UP FRONT - ITS TIME FOR A COMPLETE HOUSE CLEANING AT NHRA

The embarrassment that was the Summitracing.com Nationals in Las Vegas should be placed directly where the blame belongs – at the doorstep of the National Hot Rod Association. The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway is completely blameless for the fiasco, particularly after track management reportedly informed NHRA that they had already scraped the track, but NHRA went ahead and scraped it again anyway. The NHRA not only owes track owner Bruton Smith a sincere apology, they owe the same apology to Summit Racing Equipment, their other sponsors, the competitors and, most of the all, to the fans who paid good money to see a lousy show.

Compounding an already disastrous weekend was NHRA’s bumbling of the announcement of the $100,000 fine levied against Don Schumacher for an alleged fuel violation. Rather than wait until Tuesday, when the media would have been scattered to the winds, and getting reactions from Schumacher and Graham Light would have been problematical, the announcement was made Sunday afternoon, resulting in a media feeding frenzy. That was further compounded by Light’s reported less-then-professional statement during the event telecast Sunday night.

While we’ve heard cooler heads were advising holding off any announcement, Light was apparently adamant about its immediate importance, forcing us to ask, Was this about a real issue, or was it more about Light being desirous of demonstrating his own power and importance?

The embarrassment that was the Summitracing.com Nationals in Las Vegas should be placed directly where the blame belongs – at the doorstep of the National Hot Rod Association. The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway is completely blameless for the fiasco, particularly after track management reportedly informed NHRA that they had already scraped the track, but NHRA went ahead and scraped it again anyway. The NHRA not on

ly owes track owner Bruton Smith a sincere apology, they owe the same apology to Summit Racing Equipment, their other sponsors, the competitors and, most of the all, to the fans who paid good money to see a lousy show.

Compounding an already disastrous weekend was NHRA’s bumbling of the announcement of the $100,000 fine levied against Don Schumacher for an alleged fuel violation. Rather than wait until Tuesday, when the media would have been scattered to the winds, and getting reactions from Schumacher and Graham Light would have been problematical, the announcement was made Sunday afternoon, resulting in a media feeding frenzy. That was further compounded by Light’s reported less-then-professional statement during the event telecast Sunday night.

While we’ve heard cooler heads were advising holding off any announcement, Light was apparently adamant about its immediate importance, forcing us to ask, Was this about a real issue, or was it more about Light being desirous of demonstrating his own power and importance?

NHRA sources claim there is more to the Schumacher fine than has been stated thus far, but if Glendora thinks this will be settled through the appeal process they had better think again. This is going to be determined in front of a judge and jury.

Further, the depiction of the Army car doing a burnout in the background of the television announcement of the fine was poorly conceived and an embarrassment to that sponsor. In truth, ESPN is responsible for that, not NHRA, but had the announcement been held until Tuesday that visual probably wouldn’t have been used in a later telecast. In fact, it’s possible that there would have been no more than minimal coverage on TV because the next event telecast isn’t until the Atlanta race, this weekend, which is two weeks later. As it was, with terrible visuals from a one-lane race track to work with, TV had plenty of time and reason to really highlight the Schumacher fine announcement.

In politics, the military or the corporate world no entity moves forward if the man at the top has surrounded himself with his closest personal friends in top management positions. There absolutely must be some “space” between the individual at the top and those who work under him. You cannot spend your weekends backpacking in the Sierras with the men who are your underlings Monday through Friday.

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Tuner Alan Johnson, through his team’s public relations expert (and we aren’t using the word “expert” lightly), put out a press release on the Thursday following the race that rightfully blistered both NHRA and ESPN2. They deserved it.

While the existing management group at the National Hot Rod Association will quickly tell you otherwise, the number of disenchanted racers, sponsors and fans is on the increase. The Las Vegas race was just the latest in a series of embarrassments for the NHRA. Look no further than two weeks earlier to the Houston race, where the track’s notorious bumps hadn’t been repaired despite numerous and very vocal complaints that stretch back more than a year. We remember a race at Houston so long ago that Frank Iaconio was still driving in Pro Stock. He made a partial run, stopped a half track and climbed out in protest of the track conditions. How can there be any excuse for those bumps when the track owners also own construction and paving companies?

While the crowd at Las Vegas was reported by multiple and reliable sources to have been up 3 percent over last year’s race, we find that hard to believe from personal observation, unless, as an individual we trust has suggested, the fans were so disillusioned by what was taking place on the track in front of them that they spent more time roaming the pits than they did in watching the “races.”

Despite statements to the contrary, NHRA does not appear to be paying the slightest attention to the state of the nation’s economy, which is in the dumper. Everything from new housing starts to retail sales to fuel prices seems to confirm it (the price of regular went up another $.20 overnight here in New Mexico), yet there’s been no move to lower ticket prices, offer up two-for-ones on a Friday or anything else. NHRA seems intent upon sucking the drag racing golden goose dry before they consider real cost-saving moves designed to help their own participants and fans.

If you’re looking for evidence of a declining economy, look no further than the sportsmen pits in Vegas, which were anything but full, and disregard NHRA’s contention that this was because there wasn’t a points race at the same facility either immediately before or after the national event, which would have attracted more competitors for a “two-fer.”. The sportsmen entries were down because people racing for little more than trophies have more pressing needs, like house payments and food, than they do a need for speed.

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To give you a small concept of where NHRA is coming from, when someone suggested they offer free or greatly reduced admission to military personnel and/or their dependents at the Las Vegas race a few years ago simply by showing their government ID at the gate, the response was that NHRA already offers a discount to the military. Some discount. A whopping 10 percent, and then only for those in uniform. Think of the public relations home run that could have been achieved had NHRA visited the base commander across the street (literally) at Nellis Air Force Base two weeks in advance of the event offering active duty personnel and their dependents free admission on Friday. This was at the start of whatever they’re calling the debacle in Iraq, but headlines reading “NHRA Supports Military Personnel With Free Admission” certainly wouldn’t have hurt the sport’s image, but, of course, those headlines didn’t and won’t happen as long as the hard-headed, only-we-know-what’s-best management team is in charge.

In politics, the military or the corporate world no entity moves forward if the man at the top has surrounded himself with his closest personal friends in top management positions. There absolutely must be some “space” between the individual at the top and those who work under him. You cannot spend your weekends backpacking in the Sierras with the men who are your underlings Monday through Friday. If you do you will never discipline or discharge them if they’re not getting the job done if for no other reason than they are your closest friends.

If you doubt that management theory, ask any businessman you know if he socializes with his employees. I’ll wager that the most successful of them absolutely do not. They keep their distance for the simple reason that they know that there may come a day when someone has to be let go, and it’s a heck of a lot harder to let your best buddy go than it is someone you’ve treated with respect, but who is definitely charged with doing the job you’ve outlined, and knows that if they don’t, their position may be in jeopardy.

When’s the last time you heard of anyone in a senior NHRA position being let go for incompetence, yet incompetence reigns supreme in that organization -- from top to bottom.

It’s time for a complete house cleaning at NHRA, something that many predicted would have quickly happened had the HD Partners acquisition gone through. The problem is that there’s no way to force that house cleaning, and those in charge know it. We in the media can rant and rave to our heart’s content, with no chance of our wailing have any impact at all. Even if all 70,000 NHRA “members” called for a change in management it wouldn’t happen because the so-called “members” -- just like the media -- are powerless to bring about change. In other words, until someone buys the NHRA the problem is insoluble

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Do we suspect that many in the current management team were envisioning golden parachutes for themselves had the HDP purchase gone through? You bet we do.

We have friends working in management positions in Glendora, but this isn’t about friendship. Friendship is what’s infecting NHRA management with malaise. This is about improving NHRA drag racing, which is as stagnant as a potash separation pond.

If you’ve ever scanned a corporate annual report, or even an online company outline, one thing becomes glaringly obvious: It is extremely rare for the company’s Board of Directors to be made up of the same people who occupy its senior management positions. A Board is supposed to serve in an oversight capacity, making sure that the managers are making the correct decisions for the company’s future. That’s not the case with the NHRA. The very same people who should be doing the overseeing are overseeing…themselves! Where is the oversight? There is none.

Tom Compton, president of NHRA; president of the Board. Peter Clifford, executive vice president, general manager; member of the Board. Graham Light, senior vice president, racing operations; member of the Board. Only Dallas Gardner, chairman of the Board, the one under whose watch as president the fortunes of NHRA seriously declined, and Dick Wells, the last of the old timers and in declining health and advancing years, do not have full time positions in the company. Gardner, according to public records, received more than $300,000 in compensation in 2006, while Wells received under $100,000. The combined total compensation paid Compton, Clifford and Light in ’06 was $1,397,098. Imagine what it might be in 2008.

There’s another point that must be made, and I know I’m echoing a sentiment recently aired by another writer who happened to be correct. If the professional racers are as angry about things as they’re constantly telling me they are, in some respects they have only themselves to blame for their situation because as long as they keep showing up to race on poorly prepared tracks without a purse increase in sight, they have only themselves to blame.

Where is the PRO in all of this? The organization is all but invisible, and part of the blame for that has to be placed at the feet of president Kenny Bernstein who, from the reports we hear, consistently tries to deflect talk of labor actions and direct confrontations with NHRA management as being disadvantageous to the sport. In the last six months first the highly respected Barry Mano resigned from the Board, and since Las Vegas Don Schumacher has also resigned. Mark Pawuk, who is not currently active in Pro Stock, also appears to be on the way out. The organization cannot afford to lose thoughtful, professional individuals like these.

Maybe 10 years ago on a Friday night at Indy Mr. Bernstein was pulling on his firesuit while standing by his dragster underneath the crossover bridge when he looked up at the tower and pointedly said, “These people (meaning NHRA management) aren’t going to pay any attention to us until we refuse to run.” Respectfully, Mr. Bernstein, it was true then, and it’s true today. As long as the PRO continues to act like a collective eunuch, the racers will be treated accordingly.

Won’t somebody – anybody – please step up and buy the NHRA and end this nightmare?

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UP FRONT - ITS TIME FOR A COMPLETE HOUSE CLEANING AT NHRA