important until you run out.  When you can no longer race with your friends, be with your crew who are family, or race competitively, then you realize just how much is enough.